Lemon Basil 16 Nam Kok Road, Kowloon City Tel. 2716 6233 Grub: Classic Thai food Vibe: Lemon Basil is informal and relaxed. The orange walls are decorated with photos of Thai kings, and small paintings of chillies and other familiar Thai ingredients. The restaurant seems to be more popular with a younger crowd, though not exclusively so. Who to bring: People who enjoy spicy food are the obvious candidates. But that doesn't mean you have to exclude friends that don't have tongues of steel from your party - just ask the waiters to recommend dishes that have less chilli in them. What's hot: For Thai food fans, Kowloon City is one of Hong Kong's best kept secrets. It's long been home to a large Thai community. Lemon Basil is one of my favourite places there and I quite often head over on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. There are no real surprises on the menu; all the familiar dishes are represented, from curries and salads to fried rice and noodle dishes. We ordered chicken wings stuffed with shrimp, and a red chicken curry. For vegetables, we opted for mushrooms with broccoli. My drink was a mango slush while my dining partner had a lime soda. The vegetables arrived first, and featured several kinds of mushrooms including oyster and straw varieties, with dried garlic sprinkled liberally on top. The curry arrived, and was thick, sweet and coconutty, with just the right level of spiciness. The chicken chunks were lean and generous. We were so engrossed in our meal that we almost forgot the chicken wings. These arrived piping hot and looking more like drumsticks than wings, but this was just the way they had been prepared and stuffed. They were served with a typical Thai sweet chilli sauce. Despite the generous portions, we felt the trip out there justified dessert. So, after a suitable pause, we shared a plate of pandan-flavoured layered dumpling. What's not: Since the closure of the old Kai Tak airport, Kowloon City is somewhat off the beaten track, although the district is still well served by buses and minibuses. Cost: Most dishes cost between HK$48 and HK$108. The chicken wings were HK$60, the curry HK$58 and vegetables HK$48. Dishes with prawn and crab cost more - up to HK$178 for fried crab with curry. Desserts are between HK$28 and HK$38, while soft drinks are around the HK$30 mark.
