Lemon Grass keeps up with new dish creations

CEBU, Philippines - In a span of seven years, Lemon Grass restaurant continues to innovate with new dishes and enhance its existing offerings to keep up with the tough competition and stay ahead of the game.

Last December 18, Lemon Grass which is renowned for its Vietnamese and Thai culinary treasures celebrated its 7th anniversary in the food business industry.

Jan Urbina, youngest of the 6 children of Ricardo and Julita Urbina, said in an interview that it has been the tradition of the family business to introduce new items in the menu every year to satisfy the shifting market demands for food.

He even described customers particularly Cebuanos as a market who easily get used to something and always love to try something new.

With such kind of market, he noted that it serves as a wake-up call and a challenge for the Urbina family to keep up with the name and the brand of serving two different cuisines.

 He cited that his family often travels abroad to learn what is trend and the fad internationally, get their ideas and experiment with it and make it a point to get the nearest to the original taste of the two countries.

So far, he said that the market has expressed satisfaction and sense of appreciation with the food innovations Lemon Grass has introduced.

The positive market reception is further strengthened with the sales promotions and word-of-mouth marketing, he added.

“Lemon Grass is known for its delicious and healthy food, its ambience and friendly staff. We are a family of foodies. We always travel to try the food on our own before giving it to the public. We make it a point to get the nearest to the original taste of the two cuisines,” Jan stated.

The restaurant has offered new dishes during the middle of the year which included shrimp in pastry (Goong Hom Sabai) served with crispy rice noodles, green curry rice in addition to its existing bagoong and pineapple rice, and crispy fish with Tai Pla sauce (Gaeng Tai Pla), fish stew with bamboo shoots and veggies in Tai Pla sauce.

Just recently, Lemon Grass launched its new offerings as the last shot for the year 2012. These are the afternoon delights called Kanom Krok or Thai sweet cakes and Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich.

Committed not to sacrifice the quality of food, Jan noted that the family is coming up with a budget-conscious menu for Lemon Grass in 2013.

He further revealed that the family will possibly open the second Lemon Grass outlet at SM – South Road Properties next year.

With a bigger space and a 100-seating capacity, he considered the Lemon Grass as strategically located in Ayala Terraces since it covers a bigger market and attracts new customers in spite of the competition present in the area.

About 70% of its buyers’ profile is considered as the regular clientele who come from middle and high-end market segments.

Foreigners especially Koreans, Japanese and Caucasians account 40% of the total market share while 30% are comprised of vegetarians and weight-conscious customers.

Its bestsellers include the bagoong rice, spareribs and the pitcher of citrus and herb leaves.

Its peak days are from Fridays to Sundays while lean days are during the middle of the week.

Lemon Grass is managed by his sister, Jill Viado while Jan currently manages Café Laguna Express.

The restaurant is also associated with Café Laguna, Laguna Garden, U Kitchen and Café Laguna Express, the five varied restaurant outlets of the Urbina brand called the Laguna Group. (FREEMAN)