Lemongrass Thai serves a kick-ass hot and sour soup

A staple of many Asian restaurants and Chinese buffets, hot and sour soup (suān là tāng) tends to be more sour, thanks to the strong note of white rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar, than spicy. But at the month-old Lemongrass Thai Cuisine (7316 West 80th Street, Overland Park), the familiar concoction is less vinegary and far more punchy, thanks to lots of red pepper flakes in the recipe, along with bits of pork, tofu, bamboo shoots, scallions and egg.

Last night, the restaurant’s owner, Larry Thephachanh, was in the kitchen, cooking a fresh batch of the soup; Thephachanh is originally from Laos. (He owned several restaurants in Texas before moving to Kansas City two years ago.) There are several Laos-style dishes on the Lemongrass Thai Cuisine menu (khao nam crispy rice salad, green papaya salad) in addition to a Vietnamese pho, Indonesian noodles and several American-Chinese options.
When Lemongrass Thai Cuisine opened, a manager, Kevin Wong, was identified as the restaurant’s owner in several media accounts. Rath Nou, the current manager, says Wong is currently no longer with the restaurant.

“But he might be coming back,” Nou says. “That’s all I can say.”