We are all Asians from different countries, which is interesting how we came together to try Thai food - none of us are from Thailand though.. given the creative and extensive menu of Jinda's, we ordered six items to share, all of which are signature items. The overall feel is that: it's good but falls short of expectations. Just like the smattering of other Thai restaurants I've tried, every dish was on hyper-seasoning mode, with extremely rich and full flavours that sent my tastebuds into overdrive. It seems there is no room for a breather, it'll actually be wonderful to pair these dishes with lots of rice.

If I had to choose, I enjoyed Jinda better than Chin Chin (although the reason why I wasn't impressed by either was the same) - and here are some of the more memorable dishes that we had: the som tum soft shell crab which essentially meant green papaya salad soft shell crab is the must-have here. This was probably the only dish that had a good balance of both the milder and stronger tastes, a refreshing mix of the papaya salad really helped. Next was a dish name I was most amused about - gra pow gai grob, stir-fried crispy chicken with chilli paste served with basil leaves! Although it was quite salty and spicy, it was wonderfully delicious together with rice. Then there was the dish that will not go wrong - pineapple fried rice which we could choose combination meat or combination seafood. The grilled moo yang - barbequed pork neck, Thai-style, served with nam chim savoury and spicy sauce was tend towards dryness so.. I think it's not as good as I wished it was, though the sauce base was cloyingly sweet and piquant in a good way that offset it.

The service was rather haphazard, possibly because they were dealing with a full house with a queue building up at the entrance, and there were no pleasantries. It was fine actually because I was surrounded by company that I absolutely love, I was in my final week in Melbourne and free from schoolwork - so curt service didn't really bother me that much. So Jinda! Yes or no? I'm not completely confident in recommending this place, all in all, I conclude that maybe Melbourne isn't the place you go for Thai food. It is attuned to the tastebuds of locals who prefer stronger flavours and might not pander to your liking (unless you like it strong too ;)).

Jinda Thai

1-7 Ferguson Street, Abbotsford

VIC 3067, Australia

Opening hours

Thu - Tue: 1100 - 2200

Wed: 1700 - 2200

Contact

+61 3 9419 5899 

Reservations are advised, or wait in queue.