It’s always nice to meet up with some fellow food lovers for dinner, because there’s nothing better than enjoying great food together in each others company. We caught up with Bearabbit, Feeds with Gusto and Tim.E, and the restaurant of choice was Jinda Thai. It was our first time here, and what a great choice it was from Feeds with Gusto!
The atmosphere at Jinda Thai was buzzing from start to finish. The interior is like an old warehouse with brick walls. Helen and I quickly shot gunned some couch spots, as the massive hole in the chair was not gonna do our backs any good. Equipped with 3 bottles of BYO red, being ‘hydrated’ was not an issue, but it was the food which we were most interested in.
After what seemed like some short chatter, we were inundated with food! It’s nice to not have to make all the food decisions sometimes, and have others pick dishes. We ordered so much food, and let me tell you, they were all solid! I couldn’t fault any of them, but there were a few which really stood out for me. I particularly enjoyed the chicken Pad Thai, steamed fish with chilli garlic dressing, and pandan cake with ice cream.
I’m a sucker for a great Pad Thai, funny enough I never even tried Pad Thai in Thailand and had only started enjoying this dish over the last 5 years. It’s probably the least Thai dish on the menu, but when has that ever stopped me from wanting it! This Pad Thai was not lacking in flavour and had a decent punch to it. The sweetness was perfect and the lime juice on top was just the icing on the cake. My friend sought out a Thai cook on Gumtree to make Pad Thai for his birthday party. I would say her Pad Thai and the one I’ve had at Jinda Thai were probably the best I’ve ever tried.
In my reviews I very rarely mention authenticity. I’ve never mentioned this before, but I don’t consider authenticity important to how I judge how good food is. To me, good food is good food, irrespective of how authentic a dish is. Now in saying so, I think that the strongest argument for authentic food is the memories it brings back. This statement could not be more true when it comes to the steamed fish I had here at Jinda Thai. As soon as I had the first bite, it took me back to the steamed fishes I had in Thailand. The acidity and chilli hit was relentless and this was the flavour profile which I’ve been looking for! The fish was fresh, and not overcooked. A highlight dish in every sense of the word.
To finish off with the pandan cake with ice cream was so soothing. After all the full flavoured savoury dishes, it was nice to retreat back to a quality dessert. The pandan sauce was not too sweet at all, and worked well with the soft silky cake underneath. I’m not usually a fan of pandan, but now I’ve been converted and will seek out more pandan cakes in the future. It even comes with two scoops of ice cream, not a bad deal for $8.50!
Great food and great company, what more could we have asked for. It was a great night, and I’m happy to have dined at Jinda Thai. It was a restaurant which had been on my radar for a long time now, and the food met and exceeded my expectations! Without a doubt we’ll be keeping these guys in mind whenever we feel like great Thai food. I would highly recommend them to anyone. Don’t make the same mistake as me, I’ve waited way too long to try this place, check these guys out ASAP!
Jinda Thai
Approx $45 AUD per person
Address: 7 Ferguson Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067
Phone: (03) 9419 5899
