Jing Jai Thai - Melbourne

Pizza is average at best Pasta is below standard, mostly with too much sauceGrated cheese is served once you are halfways through your meal.

Jing Jai Thai is a bit hidden away in Flinders Lane, you can walk there from either Elisabeth or Swanston St. The place is a bit smokey for some reason, quite a few people, us included, had the occasional coughing fit.Plenty of variety on the menu, we settled for pineapple fried rice, morning glory, spicy papaya salad, satay skewers.65 bucks with drinks, for Melbourne city that's not too outrageous.The place was busy, but not flatout, and we didn't reserve a table ahead although it was Saturday night.

Boy do they cram them into this place ... talk about sitting in close quarters to those behind you. And forget it if you're wanting to hang a Melbourne winter jacket over the back of your chair. The Laminex tables, chairs and tables are very functional, simple and inoffensive, but nothing special... far from it. I dined here late on a Wednesday night (about 9pm) after noticing this place a few weeks ago when it opened from my "local" Lustre Bar (upstairs and diagonally across the road .. if you're looking for a good bar then give this place a go). When we arrived, we weren't greeted and we had to find or own table. If fact we had to ask if we could sit down. We chose the only table that looked like it had been cleared, but the table was sticky ... I really hate that. Seriously, how hard is it to properly clean a table? Basics people, basics.Commenting to hubby that perhaps it was their interpretation of "authentic" (although as a frequent travellers to Thailand I knew differently) we sat down and ordered the spring rolls, roti, a beef massasam, and jasmine rice.Thinking I'd freshen up before the food arrived I was shocked to be told that there was no toilets at all. I had to head back across the road to our local for that. Seriously inconvenient. I would have thought in a restaurant this size it was a Melbourne City Council requirement to provide at least one toilet. Back from our local the food arrived and was 'plonked' down with little fanfare or grace. First the spring rolls arrived ... four of the teeniest Thai spring rolls I've ever seen. Had we transgressed through some paranormal gateway into the midget zone? (Apologies to all height-challenged people for this term.) These four piddling springers came flopping about in what seemed to be an oversized chip basket which sat on a wooden board, with a small bowl of dipping sauce too shallow to dip into, and the limpest piece of coral lettuce that, if it had been in the fridge for a few hours more, would have been considered too old to be plated. Oh and the lettuce was small too. Just a tiny triangle. Was this a money saver?The roti came a few minutes later and it was heated to order but obviously previously made (and dare I say commercial pre-packaged), varying in thickness with the thicker sections being very doughy. If they'd only crisped it up in the pan for a few minutes longer it would have been passable. Oh and satay sauce ... cold. Ew. It was like putting flavoured Clag onto warm bread. Texturally horrible. How hard could it be to warm the sauce up? Their redeeming feature was the massaman ... in fact it was one of the best tasting versions of this dish I've had in Melbourne (the better two are at Paladarr Thai Issan in Alphington and a Rendang at Orient East). The beef was beautifully stewed, and the sauce delicious ... and there was a lot of sauce. Great for flavouring the jasmine rice and masking it's overcooked gooey-ness. Talk about sticky. How long had that rice been cooking for?Sadly also we were quite ill overnight, burping massaman burps and feeling queasy. It did make me wonder whether their kitchen hygiene was up to scratch and if it was anything like the rest of the place… well… the answer’s right there isn’t it?Right through the meal no wait staff asked if the food was Ok or whether we needed anything else. In fact mid-way through our order the waitress disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, leaving us wondering what happened. When she came back she coninuted on as though she’d never left. So the upshot is there’s no customer service at all. Don't be misled, peeps, this is a quick stop cafe-style place for when you're desperate after a few drinks, and the night ahead will be long! It’s not a place to bring your date. It’s not a place to sit and meander or enjoy the ambience, of which there’s none.Oh and if you've wanting a drink there the wine list is pretty average but workable, according to The Wine Matchmaker, but the wine glasses are so thick they scream "we don't train our staff in glassware handling but these suckers will never break". It's far from a pleasurable drinking experience.Oh and ask before you dine whether they take credit cards if that’s your only payment option ... they didn't answer us when we asked and we had to pay cash. Another disappointing and inconvenient feature of this establishment.Overall this place was average... just. There's a lot of room for improvement and I really hope they do lift their game ... they're in Melbourne after all, most liveable city in the world and the gastro capital of Australia. If they don't, they may not last long.

Hungry for Thai? Not sure which Thai place to choose ? Search no more. JING JAI every time. The atmosphere, the cleanliness, the presentation of food, the smell, the great prices, extensive menu and FOOD TO DIE FOR is all at the highest of standards sure to bring you nothing but pleasure.Any time I need to take someone out for a meal, this is the place. I've never waited very long for a meal either which is great because I always take my 30m breaks here and make it back to work on time, every time! My plan was to eat my way through the menu but after my first meal I have never been able to stead away from the same irriaistable dish

Not much fanfare but this place looks cool, chic, casual, modern and full on a cold Wintery Melbourne Saturday night.Food wise; attractive, very well presented, very generous in size and well priced. We were blown away by their entrees; Mixed grilled meat, Chan Chicken and Crispy Pork Belly with Chinese Broccoli (very good but not as mind blowing as the other two entrees). Sadly it wasn't followed by their mains, lacking in authenticity and grunt .... Soft Shell Crab Salad, Green Curry Chicken, Deep Fried Fish Salad, Pineapple Rice served in half Pineapple (with curry?) and Pad Thai.Can do BYO $2 corkage or order your drinks there, plenty on the drink list.Very tentative, efficient and pleasant service.Entrees over mains anytime for me though .... will come back to explore more. JT-03/06/2017