Since opening in Canberra last year, I have been to Kinn Thai numerous times, mostly for lunch. Besides Morks, Kinn Thai would have to be my other favourite Thai restaurant in Canberra.

I didn’t want to hit the booze at lunch so I opted for a fresh coconut juice. A lot of restaurants now offer coconut juice,  if they are not served in the the coconut, the juice is probably the frozen kind with added sugar.

My sister loves curry puffs so the Curry Puffs were a must order. These curry puffs were filled with a mixed vegetable curry and served with a side of sweet chilli sauce and a yoghurt sauce (similar to raita or tzaziki). I reckon it would had been better if they used puff pastry instead of shortcrust pastry.

The Seared Scallop are one of my must order whenever I eat at Kinn Thai. The sea scallops are quickly pan seared with the centre still raw and is served with a spicy chilli and lime dressing. The dressing is not for the faint of heart.

The Betel Leaf was one of the traditional dishes available at Kinn Thai. Half a tiger prawn is served on a whole betel leaf with a coconut relish. It is recommended that you eat everything at once.

A visit to a Thai restaurant is not complete without a bowl of Tom Yum soup and the Tom Yum Prawns at Kinn Thai are really good. The soup comes with lots of prawns, oyster mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and Thai herbs such as lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves. This dish is also available on the lunch menu for $15.9 and comes with clear vermicelli noodles.

In the past I have had many bad experiences ordering eggplant dishes at restaurants because the eggplant acts as a sponge and soaks up a lot of oil during the cooking process. However, the Crispy Eggplant is an exception. The eggplants are covered with a thin batter(I suspect cornflour) and fried. The fried eggplant is then smothered with a tamarind-vinegar sauce.

When mum went to Kinn Thai when they first opened, she had the Crispy Pork Belly with Capsicum Sauce and was raving about them, so I had to give it a go and was not disappointed. The pork belly is really crispy. You have to eat the pork belly with the capsicum sauce because the sweetness of the sauce counteracts the fattyness of the pork belly.

As part of their lunch menu, I saw papaya salad, so it was another must order for me. It also came with fried chicken, even better!! The papaya salad is sour and spicy and very refreshing, paired with the crispy chicken is perfect for those who are trying to avoid carbs.

The Chilli Basil Chicken is a minced chicken stir fry with chilli and Thai basil and is served with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice. It also comes with a small dipping sauce of fish sauce and chilli, which I found was unnecessary because the chicken itself is very flavourful.

You’ll probably know by now that I really love chicken. Haha. The Steamed Chicken with Ginger Rice was my personal favourite out of the entire lunch menu. The chicken breast is lightly poached and remains very juicy and tender. The ginger rice has a very subtle flavour but paired with the ginger soya bean sauce I found it just right.

My sister loves her porkbelly, so in addition to the pork belly dish, she ordered the Pad Prik Khing from the lunch menu. This is stir fry of crispy pork belly and green snake beans in a chilli kaffir lime jam, served with steamed jasmine rice. This was another flavourful dish and was perfect with the rice. `

There is a lot more on offer at Kinn Thai, they have exceptional curries and grilled items. If I had gone for dinner I would had order a cocktail from their drinks menu. They serve a range of contemporary (Thai inspired) and also the classic ones. For the children, they have mocktails. If you want some more traditional Thai beverages, they have Thai lemon tea and Thai milk tea.

Kinn Thai

Address: 125 Bunda Street, Canberra, 2601

Opening Hours:

Lunch: Everyday 11.30am – 3pm

Dinner: Everyday 5pm – 10pm

Website: Kinn Thai

Phone: (02) 6247 1277