Ying Thai 2 — Restaurant in Melbourne

I’m actually quite sad to write this review. This was a place we frequented SO often and took everyone when they come to Melbourne. It is DELICIOUS but now I maybe know why.

We are now additive free, and took our young child with us

I’m writing this review mainly because I researched it before I called and found nothing about MSG on their website or web. I called them when booking a table and the person could not answer whether they used MSG so I said I’d clarify when I get them. Hopefully it can help someone in the future who is concerned about it in the future.

Once I got to the reception I asked again and The lady at the receptionist said yes they’ve it some dishes and they could make something without, then asked me if it was an allergy and I said no. When it came to ordering they told me every dish had it and they could not make me one dish without it. I mean one of our dishes was just steamed fish with sauce (garlic and chilli) so I don’t really understand why. Also a papaya salad - I cant understand how even this has MSG.

To top it off, the price has gone significantly up over the last few years, which okay maybe a sign of inflation but with the lack lustre service I would choose elsewhere. All the food comes at different times sometimes often so late - we got our fish once we had finished everything else . But again, it could just be my disappointment from the beginning that tainted the rest of my evening.

We sadly won’t be returning again because it no longer caters...

Ah, Thai restaurant! You expect some authentic flavors, but instead, they give you the local version. Why change the ingredients?!

First, som tum – classic Thai salad. Crunchy, spicy, refreshing, right? But at this place, they use green apple instead of mango. Green apple? This is not fruit salad! Som tum is supposed to have unripe mango or papaya for that sharp, tangy flavor. Green apple tastes too sweet, like dessert, not spicy salad. If you want sweet, go eat cake, not som tum.

Then the pineapple fried rice. Oh, don't get me started! Pineapple fried rice is iconic. You expect juicy, sweet pineapple chunks. But here, they use canned pineapple. Canned pineapple! It’s mushy, no texture, and tastes too sugary. If you can’t even use fresh pineapple in your dish, don’t bother calling it pineapple fried rice. Just call it "yellow rice with sadness."

Lastly, the wok hei. You know wok hei is the soul of stir-fried dishes, that smokiness from a good wok. But here, it’s like they’re afraid of high heat. The frying lacks that charred, crispy flavor. It's like they stir fry in a cold wok. No wok hei, no soul.

Overall, the food tastes good, but so many little things could be better. It’s like watching a kung fu movie, but the actors don’t know kung fu. Close, but not quite there. If you want real Thai food, look for a place that doesn’t use shortcuts and strange...

I have been to this restaurant before, and the food was great. This time, I brought my Australian friend along. We ordered shrimp cakes, pineapple fried rice, roasted beef, fish with chili sauce.

I expected the roasted beef to be oven-roasted, but what we got was braised beef with gravy, similar to beef brisket. The taste was completely different from what I had in mind, and honestly, it wasn’t good at all. My friend and I, both of us, couldn’t eat it. It tasted like cheap canned meat from Woolworths. Some people might enjoy it, but it just wasn’t for us.

That said, the shrimp cakes, pineapple fried rice, and fish with chili sauce were all delicious. The shrimp cakes especially stood out. But the "roasted beef" was a complete letdown.

When I politely asked the staff if we could return the dish because we couldn’t eat it, the kitchen staff responded rudely, saying, “If you can’t eat it, don’t eat it” being from Thailand myself and of course being raised speaking the traditional language it was very clear the staff said it purposefully and loud enough for us to hear. They even came out to see who we were. I might be picky, but I just wanted good food, especially for the price we paid.

The overall experience was disappointing due to the poor service and the attitude of the kitchen staff.

The beef we had ordered is the last picture posted looking...