Ying Thai 2

It had been a long time since I had graced Lygon Street with my presence (okay, not that long ago, but I don’t come down here as often as I like since there are so many other cool places to visit in Melbourne) that one day after work I decided that I would go and grab something to eat. The funny thing was that I was wanting so Thai — not exactly the cruisine that you visit Lygon Street for. Anyway, despite not expecting to find any Thai restaurants down here I pretty quickly came across this place, so I decided to go and check it out. I’ll have to say not bad. The food is pretty good and the staff really nice. I can’t quite remember what I had but I believe it was the noodles (as opposed to the curry). They also have the traditional Thai beers as well. I’d come back here.

Ordered my Thai lunch, and it came with some Thai style vegetable and prawn, with curry. Tasting ! Food sufficient for a day

We had booked a table for 9 but were made to wait half an hour. Service was swift at the table. Our beer was bought by the restaurant from a bottle shop from down the road.
The food was OK, not the best Thai food that I had. Seafood pad Thai was quite good, tom yum soup was sour and spicy the way I like it. The curries though were a bit too sweet for my liking and the meat was quite tough and chewy for both chicken and beef.
Overall ³⁄₅.

Although located in the Italian precinct of Lygon Street, Ying Thai is the best and most authentic Thai food I’ve had in Melbourne. Everything we ordered was absolutely beautiful — the owner was working and was very charming. He helped us to order and gave us some background on the dishes (he also advised us that they were just about to close for extensive renovations — so we will be going back to check out the new Ying Thai soon). A+

What this little restaurant lacks in décor, it more than makes up with its authentically delicious Thai food. The affordable lunch menu offers the basics like Tom Yum, Green curry, Pad Thai, etc, as well as the more exotic options like Crab meat omelet.
Portion size is acceptable. There is the option to swap plain rice with fragrant coconut rice, that goes especially well with curries. They do not hold back on the spices for the curries. Spicy means spicy here.
I’ve never been disappointed coming here.

This is a decent Thai restaurant on Lygon St. Their menu is pretty extensive with a large number of dishes you’d expect (and perhaps a few less common dishes).
I tried several dishes with friends. The chicken larb was well done, and I was happy with both the gai hor bai-​toey (fried chicken wrapped in leaves) and the yum sam grop with deep fried fish. The green curry with duck had reasonable flavour but it could have done with a little more duck.

Could do better. Over pricd comes to mind.

Finally! A Thai restaurant that doesn’t hold back on the chilli and is more than happy to make you sweat like a pig.
I decided to order a Tom Yum soup, and, being a cold night and feeling brave, requested it to be extra spicy. God was that a bad move. Although really delicious, I didn’t realise the serving was for multiple people, and it was way hotter than I could handle.
Anyway also ordered some green and red chicken/​beef curries, both distinctly different in flavour but really nice. Although my only gripe is this place is a little pricier than you would normally pay for Thai food ($ 12 – 14 avg.).

This is my favorite thai restaurant out of all of Melbourne.
It’s a tiny little shop on lygon st that’s coloured a disgusting pale green with rainbow coloured letters– but hey, their too busy concentrating on their delicious food to be picking out paint colours.
The place is definitely small and crammed, they only offer a handful of tables inside and it seems to always be busy.
Ying Thai 2 is really onto some here, they hit all the right flavours with all the tang and spice. If you’re a Thai food fan, I 100% recommend you giving this place a go.
Green curry and fried rice always go down a treat!

Melbourne is not in short supply of Thai restaurants. Every suburb has at least one good, authentic Thai restaurant. In Carlton, that restaurant is Ying Thai 2.
I have no idea where Ying Thai (the original) is, but a short distance from Melbourne University on the non-​Italian end of Lygon Street, is where Ying Thai 2 is located. The actual venue itself utilises bright greens, blues, and pinks and screams tacky restaurant. Luckily, the décor isn’t a reflection of the food.
For under $ 20 a person, you’ll have an entrée and a main per person, all for sharing of course. An indicator of good Thai food is the pad thai. At Ying Thai 2, the pad thai is cooked perfectly — not too soggy noodles (I hate when that happens) with pad thai sauce that balances sweet, sour, and spicy.
All in all, Ying Thai 2 is a great place to eat, especially around Lygon Street. With good food and service, you’ll definitely enjoy this cheap eats.

Thai food is supposed to be nourishing, spicy and full of flavour. It’s one of those cuisines that I never get sick of because of the different dimensions of taste and the rich use of herbs and spices. I once proclaimed that I could possibly live in Thailand because I love the food so much.
This is also how I feel about Ying Thai 2 on Lygon Street. Sure, it’s super busy and you sometimes get turned away if you do not have a booking but that’s why you must always make one if you’re doing Thai on a weekend. Their recipe for success is simple: Affordable, authentic, fresh and delicious food, cooked to order and served promptly.
I highly recommend the fish cake with lemongrass, beef with basil, green curry, spicy fried whole fish (my absolute favourite) and the tom yum soup (very spicy). If you’ve got a sweet tooth like me, wash it down with Thai ice milk tea or coconut juice.
Word of advice for drivers: Never park your car at the parking bay just outside the restaurant, no matter how tempting it seems. You might think this is your lucky night but if you park there, expect your car to be covered in bird poo (and I mean bombed-​in-​a-​Hiroshima-​kind-​of-​way). Not a pretty sight, believe me!

If I knew the Thai word for ‘noms’ I’d use it here. Ying Thai 2 is everything I want in a Thai café — cheap, cheerful and authentic. The colourful little restaurant is full of students most nights, and on a Saturday it can be hard to get a table.
According to my best friend who’s half Thai, the dishes are similar to what you find in Thai homes, so if you’re used to westernized Thai menus you may find some of the dishes too spicy. While I’m quite good a handling chili, I admit some of the salads are so spicy they make my eyes water until my mascara runs. Not a good look! But the staff are cool with you asking for less spice to save yourself from this indignity.
I’d recommend grabbing yourself a nice bottle of white to have with the meal to cool your palate (they do BYO), and order widely. Oh, and don’t miss the chicken larb! Delish!

There are a lot of different Thai places competing to be my favourite and right now Ying Thai 2 on Lygon Street is top dog for flavor, price, value and atmosphere. Located on Lygon Street just to the North of the city close to the University of Melbourne, you can always spot Ying Thai 2 because it is the most popular of a host of restaurants in the same area and it has one of the brightest interiors full of lime green, pink, and turquoise.
Ying Thai 2 does BYO wine and there is a bottle shot right across the road, which is always handy. Unlike some places that have the word «Thai» in the name, they actually do serve scrummy Thai food. It offers a wide range of options on its menu and its special lunch menu is an absolute hit with Malaysian, Indonesian and local students alike. The service is pretty quick and above average compared with a number of Asian places. I’ve pretty much tried the entire many and it is all good, so I usually just mix it up each time.
I couldn’t recommend this place more for delicious inexpensive Thai food.