Ghin Khao, Melbourne CBD by Big Fil

Swanston Street between Bourke Street Mall and Latrobe Street has a plethora of cheap Asian eateries. Most commonly these are Chinese or Vietnamese, but there are a couple of Thai places including Ghin Khao. Snooze was keen to try somewhere close to work so it was time to visit this cheap and colourful looking restaurant.


I liked the inside, brightly lit with minimalist decorations on one side, mirrors on the other. Nice chairs as well, well set out for a cheaper end eatery. It also comes with maybe the largest menus I have ever seen, big enough to hide behind while trying to make up your mind what to order.


I've often seen son-in-law eggs on various menus and was keen to give them a try. These were boiled eggs that are then deep fried, topped with minced prawn and tamarind sauce. Interesting texture,mainly sweet with a hint of sourness, a good way to start off our lunch.


Both of us were keen to try out the spicy green papaya salad. This came with dried shrimp and peanuts, and a lime and chilli dressing. While it looked good on the plate taste wise it was a little disappointing and sweeter than expected.


Best dish we ordered though was the bean sprout and grilled chicken salad wrapped in eggnet. Bean sprouts, grilled chicken and thai herbs tossed in lime juice, tamarind juice and coconut cream, the only reason I ordered this was because the photo of the menu looked so interesting. Softer in flavour than the other dishes, sweet and creamy with little tamarind or lime juice sourness, it was very easy to eat.


To finish off we ordered the banana, sticky rice and black beans wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Very starchy, both Snooze and myself had the same strange initial reaction to this. First impressions weren't that impressive, just that it was a mass of warm starch. However, as we ate more of it the banana and bean flavours started to come through. Nothing special, but intriguing enough to try again.


Overall
Not a bad spot for a quick lunch, the food came out pretty quickly and was reasonably tasty. It doesn't compare with Cookie next door, but prices are lower and you don't need to book ahead. My only caveat is for the quality it's not particularly cheap - I don't think we felt it was overpriced but nor was it was any bargain either.

Verdict
Food - 7
Ambience - 7.5
Service - 6.5
Price - 6

Address
242 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Tel: 03 9663 3345