Jesse Mulligan reviews Kiin Thai Kitchen on Dominion Rd, where you’ll still be enjoying the food tomorrow

This local favourite has moved to a new location and the crowds have followed.I am brilliantly excited to tell you about this excellent Thai restaurant, one of Auckland’s best. Part of what makes the vibe great is that it is full of happy customers, but there is a Dishes are inexpensive and plentiful; service is fast but not so efficient you don’t see glimpses of the “Land of Smiles” in every interaction. And after a series of venue changes beginning with a lonely food truck, Kiin now occupies one of the prime spots at the city end of Dominion Road. As my colleague Kim Knight pointed out when she alerted me to this restaurant, it says something exciting about New Zealand culture that one of the closest venues to Eden Park has changed from a pub to a Thai restaurant. Parking is a slight issue. Unless you’ve booked, you’ll want to arrive before rush hour, but there’s a clearway along the eastern side of the street until 7pm, forcing you (me) to do a series of ungainly three-point turns to try and find a space. No gap stays open for more than 30 seconds and I was eventually forced to skulk into a space at Woolworths, wondering how strictly - and how, exactly - they enforce their customer-only policy. Photo / Babiche MartensWe hadn’t booked (honestly, when was the last time you had to book for a restaurant? At 4.1% inflation, there is always room) and were surprised to find the place entirely full, with a waiting list at 6.45pm. Promised that we could be seated in about 20 minutes, we asked to sit at the bar, which caused some confusion and commotion as a waitress with probably 100 more urgent things to do was forced to open up the storage room and find a couple of spare stools. We were embarrassed and very grateful and didn’t complain when the stools turned out to be too short, meaning as we sat down with our drinks the bar sat around the same height as our chins. Kiin has moved to a new location on Dominion Rd. Photo / Babiche MartensKiin has taken on the flat screens left behind by previous tenant the Bridgman, which is not an atmosphere strategy I’d recommend to any restaurant, and yet somehow it works. The screens show non-stop footage of Thai food television, so rather than subtracting from the mood they’re trying to create, they add to it. The other appliances we were very grateful for were the floor heaters - small and presumably inexpensive purchases that did more than enough to warm up a mostly airtight room in July. “I don’t care, it’s warm,” Victoria kept saying to me as I apologised for not reserving a table, and between people watching and a glorious Behemoth IPA, the time passed relatively quickly. The chicken larb on the menu at Thai restaurant Kiin on Dominion Rd. Photo / Babiche MartensThe menu is very appealing, with photos to help you make your final choices. It’s been ages since I enjoyed a good sour-spicy Tom Yum and this one was a beauty, with your choice of meat to turn it from a soup into more of a meal. Victoria and I shared it and it took some time to devour. By the time we had finished it I was feeling pretty replete and began worrying I’d over-ordered. Chicken larb was next, quite different from the version I’m used to, with the chicken minced quite coarsely, with plenty of moisture and no sign of the sour flavours that are crucial to the tension of this dish. It may have been a regional variation but for me it didn’t quite hit the spot. Kiin's lamb shank massaman curry. Photo / Babiche MartensBut a lamb shank massaman curry was a showstopper - those beautiful deep spices in a generous gravy, with the meat forming a centrepiece in the middle of the dish. It had been simmered rather than roasted so missed a bit of that Maillard-heavy flavour, but the slow cooking had really got the best out of the hard-working leg muscle, breaking down the connective tissue so that everything fell apart to the touch. The gravy was definitely on the soupier side, and the collagen content was confirmed the next morning when the leftovers had coagulated into the shape of the takeaway container. We’d ordered some sticky rice, that wonderfully indulgent Thai side dish, which arrived wrapped in banana leaf and tucked into a little woven bamboo basket. Finally came a stir-fry that was, by then, surplus to our needs - it had huge garlic flavours and some Thai basil which took it out of the realm of something you’d get at a Chinese takeaway. This went down very well for lunch the next day too. Uncharacteristically conservative, we’d ordered all our dishes “medium” and were glad we hadn’t gone any hotter. Please, don’t try to be a hero. Just a couple of these dishes would have been enough for two hungry people, which represents exceptionally good value (we ordered four, plus rice, plus two drinks and it came to barely $130). I’m sure that’s part of the reason the place was packed. But being inexpensive is only part of the equation; the food has to be wonderful too, and at Kiin it really is.Thai coconut ice cream. Photo / Babiche MartensKiin Thai Kitchen Cuisine: Thai Address: 234 Dominion Rd, Mt Eden Contact: 09 600 2166, kiin.nz, @kiinthaiReservations: Recommended Hours: Daily 11.30am–9.30pm Drinks: Fully licensed From the menu: pork tom yum $24.90, chicken larb $25.50, lamb shank massaman curry $31.50, stir-fried chicken with Thai basil $24.90, sticky rice $4.50 Rating: 17/20 Score: 0-7 Steer clear. 8-12 Disappointing, give it a miss. 13-15 Good, give it a go. 16-18 Great, plan a visit. 19-20 Outstanding, don’t delay.More restaurant reviewsAccording to Dining Out editor Jesse Mulligan.