Review Jin Jin Matakana - Matakana

Seems like the restaurant has daily dinner special dishes / chef recommend not in their main menu, order green papaya salad and prawns Tom Yum soup from their special board, and chicken fried rice and Pad Thai in the main menu, all dishes were nice! Also good food portions and friendly service!

My wife and I had a short stay up at Matakana recently at the Bali Gardens ( also highly recommended ) and we ate out 3 nights in a row at Jin Jin. It was so good we didn’t even bother to try any of the other local restaurants. My wife is plant based and there was good selection for her to choose from such as the vegetable dumplings, tofu bao buns and bang bang tofu. If you like spicy I can recommend the sambal prawns 🌶️. Divine Asian fusion cuisine.

My wife had the fish of the day, which was red snapper. She enjoyed it. I had Pad Thai, which was good, but it contained cilantro, which I can only tolerate in very small amounts. If you are are not one of the small group of people like me that can’t tolerate cilantro, you might enjoy it. The pad Thai that I I’m familiar with usually contains basil rather than cilantro. They did include tamarind, which I love.

A really great place for authentic thai cuisine - enjoy the professional service , caring host and the great quality food they serve No wonder you should book ahead especially in high season it is one of not too many places in the area that offer that level quality. We went for a mix of the days specials and some entrees and mains - really Good So head here for a nice dinner

Fantastic restaurant - the food was exquisite - we went back for a second night on our weekend stay because it was so good! Tom Yum was excellent, as was Red curry duck. Highly recommended!

Delicious cocktails, exceptional cuisine and lovely service. We are regulars, always bring visitors to the area whenever we want a really nice night out. Full flavour menu. Can't go wrong!

What an amazing find. Tossed up where to go for dinner for about an hour. But we have visited regularly and tried most other places so thought we would give it a try. We weren't disappointed. Fast and friendly service, nice and warm inside but the food was the real star. Every dish was beautifully presented, flavorsome and cooked to perfection. The calamari was so tender. But the highlight for me was the miso steak. I highly recommend this dish. So soft, beautiful flavour. Can't wait until we come back to matakana.

We just had dinner at JinJin. Everything is excellent. The service, the food abundant and delicious. Without a doubt, JinJin, a place to return and return and enjoy a good time again. Many thanks to the waiter from the Philippines who spoke to us in Spanish, a genius. Kind regards. Susy & Pablo from Argentina

I had Snapper Green Curry. Absolutely recommend you try this. Fish was just out of the sea and cooked to perfection. Staff are amazing ……Busy atmosphere…..booking ahead is a great idea.

Great service, prompt. Scallops and beef massamam gorgeous. Tofu could have done with more sauce. Not cheap

Given the generally expensive Reataurant in Matakana great to find a local that is reasonable<br/>Very tasty. Staff young but very polite and well trained. A favourite. Mike and Helen

Came here on a Wednesday when they had a curry night. Thai Curries, roti and coleslaw for $15. Really tasty curry, great roti, attentive service. 3 men were well fed (2 entrees) with a drink each for $95. All left feeling very satisfied<br/>

Nice atmosphere. Attentive service. Pity that my seafood laksa was loaded with hunks of tuna (which happened the the main ingredient in the specials on offer). Normally I love tuna but in this instance it was just odd.

I always for the the Thai green curry when I come here it is soooo good!! And they are now doing a $15 curry night on Wednesday’s so will have to go back and try something else. Duck and mushroom dumplings are also a hit! Can not fault anything great atmosphere and funky venue

Starter of banh mi roll - superb. Green curry and pad Thai also fantastic. Quick and attentive service. Good atmosphere. What's not to like?

Stopped in here on a rainy Friday. The place was buzzing. We ordered a few of the more tapas style items to share including the pork belly steamed buns, summer rolls, wontons and calamari salad. All was divine but standouts were definitely the calamari and pork belly. To the point where my partner orders another bun once everything was complete. Also indulged in a lychee mojito which was lovely. Prices were reasonable. Will definitely return

After a big fat spliff down by the river<br/>Inhale exhale <br/>Oh my oh my.. oh my <br/>Each bite was a ray of shine<br/>Each sip was a dip in a waterfall<br/> <br/>What a munch 👍👍<br/>

Best place to eat in Matakana. So good we had to go back for seconds! <br/><br/>Came here for morning tea then lunch lol. Service was really friendly and charming especially by the waitress at the bar. We ordered our fav steam pork bun ( to die for), pad thai ( abit salty but tasty) and the bahn Mi Roll with roast pork belly and crackling with coriander very yummy! Honestly forget about the over priced food at the Matakana markets and come here for lunch or dinner!

Oh my word this place is gorgeous! I believe this might be my anniversary dinner pick. The decor is dreamy and yet uber chic. We came her on a brunch date and heard great reviews from the Denizen Mag, so we thought wed try it out. We enjoyed the bahn mi (pork baguette) and pho - however they served a hard boiled egg that was cold in the middle , thou the soup was hot. One thing we hadnt tried was the chunky brisket in the pho, thou its traditional, I think I prefer the slithered beef instead. I wish this restaurant served the Vietnamese traditional hot or ice coffee. The waiter tried to accommodate our wants however the ice coffee was weak an watery. Overall - I do like this place and Im sure Ill be back

Normally I try not to review places that Sian and I have been to together that she's got in first for, but I think Jin Jin is worth it.<br/><br/>Our second visit was for brunch, and we ordered the Son in Law eggs (tea infused boiled egg, silken tofu, salad and a chilli jam) and a pork banh mi. Both were good overall. <br/><br/>The banh mi had really nice crunchy bread, pork belly with a bit of crackling. I'd have liked a bit more punch to the flavours but this is still one of the better banh mi's we've had recently. <br/><br/>The son in law eggs was also a nice dish. Great presentation. Huge portion for $16. They have done a good job with the egg - the yolk was still gooey but the egg white was set. Worth noting that the whole dish is cold. <br/><br/>Coffee was solid (there is better coffee at the Matakana market if you are there on a Saturday).<br/><br/>I'd recommend dinner or lunch for a first visit, breakfast if you're prepared to be a bit adventurous. <br/><br/>My menu pick so far: red curry duck breast with pineapple from the dinner menu

My boyfriend and I went to Jin Jin on opening weekend. I was expecting it to not be that busy but to my surprise it was packed. The front of house (the daughter of the couple running the show) was wonderfully accommodating. We had the duck and the squid which was a special. I had no idea that squid could melt in your mouth that way. The duck was also delicious although the flavours were more reminiscent of a larb salad than a red curry (loved the caramelised pineapple in it though). I had the matcha tiramisu which was also delicious but would probably be a better fish as a mousse in its own right rather than a Japanese take on tiramisu. Overall - would definitely be back. It's on the pricier side of things (our dinner with two drinks came to just over $90) but is a wonderful addition to Matakana