Thai Panda is a Thai restaurant at 58 Auckland Street in Picton, holding a 4.3 rating from 409 Google reviews, with a Facebook page standing in for a website. Thai food stands or falls on balance: the sweet, sour, salty and hot notes should sit in harmony rather than one overwhelming the rest, and good kitchens will temper the chilli if you ask, so it pays to say how hot you really want it. House-made curry pastes are the quiet marker of a serious Thai kitchen, and the difference shows most in dishes like green curry and tom yum. In a port town, the seafood plates are a fair test too — fresh fish and mussels cooked simply, with the sauce supporting rather than smothering. For locals and travellers passing through Picton, Thai Panda is a well-reviewed stop on Auckland Street.