Thang Talk, Fairfield Advance It might sound flippant, but food is one of the main reasons we chose to live in Cabramatta. My partner and I are rarely home by 7pm - who has time to shop, cook, eat and wash up? Why cook, when we’re surrounded by good, honest, delicious food. Over the years, so many friends have asked me to recommend places to eat in Cabramatta. So I’ve decided devote a blog to share with you my favourite local eats. But first a disclaimer, which might save me from being lynched by restaurants who didn’t make the list: it’s a competitive market in Cabramatta – diners are fussy, if a place is no good, it won’t last. So just by being open, the restaurant is pretty good already! If we’re talking Cabramatta and food, we must start with Pho; Vietnamese flat rice noodles in clear soup, usually with different cuts of beef and served with a side accompaniment of basil, bean sprout, lemon, fresh chilli and a small dish of hoi-sin sauce. My two favourites are Pho Tau Bay (flying boat) and Pho 54. Tau Bay’s soup is a little sweeter, while Pho 54 packs a stronger punch, you can taste the fish sauce. Goi cuon, Vietnamese fresh rolls is also particularly good at Pho 54. If you like egg noodles and chicken, both of which I’m particularly partial too, then Tan Viet is not to be missed. Mi ga don, crispy chicken noodle soup is the best in Sydney. The skin melts in the mouth to get your taste buds ready for the tender chicken flesh. The egg noodle can come in the soup (uoc/wet) or you can get them in separate dishes (kho/dry). Try dry, it’s different and delicious. If you fancy heartier dinner dishes, try Hai Au or Thanh Mai. Both offer some of the best Canh Chua, sour soup in Sydney. Canh Chua is made from a dozen types of vegetable and herbs. It’s sweet from the pineapple and sour from tamarind and tomatoes with more flavour contribution from bach ha, fried garlic, several types of fresh mint and of course, hot chilli. Hai Au’s prawn Canh Chua is particularly good, while Thanh Mai’s fish Canh Chua hot pot is sensational – you get the whole fish. A delicious vegetarian version of Canh Chua can be had at Duy Linh, where rice vermicelli noodles come with the soup, making it a meal on its own. Another favourite for vegetarian is An Lac, a vegetarian restaurant run by Phuoc Hue, a local Buddhist temple, my favourite is tomato stuffed with tofu, which you have with a side dish or rice. If meat is more your style, go all the way at Phuoc Loc Tho (PLT) in Canley Heights, specialising in seven delights of beef. Yep, beef cooked seven ways! From paper thin slices of beef which you cook at the table to roll up with pickles and mints in rice paper, to beef grilled in betel leaves, beef soup and beef hot pot. At $22 a head, it’s a steal. If chicken is more your fare, try Frank’s Lebanese restaurant in nearby Fairfield for the best bbq chicken, served with homos, tabouli, Lebanese bread and the most pungent and delicious garlic paste. Yum Sab is the place to go for humble but mouthwatering Thai-Lao. Spicy Lao sausage is a favourite, as is Som Tam, green papaya salad. Most people go for the Thai Som Tam, but if you’re adventurous, ask for the pungent Lao interpretation, it contains small fermented crabs with shells. Al-Diaffah Al-Iraqi restaurant in Fairfield serves up hearty lamb curry with warm, fluffy flat bread made on the premises. The bright green, red and yellow pickles which come with the meals are especially good. La Paula Café’s Chilean chacarero is a particularly delicious burger consisting of beef, beans and mayonnaise – make sure you put lots of chilli sauce. Wash it down with pipping hot coffee while you watch cable TV from Chile. If you’re still hungry, Trung Nguyen Vietnamese is open for a late night snack. Bo Luc Lac is a melt in the mouth square cubes of tender beef steak served over a bed of tomato rice. Here, you can try a local favourite - Com Tam, plain rice topped with pork chops, pork pate and fried egg, over which you liberally pour sweet chilli sauce. Now you know why we rarely eat at home.
Al-Diaffah Al-Iraqi
An Lac
Duy Linh Vegetarian
Frank’s Restaurant
Hai Au
La Paula Café
Pho 54
Pho Tau Bay
Phuoc Loc Tho
Tan Viet
Thanh Mai
Trung Nguyen
Yum Sab
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Thinking out loud > Cabra 2166 >
Cabramatta’s best bitesposted 23 Feb 2009 03:01 by Thang Ngo |
Mimi and meThang TalkGreen Thumb My Jasmine plant |
