The Mall area
Last month, a bunch of food bloggers and I went on a Meet My Suburb Walking Tour of Kensington and Kingsford where I showed them around the secret local’s favourites in the area. It was so much fun so some other blogger friends and I decided to do the same in Cabramatta. Betty from Betty’s Bites grew up in the area and when she emailed us asking if we’d like to join her on a little eating tour of Cabramatta, I didn’t hesitate for a moment. I’m almost embarrassed to say that as a born and bread Sydney-Sider I’d never been to Cabramatta before. What I didn’t realise that apart from the fact that Cabramatta has great food, the people are what I enjoyed just as much. Cabramatta residents have fun and a lot of laughs and the kids…well they’re priceless and they love a camera. And I should warn you now that this is a long post so please settle in with a cup of coffee or tea (sweetened with sweetened condensed milk to put you in an authentic mood).
Colourful desserts
Trissa and I are driving together for the first time Cabramatta from Balmain and the GPS is guiding us. We get into the wrong lane accidentally misreading the GPS. Trissa winds down the window “Please sir, I need to get into that lane” she pleads with the taxi driver who looks at her like she just told him he has a chicken on his head and it’s about to lay an egg. “WHAT?!” he says and before he can figure out what she means she manoeuvres into the space. We arrive at Cabramatta via the scenic route and spot Betty walking towards the train station, our designated meeting point. “Find a park where-ever you can on this street or the next” she says. Parking is notoriously hard in Cabramatta as crowds of people gather there on the weekends to buy and eat and the 50c car park (yep 50c to park your car, compare that to a city car park at $24 for 2 hours) is an option if we get desperate.
Fruit sold at a store
We’re meeting Ja, Betty and journalist Carla and her photographer boyfriend James at the station. Trish is to join us later. It’s a gorgeous day, we couldn’t have asked for better for a food walking tour and Betty has been charged with showing us the best of Cabramatta.
Stop #1 Kim Thanh Company Hot Bread
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October 21, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Fresh lemon juice with soda water and sugar $3.50
I’ve always thought that you can always tell how much fun you’re having at dinner by the number of times a waiter has to come back for your order. Going out with The Second Wife and Gravy Beard is a good example of this. There are always funny stories to catch up on and our poor waiter comes back several times to get our order but we are busy catching up on things to decide what to order. It doesn’t help that everything sounds delicious on the menu.
We’ve been coming to Bay Tinh for years – my parents love it so there’s always a trip with them and now that it has been bought by Harry Hoang and renovated, it has been spruced up. Gone are the High School essay plastic folders for menus which were not without their charm – there’s now a proper menu.
Young Coconut Juice $3.50
We start off with drinks, young coconut drinks for some and a fresh lemon juice with soda water and sugar for me. The Young Coconut drink is refreshing and sweet (although a long spoon would have helped in the quest to eat the deliciously slippery young coconut). The lemon drink is very tart with more emphasis on lemon than lemonade.
Crab Pate 6 for $7
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June 28, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
At the risk of quoting Austin Powers in Goldmember, when I see the smiling face of the man at Pho Bac Hai Duong, the first thing that one notices is, aside from his smile, is the mole on his face and the good 2-3 inches of hair growing from it. In Vietnam, it is said to be unlucky to trim the hair from a mole and having hairy mole is said to be good luck – indeed the longer the hair, the luckier you are. And with a full restaurant every night, perhaps he is.
The famous Pho Tai
The Pho is where we are feeling lucky, and the broth is said to be amongst the best in Sydney with the flavour deep reaching with a dizzying array of spices and herbs with star anise featuring prominently. Tonight we’re dining with The Second Wife, Gravy Beard, Tess, Naomi and Francesca. And the most popular vote is for their signature dish, Pho Tai – the raw beef noodle soup. The menu is full of the usual delicious Vietnamese offerings like Crispy Pancakes, Bun and Pho but there are also offerings like a Sea Snail Noodle Soup (I so wanted to order this but I chickened out going for something more familiar and recommended to me). Surprisingly, there’s also an offering for Pho with Free Range Chicken for $10.
Milk and Soda with egg yolk $3.50
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May 6, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Trust me when I tell you that I am not a satanist. Nor that I am judging being a satanist, but as I am queasy at the sight of blood a future as a Satanist is not in my cards, nor is being a doctor (aversion to bodily fluids also cancels this out). But when my blogging buddy Christie and I drive past the Goat Meat restaurant on our way to the Harry’s Bar event, we squeal with excitement. A Goat Meat restaurant you say? Yes. One with drawings of goats frolicking outside? Yes. And just like that we cancel our dinner plans elsewhere and make a last minute decision to go Goat Meat.
In the restaurant there is another large table of people mid-meal. We ask to see the menu-just in case-just in case of what I am not sure. We are intrigued by the offerings so we sit down and ask the waitress for her recommendations. We’re not well versed in goat meat, both of us only having it in curries, so she recommends the grilled goat meat and the raw goat meat (stay with me, hold onto my hand, it’s not as scary as it sounds). There’s a page of more traditional (and non goat-ey) dishes and a page of the more bovine kind. The waitress asks us if it is our first time here and indeed it is and she smiles and says proudly that this is the only Goat Meat restaurant in Australia.
Salted Lemon juice and Salted Plum drink $3 each
We order some drinks, a Salted Lemon drink and a Salted Plum drink. We’re not sure what to expect but they’re actually quite delicious albeit quite salty. I don’t find them as thirst quenching as I’d like though but they are very flavoursome.
Grilled Goat Meat with rice vermicelli $18
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March 3, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
Tropical Night cocktail
The opening of a new bar above one of my favourite restaurants, Bay Tinh is always cause for a cocktail. And tonight in the room above the Bay Tinh restaurant my friend Christie from Fig & Cherry and I are sipping some gorgeous little cocktails called Tropical Night which is a delicious combination of Frozen Soursop a creamy cocktail with Cointreau, Bacardi Rum and Vanilla ice cream. For those of you unfamiliar with the Soursop fruit, it is a creamy fleshed green exterior fruit with a fruit salad-ey taste and a creamy texture.
Harry Hoang, carrying a rice pancake to the food critic Cherry Ripe
Who is Harry? Harry is Harry Hoang, the owner of Bay Tinh, a man who came over in 1980 as a refugee boatperson he’s an immigrant success story. The food is Southern Vietnamese which is different from Northern Vietnamese cuisine due in part to its French influences. Harry spent the last 6 months perfecting the dishes here and removing all additives and ensuring that it is replaced with all natural ingredients. Indeed, the food is MSG free which he says, despite its use, is a flavour suppressor as it suppresses the natural flavours of food. Harry is an adorably enthusiastic man whose passion is evident. He tells us of his quest to serve fresh and good quality food and an example is the grain fed only beef used in all dishes.
Vietnamese beers
The trays of cocktail food brought around by a girl in a traditional Vietnamese costume are delicious and a great range showcasing the range and healthiness of the food on offer. It’s almost impossible to choose a favourite.
Lighting fixture, yes you know I love a good lighting fixture…
The decor is chic with gorgeous textured walls and patterned wallpaper and Christie and I particularly like the Zambelli shirts that the staff wear. The crowd tonight is a mix of press, family, friends and locals-even the renowned food critic Cherry Ripe is here.
Pork mince spring rolls: Cha Gio
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February 25, 2009
by Not Quite Nigella
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