Cabramatta continues to grow in leaps and bounds and whilst it is still a great place to get a fantastic Vietnamese meal there are also other things available. Come along and see what is new in Cabramatta!
1- Legends Pies
Make no mistake, Legends Pies is popular. If you go on the weekend, be prepared to queue. My tip is to call ahead and reserve any pies that you want because unless you get there before 12pm many of them sell out, especially on weekends. I rang that morning to reserve four pies. The pies range from $6.50 to $7.90 each.
The four pies I reserved were the Cambodian curry pie, butter chicken pie, chicken mornay pie and beef mince and cheese. The Cambodian curry and butter chicken pie is nice although Laura tells me that she has had a better Cambodian pie in country Victoria.
If you're after something creamy, try the chicken mornay or it's even better vegetarian cousin the cauliflower mornay pie where the seasoning really lifts it a step above the chicken.
The cheese and beef pie is nice but my favourite pie of all is the Ozzie curry beef mince pie for its punchy flavour and lingering curry heat. Alas the bacon and cheese sausage roll has sold out.
For something sweet, the strawberry jam doughnut is a nostalgic favourite.
Wash these down with an iced latte or a dairy free coconut passionfruit frappe.
Address: 467 Cabramatta Road, West Cabramatta
2 - Seeker
Seeker is a nine month old matcha cafe run by Jimmy Truong. Named after the person that seeks out novel experiences or new ideas and items, it's located on Railway Parade just on the outside section of Cabramatta Plaza mall and it is incredibly popular for their creative matcha cream drinks.
There's monthly specials and this month features barley tea with caramel and peach syrup topped with matcha cream. At Seeker they use matcha from Shizuoka and rich Jersey cream milk to give their matcha a gorgeous creamy mouthfeel.
Laura has a Passenger Princess 1.0 made with cold whisked matcha, pandan, Thai milk tea foam, coconut and it is finished with citrus bubble which is creamy and smooth and complex but remarkably well balanced. We love the detail with the citrus bubble and we love that they take the time to do this especially in a place as busy as this.
The most popular drink is the Molly Had A Dolly made with Shizuoka matcha cream, silver jasmine and kinako or roasted soybean powder sprinkled on top that gives the matcha a lovely nutty finish. And my day was totally made by meeting a little puppy called Banh Mi!
3 - Lucky Kebab
What do you get when you cross a bánh mì with a kebab? You get a truffle bánh mì kebab. As the name suggests it's Doner kebab meat sliced finely and paired with American cheese and truffle mayonnaise in a baguette.
We take a seat on one of the tiny tables and chairs as a sausage dog stares at us unwrapping the banh mi. The bread roll is softer than a crusty banh mi roll and it is pressed and toasted. Whilst there is perhaps too much parsley on top it's fresh, tasty and very good and an interesting change from a regular bánh mì.
4 - Phu Quoc
At this stage we both want to sit down at a proper table, use the bathroom and just relax a bit so we head towards Phu Quoc restaurant on John Street, a couple of minutes walk from Lucky Kebabs. It seems that we have just missed the lunchtime rush. There's a sign that says there's a 45 minute wait per table.
Service is friendly and our waiter gives us some solid recommendations. We start with a bowl of soup with sliced pork leg and a prawn and egg omelette stick with udon. The udon has the most divine springy texture and it's slightly clear as well so it looks like it's made with rice flour or something similar. And the broth is delicious with a slight viscosity to it. We both absolutely adore the soup.
One thing that Laura had to have today was sugarcane prawns and we have this as part of a combination set with rice noodles, spring roll, pork sausage, lemongrass pork with peanut, pickles and chives and in one enormously fat sugarcane prawn. Rice paper arrives separately along with sauce, bean sprouts, salad and herbs. We roll this up with salad in the rice paper and enjoy the delicious freshness of the rolls and then immediately follow this with another it's so good.
Address: 11/117 John Street, Cabramatta
5 - Red Lea Chicken
If you spot a long queue along the mall, it's probably the queue for the chicken at Red Lea Chicken. Whilst this is a chain chicken place, the one in Cabramatta has a devoted clientele that love chicken and chips.
We managed to snag one of the last boxes with a medley of chicken, including the chicken fingers and chicken ribs and fries and they're very good. I think next time we'll have to join that long queue for a chicken Maryland. And the claim that the fries are the best? Yes they might just be: they are generous with the seasoning of chicken salt and paprika seasoning the fries twice! And a tip: they only take cash.
Address: 57 John Street, Cabramatta
6 - Huong Que (Cabramatta No.1 Mall)
Huong Que is located inside a small shopping centre called Cabramatta No 1 and is part of their food court in the centre of the building. It's subtly signposted so just look for the pictures of the food high above the counter.
I don't think I've seen prices like those at Huong Que for around a decade. For $14 you get a sizzling plate of minute steak with pate and a fried egg or a plate of tomato rice and crispy skin chicken. Both of these plates arrive with a warm crusty baguette and a bowl of soup.
We dig in and Laura has the idea to make a little mini banh mi which is so delicious especially when you spread it with pate and add two sauces to season it all (the only thing missing is the mayo!).
Address: Cabramatta No 1 Mall, 12/47 Park Road Cabramatta
7 - Daily Smoothie (BKK Building)
What better place to end off your Cabramatta adventure than at Daily Smoothie in the BKK building where you can build your own Vietnamese dessert. For $11 for the largest size, you can pick 8 ingredients to add from around 36 to choose from. Laura goes first she makes a version of cendol.
I'm slightly overwhelmed by choice especially at the end of the day but I end up choosing everything that I like from lychee, rambutan, red bean, mung bean, coconut jelly, mango pearls and pandan. On top of this they add coconut milk and a little bit of sweetener to it as well as crushed ice. It's delicious and every sip or spoonful is different and you really only have yourself to blame if you don't like it! ;)
If making a decision is too hard, try their halo halo! Tip: there's a Filipino store that sells Graham Crackers just opposite if you like making American style cheesecakes or S'mores.
Address: Shop B2/B3/53 Park Rd, Cabramatta NSW 2166
Tips For a Cabramatta Adventure
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Start early. Most of these places close at 5-5.30pm.
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Bring cash as some places only take cash like Red Lea Chicken.
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We brought along containers, jars, Ziploc bags, cooler bags and ice bricks to bring food home.
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Most of these places are within easy walking distance of each other. The only exception is Legends Pies which is a short drive away.
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Parking tends to be an issue in Cabramatta as so much is concentrated in the commercial core. Cabramatta Plaza car park is centrally located and charges $10 for all day parking.
So tell me Dear Reader, which stops would you like to eat at?
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