I’ve found when eating out west that Canley Vale and Canley Heights are actually much more convenient when looking for a late night eating location, the majority of restaurants on the Cabramatta strip are closed by 9pm making late dinners impossible. I get a bit worried that no one else has arrived yet, I’ve sent them the address and none of them are familiar with the area, relying on google maps to lead the way. I’m told they start to wonder if they’ve got the right location when a bright red neon sign and a fluro green faux waterwall window dressing light up the pathway – thats when they know they’ve found Hai Au.

Ca phe sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee)

A glass of this makes me wonder what life in Vietnam would be like. Sitting on a tiny stool by the road side and sweating in the humid temperatures while drinking an ice-cold Vietnamese coffee comes to mind. This stuff is strong and I’ve seen people finish the coffee in ten seconds and saying there isn’t enough coffee in it, only ice. This is true, but the idea is to let the coffee slowly melt with the ice.

Steamed Oysters w/ vermicelli noodles and xo sauce

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As the years went on I noticed this huge batch of pho slowly becoming rarer and rarer at family events, I asked my mum why she didn’t make pho for these family gatherings any more and her answer was quite simple. She was too lazy to (very much a case of like mother like daughter).

Seeing Pho pop up as this month’s Daring Cooks challenge gave me a little thrill, I always thought that Pho would be an exhausting, time consuming exercise that would result in a sub-par results, luckily only one of these things were true! We were given the choice of Pho Ga (Chicken based stock) or Pho Tai (traditional beef stock with rare meat), I of course chose the beef option.

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Lately, I have frequented Cafe Ish and La Gerbe d’Or for my weekend Brunch fix. I figured that it was perhaps time I paid a visit back to Cabramatta as it has now been a month or two since I had my regular dosage of authentic Vietnamese food. Most of us know the typical Vietnamese dishes of Pho, Spring rolls and Crispy Skin Chicken (which I have doubts over whether it’s even Vietnamese or not)

Over the weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit two of my favourite eateries in Cabramatta who both specialise in different ‘house’ dishes. These two restaurants being Dong Ba and Loc Ky. Dong Ba has actually been reported in the Register of penalty notices by the NSW Food Authority. News of this would of unlikely phased any of the regular patrons of Dong Ba as this place is always filled to the brim on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The one thing I did notice was that the restaurant looked alot more clean and less cluttered, so maybe it was a good thing that they did get reported.

First stop on my Saturday was at Dong Ba. Dong Ba is reknown with the Cabramatta faithful for it’s Bun Bo Hue and Grilled satay chicken. Inside, it is larger than your average Cabramatta noodle house and the staff are friendly and attentive despite the hustle and bustle of patrons entering and exiting.

A firm favourite of mine is to start the meal with Vietnamese Iced coffee. Vietnamese black coffee is mixed with a generous amount of condensed milk and mixed with ice. The coffee is usually significantly stronger and bitter than most coffee. If you ever try this out, make sure to wait a few minutes to let the ice melt. The Iced Coffee at Dong Ba is just as good as any other in Cabramatta ; copiously rich with coffee and condensed milk.

Grilled Satay Chicken with Tomato rice and egg (Com Ga Sate)

One of the signature dishes at Dong Ba is it’s grilled satay chicken. It normally doesn’t come with tomato rice and egg so you have to request it for an extra $1 (totally worth it). The chicken is tender and juicy and is grilled over charcoal. The aromatic hint of charcoal is welcoming. Pickled radish and carrots also accompany the dish and balances well with the meat.

Ubiquitous Salads

A large plate of salad is accompanied with a bowl of fish sauce with pickled carrots. The colour and range is fantastic with no shortage of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lettuce and purple cabbage.

Bun Bo Hue

Bun Bo Hue is a spicy thick rice noodle dish which is dictacted by the success of the broth. The broth can make or break this entire meal. As usual, Wikipedia have the best explanaton of this fantastic dish :

The noodle is most similar to the Japanese soba noodle in size and texture. The broth is prepared by cooking beef bones for a long period of time, as well as a large variety of different spices including lemon grass and chili. Shrimp paste is also a very important ingredient.

The soup is spot on this time. You can really taste the individual flavours of lemon grass, chilli and of course a hint of shrimp paste.

Next up was a visit to another favourite restaurant of mine called Loc Ly. It is tucked away in a small shopping alley off John St and is about a quarter of the size of Dong Ba. Loc Ly serves more traditional vietnamese dishes such as Bamboo rice noodle soup with duck salad, but also serves every other Vietnamese dish you can think of.

Ca Phe Sua Da

Once again, the iced coffee is consistently rich of coffee and condensed milk. Too many of these will leave you with a severe case of diabetes, but it’s worth it.

Bun Mang Vit

This rice noodle soup is flavoured by a bamboo shoot based stock. The content is simple, containing generous portions of shallots , bamboo and fried onions.

Broiled Duck with Pickled Cabbages

The duck is broiled with minimal seasoning and topped with a hint of a vinegar based sauce. It is finished with a garnish of fresh asian herbs and peanuts. At first glance this may look like a plain dish, but it excels when eaten with the dipping sauce and noodles.

The duck is dipped into a spicy and tangy sauce consisting of fish sauce , hot chillies, ginger and a host of other unidentifiable ingredients. The sauce is absolutely perfect in that it brings out the tenderness of the duck.

Mi Kho do bien (Not Hu tieu do bien- thanks to Poptart)

This is a dry noodle dish with a kaleidescope of flavour and content. This seafood version contains squid, prawns, fish fillets, shallots, coriander and fried onions. On the base is a sweet hoisin type sauce which is mixed together with the noodle, much like you do when you mix together a pack of Indo mi goreng (the Uni student’s food of choice).

Alot of Vietnamese restaurants don’t serve these type of dishes, which is a shame because there is more to Vietnamese food than what you see at a food court dwelling or a Vietnamese restaurant in the City. I encourage all lovers of Vietnamese food to pay a visit to Cabramatta, Canley Vale/Heights or even Bankstown and try a few dishes which go against the status quo. For the readers fortunate enough to have tried a variety of dishes, what is your favourite ?

Dong Ba Restaurant

40 Park Road
Cabramatta, NSW 2166
(02) 9755 0727

Loc Ky Restaurant

Details coming soon.

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In Sydney we perhaps had the coldest winter I could remember. Never has winter dragged on so long into the year. Lately though, the weather has started to warm up which inspired me into re-introducing two of my favourite summer foods : Salads and grilled meat. For this post, I’ll go through how easy it is to create a healthy and tasty summer salad which can act as a side dish or even a main. A couple days ago I shared with you my basic take on crispy skin pork with crackling goodness, so I hope this recipe is just as popular for the Vege inclined.

There are many versions of paw paw salad. The Vietnamese, Thai and Lao styles all have minor differences in ingredients and aesthetics, yet the taste can differ dramatically with the introduction or exclusion of just one ingredient.

Vietnamese Paw Paw Salad

Vietnamese Paw Paw Salad

The Sauce

• 2 red chillis , thinly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic , crushed
• fish sauce to taste, this can be 1 tablespoon or more depending on your taste
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon water (this is optional but advisable)

• Paw Paw , peeled into thin strips
• Carrots , peeled
• Mint
• Thai basil
• Prawns , cooked and peeled

Paw Paw and prawns

1. This is quite simple, just combine all the above ingredients in a giant bowl. The larger the better.
2. Add in the fish sauce evenly while mixing the salad

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Bar Luck has been around Cabramatta for atleast I dare say a decade. They serve Vietnamese cuisine by trade, but their menu continuously evolves into a fusion of Chinese and Vietnamese which is not unusual for this end of Sydney.

Salt and Pepper Duck’s Tongue

It doesn’t sound at all appealing does it? If you have ever tried frog legs, this has a similar texture and taste. The batter is light and crispy but I find this dish a tad oily for an entree.

Scallops with XO sauce and Vermicelli

Generous servings of XO sauce and vermicelli accompany the sweetness of the scallops. This is pretty standard for this type of dish, two thumbs up from me.

Singapore Chilli Mud Crab 2.8 kg @ $60/kg

Ever since come back from Singapore I have been on a mission for the best chilli mud crab in Sydney. Bar Luck does a decent job at this classic Singaporean dish. The flavour of the sauce itself is spot on, but the sauce is a little on the ‘diluted’ side of things. The lack of egg is also disappointing. In addition, I found $60/kg to be a bit on the high side for this end of town. Sinma Laksa House in Kingsford was only $42/kg.

For some reason, I cant shake off the feeling that we did not get what we paid for. Despite these shortfalls, the crab is delicious and the copious amounts of bread for dipping into the sauce is great comfort food for this time of year.

Seafood steamed beencurd

This dish is hard to explain but it tastes awesome. Underneath the top layer of Seafood, spring onions, chinese mushrooms and a sea of thick sauce is a layer of soft beancurd (tofu) mixed with egg. This dish is steamed until the beancurd and egg is just right.

Salt and Pepper spare ribs

This is one of my favourites and is something I must order. The spare ribs are covered in a light batter and fried until golden. Generous chunks of fried garlic surround the ribs, a wonderful accompaniment.

We might have possibly had bad luck with the crab , but bar that I would come here again. The service is attentive and quick and the food comes out at a consistent pace, therefore not rushing you into your meal like some places.

Bar Luck Chinese Restaurant
Level 1, 94 John St
Cabramatta, NSW 2166
02 9724 7049

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