We hit Cabramatta for a healthy lunch of soup, rice and bull's penis.
We get a rare, joyous chance to visit Cabramatta for lunch. We choose the first restaurant we see on John Street. If it's in Cabramatta and it's busy it's going to be good.
Pork skin rolls - $7.50. Like your classic rice paper roll but chockas with shredded pork skin and pieces of roast pork. It's quite plain and dry, best dunked in dipping sauce.
Braised bull's penis ($7). How could we not order braised bull's penis? We wonder if the name of the dish is a euphemism but the waiter gives a cheeky grin that suggests we are about to dine on authentic John Thomas. It arrives in a pot of herbal soup with ginseng and dates. The bull's member has little flavour and a fatty texture, like tendons. The males at our table are secretly impressed that the bull's member is smaller than their own. Best not tell them the todger has been sliced and diced.
Bun Bo Hue Dac Biet ($11) - Chewbacca goes for special beef pork noodle hot chili soup. Bun bo Hue is always a winner.
Chewbacca has beamed up from the Death Star (Canberra) for the weekend and this is his first proper Vietnamese feed. He has already eaten penis today so he wonders aloud if there is some arsehole in his soup.
Soda egg - soda, water, egg and condensed milk, yum ($4). Salted lemon juice ($3.50), made with preserved lemons and salt, tastes like Salvital.Yum.
Com tam bi suon cha - $10. Miss Chicken orders Mr Shawn's favourite: broken rice with fried pork chop. A huge feed, great price. Miss Chicken prefers a huge squirt of chilli sauce over the egg and then mixes the runny yolk with the chilli for additional joy.
Mi quang ($12) - Prawn, crab meat and pork with handmade noodle soup. Mr Shawn is super excited about this one. The thick handmade egg noodles are sensational. A nice sweet porky, crabby, peanuty broth with lots of thin slices of pork. Comes with prawn crackers and the usual greens and bean sprouts. Highly recommended.
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu. Crab Meat Vermicelli looks good here.
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu. Broken rice with quail is an alternative to the standard pork chop.
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant menu
Pho Viet Restaurant is at 11-15 John Street, Cabramatta . Phone (02) 9728 6657.
View Larger Map
Streetfood = The Home of the Brave.
ReplyDeleteFor an even better street food experience try Pho 54 in Freedom Plaza (Park Rd) - small menu and tiny restaurant but some of Cabramatta's BEST pho and noodle dishes. During school holidays the queue is huge but everyone's prepared to wait for a seat!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, we are planning to get back out soon and try a few other places as well. We found some easy parking on the quieter side of the station so there's no excuse not to head out from the inner city bubble.
DeleteWow...there's just more to discover in cabramatta all the time! I can't say that I'll try the bull's penis though.
ReplyDeleteReading this blog makes me miss Sydney and it's good hole in the wall Vietnamese joints, here in New York we have a small Viet-town in Manhattan with a few pho joints but it doesn't compare to Cabramatta or Marrickville.
ReplyDeleteI'll definately be eating at a few of the places you guys have reviewed when i'm next in Sydney :)
Each city is shaped by its different pool of migrants. We are jealous of the Cuban, Jamaican and Puerto Rican you get! Live it up on the differences and feast where ever you are. We are really keen to get to New York soon.
DeleteHey, I know you guys are keen on Asian food courts, have you ever been to the food court in Cabramatta (BKK I think it's called)? Granted, it's not huge, there's only around 4 or 5 stalls, but it's well worth a visit nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteWe've seen it but never eaten in it - it looks great - it's hard for us to get out there as much as we would like dangnabbit.
ReplyDelete