Thanh Binh - Cabramatta

I don't know what made us do it,but one day after church hubby decided to drive to Cabra for lunch. Cabra is far far away from us (ok... not THAT far) but relatively further... and I have to admit, every time I'm in Cabra, it makes me feel excited - it's like I'm in a whole different city! For lunch this time, we picked a modest looking popular place - Thanh Binh. They have a sister restaurant in Newtown, but this must be the more authentic one... maybe.

The majority of the patrons already eating had these massive portions of sugarcane prawn to put into a DIY rice paper wrap ($18). Yup - definitely want a bit of that! Crazy big portion. Super tasty. The sugar cane, which was caramelised, was so super sweet - had to eat if even if I looked like an idiot chewing on this long browned/blacked thing.

sugarcane prawn DIY set

my efforts in making a rice paper roll :)

Hubby wanted the same thing but with spring rolls inside. It took quite a lot of convincing and pointing to make hubby understand that there was no freaking way we could order two portions of these DIY rice paper sets. Like - NO WAY we could ever finish it. In the end, we compromised and ordered an entree portion of the spring rolls ($10) from which he could put into the rice paper rolls anyway.

spring rolls - entree size

And who can go into a Viet restaurant without ordering their yummy super sweet super strong iced milk coffee? Definitely irrisistable :)

iced milk coffee

We also had an entertainment book voucher for this place so we ended up leaving this place clutching a super full stomach and all smiles :)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Service - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall -  28/40

Thanh Binh
52A John Street
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9727 9729

Pho 54 - Cabramatta

My hubby and I wanted crispy chicken noodle and hence we drove ALL the way to Cabramatta for Tan Viet only to find... it was closed!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!! >.< It was closed on the day we visited til Feb *sighz* just missed it.

After walking around a bit, we decided to eat at Pho 54 instead. Here, I went the usual route and ordered Pho - a beef tendon and rare beef noodle soup ($8.50), whereas my hubby ordered a mixed rice thing with pork chop, shredded pork and crab cake ($8.50). On top of that, I couldn't resist but order their ice coffee with milk ($3) - and that was definitely a good option. The coffee was rich and strong and sweet and perfect!

My pho was simply deliciousness! The broth was aromatic and flavoursome - had a good punch to it. The beef tendon was tender and the beef was OK too. The noodles were yummy and thick and smooth and YUM :P

ice coffee

beef tendon and rare beef pho - $8.50

My hubby's rice mixed dish was interesting. The pork chop was really tasty and tender but the rest of the mix was just average ish. The shredded pork was not to my liking as it was dry and somewhat bland. Nonetheless, my hubby seemed to like it.

rice mixed plate of pork chop, shredded pork and crab cake - $8.50

When at a pho place, I think it's best to order pho. The soup here is pretty tasty and cheap. Not a bad option in Cabra :)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 6.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28/40

Pho 54
2/54 Park Rd
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9726 1992

Snacks in Cabramatta

By now you might be wondering - geez, how many trips did she make to Cabra recently?
Answer... one.
We just ate heaps and heaps within the period of 3 hours LOL.

Now my friend told me that Red Lea at Cabra serves notably one of the best chips in Sydney. What? It's just a Red Lea. Are you serious?

We snuck a peak at it... pretty average looking.... but as we stood outside scouting the area for a while we realised... OMGOSH sooooo many people came here to buy chips - mainly of the large size. It was pretty amazing! And the longer we stood, the more we smelt it. I think it's the chicken salt.

Red Lea Chicken

We were tempted. Hence, I just HAD to try.
"medium or large?" the guy asked. Erm... small ($3)? I did just have lunch afterall. And wow! The chicken salt is soooo orange! haha. It tasted like pretty average chips. Good crunchiness. Good potato fluffiness. And the chicken salt reminded us of the "shake shake fries" you used to be able to get from Maccas. Good times.

Small Chips - $3

A & A Cakes

My friend was also telling us about mouthwatering sweet donuts you could buy from this Asian bakery. And so, full stomachs or not, we went hunting.

Sweet donuts are best eaten fresh. And I mean... FRESH. If you let it stay in it's paper bag, you will realise that soon, your whole paperbag is oiled up. So take my word for it - eat it straight away! It's kind of crunchy yet soft and chewy on the inside. The middle bits are like sweet crumbly bits ... kinda like ovened condensed milk bits (? Not sure here... I'm only guessing). This is something I usually only eat in HK.

sweet donuts

We also had to get the egg tarts. Puffy and light pastry with smooth egg. Not the smoothest egg bit we've eaten, but it was decent.

Egg Tarts

I have to tell you. My friends are pretty awesome. On top of eating everything we did, they also ate a bowl of pho each :)

So that concludes our Cabra food tour :P

Red Lea Chicken
57 John Street
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9726 3017

A&A Cakes

101 John St
Cabramatta
NSW2166

tel: (02) 9726 5632

Cafe 86 - Cabramatta

Cafe 86

Our friends who we went to Cabra with had did some research and came up with Cafe 86 as the best place for coffee and drinks in the area. When we approached the cafe... it looked a bit ... umm... dicey? Nonetheless, we were game enough.

We wanted a menu - only to be told that it was all on the board behind the counter. The font was a little bit small... and hence, we all had to stand up to check it out. My partner asked for a whole coconut (which is advertised on their board) only to be met by a very very confused waiter...
"glass?"
"no, the whole coconut please"
"glass?" "no, coconut"
"glass?"
"uh...yeh... glass..."

Funnily enough, my friends wanted the iced milk tea and again, were met by confused looks. "Ice tea? there! (pointed to the complimentary jug of iced green tea)"
"nono... iced milk tea"
"huh? no. ice tea there"
"tea with milk"
"???"
"ok, how about the whole coconut?"
"glass?"
"yeh, glass"

young coconut juice

It was interesting. Amazingly, pretty much the whole glass of coconut juice was ice. I'd say, 95% ice, 5% juice :P

I ordered the iced milk coffee. Luckily, no difficulties in getting this order down. And like the coconut juice, there was 95% ice in mine. It's soooo decietful. Feels like you've hardly even touched the drink and yet, there's nothing left. Luckily, the coffee was really nice and strong and sweet. Would have been more satisfying if there was more of it and less ice though LOL

iced milk coffee - $3.80

When we stepped outside, I think I understood why there was so much ice. Most people who seem to consume beverages here seem to chill around... alot. There's chinese chess available for people to play with and they are all seated like they're gonna be there for the next 5 hours. I guess that in 5 hours time, your ice melts - leaving you with just as much drink as you started with. But if you're just in for a quick drink (and by quick I mean, if you want to leave within half an hour of getting your drink), perhaps another place (which serves less ice) would be more recommended :)

Ratings:
Drink - 6.5/10
Service - 5.5/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 25/40

Cafe 86
4/29 John Street
Cabramatta, 2166
Tel: (02) 9723 2696

Tan Viet Noodle House - Cabramatta

The best crispy skinned chicken in Sydney?
Possibly...

It's so good that it's super crowded on weekends... and my partner drives from Mascot to come here for lunch (yes - on a super extended lunch break). I just had to try.

Tan Viet Noodle House

Despite the line, we luckily did not have to wait too long. A good majority of people dining here ordered the crispy chicken with egg noodles either "wet" (ie. with soup) or "dry" (ie. without soup - more like a stir noodle with sauce). My partner said that the "wet" noodles are good... and so, this time, we tried the "dry" noodles.

With it, my partner ordered also a iced white coffee.... and it was HEAVENLY~ Coffee-lollied and sweet and strong and just delicious. A bit too much ice, but I guess it made it cold enough.

Iced white coffee

And I have to say, the chicken did not disappoint. Super thinly skinned but soooo stupidly crispy and fresh. Not too much fat content stuck to the skin either! Also, the meat itself was sooo tender and soooo succulent and soooo juicy and soooo tasty. It was pretty ridiculously good for chicken that you get in Sydney. Now I kind of get why my partner drives to Cabra for lunch LOL

Crispy skinned chicken with noodles -$12

"dry" noodles
crispy skinned chicken
bean sprouts

So at Tan Viet, we're talking slightly overlly asianated. Slighly noisy. Speedy service (but don't expect too many smiles). And pretty awesome chicken! :)

Ratings:
Food - 9/10
Service - 7/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Value for money - 8/10
Overall - 30/40

Tan Viet Noodle House
3/100 John St
Cabramatta
NSW 2166
Tel: (02) 9727 6853