Wanted to do a day trip to Cabramatta but don”t know where to eat? What are some of the best restaurants in Cabramatta?  What dish should I order to get the most of my Cabramatta adventure?  Are there any vegetarian options?  What is Pho noodle? How do I eat Pho?

All these questions and more are answered below… as we say at noodlies, happy eating!

Last updated Saturday, 7th November 2010.

Banh uot

It might sound flippant, but food is one of the main reasons we chose to live in Cabramatta. My partner and I are rarely home by 7pm – who has time to shop, cook, eat and wash up? Why cook, when we’re surrounded by good, honest, delicious food.

Over the years, so many friends have asked me to recommend places to eat in Cabramatta. So if you’re wondering where to eat in Cabramatta, this blog is devoted to my favourite local restaurants; my version of the best restaurants in Cabramatta.

But first a disclaimer, which might save me from being lynched by restaurants who didn’t make the list: it’s a competitive market in Cabramatta – diners are fussy, if a place is not good, it won’t last. So just by being open, the restaurant is pretty good already!

Pho

If we’re talking Cabramatta and food, we must start with Pho; Vietnamese flat rice noodles in clear soup, usually with different cuts of beef and served with a side accompaniment of basil, bean sprout, lemon, fresh chilli and a small dish of hoi-sin sauce.

Video Guide: How to eat Pho? 

My two favourites are Pho Tau Bay (flying boat) and Pho Minh. Tau Bay’s soup is a little sweeter, while Pho Minh packs a stronger punch, you can taste the fish sauce. Goi cuon, Vietnamese fresh rolls is also particularly good at Pho Minh.

During August 2010, noodlies: Sydney food blog ran a foodie poll on Sydney’s Best Pho. The winner, Pho Tau Bay was announced in September.  We also announced the best pho by different regions in Sydney.

2010 noodlies Sydney’s Best Pho restaurant

If you like egg noodles and chicken, both of which I’m particularly partial too, then Tan Viet is not to be missed. Mi ga don, crispy chicken noodle soup is the best in Sydney. The skin melts in the mouth to get your taste buds ready for the tender chicken flesh. The egg noodle can come in the soup (uoc/wet) or you can get them in separate dishes (kho/dry). Try dry, it’s different and delicious.

Dry hu tieu

For a different type of noodle, try hu tieu – rice noodles Cambodian style. Battambang restaurant on the quiet eastern side of Cabramatta serves a mean dry hu tieu. The low profile Dong Vu Cambodian does the best traditional hu tieu around and ridiculously cheap to boot!  Dong Son in Park Road isn’t bad either.

_canh chua
Canh chua at PLT


If you fancy heartier dinner dishes, try Hai Au or Thanh Mai. Both offer some of the best Canh Chua, sour soup in Sydney. Canh Chua is made from a dozen types of vegetable and herbs. It’s sweet from the pineapple and sour from tamarind and tomatoes with more flavour contribution from bach ha, fried garlic, several types of fresh mint and of course, hot chilli. Hai Au’s prawn Canh Chua is particularly good, while Thanh Mai’s fish Canh Chua hot pot is sensational – you get the whole fish.

Vegetarian canh chua at Duy Linh

A delicious vegetarian version of Canh Chua can be had at Duy Linh, where rice vermicelli noodles come with the soup, making it a meal on its own. Another favourite for vegetarian is An Lac, my favourite dish is tomato stuffed with tofu, which you have with a side dish or rice.

If meat is more your style, go all the way at Phuoc Loc Tho (PLT) in Canley Heights, specialising in seven delights of beef. Yep, beef cooked seven ways! From paper thin slices of beef which you cook at the table to roll up with pickles and mints in rice paper, to beef grilled in betel leaves, beef soup and beef hot pot. Prices change, but it’s about $25 a head – that’s a steal.

Frank’s Fairfield

If chicken is more your fare, try Frank’s Lebanese restaurant in nearby Fairfield for the best bbq chicken, served with homos, tabouli, Lebanese bread and the most pungent and delicious garlic paste.  Their mixed plate is also very good.

Som Tum at Yum Sab

Yum Sab is the place to go for humble but mouthwatering Thai-Lao. Spicy Lao sausage is a favourite, as is Som Tam, green papaya salad. Most people go for the Thai Som Tam, but if you’re adventurous, ask for the pungent Lao interpretation, it contains small fermented crabs with shells. We were there recently (Sept 2010) and the service was slow and the food not up to the usual standard – review of that experience here.

Holy Basil, Canley Heights

Holy Basil in Canley Heights is an amazingly popular Thai-Lao, the food is good and the decor is up-market.  Savann in Arthur Street, Cabramatta is a humble, unpretentious Thai-Lao restaurant that does a very good Yum Nua.

Al-Diaffah Al-Iraqi

Al-Diaffah Al-Iraqi restaurant in Fairfield serves up hearty lamb curry with warm, fluffy flat bread made on the premises. The bright green, red and yellow pickles which come with the meals are especially good.

Chacarero

La Paula Café’s Chilean chacarero is a particularly delicious burger consisting of beef, beans and mayonnaise – make sure you put lots of chilli sauce. Wash it down with pipping hot coffee while you watch cable TV from Chile.

If you’re still hungry, Trung Nguyen Vietnamese is open for a late night snack. Bo Luc Lac is a melt in the mouth square cubes of tender beef steak served over a bed of tomato rice. Here, you can try a local favourite – Com Tam, plain rice topped with pork chops, pork pate and fried egg, over which you liberally pour sweet chilli sauce. Incidentally Trung Nguyen is noodlies first ever post!

Now you know why we rarely eat at home.

Al-Diaffah Al-Iraqi
13 The Crescent
Fairfield NSW 2165
Phone (02) 9755 0870

An Lac
94b John St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9727 5116

Battambang Cambodian Restaurant
Shop 4, 156-158 Cabramatta Rd
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone: (02) 9724 7307

Dong Son
44 Park Road
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9724 4551

Dong Vu
Opposite Baptist Church
Hughes St side of No 1 Shopping Centre
Cabramatta NSW 2166

Duy Linh Vegetarian
Shop 10, 117 John St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9727 9800

Frank’s Restaurant
16 Smart St
Fairfield NSW 2165
Phone (02) 9724 3000

Hai Au
48a Canley Vale Rd
Canley Vale NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9724 9156

Holy Basil
233 Canley Vale Road
Canley Heights NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9727 7585

La Paula Café
Shop 1, 9 Barbara St
Fairfield NSW 2165
Phone (02) 9726 2379

Pho Minh
42 Arthur St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02)9726 5195

Pho Tau Bay
Shop 12, 117 John Street
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9726 4583

Phuoc Loc Tho
Level 1, 233 Canley Vale Rd
Canley Heights NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9723 0701

Savann Lao-Thai Restaurant
Shop 5/2 Arthur St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9726 0305

Tan Viet
Shop 2-3, 100 John St
Cabramatta NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9727 6853

Thanh Mai
252 Canley Vale Rd
Canley Heights NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9726 6883

Trung Nguyen
Shop 4
219 Canley Vale Rd
Canley Heights NSW 2166
Phone (02) 9724 1344

Yum Sab
6 Dale St
Fairfield NSW 2165
Phone (02) 9727 2444