Iron Chef, Cabramatta

Miss Piggy dinned as a guest of Iron Chef at the invite of Wasamedia. 

I'm sure when most people (ie ME) think of Cabramatta they think of a suburb bursting with smells, sounds, sights and flavours similar to Vietnam...that is after all why most of us (again, I mean ME) refer to Cabramatta as Sydney's "little Vietnam".

On the other side of the train station however lies the behemoth of yum cha in south-western Sydney, Iron Chef.

I've been invited to lunch with a group of other food-bloggers which means we're shown to a rather large table complete with Lazy-Susan. If there's one thing I know about Chinese food it's that Lazy Susan = a truckload of food!

 

Like most yum cha places I've frequented Iron Chef is a mass of trolly dolly's each peddling their goods at hungry diners.  It can be quite overwhelming at first and if you let your tummy run away with you it's easy to have a table groaning with food in under 5 minutes (trust me, it's happened to me many a time before).

I really enjoyed my yum cha lunch at Iron Chef - they had all the bases covered and I left feeling full and satisfied.

Really love the Prawn Har Gaw (bottom) at Iron Chef- the prawns were super plump + fresh with a nice "chewy" bit to the dumpling skin.  Also enjoy the fresh Vegetable Dumpling with Peanuts (top).  I didn't try the Dim Sum - as I'm not a Dim Sum fan...I know know, what kind of "foodie" am I?

Just for something different, we were given roast pork belly pancakes instead of the Peking duck pancakes - I didn't try these as they pork is not free-range (but man I was SO tempted) but they were a BIG hit at the table.

The prawns in rice-paper were fantastic (aren't they always) as were the fresh steamed greens with oyster sauce (I always need veggies at yum cha to kid myself that I'm having a healthy lunch).  The fried noodles with veggies were also a popular item at our table.

LOVED the fried calamari at Iron Chef - it's the first time I've see "real" calamari tentacles used for this dish and the batter was totally different to anything I've had a yum cha before - much more flaky, almost like fish batter from your local fish + chip shop. Also loved the fried prawn dumplings - as I love all fried things (obviously).

Is there a happier sight than a tray crammed full of fresh-out-of-the-oven egg tarts, I think not!

Iron Chef is at 84 Broomfield Street, Cabramatta.

I ate my way through Cabramatta - Food Tour

After our failed attempt to check out Cabramatta one night a few months ago I was very keen to come back during daylight hours to explore this Vietnamese-enclave in South West Sydney for myself.

The Boy and I had embarked on a wonderful food tour during our honeymoon in Hawaii in January, so I was keen to let someone lead me by the hand through Cabramatta.  Food tours are a great way to get an insight to a particular city, suburb or cuisine by the people who know the area best, and I for one love them!

Our "I ate my way through Cabramatta" tour was led by fellow food bloggers Jennifer and Betty.  Betty is a Cabramatta local and knows the suburb like the back of her hand and Jennifer is the brainchild behind the "I ate my way through ..." tours.

The tour begins by weaving our way through one of the many arcades in Cabramatta. We're shown some of the fruit markets offering Mangostein, Jackfruit, Longans and more - much more exciting than our local Coles that's for sure. The ever controversial Durian is pointed out to us - this is the fruit that people either love or hate. I've heard it described as smelling like off meat, stinky feet, vomit and rotten cheese!  Mmmm...enticing. I did try it once in gelato form and have to admit the flavour didn't appeal to me.

Next we wander through another arcade that houses one of the best BBQ meat shops and bread shops in the suburb. The arcade is narrow and crowded and we can see why.  A shop window stands before us with a mouth watering selection of BBQ meats including roast duck, BBQ pork, a whole pigs head, intestines and piggy tails - the later few items are not quite so enticing to my Aussie bogan tastebuds.

We emerge from the arcade onto bustling John Street - Cabramatta's main street.  This road is home to more fruit and vegetable shops as well as Asian grocery stores, restaurants, bargain clothing shops and a group of old Vietnamese aunties selling their wares on the footpath.

Although enterprising, these ladies are technically not suppose to sell on the street so they often get chased away by the police, which seems a shame as they add real character to the main drag. We buy a tub of chopped Lemongrass from them to use in a Vietnamese noodle salad we've been making; and also grab a Sugarcane juice from a shop as all of this food touring is thirsty work.

Our next stop is Tan Viet, the home of the most awesome crispy skin chicken - possibly on the entire planet! This is the restaurant we tried to go to on our last visit to Cabramatta but they shut early so we were left to wander up and down John Street chicken-less and hungry. On this visit Betty has gone ahead to secure a table for our group, so we get to jump the long queue snaking out the door. The chicken is as good as I had hoped, juicy meat and uber-crispy skin.  This mini-feast set us back just $5.00 each.

Next stop is Bau Truong, a restaurant that is well know for its epically long menu (and where we ended up eating after we couldn't get in to Tan Viet last visit).

I had no idea what to order from the nearly 200 items on offer, so leave it to the experts.  They come up with an amazing feast that costs us only $15 each and leaves me feeling sated and happy. The fresh taste of all the dishes, and the flavoursome grilled meats, are what impressed me most, thought I have to say the DIY Rice Paper Rolls were a little beyond my abilities!

After our feast we have a little wander around the shops and stop for something sweet. We try a Taro Fritter which is sweet and has a similar texture to a sweet potato.  I'm keen to try something more...adventurous and Jennifer helps me order a dessert/drink for YUMMI Sweets that is filled to the brim with loads of interesting ingredients...Jack Fruit, Pearl Barley, green wiggly things, coconut milk and more things that I've totally forgotten about. The drink is sweet and filling, a meal in itself and I struggle to finish it.

It may seem a bit odd to some people doing a food tour in the city where you live, but I have to say that with a suburb as diverse and interesting as Cabramatta it was the perfect introduction to this Little Vietnam that is right on our door step. We're already planning a trip back to do more eating and to buy some ingredients to make a Vietnamese Salad.

Tan Viet is at 100 John Street, Cabramatta. They shut by 7pm so go early to avoid missing out.



Bau Truong is at 70 John Street, Cabramatta.



For more information on the I Ate My Way Through tours can you visit their website.

Bau Truong, Cabramatta

On Saturday night The Boy, Niecy-Poo and I decide to go on an eating adventure to Cabramatta. I’ve been drooling over so many food blogs lately extolling the many virtues of the food in Cabramatta that I had to see taste for myself.

During the week I’d read blogs by Noodlies and Here Comes the Food both raving about Tan Viet, and its amazingly awesome Crispy Chicken.  I was finally going to give in to my craving to try this dish, wedding dress be damned.  It goes without saying that The Boy was determined to support me on my Crispy Chicken tasting mission.  

We parked the car near the train station and I marched The Boy and Nicey-Poo down John Street reciting all the good things I’d read about Tan Viet. 

We arrive at the restaurant at 7.05pm just as one of the staff flip the sign on the door to CLOSED. Huh?  It seems that the folk in Cabramatta are early eaters as this place shuts at 7pm.  I’ll admit I’m a bit of a nanna, but even 7pm on a Saturday night is a bit too early for me to be tucked up in bed after eating a 5pm dinner. 

In fact as I look around I notice that 90% of the shops and restaurants are all shut for the day. Seems like Cabramatta really ‘happens’ in daylight hours only.

Not to worry, there were still a few places open for dinner so we wander back down John Street and see what’s on offer. We decide on Bau Truong because a) it is still open at 7.15pm and b) it seems fairly crowded which is a good sign in my books.

We are shown to our seats, given tea and a menu that is bigger than the Sydney White Pages.  The menu is so large that we can really only have one open at a time on the table otherwise they won’t all fit.

It’s a given that we are going to order Fresh Rolls and The Boy decides that we’ll be sampling Prawn and Pork Fresh Rolls ($7.50).  The rolls are very tasty (and fresh as the name promises), but I wouldn’t say the best I’ve ever had. I found the pork a little dry and I think I’ve decided I like my Fresh Rolls sans Pork thank you very much.

Next up is the Vietnamese Pancake ($12.00).  I have an obsession with these and I’m not sure why as I always find the pancake just a little too oily (which I like to whinge about to my dining companions – sozzy guys).  That said, I really love the fresh innards of bean shoots which I think which is why I keep ordering it. The Boy and Nicey-Poo found the pancake a little bland, but once we figure out we’re supposed to pour one of the  fish sauces onto it, and add some of the mint and lettuce garnishing the plate, the flavour picks up.

Probably the best meal of the night (which I choose of course…yay me) is the Beef Salad with Mango, Apple and Star Fruit ($15.00).  This salad was so fresh, the beef tender and thinly sliced.  The green mango and apple give it a slightly acidic zing which is so fresh in my mouth.  I’d be happy to eat this dish on a regular basis.  It has the fresh and zesty flavour that I really associate with Vietnamese food.  More please.

Last up is the dish we drove to Cabramatta for, Crispy Chicken and Tomato Rice ($10.00).  I’ve got to tell you, The Boy may look slow, but he is quicker than the speed of light when it comes to nabbing chickeny goodness for himself. Whilst I’m chatting to Neicy-Poo he quickly grabs two of the four pieces of chicken and starts devouring them.  He tells me the two pieces were joined together so he had to take them both.  Hmmm, a likely story.  

The chicken is good, fried to a crisp (just how I like it) so I can munch on the bones as well as the juicy flesh.  I’m not a big fan of the tomato rice, I find it a bit dry, but the others really love it.  To me it tastes like the tomato flavour comes from some kind of tomato sauce rather than fresh tomatoes – if you know how they do it let me know!

The verdict?  We’ll be back to Cabramatta one weekend in the not too distant future to get the proper Cabramatta experience. I can’t wait. 

Bau Truong is at 70 John St, Cabramatta.