Eating Spots You Must Try in Cabramatta! (UPDATED!)

Cabramatta, a suburb in Southwestern Sydney that should be visited if you are looking for some of Sydney's best food spots.. It's quite far from where I live but the thoughts of going there always light the spark in me! 

As soon as you step into the main food street (John St).. You'll find a vast array of restaurants and cafes offering many choices of mouthwatering authentic Vietnamese cuisine, be it in the form of Pho, Bahn Mi and others.. 

With each places specialising in a particular type of dish.. Here are some eating spots we recommend you to visit!

Majestic Harvest - Petersham

From a cinema theater to a skating rink, this Petersham's 1912 iconic building is now called as Majestic Gourmet Grocers, a foodies paradise where you can find European-style gourmet grocer, a florist, and Majestic Harvest all in one place. 

The Choc Pot HQube - Rosebery

Rejoice Eastern Suburbians! After opening their Chatswood and CBD stores, TCP has now opened a store in Rosebery! This venue is more spacious, provides ample natural light and somehow looks like a glass box with their kitchen also acts as the central especially to do the testing for the upcoming monthly specials.

BACON FESTIVAL is back at CUCKOO CALLAY! - Newtown

Cuckoo Callay's BACON FESTIVAL is back! Having been success with last year's festival, this year Cuckoo brings it into a bigger scale that happened on last Saturday the 27th at Central Park, Chippendale together with other Sydney's favorites serving up their special bacon inspired dishes and of course, BACON BEER!

Vietnamese Through Parisian Lense at Grand Duk - CBD

Grand Duk firstly opened its door as a sleek bistro in the heart of the CBD serving modern Vietnamese dishes with a French twist. I heard at first the menu focuses more on the slow cooked dishes like its sibling, the Naked Duck, but then Amy Lee, the owner, has decided to launch a new all day menu with some seasonal specials alongside their signature Grand Duk coffee blend supplied by Toby's Estate.

Breakfast is the most important meal and if you don't have time to prepare your own - get this Trifle and refuel on your way to work. Layers of fruits and nutty muesli topped with natural yoghurt and fresh berries, this kind of breakfast is not only yummy but also healthy and definitely rich in antioxidants. 

One thing that shouldn't be missed when talking about Vietnamese food is this Goi Cuon aka Rice Paper Roll. Freshly rolled with the right proportion of meat, vermicelli, lettuce, and served with hoisin peanut dip - they are sold individually and you can choose to have it with Sichuan Duck (my fave!) or Tiger Prawn or 5 Spice Tofu or simply one each if you can't decide!

I rarely eat salad for breakfast but I guess this Breakfast Bowl might change the way I think and plan for my next meal. Served with poached eggs, green leaves, mashed avocado, mixed nuts and seeds, and Vietnamese daikon & carrot pickles - this light and refreshing combination is bursting with sweet and tangy taste as well as extra crunchy texture from the pickles and the nuts. 

5 SPICE TOFU SALAD - bean sprouts, pickles, enoki, snowpeas, water chestnuts, herbs, peanuts & sesame vinaigrette

I always have a soft spot for Vietnamese food in my heart more because I feel healthy knowing that they use mostly herbs and fresh vegetables (with less oil too) - like this 5 Spice Tofu Salad, the peanut and sesame vinaigrette gives extra tangy kick to the combination of fresh veggies and Vietnamese pickles. 

Who will give the Salt and Pepper Squid a miss when it's served straight out of the fryer, fried to a light and golden crunch? For me personally, the refreshing green papaya salad is actually the attention-stealer with its tangy, sweet, sour and spicy flavours although I usually can't live without this tender, nicely spiced and deep-fried glory!

Duck Meatballs Bahn Mi 

Sticky Master Stock Pork Belly (on the right)

Ginger Baked King Salmon

I'd say out of these three, my favorite is their Ginger Baked King Salmon! The salmon gives a very nice Asian flare with a hint of ginger and garlic. Every bite with the pho duck broth is so flakey, moist and flavourful that leaves me craving the more I eat it. The Duck Meatball is another interesting approach to the usual Bahn Mi, it is juicy and tender but unfortunately a bit too salty for my liking. Another everyone's favorite, the Sticky Pork Belly is slow-cooked till flavorful (definitely has strong lemongrass taste) and served Asian style with steamed brown rice on the side.

Grand Duk creates the humble Mango Pudding and Deep Fried Ice Cream into something extraordinary! At a glance, their Coconut Crumble Deep Fried Ice Cream looks like a crispy golden brown lamington with smooth vanila bean ice cream awaits within the hot crispy shell. Served chilled with the addition of ginger sago and kaffir lime caramel, the Mango Pudding has smooth and creamy texture with rich mango and gingery taste and a hint of citrusy fragrant.

Grand Duk

Address:

225 George Street, CBD

Opening Hours:

Monday - Friday 7am - 4.30pm

-Let's Nomnom dined as guest of Grand Duk. Thanks Amy for the warm service and hospitality. All opinions here are our own and independent-

Paddock - Surry Hills

Talking about Surry Hills means endless food and drink options especially on the buzziest and hippest Crown Street. Just recently opened around 3 weeks ago, Paddock has get you covered if you simply can't decide where to dine among the endless options.

Taste of Shanghai - CBD

I love dumplings, Mr. Nomnom loves dumplings, and I certainly believe everyone loves dumplings! There's no reason not to like this soul-satisfying comfort food and they're easily found anywhere you go around the world. 

Cre Asion - CBD

If you ask me what is my favourite cafe in Sydney? Cre Asion will be my first answer! A once a week visit has become a routine simply because I am a huge fan of matcha. Some people may dislike it for its bitter aftertaste but for me it's the bitter the better

Showbox Coffee Brewers - Manly

Yes, summer is here and there are no reasons not to hit beaches and of course stuff yourself with selections of good food from the well known coastal cafes. Showbox Coffee Brewers is one of them if you are in Manly and need something fresh, healthy but also unique in its own way.

The cafe itself is quite small and packed with retro tables you'd see in a diner. The all-day menu is varied towards wholefoods with unusual touches you can't find it in other places.

Poke Poke (pronounced pok-eh) is described as Hawaiian style salmon tartare or think of it as Hawaiian style sushi. It's basically fresh salmon sashimi cut into cubes, mixed with green onion, chili and other veggies on a bed of wild rice with soft egg and pickled ginger. This dish is light and served cold, but unfortunately they put too much shoyu sauce as it was too salty for my liking and the egg came medium boiled instead.

This newcomer on their seasonal menu is called Southern Debris. The slow-cooked pork is flavourful, tender on the inside and get that sort of caramelized brown on the outside. The sauce gives you the fresh Mexican flavour with its generous use of fresh herbs. Served on a lightly toasted sourdough with fried egg, corn salsa, and southern biscuit crumbs, they make a vibrant and delicious combination of earthy, sweet and savoury tste

There's always room for dessert and this Strawberry and Cream Sourdough Pudding plays its role perfectly as a dessert for breakfast! It has crisp edges with soft textural contrast in the centre. Served with creamy custard sauce and topped with strawberry slices and pistachio, you pretty much can't go wrong choosing this bread pudding!


Showbox Coffee Brewers
Address:
19 Whistler Street, Manly
Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday 7am - 4pm and Sunday 8am - 4pm

White Taro - Surry Hills

White Taro, a newly opened cafe in Surry Hills, is joining the list of some of the famous dining spots in the neighborhood with its range of Vietnamese-fusion menu. They serve an all day menu and I can say taro is definitely not their signature dish. LOL!

The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar - Redfern

Redfern once again surprises me with its new addition on Abercrombie St and this recently opened place comes with the focus and promise of quality tea. Yes! You read it right! They are dedicated to only serve tea and its variations here. 

From the same people behind The Sydney Tea Festival as well as The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea business, Corrine Smith and Amara Jarratt, thought that this is the time to fulfill their original dream to open a tea bar and redefine people's thought about tea. 

Speedo's Cafe - Bondi Beach

With its prime location on the north side of the beach plus their social media sensation's colorful-yet-cute donuts and cronuts, it's not surprising to see Speedo's as a favourite meeting place for both locals and visitors. 

Khao Pla - Chatswood

Khao Pla has won people's heart as one of the best Thai eateries in Chatswood area since the day they opened back in 2013. Coming from Bangkok, Chef Pla Rojratanavichai, having worked with Spice I am, Ms. G's and Mr Wong brings his idea of authentic flavour and classic Thai dishes into an innovative menu for his first Thai restaurant.

(Read more about his second Thai restaurant, Chum Tang here)

Ramen Zundo - CBD

As the weather finally warms up and just about the right time to answer Mr. Nomnom's ramen craving, I start paying attention to Ramen Zundo after hearing some recommendations to try their Tsukemen.

Little Hutong - Little Bay

"What does Hutong mean?" - That's the first question Mr. Nomnom asked when I told him there's a relatively new place in Eastern suburb called Little Hutong.

I started googling and found it actually means a type of narrow lane or alleyway in a traditional residential area in China where many of the Chinese cooking styles and tastes we know now emerged from those small back lanes. Little Hutong hold this concept close as they combine the authentic flavours from Penang, Japanese, Chinese and Peranakan food with high quality of raw ingredients and thus create a high standard for their own authentic taste!

Boscage - Surry Hills

It is no longer a surprise to hear there's a new cafe recently opened at the heart of Sydney's brunch scene, Surry Hills. Serving modern Australian cuisine, Boscage makes everything in-house from scratch which means they bake all the breads and pastries and even smoking the salmon themselves!

The Pig and Pastry - Petersham

I have always wanted to visit this place having heard some good reviews about their delicious food and baked goods. As I was planning to catch up with Ms. GO, we finally decided to visit this cute vintage cafe and tried their lunch menu (it's served from midday).

Cafe Oratnek - Redfern

I would see Redfern in different way now with the addition of Cafe Oratnek opened by Chef Kentaro "Kenny" Takayama, ex-Bills head chef, located just behind the Prince Alfred Park and surrounded by the retail space and residential area.

Named after the chef's first name in reverse (Kentaro - Oratnek), this place offers some fresh Asian influence to its menu and produce everything mostly in-house (with the exception of Brickfields bread and Mecca coffee).

Roastville Coffee - Marrickville

I love waffles! Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, sweet or savoury version.. They basically go along with everything in this world! Waffles FTW.. LOL! So when I hear there's a relatively new cafe in Marrickville and I see that glorious word, WAFFLE, on the menu.. There's nothing in this world can really stop me from going there ;D

XS Espresso - Wetherill Park

Sydney seems to be going through a mind-blowing milkshake phase with all the extreme crazy flavours everywhere.. Before I know it, the inner child inside me is awaken and now has that strong urge to get a hold (at least one) of those!