Pho Tau Bay, Cabramatta

I’m a winter kind of girl, because the heat and I just don’t get along very well. And today’s post may not be one for the warmer hotter days but who knows, some still like to take that challenge and attack a good bowl of pho in 30 degrees heat.

Cousin PC’s boy, Mr JJ is a born Cabramatta boy so the aunts and myself put the trust of our bellies in his hands one Saturday afternoon, we found ourselves sitting inside Pho Tau Bay.

Fried bread stick $1.30 each

Weird combination with pho, but we ordered the yau tiao anyways as when deep fried right the family likes to eat it alone. We can pass on the congee. The exterior holds that slight crisp and the inside slightly soft and doughy, as it should be. Elements of a fresh yau tiao.

We also wanted to order the sesame bun, but unfortunately they had sold out that day….

Beef combination $11

I went with the regular special beef noodle soup, the soup base was delicious,  with a strong beef soup base. I’m not sure about you all, but I have found that most of the raw beef slices now at pho joints are just a bunch of minced beef. Rarely would you see the thinly sliced beef pieces sitting on top of your noodles, here at pho tau bay, they serve my beef slices, beef meatballs, tendons and tripe.

I am told by local Mr JJ that they hand make their own beef balls, and this is definitely evident with the nice firm bite into the beef ball.

Believe me, if I am ever in Cabramatta again, Pho Tau Bay will be visited again. However, I do also need to take into account that there are plenty of other eateries around that I should consider…

Pho Tau Bay

12/117 John Street,

Cabramatta

Saigon BBQ, Flemington

Not many of my friends are aware of this but for the first few years of my life I was raised in suburbs of Flemington by my late ah mar (grandmother from dad’s side), and had an abundant of local Vietnamese restaurants across the road from me.

We still returned to the local Vietnamese restaurant after my grandmother passed, and that I had a younger sibling. It was then pho and my brother obtained a love/hate relationship with me. That slippery noodle always slid off my chopsticks before it even reached my mouth really annoyed my rumbling belly.

But I watched this restaurant change managements, and we never returned but the other day my parents and I walked passed and I was a little saddened to see that the shop front had not only changed completely but it the last restaurant there was well … the last.

So, being in Flemington – dad finds it hard to choose a restaurant to go in to. But we had found ourselves in Saigon BBQ on this cool autumn day. I mean, this perfect for pho day. Pho sure!

Iced lemon tea $3

Mum gets an iced lemon tea; it’s got a quick zing before the palate is hit with the lemon sweetness.

Vietnamese spring rolls $10

The spring rolls are super crispy, it’s actually rare to get such a crunch and it’s addicting. There are notes of vermicelli and bits of meat. But that crunch totally has us biting in for more.

Deep fried chicken and rice $11

I don’t think I’ve ever blogged with dad before, so he wasn’t very used to the whole, camera eats first. “By the time you’re done, it’s going to get cold,” Another love/hate, he can be such a kid at times but it’s rather amusing. He finds the tomato rice a little tasteless, which he is a little disappointed about.

Combination beef noodle soup $10

Ah por (grandma from mum’s side), mum and myself went with the combination beef noodle soup. I know, so much for variety right? I’ve forgotten the hate I had with pho because it brings out more love for me now, as I remember how my uncle used to cut the noodles smaller for me to just spoon and it. So if anything, I have even more love for pho. There is a generous serving with meats, tripe and loins. It made my belly all warm and fuzzy. Although my main disappointment is that the beef had already come cooked, and not raw. I’m not sure why, but Iove seeing the thin slices of red beef waiting for me to dip into the burning hot soup to cook as I eat…

It’s so sad to know that something I had grown up with, watch change constantly has now gone. I do anticipate seeing what may take over in the future, but for now … I’ll hold onto those memories.

Have you ever had a restaurant you grew up with and it’s now gone?

Saigon BBQ

90 The Crescent

Flemington

Chi & Co, Canley Heights

What a great lunch at Chi & Co,

I am here to let you know,

That nothing here was ever slow,

If you haven’t been – it’s time to go!

I have wanted to go to Chi & Co for a while now, but it’s not exactly close so it’s never really easy to plan. So, imagine my excitement when Miss CC told me ouffer had a $39 coupon for two! Instantly purchased, Miss CC and I planned to head over for a lunch date before our RTCC volunteer work on a Friday afternoon.

“May we also have a menu?”

“… there’s a lot of food already…” The waiter treaded delicately over our request.

“Oh, we want to look at the menu and there are some things we want to also try…” because #yolo

We sat down and ordered the peach and lemon mocktail jug (not included in coupon). This is totally something that is preparing for Summer, and on our lovely Friday it was perfect as it was the super hot weekend! This was refreshing, sweet and hitting all the right spots with the sweet peach juice.

Pulled beef sliders $9

Seriously, I am not joking we sat down, chose our drinks and the food was here before we knew it! We started with the pulled beef sliders, the mantou bun is soft but I wouldn’t find them softer than tsuru or wonderbao. I’m not usually one that likes mint, but it does compliment the beef well.

Chicken lettuce delights $11

We are about to take bites into our sliders and boom, the chicken lettuce delights is placed on the table. Fried glass noodles sits atop a bed of chinese pork sausage, mushrooms, and water chestnuts.

Steamed seafood dumplings $11.90 | Steamed pork dumplings $10.80

I wouldn’t call it a rest, because we are then hit up with dumplings! They’re light and slide down well, covered in a light ginger soy sauce makes it tasty, but I always like to add some chilli sauce as well to give it that kick in my dumplings.

House duck spring rolls $11.80

The duck spring rolls were nice, because since when is any spring roll not nice? As long as it’s crunchy, it’s usually pretty good. But I must say, I did find it hard to it taste the duck. I also chose not to use the plum sauce, as it was way too sweet.

Massaman beef curry $18.80

Ok, and here is when we are invited with a wait for the first time since we arrived. First we get the massaman beef curry. This reminds me of a rendang, although I know clearly they are not entirely the same in any sense. Perhaps it was the beef cuts, but there was something about it that just screamed rendang to me.

Kung pao chicken $20.80

The kung pao chicken was super tasty, it was strong in the sweet soy department, perhaps lacked the spicy kick a bit but that would have been fine for Miss CC. It was rather addictive to go back for more especially for the cashew nuts.

Stir-fried greens $8

The vegies were fresh, stir fried in soy it was nice to indulge on whilst complimenting the two meat dishes.

Now, that concludes the $39 deal … Let's proceed to the extra's Miss CC and I indulged on!

Son in law eggs $7.90

I have wanted to come to Chi & Co for so long and there are rare chances for me to be over on this side of Sydney, Miss CC and I were not going to just stop there right? So, I had wanted the son in law eggs from the get go! The eggs were still slightly wobbly, and deep fried giving that light crunch yet falling apart after getting through that exterior. But what really kicks ass is that XO sauce; the dried scallop with subtle chilli based sauce really gives the eggs a karate kick!

Pork belly sliders $9

You should all know the love Miss CC I have for pork by now, so there was also no passing by on the pork belly sliders. The pork was crispy with only slight ribbons of fat. Not exactly melt in your mouth, but enough to satisfy our needs, with a refreshing slice of cucumber and dollop of hoisin sauce.

Fried white chocolate ice cream $14.90

Now, onto the happy ending, Miss CC mentioned the fried white-chocolate ice cream. Ok, so the ice cream itself was sort of like a vanilla ice cream but what really makes this the ultimate favourite would be that raspberry coulis! Sweet, sour and healthy (because it’s the fruity component) it makes the fried exterior have more taste, and gives the ice cream that sourness letting the creamy goodness mix with it’s thick fruity goodness. 

drizzle ...

I speak as if the fried ice cream is only there to compliment this coulis, when we all know what is meant to be main part of the dessert. Opps? But no joke, if I had not poured it on top of the ice cream, I would have just taken the shot by itself…

Chi's tapioca shot $4.50

I probably should have had this before the fried ice cream, because this was nice but not great. But in saying that, this is apparently the popular dessert. I can see why, if you have not had the fried ice cream! I love sago, having the gems sitting in the coconut custard was delicious the palm sugar offers you an added sweetness as the sesame gives the dessert an interesting smokey hit and pop goes the sweet pomegranate.

But no, go for the fried ice cream.

So, have you ever purchased a coupon and added more food on your set menu and been told that you already have enough food? Please let me know Miss CC and I aren’t the only ones … or are we?

Hit: White chocolate fried ice cream with raspberry coulis

Miss: Duck Spring rolls

Chi & Co

3/264 Canley Vale Road,

Canley Heights

(Entrance on Derby St)

Xage Vietnamese, Surry Hills

After our sweet fix at Stix Desserts, being the sweet tooth girl she is, Miss MC exclaimed that she could skip dinner and go for another round of desserts instead. But excuse me, after seeing the Xage menu – I wanted a proper dinner, thank you very much.

However, have you ever seen a menu for a restaurant and simply get thrilled at the idea of it yet when dining, have a completely different experience?

Would that be due to our minds getting all worked up, giving expectations when there were not meant to be any to begin with?

Duck fillet summer rolls with hoisin peanut sauce $12

We started off with the duck fillet summer rolls; I understand why they would use a hoisin peanut sauce as it gives that peking duck feeling and taste but it was a bit too sweet. The rolls were fresh, and the duck was delicious, but I just wasn’t a fan of the sauce and unfortunately rice paper rolls are bland without sauce, so it didn’t really work hand in hand very well. No win-lose situation here.

Crispy chicken spring rolls $8.90

I read the crispy chicken spring rolls and was really excited to see how the chicken would be crispy inside spring rolls. Though, after ordering I sat and re-thought my own thoughts and voiced out my concern, “I think it means crispy spring rolls with chicken…” my concerns were right. The thin spring rolls offered a nice crunch with stringy bits of chicken. Let’s just agree that sauces aren't exactly their forte. The fish sauce was rather sweet ...

Caramelised slow cooked berkshire pork shoulder $19.50 (signature)

Having a fairly low start, Miss MC and I were hopeful that the pork shoulder in their speciality would help bring up our experience. The pork was soft and tender; it fell apart at the touch of our spoons. The sauce is borderline sweet, but that’s ok if you eat it with some rice and if you want a bit more kick to it – add some fresh chilli (which could also be found throughout the dish). The coriander helped give it that little bit more flavor as well as a fresh crunch from the raw beanshoots.

We saw plates of salt and pepper squid walk past us and we got ahead of ourselves and added a plate to our order.

Salt and pepper squid with shallot and chilli $18.90 (signature)

Battered squid and vegetables were served, and seasoned well. I enjoyed my squid, or rather I thought I did until something was amiss. The squid was way too soft for my liking. I know right, why would you complain about it being soft? I guess I don't really enjoy how my squid does not have the elasticity a squid should have. To me, it just didn’t feel right. But by all means, if you do like squid that is of soft 'melt in your mouth' like, go for this dish! 

Maybe we ordered the wrong food, or maybe I had worked up my own expectations, which made me feel like I didn’t enjoy the food. I’m not too sure. 

So tell me, have you ever experienced something like this before? Being excited yet walking out feeling a little flattened?

Hit: -
Miss: Duck fillet summer rolls