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Friday, November 12, 2010

Tan Viet Noodle House, Cabramatta



There is only one dish you need to order at Tan Viet: crispy chicken.

At 11.45am on a Sunday, the queue outside this Cabramatta favourite is already forming. By the time 12.15pm rolls around, hungry diners have formed a line that would rival any yum cha queue.

Today Richard and I are eating our way around this vibrant suburb with neighbourhood local, Phuoc. The dining room has the same energy of a yum cha house, minus the trundling carts of bamboo steamers. The restaurant is larger than you'd first expect, extending way down the back, and filled with the chaotic clatter of families, friends and couples - kids' laughter ringing in the air, and toddlers determinedly surveying the room from their high chairs.


Tan Viet Noodle House

A tray of condiments and cutlery sits on each table, along with the requisite box of tissues, but the menu is impressively slick, laminated with professional photos and broken up into distinct categories for easy reference.

There is much on offer here, and although I'm tempted by the Hanian chicken ($11), curry goat ($10) and Vit Tiem black herbal duck ($12), we know we are in for a day of non-stop eating and stick with the classics.


Chanh Muoi preserved lemon drink $3.50 and
Soda Sua Hot Ga egg yolk with milk and soda $4

Drinks are the first to arrive. Chanh Muoi is a preserved lemon drink that is salty, sweet and refreshing. It has a similar flavour to preserved plum drink, albeit with a citrus tang, a tangle of salted lemon smithereens that sits muddled at the bottom.

Egg yolk with milk and soda is not as odd as you'd think, the richness of egg yolk sweetened with condensed milk and aerated with soda water. It's almost like a foamy eggnog without the nutmeg and cinnamon.


Mi Ga Da Don $11.00
Crispy chicken with egg noodles

The crispy chicken at Tan Viet is famous, and rightly so. Lifting off the flesh in a vision of splendour, the chicken skin is golden in hue and gossamer thin. We savour the juicy flesh and crunch down on the bones that disintegrate with ease.


Egg noodles

Egg noodles are the most popular accompaniment to this dish, the huge portion topped with crisp iceberg lettuce, coriander leaves, garlic chives and crunchy smithereens of deep-fried garlic.


Banh Mi Bo Kho $9.50
Spicy beef with bread roll

We move onto bo kho, the Vietnamese beef curry that is a staple in many family homes. It's a simple but hearty stew of tender beef and chunks of carrot, garnished with fragrant basil leaves. We mop up the sauce with torn pieces of banh mi, the crusty bread roll adapted from the French baguette.


Com Dac Biet $11.00
Deluxe pork chop with broken rice

We finish with the com dac biet, the classic "rice special" that will appease even the most ravenous appetite. The humble pork chop is marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce and then grilled to a sticky caramelised celebration of more-ishness. We pick our way through the slice of steamed egg custard, shreds of pork and pork skin coated with roasted rice powder, a runny fried egg on rice and a refreshing salad of tomato, lettuce and cucumber.

Simple, fresh and delicious.




View Larger Map

Tan Viet Noodle House
3/100 John Street, Cabramatta, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9727 6853

Open 7 days 9am-7pm

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21 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 11/12/2010 06:17:00 am


21 Comments:

  • At 11/12/2010 6:22 am, Anonymous david said…

    These pictures looks amazing.. Food looks so fresh and spicy.. yummy!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 9:18 am, Blogger KayB said…

    It's about time I do a tour of Cabramatta, and this post had just affirmed that! The chicken looks amazing!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 9:25 am, Anonymous Jonathon James Clarke said…

    Great post, as always! (I think that, in the first line, you may have meant 11:45AM, not PM, though?) :)

     
  • At 11/12/2010 9:32 am, Blogger Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said…

    Of course! Anything with the word "crispy" on it and I can see you there! LOL! Thanks for sharing another little find of yours Helen.

     
  • At 11/12/2010 10:13 am, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    chiiicken! i want chiiiiicken!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 10:30 am, Blogger Gianna@TheEmptyFridge said…

    best fried chicken? big call Helen! Cannot wait to try it..I would build a shrine for crispy Fried Chickennnnn, its a food group on its own!! I 100% with suze..I want chickennn!!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 10:53 am, Blogger Lilia said…

    Not sure if the chicken meat is tasty? Most Vietnamese fried chicken can be either bland or tasty with flavour. Is juicy mean tasty too?

     
  • At 11/12/2010 11:06 am, Anonymous Honey @ honeyandsoy said…

    OMG the photo totally shows the crispiness of the chicken! I know where we are going to go the next time we're in Sydney.... and the egg yolk and condensed milk.... hmmm..... I dunno.......

     
  • At 11/12/2010 11:17 am, Anonymous A said…

    Love this place! Totally worth waiting in line

     
  • At 11/12/2010 11:18 am, Blogger susan said…

    I love good Vietnamese food, and it's so cheap as well. We used to have a great place in Canberra that did Bahn Mi, but it's closed now and I haven't found anywhere else that you can get them from :(

     
  • At 11/12/2010 11:22 am, Blogger OohLookBel said…

    I had the chicken there for the first time recently, and was amazed at its crispy deliciousness. We're not worthy!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 12:05 pm, Anonymous Hannah said…

    I've just realised that it's silly to be weirded out by raw egg in a drink, seeing how much I love raw cake batter ;)

    That frilly fried egg is pretty, too!

     
  • At 11/12/2010 12:39 pm, Anonymous Jacq said…

    so much love for their crispy chicken! I went at around 2.30pm on a Saturday and still had to wait for a table, it's that popular!

     
  • At 11/13/2010 10:08 am, Anonymous Arwen from Hoglet K said…

    You've got me fascinated with these egg drinks. I'll have to try one one day. The spicy beef looks mouthwatering.

     
  • At 11/13/2010 10:22 am, Anonymous thang@noodlies said…

    Yum love it... always so hard to get into Tan Viet, it's sooo popular!

     
  • At 11/13/2010 11:41 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Great post! I’m looking to make some changes in my own eating habits and learning to cook, so I appreciate your insight a lot! Thank you. I recently stumbled upon this blog like I did yours and I thought your readers may appreciate it: http://burisonthecouch.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/food-for-thought/

    I’ve started to look for blog help more regularly and I think I’m going to add your blog to my list as well. Thanks for the post!

    -Amy

     
  • At 11/13/2010 11:11 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm crisp crisp, thx for getting there early hee hee

     
  • At 11/14/2010 1:14 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have book marked so many places in Cabramatta from your blog, Helen. I need a 5 days 4 nights trip to complete my culinary quest. The crispy chicken looks amazing!!!

     
  • At 11/15/2010 10:40 am, Blogger Phuoc'n Delicious said…

    Can go for some more crispy chicken just about now! *drools*

    I love living in Cabra :D

     
  • At 11/16/2010 11:43 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Jonathon - Thanks for picking up on this. Duly corrected :)

     
  • At 11/18/2010 11:25 pm, Blogger Angie Lives to Eat (and Cook)! said…

    I'd go all the way there just for the chicken... it's the only thing I'll eat =D

     

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