With the Sydney Floods in full swing, I was in desperate need of some comfort food and realised these were perfect PHO EATING conditions! So BFF Tom (who was floating around the area) and I ended up going to Pho Tau Bay (on Hill Street) which according to a Sydney food blogger, Noodlies, has the BEST PHO IN SYDNEY!
Tom got the Large Pho Bo (Beef Pho) $12.50
I got the pho dac biet (special beef pho) - also in large for $12.50. Along with the normal pho’s beef, beef briskets and beef tendons - I also got beef balls and beef bible. YAY, BEEF GALORE!
We dissected the pho piece-by-piece and found the following;
- Salad - fresh but could have been more of it. Those bean sprouts and herbs pictured were for us to share where I think it would have been nice to have 2 plates!
- Pho noodles - so soft and delicious, I barely had to chew - it really appealed to my lazy side.
- Broth - very subtle, light and slightly sweet (a distinguishing factor to the pho I normally have). You could taste that the broth was brewed for a long, long time and could taste the meaty goodness. Excellente!
- Meat - they were so generous with their meat. It was never-ending. I think it’s the most meat I’ve ever gotten with pho. YUM.
- Portion size - They weren’t kidding around with the portion size. Large at Pho Tau Bay would be equivalent to XL elsewhere - the portion sizes were HUGE!
I’m not sure if it’s best pho in Sydney (we’ll gladly do some further investigating…!), but it’s definitely up there with one of the best.
Let me know were you affected by the Sydney floods? And what’s your go-to comfort food?
Pho Tau Bay
12/117 John Street (Entrance off Hill Street)
Cabramatta, NSW 2166
02 9726 4583
Driving along St Johns Rd on a rainy night, a new restaurant caught our eye. So we chucked a u-turn and headed to Twelve Spices for dinner!
Twelve Spices is really oddly located. You know your local corner store / milk bar (do people still have those these days?)? Well, that’s what this really neat restaurant is located next to, random corner stores, Home Hardware and opposite heaps of houses. It’s weird because this modern restaurant wouldn’t be out of place in Newtown!
Mixed seafood (prawn and squid) thai fried rice $12.90
Red curry with chicken $10.90 and additional rice $2
Chicken pad thai - $10.90
Overall, the service was very laid back (in a good way), the food was delicious and it was great value! I highly recommend this place if you live around the Canley Heights / Cabramatta West area and want a quick and flavoursome meal without driving the extra 5 minutes to Canley Vale Road.
Twelve Spices Thai and Lao Cuisine
197 St Johns Rd, Canley Heights
T: 9609 6212
Open 6 days - Lunch 11am-3pm, Dinner 5pm-10pm, Closed Tuesdays
Surprisingly, with the amount of posts dedicated to Cabramatta’s younger sister, Canley Vale on this blog, I can’t remember the last time I visited Cabramatta and had a decent walk around. We visited Cabra on a weekday and it was absolutely packed with people, as though it was a public holiday. (I can’t imagine trying to find a park on the weekend, I’d probably have a nervous breakdown!).
Anyway, we headed to Bau Truong on John St, next to Commonwealth Bank and this place was packed to the brim! It was definitely a sign of good things to come! Here’s what we ate…
Noodles with Vietnamese Pork Meat Balls (Bun nem nuong)
Crispy skin chicken rice (and the egg taken from the next dish!)
Special Rice (Bun Dac Biet) - rice with egg cake, egg, pork chop and salad.
Overall, everything was great! The restaurant has great service, modern decor, delicious food and the bill worked out to be around $11-$13 per dish. Great value for a very satisfying meal.
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On a side note; has everyone checked out the Sydney International Food Festival website and what’s happening around Sydney in October? Where do you guys want to go? (http://www.siff.com.au/).
Everything looks amazing, particularly the Sugar Hit, Pop up Dinner and Let’s Do Lunch options. I really want to do the bread making class @ Brasserie. I also noticed that Luke Nguyen is conducting food tours of Cabramatta for $190 per person! I’m no celebrity chef / expert but I’ll conduct a frigging food tour for free*!!
* Donations still happily accepted.
