3 min read

Things to do in Sydney: Visit Cabramatta for an Asian Experience

If you are looking for things to do in Sydney and you love food and Asian culture, than a trip to Cabramatta is well worth it. I've lived in Sydney since 1979, and today was the first time I've actually visited Cabramatta. In those days, Cabramatta was notorious for gangs and drugs, but that's way in the past and now it is a thriving town full of Asian culture.

So today, being a Saturday, I decided I'd go and visit Cabramatta. I referred to TripView and somehow I managed to get muddled up with the timetables and ended up taking a very long route out to Cabramatta. I went from Town Hall via City Circle, Bankstown, Lakemba and it took forever. Don't do that! I should have hopped on a train via Granville much quicker.

When I arrived the first thing I noticed as I followed the crowd up to the mall was the smell of freshly baked bread. Hmmmm....I didn't have breakfast so that did smell good. I also noticed a couple of shops where customers were queuing up to buy food, so that's a good sign!

As I had done some research prior to my journey, I knew that there would be little malls off the main street (John Street) and so I ventured into the first one I saw. By now I was feeling like I was in a little mini Asia where people were busy shopping and eating.

There was an abundance of fresh produce to purchase and at very reasonable prices. This is one place to come when you are looking for specific ingredients for Asian cooking.

Continuing my mini-tour, I ventured back on to John Street where I noticed many street vendors selling various items such as sugar cane, herbs and even beads.

By this time I was rather hungry because I had skipped breakfast so I decided to find a Vietnamese restaurant and order some lunch. I found one in another little mall, called '3 Mien' it wasn't what you would call a restaurant but one of the food stalls and here I chatted to the staff and asked their advice on what to order. I decided on Chicken with Lemon Grass and it was sensational. The flavours were beautiful, slightly spicy but with the cucumber and carrot on the side that offset the hotness. I was also offered a free cup of green tea. So there I was sitting in the middle of Cabramatta with my plate of chicken which reminded me a lot of a time when I stayed in Malaysia.

I know the photo doesn't look much, but it sure did taste good.

Now it was time for a little bit more exploring. John Street is full of restaurants, material shops, jewellers, discount stores, clothing outlets and bakeries. I noticed there were a lot a statues scattered around the area as well.

On my journey I discovered another mall and this was the first Fish Market that I came across. There was a huge selection and also a bucket of prized fish heads. I believe this is what makes a good fish stock!

As well as fish there were flowers.......

......and these gorgeous Bamboo Leaves wrapped around Sticky Rice. (I had to ask some of my Instagram friends what these actually were) thanks to @see.taste.do and @onebitemore for explaining.

This was never meant to be a foodie post, so I haven't written much about the food however I know there are tour guides around Cabramatta that do foodie events. You could try "I Ate My Way Through".