No. 25 of my top 100 things I love in Cabramatta.

This has to be one of my favourite dishes for summer. It’s a comfort food. Some will argue that Pho is the ultimate Vietnamese comfort food, but I know people who actually don’t like pho!

Fresh rice pastry is quite bland on its own (but so is pasta). The rice pastry is the same used to make thick rice noodles….just uncut and steamed. Its very much like choosing to have a dish of lasagne sheets as opposed to fettuccine. There is something luxurious about eating sheets of pastry.
I love the this dish from Phu Quoc and Bau Truong. The plate is so plentiful and varied. No boring bits… guaranteed! Plus you’ll feel great afterwards as its sooo healthy.
Let’s have a closer look….

Rice pastry is ALWAYS fresh – thin sheets (about 2mm thick) shouldn’t break when lifted and has a translucency. Sheets can be peeled away easily and is moist and soft in texture (if you love prawn rice rolls in yum cha then you’ll LOVE this).
Twice cooked Mung bean cakes or “Banh Cong” – they have sliced a whole muffin into 1 cm thick slices THEN fried for a maximum crust. Phu Quoc does it so well, it isn’t oily at all!  Few restaurants will go to all the trouble of taking this extra step. Others (including at home) will only cut the muffin up which subsequently exposes the soft dough to fish sauce and results in a lump of pulp.

Vietnamese ham slices (Cha Lua) –  There is enough given here to completely cover the mound of rice pastry….like a little yurt.

A thick slice of cold cured pork (Nem Chua) – that’s the pink slice with transparent bits (shredded pig skin). An acquired taste but delicious and addictive!

Salad – All thinly sliced, cucumber, thai basil, bean sprout (steamed from the rice pastry on top), iceberg lettuce and Vietnamese perilla leaves.

Fish sauce (add as required)

Topped with spring onion oil, coriander and crispy fried onion.

Its a huge serving. Almost as high as it is wide.

Second one on the list “Banh Uot Dac Biet”. Special fresh rice pastry (with the lot) $10.50. You may choose to only have one of the toppings (see first on the list), but for roughly the same price, get the special!

Fried mung bean and prawn cakes (Banh Cong). Crispy on the outside and chewy soft dough on the inside.

Covered with generous slices of thin pork cake which is similar to ham (Chua Lua)

A slice of pink cured pork

Soft slippery rice pastry

Fresh rice pastry is moist, tranlucent in colour and flexible (wont break easily).

Underneath is a huge mound of bean sprouts, lettuce, thin cucumber slithers, thai basil and assorted herbs. So much texture in this one dish….and healthy!

Where? Phu Quoc, Shop 11, 117 Corner John St and Hill St, (02) 9724 2188. One of the few restaurants that serve dinner in Cabramatta (open til 9pm).

How much? $10.50