SIFF 2010 'Cabramatta Allsorts Barbeque': Suckling Pig, Crispy Chicken, Sugar Cane Juice and Hot Chips, Cabramatta (2 Oct 2010)

Freedom Plaza, John Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166

http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/siff

In search for Crispy Chicken

Thanks to 702 ABC Sydney for inviting me along to their live radio coverage of the Cabramatta Allsorts Barbeque as part of Sydney International Food Festival — also thanks to Stewart White for recommending me to them. A 10 am start got me out of bed a lot earlier than my usual weekend routine but it was worth it and I had lots of fun meeting Simon Marnie from 702 ABC, Alvin Quah from MasterChef/Cinnamon Pig and a small group of other friendly food bloggers including Andrew Rose the winner of the 702 ABC competition to become their volunteer SIFF Blogger and Reviewer. In the center marquee of the Fairfield City Council a glorious looking Suckling Pig with perfect crackling was presented by chefs from the Iron Chef Restaurant — apparently it took 24 hours to prepare and cook.

After a quick chat with Simon Marnie about blogging and eating, each of the three bloggers were given $20 to seek out a favourite Cabramatta dish to bring back and talk about. A long standing dish on my wish list has been Tan Viet's signature dish of Crispy Chicken with Dry Egg Noodle ($11) so it was an easy choice for me. Along the way I bought a delicious freshly crushed Sugar Cane Juice ($2.50 small) from Ngoc Duc — so refreshing. Thanks to Danny from Tan Viet for organising their crispy chicken dish on a tray so I could carry back to Freedom Plaza. Even after a bit of a wait the chicken skin remained crispy as hoped and the meat was moist and tasty. The flavoured dry egg noodles complimented the dish nicely although next time I'll be trying the soupy version. While waiting for Simon Marnie to come back on air with us to talk about our dishes I was keen to try the Red Lea's Hot Chips ($5 large) which have also been recommended to me. They're basic chips packed with seasoning but for extra taste there's shakers available of chicken salt and paprika to pour to your hearts content — I think this is why it's so popular.

Other blog reviews:

• Noodlies

• Cinnamon Pig

• The Heart of Food

• The Gourmet Forager

• Grab Your Fork

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Plenty of authentic eating delights to be found in Cabramatta

CONS: Tan Viet is popular so be prepared to wait for a table

MUST TRY: Ngoc Duc's Sugar Cane Juice, Tan Viet's Crispy Chicken

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Suckling Pig

Compliments of Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant

84 Broomfield Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166

http://www.ironchef.com.au

Ceremoniously cutting up the suckling pig which had been prepared for 24 hours

Slivers of golden heaven

Crispy pork crackling with hoisin sauce and pancake

The chefs of the suckling pig taking a break

$20 will get you ...

Simon Marnie hands me $20 to seek out my favourite dish of Cabramatta to bring back and discuss on radio

Ngoc Duc
105 John Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166

Sugar Cane Juice ($2.50 small)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

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Tan Viet Noodle House

100 John Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166

Signature dish of Tan Viet

Walking back to base with a tray of Crispy Chicken

Crispy Chicken with Dry Egg Noodle ($11)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Crispy outer skin with moist inner meat

Dry egg noodles with lettuce and coriander

Seating

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Red Lea
57 John Street, Cabramatta NSW 2166

http://www.redlea.com.au

Hot Chips ($5 large)

Sharing the love

Chicken salt and Paprika — pour as much as you like.

A sea of golden fried chicken

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Fellow food blogger discoveries

Vietnamese pork chop, fried egg, rice and salad selected by The Gourmet Forager

Vietnamese roll, custard puffs and sugar cane juice, avocado shake and durian shake selected by Grab Your Fork

Meet and greet

702 ABC Radio broadcasting live from Freedom Plaza

Simon Marnie interviews Alvin Quah

Trina from The Gourmet Forager and Me

Andrew Rose and Me

Thang from Noodlies and Me

Costa from Costa's Garden Odyssey doing a bit of impromptu time keeping

Alvin demonstrating his cooking to the crowd

Cabramatta sights

Peking duck

Taste testing the fresh and exotic Asian greens

Taste testing for the brave

Street side vegetable and herb stall

Local fish market

Packaged sweets a plenty

Local fruit and vegetable shop

Bargain shop of colourful gifts and antiquity

Enter the gates to festive Cabramatta


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