Took a drive out to Cabramatta yesterday for some good Vietnamese food and to check out the place since I haven't been there for a few months now. Surprisingly there were not many people there this morning. Maybe the cold has deterred the residents from coming out but if you were to check out queue at the ATM machines... I think we need more ATMs here! Help Charmaine!
Cabramatta has been fighting with a longstanding image problem, primarily due to its reputation as a point for drug-dealing and shootings. These drug activities began in the 1990s as drug addicts were drawn to the area. Cabramatta Railway Station became known as the "smack express" and deaths from overdoses in public places such as toilets were reported. The heroin problem, and attempts to contain it, were the source of much controversy and failed actions involving politicians, senior police, human rights organisations and the media. The presence of youth gangs in the Cabramatta area has been a related problem, but since 2002, the problems have receded.
It is evident that this suburb has "cleansed" itself of this drug image. There has been a makeover in a lot of the malls - landlords have renovated the food courts and have installed air conditioning. No longer do you have to worry about getting your feet wet stepping to the wet markets. The wet markets are still there but it is significantly cleaner and drier. Take your pick from the many plastic buckets containing varieties of fishes and other seafood which you might not get at your local fish market. If you are looking for different types of cuts from the butcher, I am sure you will be able to find it too here.
There are various "alley-ways" in the malls which has stalls of exotic and fresh fruits and vegetables. You can shop to your hearts content. If you miss your hometown, coming here to shop will create a sense of deja vu. Shops displaying rolls and rolls of fabrics, shoes, clothing, frilly bridal wear together with gold jewellery to match and ... not to mention the plastic and stainless steel homewares found in the sundry shops evoking a sense of nostalgia of days gone by.
There is a Friendship Arch leading to Freedom Plaza separating the main shopping strips. It is interesting to note the strong sense of community in this place - on this morning young ones can be seen taking the elderly out in their wheelchairs. The elderly looking all warm and cosy in their beanies and scarf. I noticed that people like to congregate in groups on the benches scattered around the place. The coffee shops were filled with mostly men catching up with one another. I have not experienced a sense of community so strong as in this suburb.
We decided to have an early lunch to beat the crowd. Thought we'd try a new restaurant, Tan Viet. The crispy skin chicken must be their specialty as every table ordered one either with egg noodles with soup or dried. Must say the soup was delicious and the crispy chicken lived up to its name! It was crispy and succulent. We also ordered a broken rice special with the works i.e. with pork chop, shredded skin, fried egg and a pork loaf. It was yum! The hot milk coffee topped it all of. This restaurant was really busy with a high turnover. There were a lot of locals gobbling down their food and speaking in their native tongues. If one were to close one's eyes, you'd be forgiven to think that you are somewhere in Vietnam or Lao or Khmer. Definitely it was a bit hard to discern some of the features and the languages of the people there to ascertain their origin. This restaurant is however a local favourite as there was a long queue when we came out... see if you can spot the queue in one of the photos!
A tip though... if you are intending to head out to Cabra as it is also colloquially known, make sure you plan a pit stop before getting there as there are not many public toilets around in the malls and from memory, I think one has to pay to use the public toilets.
Nonetheless, definitely a suburb worth visiting if you crave a taste of Asia as it plays on all your senses but without the added cost of an air ticket.
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