✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
People had told me there would be a line of hungry lunch-goers waiting outside Tan Viet Noodle House, and they were right. After all, the John Street eatery has been a Cabramatta institution for more than 30 years. The family-owned-and-run restaurant draws on the flavours of its owner’s Chinese and Vietnamese heritage, and servings are generous and well-priced. And then, of course, there’s the chicken.
This isn’t any old roast chook, mind you. Tan Viet Noodle House’s signature crispy-skinned chicken arrives chopped, with bronzed armour wrapped around the juicy and succulent meat.
The paper-thin salty skin has the crunch of a potato chip – it’s close-your-eyes good.
On the side is a sweet and vinegary chilli dipping sauce – and the best part is you can double dip your chicken as much as you wish. I look around the bright-lit space. It's modest yet tastefully done, with splashes of yellow and blue and hanging lanterns. Every table is punctuated with bottles of chilli sauce, soy and vinegar – and plates of chicken. I feel a sense of solidarity.
Diners can choose to get the chicken with tomato rice, or egg, clear and drop noodles. I go for egg noodles with soup, which comes hot and steaming. The noodles are bouncy and chewy; the broth is light with a subtle sweetness. Fresh coriander, spring onions, chives and lettuce add greenery and interest.
View this post on Instagram
My date orders the spicy beef curry, which hums with chilli and has a deeply savoury and earthy flavour. The hunks of meat have been cooked low and slow so it’s tender and pulls apart at the touch.
Elsewhere on the menu, there’s Hainanese chicken with white rice; pork chops with broken rice; fish cakes in a thick soup; and their other signature, a goat curry. On the drinks list you’ll find hot coffee, sweet Vietnamese drinks, iced tea, plus Coke.
Service is swift and pragmatic – I think we have been sitting all of two minutes before a waiter asks if we’re ready to order – and we get the sense that it’s time to pay as soon as we have our final slurp. But that’s fine by us – the aim of the game here is eating great food, not a long and leisurely lunch. There are a bunch of other places for that.
For more than three decades, Tan Viet Noodle House has been a go-to for locals and out-of-towners who want a delicious meal.
The fact that you can leave full for around 20 bucks per person is the Vietnamese mint on top.
Here’s hoping there’s 30 more to come.
If you can’t get to Cabramatta, don’t worry. There’s also Tan Viet Noodle House in Haymarket. And whatever you do, order the chicken. One more thing: the line moves quickly.