Homebush, Sydney - Street Food

 

 

The aroma coming from fresh ingredients cooking on a well seasoned wok is not comparable. It conjures the sensations of a welcome respite, when arriving at a street side hawker's stall in Manila. or in a traditional coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City or Georgetown on Penang Island.  Respite from coping with the tropical sun and figuring out the several temptations on the nostril.  Prawns and calamari, tender bits of cut meat, the green feel of chives and slices of well made omelette can make good company with cleverly stir fried rice noodles. This was what greeted us at a weekend lunch in  a small and modest cafe in Homebush, an outer west suburb of Sydney.  It was well patronised.  A lot of the Cantonese dialect was spoken, amongst the customers and staff.   This was the kind of outlet where common tea blends were slapped on the table, where we shared a dining area and where everyone seemed to relish the hot piping food.   Chili based condiments are provided at no extra charge (picture below).

 

 

 

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the hot plate of sizzling prawns, garnished with sweet onion slices, a good dash of chili and shallot rings and all in a generous portion. It was obviously this needed to be accompanied by steamed rice and they gave a rather larger portion of that than we expected.  I understood why several people waited patiently outside  for their turn to get a table.  This place was opposite an Asian grocery that already  stocked mooncake boxes early before the October 1 festival this year.  This cafe fronted a small pedestrian mall-like open air lane way.

 

 

 

 

The staff were quick in service  and friendly. We had Vietnamese styled iced coffee, which blended well with the spicy dish pictured above.  We would definitely return, for tasty dishes that were reasonably priced and freshly cooked.  There is a variety of both southern Chinese and Vietnamese dishes in the menu.