In the western suburbs of Sydney lies Cabramatta, widely known for its expanse Vietnamese community and as the place where you can find the best Vietnamese cuisine in Sydney. The perfect place for a much-anticipated foodie excursion!

Driving or walking along the main strip of John Street, one will find a number of low-cost, authentic restaurants, cheap knick-knack stores and a plethora of Vietnamese-run grocery stores and bakeries. The atmosphere is not unlike that of the aforementioned bustling cities, further accentuated by the high volume of people walking either side of the street. You catch snippets of Vietnamese, Cantonese and an ever-present hum of conversation that never seems to cease. People walk by drinking bubble tea, avocado shakes and eating pork rolls.

Bau Truong has branches in Marrickville and Canley Heights, but the restaurant in Cabramatta is a bit more low-key than its sister eateries. The outside is simply furnished with a modern shopfront, but step inside and you get an accentuation of the busy street’s lively atmosphere (as well as a current of aircon) as patrons slurp on noodles and tuck into plates of rice. The inside of the eatery is long, much bigger than what it appears from outside, and the decor is themed with a light green.

We’re seated at the back at a large round table, near a large window that gives us a glimpse into the open grill where cooks are chargrilling and cooking meat. Waitresses hurry to and from the kitchen, bringing tea and carrying out steaming hot dishes and bringing in empty plates.

We open the menu and gasp at it sheer length – almost 6 double sided panels long! There are noodle soups, rice dishes, salads, entrees, hot pots, stir fries, main dishes and DIY plates, among many other options.

In the mood for a little nibbling, we order the pork and prawn fresh rolls to start. These came with a peanut dipping sauce, filled with juicy prawns and slices of pork as well as shreds of lettuce, vermicelli, mint and coriander.

Being the epicentre of Vietnamese food, we had to order the Pho. The noodles, slippery and silky, carried the sweet and aromatic broth well but was a tad bit salty for our liking. The beef was plentiful and tender.

I had the Bo Kho, the beef stew noodle soup with egg noodles. This is one of my all time favourite noodle soups. My best description of it would be a Vietnamese beef casserole with noodles and a hint of tomato. It comes with slivers of onion, carrots, shallots, slow-cooked, mouth-melting hunks of tender beef brisket and gelatinous, slippery bits of tendon. My absolute favourite bit is the tendon, cooked to a jelly-like texture which carries the spiced broth like a match made in heaven.

Mum got the crispy skin chicken rice noodle soup, with the chicken coming on the side, and GG the same but with rice instead. The chicken was succulent inside and the noodle soup clear and subtle. The rice comes with slices of pickled radish and carrot – a good cleanser after the salty fried chicken.

Dad had the spicy pork noodle soup. I didn’t get to try any of this because I don’t really like spicy noodle soups, but it looked quite hot and came with the surprising addition of blood jelly cubes.

Overall lunch for the five of us cost just over $60, which is about the average price for an Asian lunch, but our mouths were left a bit dry and salty later on in the day – the telltale sign of perhaps a little too much of a certain flavour enhancer. Nevertheless, it was a good experience to enjoy real Pho in Cabramatta.