I’ve been coming here for so long that I can’t believe
I haven’t done a post about it..

I’ve been meaning to post this entry but decided to build it up with more photos. Almost 7 years ago (B) first took me here during our cheapo uni days where we’d be strapped for cash. We’d order a couple of dishes for lunch that would carry our appetites through to dinner (ahh the good simple days of being broke students).

Couple of months ago Thanh Binh burnt down (from memory) now they’ve updated their furniture and brightened the place up. Dining here recently me feel sad that I stopped coming here for a good period of time for no particular reason. The food has always been great and the only excuse for our disappearance was being influenced by a Bau Truong’s routine we’d gotten into and their bigger capacity to hold larger groups with a quicker turnover in comparison to the small tiny Thanh Binh.

Banh uot special
(B) has serious fetish for flat noodles and he seems to be ordering this quite often at no matter what Vietnamese restaurant we go to. Personally I doubt a westerner would ever order something like this. Its definitely something that a person with a Vietnamese background would know of and eaten before.

Banh uot often comes with grilled meat but Thanh Binh substitute the grilled meat with awesome fried golden goodness which is needed for such a healthy dish. The way to eat it is by pouring fish sauce on it for taste. The white slices of meat is quite firm not like devon from the deli and the spam looking thing has an interesting taste which he seems to love.

Bun nem nuong chao tom
When dining at Thanh Binh they’re well known for their chao tom (sugarcane prawn rolls). It’s a must when dining here as the ‘banh hoi chao tom’ (fine rice vermicelli cakes with sugarcane prawn) is their signature dish. If your lazy like me and can’t never be bothered rolling your own DIY rice paper rolls, then order anything that has a sugarcane prawn in it. After all that is the key to having a good ‘banh hoi chao tom’.

In this case, after watching Luke Nguyen’s nem nuong episode, I had a serious craving for some skewered grilled pork lovin’ . So to get the best of both worlds, this dish gives allows you to explore both avenues.

Com tam suon
(Foo) the pork chop man cant get enough of the Vietnamese grill. He always orders pork chop and when asking him on his thoughts he seemed to think Thanh Binh’s is up there. Every pork chop is different its all about the marinade. Eyeing the delicious pork chop across the table, I ask if I could swap my bowl of hu tieu soup for his dish.. and of course his answer was “HELL NO”

Hu tieu nam vang (clear broth seafood soup)
Ever since I came back from vietnam, I’ve been addicted to soup. During my lunch break I would often find myself buying takeaway hu tieu or canh chua (tamarind based soup with tomato and pineapple) to eat at my desk. Its a flavoursome clear broth soup with fresh squid, prawn and fish plus soft and silky vermicelli noodles. It’s a really nice simple soup filled with flavour.

Pho dac biet (soup with the lot, tripe, tendons etc)
I always think finding the “BEST” pho is a very difficult and touchy subject. Went with the girls [xoxo] a couple of months ago, for a catchup at Pho Tau Bay (2010 winner of best pho in sydney), their pho is nice but we weren’t sure if we considered it the best?

I still don’t know who makes the best pho there’s soo many to choose from. For years many seem to think marrickville’s Pho Bac Hai Duong is the best. I’m still yet to make a visit there.

(M) loves the pho here and always seems to order dac biet and refuses to order anything else other than their pho. The broth is very flavoursome and rich in colour and the bowl is fairly huge even I struggle to finish it.

Pho gan bo
Same flavoursome broth as pho dac biet. Only difference is, this doesn’t have the lot and only consists of beef tendons.

Chim cut crispy quail
Every now and then I crave for quail. The best thing about fried quail is that its small its super crispy.

Goi cuong – rice paper rolls
Great to know thanh binh isn’t a place that stinges on the filling. Most places slice their prawn into half but this particular batch I had had whole prawn *whoo hoo*. Their peanut sauce is bomb! Its thick with a lot of texture and not runny and watery like some restaurants serve up. You can tell their peanut sauce is made with love and home made.

Thanh Binh
52 John St
Cabramatta, NSW
P: (02) 9727 9729

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