Because it's the weekend, let us talk about Cabramatta! My family and I love to eat out on the weekend after attending church together. It really brings us closer together and allows us to eat something different to our usual dinner food at home. It also gives my mom off a night from house chores and cooking, so you can all understand how good that sounds! We almost always end up in Cabramatta or Canley Heights since my parents are most accustomed to Vietnamese food, and these suburbs have lots of eateries open later at night.
Saigon Hu Tieu Go Mi Go opened up a few months ago and replaced our beloved Pho Thien Loi. It's quite sad because Pho Thien Loi was a family go-to which served up some really decent pho at an affordable price. Plus they sold lots of yummy Vietnamese sweets and desserts. If you stayed back long enough at night, they would sell it a heavily discounted price or even give you a free complimentary dessert. But alas. Rest in piece, Pho Thien Loi. It's time to give your new successor, Saigon Hu Tieu Go Mi Go a chance.
The interiors of the restaurant is very similar to the old set up. The sign/logo is very similar, just with a new design. They've rearranged the tables and added much more as if they are expecting this place to get very very crowded. It's almost overwhelming how much tables and chairs are in this small space and how it is so narrow.
At the back of the restaurant you can have a peer into the kitchen, as well as grab some self serve drinks, sauces, napkins and utensils.
The sauce and utensil station is particularly strange for a Vietnamese restaurant, however they also serve Western style pub food on the menu such as steaks, schnitzel, kransky, etc so it kind of makes sense. It's reminiscent of J's Kitchen!
A look at the restaurant from the kitchen.
I quite like the menu because they have pictures, prices and names of each item on there. There is so much variety and the pictures so do all look quite good.
You have to order at the kitchen front and then are handed this little buzzer which alerts you when your meal is ready to collect.
In this time we switch seats multiple times. The first time we are seated on the left of the restaurant but we find it so cold because the wind comes in our direction every time the front door is opened. The second time we move to the right side but the TV is way too loud there. We finally moved to the middle once I decided I couldn't stand how loud the TV was 😞
Mi Xao Don $12
To be quite honest, from the cook of this dish you can already tell that there is something wrong about it. The noodles look and taste like they need to be fried for an extra few seconds because they are kind of soggy and chewy. And this is before it is drenched into the sauce. The sauce itself has the strangest taste which I almost can't describe. It's like five spices? Anyway I wouldn't say it is the wrong way to make Mi Xao Don sauce, but it's not the way that most Vietnamese restaurants make it and it is not the way we are used to eating. They might've tried to do something different but… it's a no from us.
Mi Go $9.50
Of course we have to try the house speciality of Saigon Hu Tieu Mi Go, the Mi Go itself. My mom says that this dish is not like Mi Go in Vietnam at all. Because of differing ingredients and all. I wouldn't know but this is what she says It's still decent but it's not authentic by my parents tastes. It's nothing special.
T-Bone Steak $11
Just going with a steak in a Vietnamese restaurant to be different! I was going to go for the rump steak which is 50c cheaper but my dad insisted I get the T-Bone. I choose mine medium-rare with mushroom sauce as always. This comes with salad and and a generous amount of chips. The salad is simple with a mayonnaise dressing and I can't go wrong with it. The chips are so crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They retained their crunchiness for so long that I was impressed. Also they are nicely salted! My sister said it's not consistent because she had order this the weekend before and her chips were overcooked and burnt. My steak was good and well sized but a bit too 'well-done' for my preferences. The mushroom sauce had a generous amount of mushrooms in it! Very tasty!
Overall I find this place decent at the very best. It doesn't seem to have any stand out dishes and it seems to try to be everything all at once. There are plenty of other restaurants in Cabramatta that specialise in certain dishes so this might only be a good place to visit when everyone feels like ordering different things. Or when it's the only thing open late at night.
Let me know if you visit Saigon Hu Tieu Mi Go in Cabramatta and try any of these dishes, or different ones! I'd love to know more about what else this restaurant can offer 😁
TL;DR:
Price: Affordable
Quality: Decent
Service: Mostly self serve, only order behind counter
Ambience: Narrow, cramped space
Saigon Hu Tieu Mi Go
178 Cabramatta Rd W,
Cabramatta NSW 2166
