Wagas Cafe, Donghu Rd, Shanghai

Fresh from a recent trip to Shanghai and Nanjing, author Walter Mason writes a guest post for Noodlies, Sydney food blog.



Let me just say at the outset that no-one is more committed to the glories of the 5 Star hotel breakfast buffet than I. The heaven of coming down to groaning tables of things you’d normally never eat, even at midday, is just about the best part of any holiday. But at the same time I am, by nature, an abstemious type. I come from a Methodist family, for heaven’s sake. So unless I am travelling with the famously indulgent Mr. Noodlies, I tend to stay at a more humble class of hotel where, even if breakfast was included in the tariff, you wouldn’t want to eat it. I remember once staying at a “boutique” hotel on Suriwongse Rd. in Bangkok, and when I came down for my all-inclusive “Continental” breakfast the young man staffing the front desk made me some toast (at the check-in counter), poured me a glass of tetra-pack juice and waved me off to my busy day.

Tan Viet Noodle House Cabramatta

I've raved about Tan Viet's Chicken Noodles in my Cabramatta best eats before.  Usually I recommend the dry crispy chicken noodles; basically the soup and egg noodles comes separately.

Tan Viet is always busy, if you come after 10.30am just about any day you'll have to line up.  I haven't been for a while because I simply haven't got the time to queue.  For a change, I'm having the wet version; this is more traditional - where the noodles come in soup.

Here's a pic of Walter inside Tan Viet... it looks like it's overseas, heh?