I have been trying to find this place for ages, it's in an alley on the busy side of Cabramatta. Noodlies Sydney food blog has been to the sister restaurant on the quieter side and loved it.
Luckily for me. there was very decent signage on John Street pointing the way. Battambang is so typical of the old style Cabra restaurants, three rows of tables, smallish with mirrors on either side to create a sense of space, menu written in several Asian languages (don't think there was English) on coloured cardboard. It's busy and noisy - during peak times you'll be asked to share a table. Basically, it's everything I love in a restaurant.
The menu is typical home style dishes but of course, when in Rome.. I order hu tieu - Phnom Penh noodles. I choose the glass noodle (dai - hard noodles) as opposed to fat rice noodles (mem -soft), the soup had strong fish sauce flavour and you can tell they're not compromising for the tourists - of which there weren't any, all around were Cambodians and Vietnamese. You might be disappointed in the range of meat that there wasn't a prawn, it's not a big issue for me.. not much of a prawn fan.
Battambang is honest, authentic you either take it or leave it - this Sydney food blogger will take it any day.
Battambang Cambodian Restaurant
15/73-79 John St, Cabramatta
(02) 9754 2120
I had no idea there were an Cambodian restaurants in Sydney - very cool! I'd been keen to try it but it sounds like I'd be a bit stuck as I only speak/read English.
ReplyDeletethere's a few in the Cabra area.. search on cambodian on noodlies.. there's at least 4
ReplyDeleteHaha I love this place. My dad used to go to school with the owner, back in Cambodia!
ReplyDeleteNo way! They are sooo sweet here, I guess your dad knows that!
ReplyDeleteYou know what - I've never eaten here, but I will now! And my best mate said "dai" meant chewy in Vietnamese - she lied!! Bah!
ReplyDeleteHey Trina, actually it can be translated as chewy, tough, hard... I used hard to contrast with mem, which is soft. So she's technically not wrong!
ReplyDeleteAlso off to HK/Bangkok/Cambodia next week for a 4 week eating tour... your list of recommended restaurants with me, thanks xxx