Banh Tet for Lunar New Year, Vinh Nghiem Temple, Cabramatta

It wouldn't be tet (new year) without lion dancing,  mut (candied fruit), lisi (red packets), marigold flowers and banh tet.

Lunar new year is like Western Christmas and New Year combined, it's about family and love, but it's also about looking forward to the future.

For me, banh tet is a symbol of love.  It's made from glutinous rice around a filling either meat or vegetarian, wrapped in banana leaf and boiled for at least six hours.  The exhaustive preparation time involves dedication and effort, what better way to show love for your family.

More about Chinese or Lunar New Year

It's the weekend before the new lunar year and noodlies Sydney food blog visited a local temple in Cabramatta to see their preparation for the biggest event in the year.

As expected we found the old ladies, a Vietnamese working bee making banh tet with banana filling, watch it below.



Vinh Nghiem Temple in Cabramatta is typical of the many 'house temples' in the Fairfield local government area, Monks have rented or bought a house and slowly transform it into a temple.  This one is in John Street and you can see in the video, the Monk and his Buddhist followers have managed to transform an Australian built house into something wonderfully exotic.

Where to celebrate Lunar New Year in Sydney

Chua Vinh Nghiem
John St, Cabramatta

Tong Tai Seafood Restaurant, Hong Kong

In the midst of the Temple Street market in Jordan is this outdoor seafood restaurant that is popular with the tourists.

The seafood is layed out for you to chose, it comes out quickly and tastes as fresh as you can get.

I saw rabbit fish on the menu and had to have it given rabbit is the animal for the coming lunar new year.  The fish was steamed in soya and soya sauce.  The flesh was clean, white, subtle taste ready for the soy to add flavour.

Water spinach was cooked in garlic, with a touch of fermented tofu, not over powering the vegetable, but just enough to balance with the crunchy water spinach stalks, most of the flavour was found in the leaves which absorbed most of the tofu flavouring.

It was all washed down beautifully with a large bottle of Tsingtao local beer.  Beers in Asia are weaker than Australia and works well as a thirst quencher in the tropical heat.  This Sydney food blog was very satisfied.

The meal came to HK$138, around A$22.

Tong Tai Seafood Restaurant
184 Temple St, Jordan
Hong Kong