Thai Riffic on street - Parramatta, NSW

If you follow me on instagram, you'll notice that I've been eating out at places without posting about it here. What's going on? Living with someone else (and taking care of an apartment) has simply meant that I've had less and less time to sit down and put pen to paper (so to speak). But now that I'm back in Australia, I plan to post as frequently as I can to try and catch up cause we've got some good things coming soon!

As many of you know, I've since moved from the southern side of Sydney to the west and I've become a proud and happy resident of Parramatta. Where we live, we're never too far from really, really good food which is absolutely amazing! One of the places that we've been lucky enough to try in recent days is Thairiffic on the street. Located underneath the Westfield cinemas, this conveniently located restaurant (which is a part of a larger chain of Thai Riffic eateries) offers the usual fragrant, delicious Thai fare but also brings many street eats to the west.

The Mrs and I popped in for lunch one afternoon after not being able the decide on what to eat (trust me, the abundant choices in Parramatta can get debilitating). After being seated, we skimmed over the menu and noticed quite a few dishes that you don't regularly find in Thai eateries around the area. So, we quickly placed our order and waited patiently for it our opportunity to sample the delicacies.

I ordered one of my favourite Thai street food items: guay teaw neua toon which is a rich and deep flavoured beef broth served with beef balls, thin rice noodles and tender chunks of braised beef. If you like pho, you'll definitely like this soup noodle as the flavour profiles are really similar: you have the aniseed from the cloves and star anise and the herbaceous aromatic smell of coriander. The springy beef balls provide that texturally pleasant meaty element which is furthered by the big, chunks of fall apart beef. It is significantly sweeter than Pho but you'll learn to relish this sweetness as you hastily slurp those thin strands of rice noodles.

The Mrs ordered the khao mun goong ob mor din which was a claypot rice of sorts with rice stir-fried in a spicy shrimp sauce and served with plump, juicy prawns, fish roe and an onsen egg. Be warned: when they say spicy, they mean spicy. Each grain of rice is coated in this moreish, fiery sauce which made my tongue tingle with joy. This dish isn't particularly generous with the prawns but they do give you really big ones that are cooked to perfection. This dish was also way too spicy for the Mrs so she had to switch with me.

She didn't really like my dish all too much either (too sweet for her) so for compensation, she ordered an extra order of barbecued ox tongue. The ox tongue was grilled really well and took on a charred, crispy exterior...really highlighting the rich, fatty meat but texturally speaking, this was one of the chewier ones I've eaten. Still, they do the dipping sauce really well here so it was a delight to dip the ox tongue in the sweet and savoury sauce.

Again, our apologies for not having updated the blog in a while but we've been kinda busy (really, we have!) and as we go out and explore all that this wonderful area has to offer, I'll be sure to double my efforts and post as frequently as I can to catch up! Stay tuned!

Pho Song Huong - Riverwood, NSW

Pho, the magically delicious beef noodle soup is found in almost every regional area of Sydney and is considered a staple of this multicultural city much like kebabs, charcoal chicken and yum-cha. Although abundantly available, it can be rather difficult to find a bowl that's immensely good. I used to frequent this place in Hurstville called Dixon which to me, was the epitome of great pho...sure, it had it's critics but I still loved it regardless. During the later years after Dixon closed it's doors (sadface), I moved on to try other places such as Pho An, PHD, Great Aunty Three...and now my latest favorite has become Pho Song Huong, located just a 5 min drive from the parent's place.

As they have a relatively large menu, it's a little difficult to speak about everything they offer in one post, that's why I've since eaten there multiple times and compiled my photos and experiences into one post. There's a couple reasons I love this place so much (aside from the distance) and that's mostly to do with the value-for-money and the serving size relative to the price you pay. When they first opened, each bowl of Pho was about $9-$12...and this was within the last two to three years. If you've eaten some Pho before, you'll know that this is exceptionally good (my most recent visit to Pho An led to the slightly shocking discovery that their large bowl now costs $16.50). They since raised their prices but only by a dollar...yes, if you walk in there today, you can get a standard sized bowl of rare beef pho for $10....that's really good.

They only really have one size (which may be a detriment to people with smaller appetites who also maybe don't want to waste food) but for those of us with a large stomach capacity, you will not be disappointed with their almost too generous serving sizes. Legit, I am admittedly a big eater and most times, I find myself pushing the waistline...and this is without even touching the Mrs. portion. The soup is served piping hot and is sweet and fragrant like a good bowl of pho should be. The beef slices are tender and meaty but not too thinly sliced meaning a great texture. The noodles can be a little oily and slippery but that doesn't mean it's any less enjoyable.

Usually when I go, I stick to what I know but over the many times I've been, there have been times where I've eaten dishes other than pho. For example, the last time I went (tonight), I chose to have the black pepper beef with tomato rice....very saucy and complimented the rice really well. We also chose to have a DIY rice paper roll dish with lemongrass pork and spring rolls...probably the most fun you can have wrapping your own food. The selection of drinks they have available is also pretty impressive, anything from avocado or durian shakes to even Thai milk tea.

If you live in the area and you're looking for a great bowl of local beef noodles, or if you're a lover of all things Pho, I'd strongly recommend giving this place a try. It's amazing value-for-money, generous serving sizes and deliciously well made Pho is what draws all the locals to it. Be warned, they do get packed rather quickly though turn over is really quick so you should be able to get in after brief period on the plastic stools.