Dong Ba - CABRAMATTA

It's not a good sign when at 1pm during lunch hour, the restaurant is almost empty in a heavily Vietnamese populated suburb. This is not my experience from all the other Dong Ba's I've been to but it wasn't to deter me. The shop was at the top end of John street and appeared quite dated and tired. However, good Vietnamese food always has a way of making you overlook your surroundings.  The Bun Bo Hue (Spicy beef and pork noodle soup) is of course the house speciality. Unfortunately, this was not as good as the other Dong Ba's. The soup lacked all the aromats of lemongrass and chilli and was so mild flavoured that all you could taste was fish sauce which is quite acrid and salty. The sliced beef, pork trotter, brisket and pigs blood were well prepared but there wasn't enough of it compared to the other branches and the pork loaf was missing. There wasn't enough mint and lettuce in the condiments and there were no chilli flakes too.  As with all Vietnamese noodle soups, the soup base is what makes a seemlingly simple dish so great however, Dong Ba Cabra doesn'thit the mark and in fact left a very unplesant taste in the mouth long after therefore explaining why it's not bustling like the other noodle shops on John street.

It's not a good sign when at 1pm during lunch hour, the restaurant is almost empty in a heavily Vietnamese populated suburb. This is not my experience from all the other Dong Ba's I've been to but it wasn't to deter me. The shop was at the top end of John street and appeared quite dated and tired. However, good Vietnamese food always has a way of making you overlook your surroundings.  The Bun Bo Hue (Spicy beef and pork noodle soup) is of course the house speciality. Unfortunately, this was not as good as the other Dong Ba's. The soup lacked all the aromats of lemongrass and chilli and was so mild flavoured that all you could taste was fish sauce which is quite acrid and salty. The sliced beef, pork trotter, brisket and pigs blood were well prepared but there wasn't enough of it compared to the other branches and the pork loaf was missing. There wasn't enough mint and lettuce in the condiments and there were no chilli flakes too.  As with all Vietnamese... read more

We've tried many Bun Bo joints, including Dong Ba in Melbourne & this one in Cabramatta just cannot compare. Bun Bo Hue (Hue spicy beef noodle soup) soup here is spicy, but very bland & lack flavour. Won't be rushing back, unless we can't find a better bun bo place here in Sydney. Also tried the Broken Rice here, the pork cutlets were fried instead of grilled, so there's no charred smell & meat was tough.

On a cold winter morning, what is better than a large bowl of Vietnamese spicy beef noodles. The hot spicy broth is amazing with predominant lemongrass flavors which really cuts through the amount of meat in the bowl, bringing the dish together. Competitive prices where the servings are quite generous, leaving you full and satisfied. That being said, it is not the best place for bun bo hue in Cabramatta but its a place you'd come back to. Service was quite slow and the boss seem stressed as soon as the lunch rush started. Most of the waitresses spoke enough english to be able to take orders. What really highlights their service is their friendliness and how welcoming they are.

One of the few oldest Vietnamese food stores that has many branch around Sydney, this place is known for its spicy beef noodle soup to which I too agree that is one of the best in Sydney. Unfortunately that  is the only thing its good at and the other dishes are mediocre however its not like you go to a PHO shop and order their rice dish LOLRecommended DishBUN BO HUE (Awesome for winter) asianfoodninja.com