Cabramatta’s recent history has been defined by migration. The area’s migrant hostels meant that, after World War II, British, German, Greek, Italian and Yugoslav migrants were funnelled into the suburb.

The hostels became the birthplace of a nascent Vietnamese community, driven by an influx of refugees fleeing the Vietnam War and the final abolition of the White Australia Policy in 1973. Today, after another wave of migration in the ’90s, almost 38 per cent of Cabramatta’s 21,000 residents have Vietnamese heritage. But the restaurants and grocers in and around John Street also reflect the suburb’s large Chinese, Cambodian, Thai and Lao populations.

Angie Hong, who ran Cabramatta’s Thanh Binh after buying the restaurant in the early ’90s, still visits the area regularly.

The former restaurateur (and, incidentally, mother of influential Merivale chefDan Hong), says John Street has changed over the years, but not substantially.

“Old establishments, such as Thanh Binh, Huong Xua, Tan Viet, Pho Hien and Pho Phung are still there,” says Hong.

Many of the original restaurants are now run by second-generation owners, but among them, newcomers continue to add new stories and new dimensions, such as Com Ga Ba Nga Hoi An, which specialises in Hoi An-style chicken rice.

But don’t stop at John Street, she says. Nearby Hill Street, Hughes Street and Arthur Street are all worth exploring.

Pho Viet

Step out of the station at breakfast and head, first, for Pho Viet, where the headline dish is mi quang. A central Vietnamese specialty, expect a bowl filled with handmade turmeric-tinted noodles in a pork and prawn broth, topped with a jumble of crab, pork, prawn and rare beef. The result is rich and nourishing, the accompanying lettuce and bean sprouts adding a refreshing element.

Pro tip: Grab a bottle of first-press Hoang Gia Fish Sauce to take home too.

11 John Street, Cabramatta

Hoa Hung Tofu

You’ll see the crowds before you see the signage for Hoa Hung Tofu, run by Kevin Ho, who, displaced by the Vietnam War, spent most of his childhood in a Hong Kong immigration camp before arriving in Australia aged 15.

Today, his tofu graces menus across Sydney, but here at Ho’s second canary-yellow shop (the original is in Belmore) you can buy it fresh, pressed into firm squares, fried or (the reason for those queues) as tau hu nuoc duong, quivering, soft-set tofu served with enough ginger syrup to drown in.

42 John Street, hoahungtofu.com.au

Kaysone Sweets

Look to your right and you’ll catch the ornamental Pai Lau gateway guarded by large bronze lions at the head of Freedom Plaza. Here, make a beeline for Kaysone Sweets.

Blenders behind the counter mean durian smoothies, and the build-it-yourself shaved ice desserts are a good time, but the hot counter – featuring Laotian snacks including banana fritters and sien savanh (traditional Laos sweet jerky) – is where it’s at. It’s a chance to order a tum mak hoong set too. Go for “B” and your spicy papaya salad will come with sticky rice, sien savanh and Lao sausage for good measure.

Shop 4, 53-61 Park Road

Dutton Plaza

Make for Dutton Plaza, and it’s a chance to stock up. Among the mint and perilla bunches at Always Greener, you’ll spy harder-to-find ngo om, or rice paddy herb, as well as sawtooth coriander and green mangoes galore.

The Premium Meat Market is the place for pork belly, beef flank and all manner of offal, from tendon to honeycomb tripe.

Viet Hoa Fish Market, meanwhile, stocks fresh school prawns and live pipis, among a wide range of flat and round fish.

Always Greener, shop 13, 101-103 John Street
The Premium Meat Market, shop 28, Dutton Plaza, 8 Dutton Lane
Viet Hoa Fish Market, shop 30-31, Dutton Plaza, 8 Dutton Lane

Phnom Penh Mini Restaurant

Slip into Hong Kong Shopping Plaza and stop at A&A Cake Shop for a pork-filled pâté chaud, Vietnam’s favourite flaky savoury pastry, then loop back to the New World Centre and Phnom Penh Mini Restaurant, where members of the local Cambodian community fill tables.

The order? Owner-chef Thida Kak’s pungent, yellow-tinted num banh chok, a rice noodle soup built on a base of pounded fish and aromats, which you can customise with snake beans, cabbage and ample herbs.

A&A Cake Shop, Hong Kong Shopping Plaza, shop 8, 97-99 John Street
Phnom Penh Mini Restaurant, shop 15, 73-79 John Street

Huong Xua

By lunchtime, John Street is usually bustling. Skewer restaurants and bubble-tea shops draw young crowds, while grandmas set up stalls to sell lemongrass and fresh herbs. Cross the road, and Huong Xua beckons.

Apart from elegant northern-style pho tai lan, featuring flank or stir-fried rare beef, you’ll find com tam – Vietnam’s celebrated broken rice dish – while specials taped to the wall might include nom tai heo, a salad of pig’s ear that’s all about the crunch.

54 John Street

Cafe Nho

From Huong Xua, take a turn down Belvedere Arcade towards Cafe Nho, where locals congregate daily for Vietnamese coffee sweetened with condensed milk, while the Nguyen family’s che nho – a vibrant dessert featuring pandan and coconut jelly and red rubies over shaved ice, “drenched” in coconut milk – is unmissable.

13 & 15 Belvedere Arcade, cafenho.com.au

Battambang Restaurant II

Opposite, you’ll find the second outpost of Battambang, a Cambodian standby for Khmer cooking run by Soc Kieng Hua and her chef brother Khieng Hua Houch.

When the roller door goes up, expect crowds of all ages to flock for crisp chicken served on sweet-sour sauce, more num banh chok, and delicate Phnom Penh noodles (dry or in broth) loaded with prawn, beef and liver.

Pro tip: Don’t forget to ask for some of their secret sauce to take home.

Shop 16, 70 John Street

Com Ga Ba Nga Hoi An Sydney

Turn left onto John Street and you’ll find Com Ga Ba Nga Hoi An Sydney, the latest opening from the Nguyen family, which runs seven restaurants in Vietnam.

The house signature is Hoi An-style chicken rice (com ga). Whole birds are poached in turmeric-scented broth, then hand-pulled to order and served over rice infused with the stock.

“There aren’t many restaurants from the middle of Vietnam – rather than the north or south – in Cabramatta, so I wanted to give the people something different,” says the restaurant’s director, Eric Pham.

The namesake dish comes with braised chicken offal – giblets, yolks, livers, hearts – offset by a fresh green papaya salad.

82-84 John Street

Viet Hoa Hot Bread

Open 24/7, Viet Hoa stands out thanks to its safety-yellow menu board and cabinet filled with all the fixings to stuff into crusty rolls. Line up for banh mi thit and receive a baguette that’s juicy in the middle, with distinct hits of fish sauce and Maggi seasoning, sweet pâté and plenty of crunchy pickles.

107 John Street

Tan Viet Noodle House

We’re reaching the end of the restaurant strip, but there’s no skipping Tan Viet, which despite its name, is best known for its shatteringly crisp, golden-skinned chicken, or ga da don.

The Cabramatta branch, opened by the Lam family in 1993, heaves, and despite a large menu, the only real decisions to make are whether to go for the egg noodles or the tomato rice on the side – and when next to come back.

100 John Street, tanviet.com.au

Phu Quoc

Head around the bend, and spy Phu Quoc. Run by Hong’s former head chef Be Le, the restaurant pumps, its tables overflowing with pho and banh canh noodle soups, and com tam, Vietnam’s famous broken rice dish.

But it’s the spring rolls that take top billing, either glossy and crisp-fried, or served as the wrap-it-yourself rice-paper variety, filled with sugar cane prawns, perhaps.

Don’t miss the bo la lot either, which sees beef fried in betel leaves served with fresh herbs and nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Shop 11, 117 John Street

Still hungry?

Keen to branch off John Street? Hit Dong Ba for bun bo hue, Vietnam’s less famous but worthy noodle soup; Vin Phat Chinese Seafood Restaurant is a local yum cha institution; Vinata’s Hot Bread is celebrated for its banh mi; and Pho 2 U, a relative newcomer, which offers a few surprises, including oxtail hotpot and claypot fish.