Vinh Phat in Cabramatta is a popular yum cha restaurant by day and a classic seafood restaurant by night. We were here for the latter.
We started with the Watercress and Pork Soup (complimentary). It was an enjoyably light, clear broth.
The Live Pipis ($70.50 at $58.80/kg) with Vermicelli (+$10.00) in XO sauce had the delicious plumpness and juiciness of fresh pipis. We were disappointed that they weren’t spicy in the slightest, though they did have enjoyable scallop bits from the XO sauce and the vermicelli base was crispy and soaked up the sauce. There was no crunchy sand although the overly large ones had a very prominent ocean flavour.
This is the Stir-fried mud crab in Singapore style ($166.30 at $118.00/kg) with deep-fried mantou ($12.00 for 4). We were expecting a spicy sauce with Singapore style so were surprised to find the version here was simply a sweet and sour sauce with added pineapple. As expected the crab claws were the juiciest and meatiest, though they lacked the deep sweet-savoury quality of good crab. The buns were deep-fried, rather than merely steamed, which added an additional heaviness to their already dense texture. That said, they did do a good job of mopping up the sauce.
This is the Stuffed eggplant with prawn mince in spicy herbs, garlic and chillies ($25.80)
This was a ‘light’ end to the meal despite being deep-fried. The batter was thin and the eggplant brought freshness, while the prawns were plump, and whole (rather than) minced.
To end, we have a complimentary sweet potato sweet soup, which tasted like blended sweet potato with a bit of sago. The grainy texture was off-putting, and we preferred the oranges, although they would’ve been more refreshing if chilled prior to serving.
Overall, the experience at Vinh Phat was rather passable in comparison to our later experience at Royal Treasure Seafood Restaurant in Burwood.
Vinh Phat is located at 12/10 Hughes St, Cabramatta NSW 2166.