Com Tam Van Phat - Bankstown

The com tam disappointment me thoroughly. See how on Christmas when you're 7 years old and you expect santa clause, but instead you catch your parents putting presents under the tree. The com tam disappointed me more. Flavour was flat and non existent and did not live up to standard with the average com tam I've eaten around cabramatta and bankstown. Service was okay but doesn't make up for lack of flavour. I may come back to give it a second chance. Until then.

Signature dish here is the com dac biet which is grilled pork chop with rice served with egg and pork cake, well advertised at the front of the shop. For a place that serves decent authentic Vietnamese food not sure why it's always quiet when I walk past (maybe cause of the time). Usually have the com dac biet which always satisfies my hunger without leaving me too bloated.

Came in for Saturday lunch ordered bbq lemongrass chicken, crispy chicken /w tomato rice, pork rib and rice paper rolls. My hubby enjoyed pork however crispy chicken was pretty average. I did enjoy my bbq lemongrass chicken with broken rice dish but this tasted more like Thai food some reason nonetheless the chicken was marinated well and tender. Rice paper roll was ok. goodtasteguide.blogspot.com

Just testing out the $11.90 lunch special on behalf of the local workers and it gets thme thumbs up. It comes with rice, and pork done 3 ways- grilled chop, shredded and steamed into a terrine. However for me was extra hungry and ordered an extra chop for $6. Worth it.

Hitting the South-West for Pho we were seduced from our original destination by the 'phamous' tag line. The eponymous dish was ordered by almost all patrons in store and naturally we jumped on the bandwagon with vehemence. Considering our first choice was playing it safe, we also ordered the bun rieu oc - tomato and crab meat soup with tofu, blood jelly and sea snails. Don't ever say I'm not adventurous! Com Tam Van Phat presented two pieces of charred pork chops that had been beautifully marinated and had a nice smokey flavour from the grill. However the best item on the dish was the steamed pork terrine. It was moist, tender and melt-in-mouth type goodness. Tomato and crab meat soup with sea snails was... Different. I went in with no expectations and actually quite enjoyed the slightly sour and earthy soup. Little chewy stubs of sea snail was balanced against the soft blood jelly. Did I love it? Not quite, but I might go and order it again one day. The three coloured shaved ice drink was rather small in size and the ice flakes were much finer than usual, therefore melting far quicker. Prerequisite brain freeze sadly unavailable. Staff were nice and decor is typical cafeteria style with bright fluorescent lights. Decent budget feed for the whole family with a few surprises on the menu!