10 must-try street food spots in Western Sydney

Just an hour from the CBD, Western Sydney is one of the most diverse places on the planet and the food scene reflects that. Barbecue smoke billowing down the street, arcades flooded with the smell of peppercorns and fried bread, fresh roti flipped off the grill and onto your plate, food trucks with American smokers in tow, and dumplings served from a shop window – Western Sydney is NSW’s street food capital, and what makes it so alive, fast-paced and varied is the region’s communities. With fast and loud street stalls, vibrant markets and traditional menus serving on the side of the highway, these 10 spots will make you feel like you’ve been transported to another place.

Little India

Right next to Parramatta is Harris Park, a vibrant Indian community hub (dubbed Sydney’s Little India) lined with restaurants and street food options run out of heritage-listed cottages. Before you explore the main drag, snack-filled Wigram Street, check out Shri Refreshment Bar and Jaipur Sweets on Marion Street, two of the suburb’s most popular street food spots. The former is popular for incredible masala tea, made to order parathas (fried flat breads) and range of crunchy fried snacks. And the latter is famous for their freshly fried jalebi (deep fried and sugar-syrup coated dough swirls).

Try this: Aloo pyaz paratha (potato-stuffed flat bread) and chana masala (spiced chickpeas) at Shri Refreshment Bar.

If you like this: Mitran Da Dhaba is like Shri but with a bigger range of options and is based in a cavernous Blacktown manor.

Little India, Harris Park

Burwood Chinatown

Here, prepare for sensory overload. This Inner West dining precinct, an arcade that spills out onto the streets around it, is saturated with neon lights; full of the smells of all kinds of snacks being baked, fried in spice and doused in chilli; and usually packed with people. The choice is vast, with many cuisines and cooking styles represented. Find guo kui (clay oven-baked flat breads), sweet egg waffles served in a cup with ice-cream, a bowl of hot pot, a Malaysian noodle soup or spiced Taiwanese fried chicken.

Try this: Get a flat bread from Guo Kui, a bag of spicy mixed skewers at Kwafood, a papaya salad at Isan Tum Zaap, or something else you’ve never tried before.

If you like this: Taiwan Night Market in Eastwood offers a series of stalls selling far more than just Taiwanese snacks.

Burwood Chinatown, Burwood

Mamu Penang Coffee Stall

Mamu Penang in Guildford is set up like a typical, old-school Malaysian street food market: one central vendor selling food and drinks, plus a number (how many depends on when you go) of extra stalls selling smoky fried rice, rich curries, different noodle soups, charcoal-grilled satay skewers and other Malaysian classics. Here, you order a drink and a roti, pick up your meal and sit on some improvised furniture with a backdrop of barbecue smells, laughter, heat and the allure of a second dinner. It feels just like eating street food in Penang, without the humidity.

Order this: Fresh roti and a teh tarik (Malaysian milk tea).

If you like this: Although not the same street experience, Island Dreams Café in Lakemba and Malaysian Groceries in Punchbowl, serve similar Malay-style food.

Nasi lemak and teh tarik tea at Mamu Penang, Guildford

2 Smokin’ Arabs

2 Smokin’ Arabs in the Canterbury Leagues Club feels like having your own catered picnic, only with award-winning American barbecue chefs doing the catering. The owners have scooped major awards in the Australian competitive barbecue scene, including first place for their brisket at Meatstock, and seventh overall best barbecue in Australia at the Townsville BBQ Battle. The awards are hardly surprising when you learn all their beef is wagyu 9+ marbling and smoked for 10-12 hours in an offset smoker using ironbark.

Try this: The Brisket Box with 200g brisket, slaw, pickles, crisps and bun.

If you like this: BlackBear BBQ is another American barbecue joint with a similar outdoor setup in Blacktown.

American BBQ burger at Two Smokin' Arabs - Credit: Two Smokin' Arabs

Tianjin Bun Shop

Tianjin Bun Shop is famous for two things: good-value, northern-style Chinese street food served hot and ready to eat and their abrupt, no-nonsense service style. The northern-style snacks they make are from the Tianjin region of China. The two most famous snacks are the popular orders here: the steamed buns (sweet red bean, and savoury egg or meat fillings) and jianbing (crispy, savoury pancakes).

Try this: A steamed bun, a jianbing, and if you go for breakfast, a freshly made soy milk.

If you like this: Jinwei and King of Buns in the same neighbourhood offer a bigger range of snacks and a hot cabinet of Chinese lunch options.

Tianjin Bun Shop, Campsie

Smoky Cravings

You’ll probably smell Smoky Cravings before you see it: charcoal smoke from the barbecue billows down the street, attracting passers-by with empty stomachs. This Filipino eatery has made its name on old school charcoal-driven barbecue, and you’ll find everything from single skewers of chicken, pork or quail eggs to an entire hunk of crispy-skinned pork knuckle. Combine with some rice, chips and a halo halo (shaved ice, coconut milk and a heap of other different textural add-ons layered in a tall glass), and sit out on the street, under the suburban lights.

Try this: A couple of classic, sticky, smoky barbecue pork skewers with a side of sawsawan (tangy vinegar dip). Come on Saturdays for acoustic music performances.

If you like this: Try Panlasang Pinoy, a Filipino grocer in Kogarah with an in-built diner.

Smoky Cravings, Lakemba

Parklea Markets

Parklea Markets is not your typical local market experience. It’s massive and densely packed with a dazzling range of, well, everything. The fresh fruit and veg is wildly diverse, the flea market section has everything from trinket stalls to mini plant nurseries, and there’s another section serving meat and offal. Among all of that there are also several street food stalls selling Indian flat breads, Malay-style curries, modern Filipino deserts, Fijian cuisine, Persian kebabs and more.

Try this: Plump Tibetan momos and sel roti (fried bread rings) from Didi’s Recipe Dumplings.

If you like this: Visit Lakemba Ramadan Night Markets during Ramadan each year for an incredible range of food stalls and celebration of Muslim culture.

Entrance to Parklea Markets, Parklea - Credit: Parklea Markets

John Street and the side streets of Cabramatta

There are few places in Sydney as transportive as Cabramatta. Since the 1980s the southwest suburb has been Sydney’s Vietnamese hub, and its bustle, community and food scene are just like what you’d find in Ho Chi Minh City. John Street is the suburb’s main drag and both it and the side streets around it are packed with street food options. There are more than five excellent bánh mì shops. The arcades are full of coffee shops, snack vendors and noodle diners. The grocers often sell pre-packaged snacks, some even made by local home cooks. And, sometimes the street will have random vendors popping up selling everything from packages of sticky rice to fresh fruit.

Try this: Bánh mì xíu mại (bánh mì with meatballs) from Vinata Hot Bread, one of the oldest shops in Cabramatta, then get Thai sweets from Pak Soi Thai.

If you like this: Illawarra Road in Marrickville has excellent bánh mì shops and Vietnamese grocers, but with more northern Viet influence.

Outdoor dining options in Cabramatta - Credit: Jason Nichol Photography

Tomato Kimbab

Take a ball of high-quality Korean short grain rice, fill in the centre with anything from pickled vegetables to spicy meat, and then wrap the outside in dried seaweed and you have kimbap, one of the all-time classic Korean grab-and-go snacks. Tomato Kimbab in Lidcombe is one of the best kimbap shops in Sydney, not just for the quality and range of fillings they offer, but also for the warmth and care that comes from behind the counter.

Try this: A classic kimchi kimbap.

If you like this: Irea up the road is a grocer with readymade snacks.

Takeaway Korean rice rolls on the street Tomato Kimbab, Lidcombe

Sir Manong

With its playground and Coles inside, Eastern Creek Quarter looks like any Western Sydney shopping centre, until you spot Sir Manong’s colourful signage outside the restaurant. On the menu you’ll find a list of Filipino food’s greatest hits: tender beef kare-kare (slow-cooked stew), sticky, saucy pork adobo and crunchy lechon (roast, suckling pig) served with plenty of acidic sawsawan (vinegar and garlic dip). After your meal, head to Hanmade’s Bakehouse around the corner, still in Eastern Creek Quarter, for Filipino sweets. Try a box of colourful silvanas (frozen meringue cookies) made from alternating layers of butter cream and meringue coated in coconut, earthy purple ube (Filipino sweet potato) or pandan coconut.

Try this: Textural, sizzling pork sisig (hash) is made from pork cheek, belly, diced onion and chicharron (fine fried pork rind) served on a hot iron skillet and topped with a runny egg.

If you like this: Head back into the city to Takam, a cheffy take on Filipino cooking that blends modern techniques with the ingredients and dishes of the four partner chefs’ heritage.

Sir Manong, Eastern Creek - Credit: Sir Manong