Hai Au Lang Nuong, Canley Vale

Vietnamese food is probably one of my least preferred dishes. Don't get me wrong: there's nothing more that I prefer than a steaming bowl of Pho or crispy chicken on a cold winter's morning but with the whole freshness and wholesomeness and the herbs and the rawness. I love it but there's other cuisines I like more. Blasphemy you declare! Well, it's not my thing as much as Spanish or American.

Now my family loves Vietnamese food however so I got recommended to take them to Hai Au down in Canley Vale. As soon as you're within eye shot, the smells of meats sizzling away on the charcoal grill immediately beckons you inside. It'll draws out even the most skeptical like me and soon I'm inside drooling away at the sight of chicken on the table next to us.

Organic Free Range Chicken 20

Charcoal chicken was right up my alley but unlike all the other versions, this one was super juicy. Pair it with some sticky rice and some saucy accompaniments and I'm in my happy place.

Marinated Beef Wrapped in Betel Leaf 30

Betel leafed beef skewers again hit the spot. Dunked into a salty fish sauce concoction, wrapped in fresh lettuce leaf, pineapple and vermicelli and dunked again into fish sauce and a world of flavour awaits with each mouthful.

Extra Crispy Rice

Be warned, extra crispy rice is tooth breakingly hard; more of a crunchy than a crispy but it's still a golden sight to behold.

Caramelised Fish 

Caramelised fish in claypot sounded delectable and it was. It's all sorts of good, you get that sweet sticky caramel sauce arriving to you bubbling away and then you get the uber marbled fish fillet perfectly cooked in the pot. Delicious.

Hot and sour fish

Fish sour soup is the perfect counterpart with the other piece of fish; it's clean and fresh, full of herbs and lip smacking sourness.

Natural predispositions aside, I think Hau Au is a brilliant place to take family. Expect to take home with you a unpleasant lingering mouth feel of fish sauce saltiness but boy was it a damn delicious meal. 

Posted in: beef, canley vale, vietnamese