Kambozza Restaurant – Parramatta

When I got an email the other day from a restaurant that was correcting me on a statement I made on Bagan being Sydney’s only Burmese restaurant, it didn’t take me long to adjust my wording and take up the invitation of giving the place a go. As usual the trains weren’t running on the Western line over the weekend and the inconvenience of taking a crowded replacement bus didn’t curb us from shlepping out to Parramatta for a little look-see.

On first impressions I was a little surprised to see a Burmese restaurant also serving Japanese sushi, especially when the person that contacted me was quick to point out that Kambozza …

… is well known among Burmese community as the only one pure Burmese Restaurant in Sydney … If you like to try a real Burmese taste ( not Chinese or Singaporean influrence), Kambozza would like to invite you …

Enough said, and that isn’t my way of spelling influence, either. So Mr K and I turn up anonymously and unannounced and take a seat in the brightly-lit restaurant opposite the old fire station and scan the menu for some authentic delights. The decor is nothing to get overly thrilled about: white walls with the odd Burmese print and hanging bamboo runners, wooden tables and chairs, placemats as bright as the overhead fluorescent lights and glass cabinets stocked with Burmese dried and fresh smallgoods to take home. Neither of us was overly hungry so we chose a few plates to share, making sure to leave room for something sweet.

The first thing to catch my attention is the Green tealeaf salad with its eclectic combination of tomato, cabbage, fermented tea leaf, crispy peas and fried garlic. The petite serving is perfect nibbling food and has a wonderful varied texture and flavour combination. Crunchy peas and beans, soft and sour tea leaves and salty and earthy dressing. An instant favourite.

On its coat tails arrives the Flat bread with beans that looks much like the pae parata we had at Bagan but here the green lentils are retained whole and the bread is much, much, much oilier. I could feel my arteries tightening with every bite. I don’t mind a bit of oil and fat but this was pushing me closer to a corinary. The green lentils on top are soft and delicious and a bowl of these alone would have been a treat.

Many other meals are tempting on the menu such as Fish cake curry, Red pork curry and Mango salad but we opt for one of the specials – Garlic noodle with pork. Arriving in a deep bowl, the mound of egg noodles is generously garnished with batons of boiled pork, coriander, spring onion and garlic flakes. A side of unseasoned chicken stock is also given to us without explanation other than “it’s complimentary with the noodles” Seeing the noodles were a little dry and stuck together we took it upon ourselves and poured most of it over them along with a sprinkling of the dried smokey chilli flakes from the cannister in the condiments tray. Not sure if this move was kosher but it was a much-needed improvement.

The dessert menu has some interesting sounding options so I chose two, the first of which is Kaukchaw. When it came out I was surprised to see it is actually a drink that doesn’t exactly resemble the description of - seaweed jelly with coconut cream and sugar. Indeed there was a submerged layer of diced seaweed jelly but the coconut cream was left behind in the coconut hanging on the tree back in Burma. Or maybe I just got the wrong thing? If this is kyaukchaw then methinks it belongs on the drinks menu. Despite the confusion I enjoyed the flavour that was a cross between golden syrup and a very mild molasses. The jelly at the bottom didn’t even taste of seaweed, so don’t be put off if you’re not that adventurous.

I couldn’t go past the Nga pyaw pyar yae san, otherwise known as fried banana soaked with honey. The plantain-like banana’s are still firm, yet soft enough and sugary enough to make your sweet tooth jump for joy. The underside of each slice of banana has a crunchy layer of undissolved sugar and makes me want more. Absolutely beautiful.

On arriving for our lunch the restaurant was void of people except the two of us and on leaving it was filling rapidly with pairs and families obviously knowing what they were going to order. I can see why. The food is cheap, good and keeps you coming back.

Tagged as: Burmese, Parramatta, Western Sydney