There’s a small “blink and you miss it” Vietnamese café style restaurant in the heart of Marrickville that serves the most delicious Vietnamese street food this side of Sydney. It has an un assuming shop front with simple signage. However, you’ll know that there’s deliciousness inside from the smell wafting out to the front. If you happen to be in the area with a rumbling tummy, head out to Čo Ba Marrickville.
So what’s in here that had me frothing at the mouth in a good way?
Bo Ne Sizzling Beef Steak
I really wanted to try the Wagyu Sizzling Beef. When we visited, it was not available, so I opted for the Traditional Sizzling Beef. It comes smothered in lava like gravy with an Asian touch (maybe tamarind or oyster sauce?), two runny Sunny Side Ups, some Paté and a sprinkling of coriander and sliced onions. There’s warm crusty bread that’s perfect for dunking into the egg-gravy mix. The French may have brought the baguette to Vietnam, but in this instance, it is perfectly at home in the Vietnamese cuisine. Optional extras you can get are sausages( like the Chinese sausage) or Cheese. The beef was succulent, super tasty and very filling. I’ve got to try and recreate this at home in the very near future.
Razor Clams in Tamarind Sauce
I love Razor Clams, but I don’t cook them myself as I’ve never seem them in the Fish Markets here in Sydney. If you’ve never tried Razor Clams before, they are very similar in taste and textures to Mussels-In Co Ba, you have a choice of three different sauces, Tamarind, Garlic Butter and with Water Spinach. We tried the Tamarind Sauce and it was just the right side of spicy tangy and sweet, Sprinkled with toasted Peanuts and Vietnamese Coriander( Rau Rãm). Must try as it’s quite delightful!
The sautéed Sweet Corn was another stand out dish. It was cooked with dried shrimps and loaded with butter flavour. It may not look much, but it was so refreshing.
Over all, service was Asian style brisk, where food is slapped on your table with no friendly interaction as you would expect from a Vietnamese café. You’re here for the feed only, and if you keep that in mind, you will not be disappointed. Food was great and reasonably priced. Would I go back here? If I’m in the area I definitely would.
