Some of Cabramatta's restaurants are serving more day trippers than locals, as food tourism continues to rejuvenate the south-western Sydney suburb.
"It's been thrilling," said Michael Thai, the owner of Bau Truong restaurant. "We've been around for a long time and we went through a time with the drug issues when all of the business just disappeared because no one wanted to come to Cabramatta and now loads of people are coming on day tours here."
Decades ago it was infamous for being Sydney's heroin capital. But Fairfield mayor Frank Carbone said it was food that enticed the majority of visitors to the area and had allowed it to "turn a new page".
On Thursday, Fairfield Council launched the Good Food Month Signature Dish campaign, which aims to attract new diners to Cabramatta, Canley Vale and Canley Heights by providing a guide to some of the best dishes being served there.
"There's no doubt food tourism has revitalised our community and the perception of our community," Cr Carbone said.
Cabramatta isn't alone in its food renaissance. Communities across western Sydney have formed new identities as food hubs offering specific cuisines, with visitors flocking to them from around the state.
Harris Park has a cluster of nearly a dozen Indian restaurants and is known as "Little India". In Granville, there are long queues nearly every night of the week for Lebanese takeaway and Auburn has a well-established reputation for Turkish dishes and sweets.
Parramatta Council has also developed a dining precinct, branding the city's main street as "Eat Street". The popular Bourke Street Bakery, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and master chef George Calombaris are set to open shop there, following in the footsteps of city migrants Gelato Messina, Mad Mex and Bondi Pizza.
More than 2 million international and domestic overnight visitors went to western Sydney in the year ending June 2014, said the acting minister for tourism and major events Katrina Hodgkinson. Eating out was the second most popular activity for domestic visitors to the west.
Western Sydney director of the Sydney Business Chamber David Borger said food was a way that the west could differentiate itself from the rest of Sydney.
"Western Sydney is a far more multicultural place than most of Australia and because we are quite spread out there are so any different main streets and pockets of cuisines," Mr Borger said.
"The way western Sydney is developing every town is basically getting an edge in one cuisine or another."
More than just drawing visitors to the area and fuelling local economies, food hubs are changing the way people think about the west.
Western Sydney food blogger Thang Ngo said city slickers no longer believe "that good food stops at Ashfield".
"The public image of a place takes a long time change," Mr Ngo said. "Take Cabramatta. It's had a really bad reputation, it's gone through hell and come out the other side and now Sydneysiders are coming in to eat Vietnamese there. Who would have thought a pork roll and pho could become so ubiquitous?"
Good Food Month Signature Dishes
Cabramatta
Spicy Beef Noodle Soup – Đông Ba Restaurant, 6/40 Park Rd, 9755 0727
Hai Nam Chicken with Rice – Super Cool, 17-19/180 Railway Pde, 9727 7880
Tapioca noodles in rich blue swimmer crab soup – Phở Tàu Bay, 12/117 John St, 9726 4583
Canley Vale
Pork and Chive Panfried Dumpling – Red Sichuan, 2-3/47-49 Canley Vale Rd, 9723 9992
Mub Crab with Vermicelli in Clay Pot – Grand Pearl Chinese Seafood Restaurant, 56 Canley Vale Rd, 9723 6888
Canley Heights
Wagyu Beef Noodle Soup – Café Điểm Hẹn, 205 Canley Vale Rd, 9724 9800
Rump Steak with Chips and Salad – Steak on the Rocks, 214 Canley Vale Rd, 9724 7324
