The Usual Cafe, Cabramatta

Set in the heart of Cabramatta - the Vietnamese central of Sydney - , The Usual Cafe is peculiarly situated given that they offer Western cafe food in a very Asian suburb.

It took a while to find this place from Cabramatta station (thanks to trusty old GoogleMaps) since it's located off the main shopping streets and directly next to the Dutton Street car park exit. As I was visiting on a busy Sunday morning, the nearby streets were filled with cars queuing to enter the public car park - I was so happy that I decided not to drive here, otherwise I would be wasting a lot of time on the streets in the queue.

Outside of Cafe

Inside Cafe

The inside is decorated like many hip(ster) cafes in Sydney - filled with white subway tiles, industrial lights, dark wood furniture, and lush green plants strategically placed around the cafe.

To start of this meal, I ordered a Prana Chai - hot, spiced milk tea with a thick layer of foam -, which came with a small amount of honey on the side:

Prana Chai ($4.50)

Originally, I did want to try their french toast, which has rave reviews, but sadly it wasn't on their food menu so I opted for their seriously healthy Super Green Bowl:

Super Green Bowl ($15) - Zucchini Noodles, Cabbage Pickle,
Avocado, Green Beans, Brocollini, Quinoa, Housemade Miso Dressing

I would have liked a little more seasoning to happen in the dish - only the avocado had grounded salt & pepper on top, and the dressings on the beans and cabbage pickle wasn't quite enough to make the dish sing. However, it was a pleasant dish to eat with clean, fresh flavours on the palate. There was an option to add a sous-vide egg (+$3) but I passed.

The (un)usual cafe - why set up shop in a suburb filled with Vietnamese Asians and serve Western food? I guess there would be a major gap for Western food in Cabramatta but the choice of location is not that great, being next to the public car park. In a way, it felt like you had to be in-the-know to be there but it makes for a great place if you want a quiet meal away from the masses that swarm the main streets of Cabramatta.

Late Brunch
(which ended up as lunch)

Food: ✰✰✰✰
Service: ✰✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰
Overall: ✰✰✰ 1/2
One-Line Summary:  Hipster cafe in Asian central