Ben Nguyen launched the now popular Hai Au Lang Nuong Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney’s western suburb of Canley Vale more than 20 years ago, when nearby Cabramatta was widely seen as the centre of authentic Vietnamese dining. Cabramatta is still known as Little Saigon, but Canley Vale is growing as a restaurant destination and Nguyen now has high hopes of attracting more attention by promoting Canley Vale as a food hub – Sydney’s “Little Asia”.
“Ever since we came here, a lot of restaurants have opened in Canley Vale and we want to promote that,” he says. “It’s more cultural, there’s a lot of different cultures, we’ve got Korean, we’ve got Chinese; we’ve got a lot more variety now, not like back then, 10 or 15 years ago, it was just Vietnamese.”
Broad waves of migration have given birth to international food enclaves across Western Sydney, from the Vietnamese cluster in Cabramatta and Canley Vale to Little India in Harris Park, to Koreatown in Strathfield, and an Afghan hub in Merrylands, while Granville is known for its Lebanese bakeries and food outlets.
For obvious reasons, new immigrants often choose to live close to relatives who are already established, in places where there are suitable religious institutions, accessible work and a common language. Restaurants selling authentic international cuisine can provide work for newcomers with little English.
As a result, international food hubs have emerged in a range of Western Sydney suburbs over the years – Toongabbie, for instance, is known for a Sri Lankan focus and Auburn for a broad middle eastern range of commercial operations and food outlets.
Now it is expected the Sydney Metro will allow for speedy travel around the city, as far as Parramatta in the west, Rouse Hill in the north-west, and Bankstown in the south-west, providing increased ease of access to cuisine enclaves across Western Sydney.
For his part, Nguyen came to Sydney in 1988 with his family – Vietnamese refugees looking for peace and freedom. He was ten years old, and he well remembers his life in Vietnam, memories that have inspired the colourful and lavish decoration in his restaurant.
“My shop has a lot of my childhood memories from Vietnam when I used to live with my grandma and grandpa,” he says, adding that the decorations in his restaurant are a tribute to them.
Nguyen originally wanted to open a restaurant in Cabramatta, but by then Cabramatta was an established Vietnamese enclave and rents were high, so he settled on nearby Canley Vale.
Now, decades later, Nguyen will continue to speak Vietnamese, interact with Vietnamese neighbours and provide authentic Vietnamese food to patrons. “Your origin is your background, your culture, your everything,” he says. “It’s always there in you.”
Western Sydney councils often work to promote the local food hubs. Canley Vale, Canley Heights and Cabramatta are now regarded as “key food, tourism and cultural precincts,” by Fairfield City Council. The Council estimates about 17 Vietnamese restaurants operate in the district, supported by a broad mix of Vietnamese grocers, cafes, bakers and speciality retailers.
Further north, Cumberland Council promotes Merrylands as a hub for middle-eastern food, particularly Afghan cuisine, and supports the restaurant community with business workshops, educational seminars and networking.
Over the past year, there has been a 36 per cent increase in total restaurant spending in the Merrylands precinct, more than half from visitors outside the area, a Council spokesperson says, adding “the area’s food landscape now includes expanding Lebanese, Syrian, Persian and Turkish businesses, contributing to a broader Middle Eastern dining cluster”.
In Harris Park, near Parramatta, the cluster of Indian restaurants and businesses in Harris Park was formally named Little India in 2023, and Parramatta Lord Mayor Martin Zaiter says the precinct continues to grow, with more than 50 restaurants and a broad mix of food businesses. “The City of Parramatta also has plans for a Chinatown precinct,” he says.
Some of the most popular Western Sydney food hub outlets have grown into successful chains. Frango Portuguese charcoal chicken began life in Petersham’s Little Portugal in 1989 and has now spread to 17 operations: across the West in Penrith, Moorebank and Marsden Park, and even further afield in Sydney’s east and north. Awafi Chicken began with a small takeaway outlet near Granville station and now has three operations, in Revesby, Peakhurst and Punchbowl.
The Lebanese El Jannah Chicken chain, too, began small in 1998 in Granville and now has about 50 premises nationwide, spreading interstate to Victoria and the ACT. Late last year substantial new investment from US giant General Atlantic was announced, with a plan to increase restaurant numbers to almost 200 in the future.
Adam Leto, not-for-profit advocacy organisation Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue CEO, says the robust hospitality and tourism culture is an important economic driver for the region.
“What started with European bakeries and delis grew with vibrant Middle Eastern, South Asian, South-east Asian cuisines and Pacific Island communities, and the region has grown into one of Australia’s most dynamic culinary landscapes,” he says, adding the evolution can be seen in restaurants, cafes, mum-and-dad shops and street food pop-ups, as well as large entertainment venues.
“As global travel increasingly values authenticity and cultural immersion, Western Sydney is uniquely placed to lead,” Leto says. “Its food precincts, producers and hospitality operators have the potential to create a new era of destination tourism, one defined by a breadth of global cuisines within a single region, probably not seen anywhere else in the world. There is a real opportunity to position Western Sydney as a culinary capital that connects Australia to the world.”
As well as international enclaves for dining and retail, Western Sydney has fostered some of Sydney’s largest food and beverage production centres, morphing from a focus on growing food to processing, packaging and distribution.
Leto cites the Primo processed meat facility in Chullora, which distributes deli meat products to supermarkets nationally, and Darrell Lea’s Ingleburn factory which produces Australian chocolate and sweets.
“Western Sydney manufacturing is adapting, transitioning toward advanced food manufacturing, logistics and export-oriented production, especially linked to the Western Sydney Airport and Aerotropolis,” he says. “The region is seen as a crucial food hub, connecting growers, producers and manufacturers to global markets.”