Cabramatta – People

Cabramatta is a suburb in Sydney's south-west which is also known as "Little Asia". As a settlement, it dates back to 1795. There was a surge of immigration from south-east Asia, particularly Vietnam, in the 1980s; according to the 2006 census the languages spoken at home by residents of "Cabra" were Vietnamese (34%), Cantonese (15%), English (11%) and Thai (10.6%), with Khmer, Laotian and Mandarin also spoken. I was there for three hours and took so many photos that I will have to depart from the place a day concept to show all of them. Today: the people working in the stores, selling gewgaws on the pavement, eating in the restaurants or strolling the high street.

Home Thai

Home Thai is a busy little Thai restaurant located at 299 Sussex Street in the CBD. It's a nice mixture of modern (the waitresses take the orders on iPads) and traditional (there's an enormous mortar and pestle in constant use for spices), and the food is fresh and tasty. Our waitress was tiny and delicate, and had a little black star drawn in the far corner of each eye (see below). An exciting range of bowls and trays crowd the counter of the open kitchen: chilli sauce, jellies for desserts, fresh dumplings waiting for the pan, and rich, caramel-dark custard tarts in large square tins. Below, in order: chicken satay; roast pork; steamed chicken; wonderfully juicy chive dumplings; and spicy beef.

Elvis4cleo

Elvis4cleo is a funky little clothes shop at 202 King Street, Newtown. Catering for both men and women, and stocking mainly Australian designers, it's run by the lovely Sylvia (pictured below). It's packed with interesting little features and witty displays as well as some very nice clothes. I couldn't resist photographing a woman with beautiful red hair who was helping her boyfriend pick a shirt; people were browsing the extensive range of t-shirts and, although I was too dozy to realise it, there's a whole room upstairs full of sale items.