'Brad N Virls' Take on the
Cabramatta Moon Festival
Ah, the Cabramatta Moon Festival — that one glorious day in September when the streets overflow with food, lights, and enough people to make sardines feel like they live spaciously. Officially, it celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival — a time to honour the harvest moon, family, and mooncakes. Unofficially, it’s an excellent excuse to eat until you are borderline about to chunder.
Strangely, my first stop was a chemist, which ain't the sort of guff that most people attend the event for.
In between snacks number twelve and thirteen, they tried their luck at carnival games — which, shockingly, did not result in any stuffed toy victories, just mild humiliation. A few questionable rides later (and beginning to think all the food wasn't a wise idea), we stumbled into the shopping stalls, where you could buy anything from bubble tea plushies to fake jade dragons blessed by someone’s cousin.
Though we settled for these skewers with a very small bit of meat, and something called, I think, a Mochi Donut. Both a tad unusual, but enjoyed.
The dragon dancers burst through the crowd next, accompanied by drums that could probably be heard in Bankstown. Then came the live entertainment — singers, dancers.
By the end of the day, we were full, sunburnt, totally buggared, mildly sticky from mystery sauce, and spiritually enlightened — mostly about which stalls give free samples. Truly, a cultural experience for the ages.
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Been a while since I last caught one of these dreary Tangara trains, but alas I drew the short straw today.
Photo: Brad Peadon
The newest example of the modern day Sydney train..
Photo: Brad Peadon
"When's the flamin train get here"?
Photo: Brad Peadon
Cabramatta Railway Station.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and two below.
Railway Parade at Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Entrance to the Moon Festival at the railway station end of John Street.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and three below.
Virls is all excited at the prospect of a days worth of Vietnamese culture and food.
John Street, Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and below.
#22, presumably a Vietnamese version of the trike I am more familiar with in the Philippines.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Railway Parade, Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and fourteen below
An endless array of Moon Festival scenes taken along John Street in Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and three below.
A look at the north entrance to Freedom Plaza in Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and three below.
A look at thesouth entrance to Freedom Plaza in Cabramatta.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Above and six below.
Arthur Street had all the prize winning competitions and a stage for live entertainment acts.
Photo: Brad Peadon
Eastlakes Shopping Centre's Cousin.
Welcome fellow shopping mall pervs.
The BKK Shopping Centre in Cabramatta — yes, that gloriously chaotic maze of eateries, grocers, and a rather small Filipino grocery store — was once part of a small retail empire run by the Ma family, a Teochew–Chinese clan with a knack for building less majestic retail landmarks.
Not content with feeding just one suburb, the Mas later set their sights on our dear ol Eastlakes (of which I have been covering a lot on my blog and YouTube recently), planting another BKK shopping centre there. Thus, the “BKK” name began popping up like a familiar cousin at family gatherings — different postcode, same family recipe.
Meanwhile, over at Eastlakes, the shopping centre has spent the last few years playing musical chairs with owners. It was most recently snapped up by Conquest, who have grand plans to redevelop it into something shiny and new. But otherwise quite dull and boring for us locals that grew up with, and already miss, the original.
Check out all my Eastlakes posts HERE!
MRT Pilipino
Interesting name for a Filipino store given my Philippine rail interest.
It would be interesting to know how the name was arrived at.
Photo: Brad Peadon
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Nhing, Tins, and Virls.
Fairfield City Council (Host).
