Two postcodes carry Sydney's Vietnamese cooking: Cabramatta out west and Marrickville in the inner west. The venues below are drawn from Broadsheet's Vietnamese guides. Everything here is the kind of place locals defend in arguments.

Pho Viet, Cabramatta

A 30 year old staple that both Noodlies writer Thang Ngo and chef Luke Nguyen have called one of Sydney's best. The broth goes for 16 hours and lands sweet, slightly tart and thick with fish sauce, bone marrow and star anise. There is a reason every pho conversation in Sydney ends up here.

Bau Truong, Cabramatta

Michael Thai and his family have run Bau Truong since 1995. It serves home-style dishes you will struggle to find anywhere else in the city, which is exactly why it stays one of Cabramatta's most popular rooms.

Banh Cuon Ba Oanh, Marrickville

A tiny corner shop that many Vietnamese locals, and at least one top Sydney chef, say makes the best banh cuon in town. Rice rolls this delicate are hard to do at volume. Watch them made and you understand the queue.

Hello Auntie, Marrickville

An upmarket room on Illawarra Road where the owner, who arrived as a refugee, revisits his roots. Banh xeo and banh khot share the menu with pho and DIY rice paper rolls. Take people who claim they know Vietnamese food and watch them find three new dishes.

Viet Bling

A newer banh mi spot from married team Hank and Nancy Tran, previously of Coogee Hot Rolls. The rolls come from Quang Thanh Hot Bread and the pate is rich and deeply savoury. Banh mi lives and dies on bread and pate. This one lives.