Social media is always oozing with videos of delectable food and beautifully-presented drinks that you ‘just have to try’.
However, with every location tagged within a few kilometres of the Sydney CBD, you might assume that these trending items are out of reach.
But, it seems you can absolutely find them right here in Penrith – you just have to know where to look.
Llandilo local Sara Al Nasere opened Sweet Treat four months ago, determined to bring something new to Penrith.
“Growing up around here in the west, it’s always been so hard to keep up and find the new trendy stuff, the new trendy drinks, unless you go to Bondi, or to the city. It was as if no one really did anything around here, and the first thing was acai for me,” she said.
Located on High Street, Sweet Treat stocks acai with just about every topping you could ask for, as well as the newest trending drink, strawberry matcha.
Al Nasere said that feedback around this has been incredibly positive.
“We have a lot of returning customers!” she said.
Over at Henri Marc, owner Brandon King has been receiving similar feedback around his menu.
“As soon as people see the menu, you can see their faces light up,” he said.
“It keeps it interesting when they realise, ‘Oh my God, I don’t have to travel 40 minutes!’.”
Not only does the store also sell strawberry matcha, which they’ve had since February, but they’ve also explored different flavours and cuisines throughout their menu, such as in their Japanese-style okonomiyaki scrambled eggs with fried shrimp and kewpie mayo, and their brioche French toast with yuzu curd and Swiss meringue.
“It’s not just about staying up to date with the latest trends, but it’s also just about keeping up with people’s interests in a way that they realise out west is still creative, or that we’re not stuck in a previous era,” he said.
Flappy’s Fried Chicken experienced the opposite effect, where their food became a trend after it opened.
The venue opened in the Manufactor precinct over a year ago alongside Burger Point, however it didn’t become popular until recently, when it started to be compared to iconic US chain Raising Cane’s.
“When we first opened Flappy’s Fried Chicken, we were actually very quiet. No one knew about us, and it was pretty much a ghost town compared to what you see today,” owner Yuan Casaje said.
“One of the videos on our social media introduced that you could get our sauce in a big cup, which resembled the Raising Cane’s-style big serving of sauce.”
Since then, people have been travelling from far and wide to the store. But, he said having something so iconic in Penrith makes it extra special for locals.
“To have something like this in Penrith is great for the locals here. It’s a step up from your average fried chicken shop – a bit more modernised,” he said.
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.