Seoul Feb 2020, Day 1:
Scroll down for a link to my vlog
My first night and first full day in Hongdae last February 2020 was already packed with so much eats! I stayed at L7 Lotte Hotel Hongdae for the duration of our Feb 2020 stay in Seoul.
OG fried chicken at Mom's Touch
Fried chicken sandwich at Mom's Touch
Odeng and more from Monster Tteokbokki
Tteokbokki from Monster Tteokbokki
Flat white from Astronomers Coffee
Cheese & corn nurungji tongdak (charcoal bbq chicken) from Jangjagjib
Apple crumble from Imi
Orange flake Bingsu from Imi
I also ate at 2 famous fried chicken chain stores in Seoul: BBQ Chicken and Mom’s Touch. All followed by a visit to a famous Tongdak (Korean bbq chicken) shop, specialty coffee shop and patisserie in Hongdae.
I love the Sydney café scene and I always try my best to keep up to date with what’s new. Over a month ago, I found out that one café went under the radar for me. The cafe is a beautiful small corner shop called Sandoitchi located in Darlinghurst.
Sandoitchi specialises in Japanese inspired sandwiches & snacks. The space reminds me of bar-style kaiseki restaurants in Japan.
The cafe us being run by a trio of chefs: Pureephat “Bas” Kraikangwan, Sam Lawrie, and Saowanit Boonrod. The coffee is sourced from one of my favourite roasters in Sydney, Single O! Every coffee we had was absolutely amazing. No milk was too hot, shots extracted well and the cold brew was so fruity.
Mushroom katsu burger
Egg sando
Wagyu katsu sando
You can expect everything from mouthwatering Wagyu katsu sando to mushroom toasties and a strawberry cream sandwich! If you miss Japan and Japanese-style sandwiches like I do, then y’all need to check out Sandoitchi.
Please watch my video below for more about my visit to Sandoitchi.
Sandoitchi Cafe
I knew I had to visit Totti’s after reading so many food blogs and raving reviews months prior to our visit. You can’t go wrong with restaurants under the Merivale group but what’s even more awesome is that this restaurant is run by celebrated chef Mike Eggert (ex Pinbone co-onwer). We finally made reservations and went on my birthday week.
The place had a very coastal vibe and some Italian influence in the interior. I mean, the menu is highly Italian inspired after all! We had amazing dishes from woodfire bread reminiscent of a Neopolitan pizza base to a massive umami-packed rib eye steak. Check out what I got up to in the video below. Enjoy!
I miss Seoul and all its glorious food. This includes the famous Egg Drop Korea, which is an all-day breakky themed toasted sandwich shop. Luckily, Sydney is not missing out!
Recently, the new Toastie Smith has opened in the heart of Chatswood. At Toastie Smith, you can get fluffu egg based toasted sandwiches with a variety of fillings from prawns to spam & ham! Watch my latest vlog as we explore one thing: Is Toastie Smith Sydney’s answer to Egg Drop?! Watch the video below:
Toastie Smith , Chatswood: https://goo.gl/maps/7u2MNXYjuZCVtLjA6
Toastie Smith instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toastiesmith/?hl=en
Last February 2020, I went to Tokyo and visited some of the best shops that Tokyo prefecture has to offer. I tried to cover some of what I think is a good introduction to people visiting Japan should try in terms of high-ranking shops if they are pressed for time. There’s a bit of something for everyone here and I hope I did a decent job at giving you a sneak peek.
Master Yamaguchi-san
Shoyu ramen with tamago from Ramen Yamaguchi
I called this video "Volume 1" as I'm hopeful that we can all travel back to Tokyo in the near future and I could create Volumes 2 and so on. I know that there’s a lot of amazing shops in Tokyo but unfortunately, time didn’t allow for me to cover more of them as part of this visit and this Vlog. Enjoy the video guys and I hope this helps plan your next visit to Tokyo!
Cafe Paci has been on my wishlist. I was so stoked that I finally got to visit it along with my good friend and fellow Sydney Food Blogger, Chocolatesuze. It’s located in Newtown and is easily accessible by public transport with lots of street parking in the area as well.
Click on thumbnail above or here for my Youtube video
Scallops, togarashi & sour cream
Tuna tartare
Sourdough pasta with pear and pecorino
Potato dumplings (gnocchi) with XO trout sauce
Fairy bread ice cream with brown butter custard
Chef Pasi Petanen has work at a lot of renowned restaurants in Sydney past such as Automata and ACME. He did a pop a few years back and has now found a permanent location on King Street, Newtown. The cuisine is bit of Finnish and Mexican with touches of Italian, Japanese and a lot more. The food is both innovative and delicious. They also have a wide range of wines to match with their signature dishes.
Click here for my video and more information about the dishes.
I was invited to the latest Filipino restaurant to open in Western Sydney, Sir Manong. It always excites me when a Filipino restaurant opens in Sydney. I love Filipino food and I’m proud of it. Sir Manong is a new venture by the same team behind the successful Burger Point. This restaurant brings a modern interpretation of Filipino home cook meals to the limelight at the new Eastern Creek Quarter.
Bangus A La Pobre
Expect contemporary twists of the classic sisig and a fried chicken with the flavours of adobo. There’s classic fried bangus with salted egg ensalada and more! One thing is for sure, Manong is legit!
*If you haven't yet, please subscribe to my Youtube channel and hit the notification bell to say up to date with all my new videos*
Mashi no Mashi Ramen is a Jiro style ramen by Wagyumafia. They are open for lunch (check their instagram account for more details). They are also open for dinner for 1 hour from 6pm. The ramen costs ¥10,000. The broth is seasoned with heavy shoyu tare and the base soup is made from beef bones and topped with expensive cuts of Wagyu.
We also went to an amazing cheap yakitori shop in Hatagaya called Miyazaki Shouten (I highly recommend this shop).
Check out my Vlog for videos and more info! Click here
*If you haven't yet, please subscribe to my Youtube channel and hit the notification bell to say up to date with all my new videos*
I met up with my good friend and OG Sydney Food Blogger Chocolatesuze back on the 13th of June. It's truffle season in Sydney around June to August and many restaurants have a special truffle menu on offer. Suze and I normally love to go on food crawls all around Sydney and we seized the Truffle season opportunity to check out Devon North Sydney's truffle menu.
Premium To Go Pancakes from GRAM Sydney
Double cheese burger from Bush
We also went to Gram (yes Gram from Japan) in Chatswood to buy some takeaway fluffy premium to go pancakes and ended the food crawl with cheeseburgers from Bush in Redfen.
Check out my Vlog for videos and more info! Click here
Hi! My name is Raff a.k.a Ramen Raff. I'm a home cook, Vlogger, Food blogger and expert food crawler from Sydney, Australia. I'm a ramen, cheeseburger, fried chicken, coffee, cheese and macaron lover. I also enjoy music, travel, street fashion, Japanese anime, and comicbooks.
This is a personal food blog. All reviews and recommendation are of my personal preference/opinion, follow at your own risk. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only.Taste is subjective and I will not be liable for any food experience gone wrong. ramenraff.blogspot.com makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.
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