Totti's Bondi, Sydney

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!

Totti's Bondi

Ryo's Noodles, Bondi Junction

I love that we have awesome ramen offerings in Sydney. Everything from Tokyo-style Chukasoba to black garlic tonkotsu ramen, Sydney has it all covered. Some of them are just a bit far for me to visit. Take the Ryo's Noodles original Crows Nest shop for instance. But last year, the OG of Sydney Ramen has decided to branch out to Bondi Junction. 

Ryo's Bondi Junction also has everything that the Crows Nest shop has on offer. Expect classic tonkotsu and Tokyo-style broths with different bases. There's also rice curry dishes, gyozas, karaage chicken and rice balls on offer. The interior even looks like their original shop. Complete with scrolls of Japanese scripts hanging on their signature yellow wall. 

Now, let's talk about the food:

Gyozas

Gyozas ($7) and ramen are just the perfect combo. You can't go wrong with Ryo's gyozas. They are perfectly cooked with that nice caramelised crust. The pork is very flavoursome with sweet notes from the ginger and garlic. 

I tried their miso based tonkotsu ramen ($14 – no.4 on the menu). The broth had a light pork flavour with sweet and heavy umami flavours driven by the miso tare. The miso also gave the broth a thicker consistency. The wavy noodles were springy and flavoursome from its alkaline component (legit!). It also had two massive slices of thick tender chashu, ajitama (flavoured egg), naruto, shallots and sweet menma. It was definitely a solid bowl of ramen.

Gyokai tonkotsu ramen a.k.a. tonkotsu with fish broth ramen

I also tried their gyokai tonkotsu ramen ($15 – no.5 on the menu), which is a double soup ramen with pork bone broth and fish broth. The broth had a milky consistency with light pork and light fish flavours. The shio based tare gave the broth some depth. The noodles were the same with toppings such as two slices of chashu, shallots, fried shallots and ajitama. I love my thicker and intense tonkotsu broths but I really liked this ramen. Maybe because I'm bias to gyokai tonkotsu but it was just amazing. 

There's a reason why they're the OG and a go to for Sydney ramen lovers. Ryo's ramen technique is seamless from the broth to the ramen formation. 

Ryo's Noodles Bondi Junction

106 Ebley St

Bondi Junction NSW

(02) 9387 8858

Opening hours

Mon-Tue: 11:30am to 3pm, 5pm to 9pm

Wed: Closed

Thurs-Sun:  11:30am to 3pm, 5pm to 9pm

The Stuffed Beaver, Bondi

If someone was to tell me that a certain place had amazing burgers, rest assure that I would be all up in it! But this time, my burger radar missed to detect a joint called Stuffed Beaver. It has been open for nearly a year now! Thanks to a re-post by Brasserie Bread on their Facebook page a few weeks ago, my radar was directed to this place.

I made my way to Bondi not long ago to check out this Canadian influenced pub/burger parlour. The place has a very chilled vibe and rustic look that included memorabilia hanged on the walls. The mouthwatering menu consists of references to a beaver dam. There was available seating outside, near the bar and further more at back consisting of tables for two to four. But it's not the dam (pun intended) tables that I came here for, but the food! All the burgers use Brasserie Bread's fluffy and buttery brioche buns. Each burger does not include ketchup or mustard but they are available as complimentary condiments on each table.

The Dam Beaver burger

The dam beaver burger ($10.80) is Black Angus beef pattie with blue cheese in brioche bun. The beef pattie is flavoursome and well seasoned. The melted blue cheese is creamy and has a medium body blue flavour. If you enjoy the sharp blue cheese flavour then this burger is for you. It also came with a side of pickles.

John Candy combo $15.80

The John Candy combo burger ($15.80) was amazing and it is my kind of burger. It had juicy Black Angus beef pattie, bacon, pickles and FRIED CHEESE!! Yes! Fried cheese! It was like having an awesome burger with fried cheese sticks.

Classic poutine $14.99

The highlight for me was their take on the classic poutine ($14.99). A favourite Canadian snack that originated from Quebec. It is chunky fries/hot chips covered in light brown gravy and melted cheese. Although the fries were meant to be soggy, it still had crispy bits, which gave the dish nice contrast textures. The light gravy had a good balance of meaty and sour flavours. The melted cheese completes the epicness of this dish.

I love The Stuffed Beaver! Aside from their burger with fried cheese and glorious poutine, they also have Louisiana hot wings, hotdogs and deep fried pickles available to whet your appetite.

The Stuffed Beaver

271 Bondi Road,

bondi NSW 2026

Ph:(02) 9130 3002

stuffedbeaver.com.au

Opening hours

Monday - Saturday: midday till midnight

Sunday: midday till 10pm