Category: Bondi Junction

Bondi Junction is a one-stop shop suburb. EVERYTHING you need is in this suburb. Big shopping mall, massive transport interchange, and nice restaurants.

Nikuzo

Nikuzo Review:

For our review this week, we We went to Nikuzo Japanese restaurant in Bondi Junction, Sydney. Nikuzo is an all you can eat restaurant with three different buffet menu. The standard buffet is quite cheap and has your basic all-you-can-eat needs, including beef tongue. For $10 extra, you get the wagyu and seafood buffet. There are quite a lot of seafood options, including scallops and soft shell crab.

The premium buffet has more wagyu, but its true value is in the fresh oyster, salmon sashimi and sushi, and beef yukke. If you don’t eat raw stuff, the middle option would be the best for you.

Wagyu

Wagyu is obviously the biggest selling point in the menu. They have 10 different wagyu beef cuts (7 for the middle option and 3 for premium one). Choose whichever cuts you love!

Seafood

I was also quite impressed with the seafood lineup that they served. They have two different kinds of oysters: deep fried and fresh. You can only get 1 oyster per person in the premium buffet. They have unlimited salmon sashimi and sushi. You can also have salmon with butter for the cooked version.

I couldn’t get enough off their deep fried soft shell crab! If seafood is really your thing, you can also order different kinds of prawns and scallops.

Desserts

They have three different desserts: vanilla ice cream, fruits, and Japanese pancakes (Taiyaki). Taiyaki is only available if you choose the premium menu. They have different kinds of toppings for the vanilla ice cream. The premium menu gave you the kinako powder and liqueur topping options.

Everything else

There are quite a lot of other dishes that I could not specify individually.

The final verdict for Nikuzo

It was quite unfortunate that Nikuzo’s setting wasn’t that great. The food that they served was very good. It was also a good value for money.

Did you know?

Let’s just put more pictures here!

Rating for Nikuzo:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $30 / $40 / $50 buffet

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

1 Newland St, Bondi Junction 2022

+61 2 9369 3328

Nikuzo in Zomato

Mar 15, 2017
Ryo’s Noodles Bondi Junction

Review:

I have heard about the reputation of Ryo’s Noodles in Crows Nest for quite a while. However, travelling across the bridge just to enjoy a bowl of ramen isn’t exactly at the top of my list.

Fortunately, they open an outlet a lot closer to home. Ryo’s Noodles just (literally) opened yesterday, 8 October 2015, in Bondi Junction! There were no big fanfares that accompanied the opening. Just a simple, business as usual with a few flyers being handed out.

Most of the stuff on their menu is ramen. They have a choice of pork soup, chicken soup, cold noodles and vegetarian noodles. Other dishes include a couple of curry rice and rice balls. But, you should be coming in for Ryo’s Ramen.

Ramen in spicy hot flavoured soup with roast pork, egg and shallots – $13.50

The ramen’s portion was quite big and they use the wriggly noodles instead of the straight ones. As the name stated, the ramen was actually quite hot! There were decent amount of toppings with quite generous serving of soup.

Ramen noodles in pork and fish stock with eggs, roast pork, fried shallots – $15.00

There were more elements in this ramen than the last one. The layers of fish stock was very visible (and possibly quite fattening! ^_^). The soup was also a bit thicker than the previous ramen. I quite liked the extra fried shallots that gave a crunchier taste to the ramen.

Cod roe rice ball – $5.00

I decided to order the cod roe rice ball because I am actually quite a big fan of rice balls. It looked a bit pricey, but the rice ball was actually pretty big!

The final verdict for Ryo’s Noodles Bondi Junction

I can understand why people lined up in Crows Nest. The ramen at Ryo’s Noodles Bondi Junction was very nice!

Did you know?

This address is the most reviewed in my blog. Three restaurants have occupied this spot for the last five years. The previous two restaurants have all been great-tasting Japanese restaurants that disappeared quite mysteriously.

Rating for Ryo’s Noodles Bondi Junction:

8.0 / 10

Taste: 8.0 / 10

Price: $12 – $16 per ramen or main

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

106 Ebley Street, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

02 9387 8858

Ryo’s Noodles’ facebook page

Oct 9, 2015
Mappen – Japanese Noodle and Rice Bowl Bar

Review:

If I have to pick the best restaurant to have cheap casual eat out, I would pick Mappen Bondi Junction. It is probably the restaurant that I visited the most in Sydney. It is also happened to be pretty close to where I work.

The restaurant is like a school canteen. You get a tray, order up and move along towards the cashier. In the middle of it there is an abundance of Fried Toppings and Tempura. The temptation is always there to pick quite a lot of them!

Chicken Katsu – $3.30

I have tried quite a few dishes in their menu and I think the top two are the ones below:

Ontama Stewed beef was my ‘go-to’ dish. The regular size (with a couple tempura) is usually enough to get me through the day.

Ontama Stewed Beef – Half boiled egg on Plain Stewed Beef Bowl (lots of stewed beef & pickled ginger on rice – $6.90

Its chicken counterpart is Ontama Teriyaki chicken. It is also quite a simple dish.

Ontama Teriyaki Chicken – Half boiled egg on Teriyaki Chicken bowl (grilled teriyaki chicken & dried seaweed on rice – $6.90

They also serve a few noodle dishes, the cheapest that you can get was Bukkake. It is noodles with Bukkake sauce, shallot and lemon. For only $5.5, you get a very large bowl of noodles. You can choose between soba and udon.

Soba Bukkake – Hot noodle with Bukkake Sauce, shallot & lemon – $5.5 (Large)

So what’s ontama? Ontama (or onsen tamago) is egg boiled in onsen hot springs temperature (just about 70 degrees). The egg has quite a unique property as it’s just about cooked.

The last item that I purchased from Mappen was its Curry, I didn’t take a picture of it because it was for takeaway. I think it’ll be my new favourite there!

The final verdict for Mappen Bondi Junction

Seriously, what’s not to like about Mappen Bondi Junction?

Low price tag? Check. Great taste? Check. Fast and friendly service? Check.

Did you know?

Mappen is part of a Japanese food business that includes Suminoya, Koh-Ya and Rengaya. Unlike its siblings, the restaurant is catered for a daily casual dining.

Rating for Mappen Bondi Junction:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $3.90 – $15.90 for main course

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Shop 5, 183-193 Oxford St, Bondi Junction, NSW 2022

+61 2 9388 0609

http://mappen.com.au/

May 7, 2015
El Topo Mexican

Review:

Before I decided to write about it, I have been to El Topo Mexican restaurant twice: The first one was a small lunch with colleague and the second one was a bigger lunch with friends and family. El Topo Mexican is located on the rooftop of The Eastern in Bondi Junction.

Without further ado, lets get on with the food!

Chapulines – Roast Crickets, Chile Garlic & Lime – $7

It is not a typo from carrots nor the name of an Australian sports. It is really a bowl of roast and crispy crickets for you to enjoy. I asked a Mexican friend of mine who happened to have lunch with us that day. He confirmed that it was a genuine dish from Mexico although it might not be as common in Mexico City.

I must say it’s quite challenging for my friends to try these out.

Chapulines

Taco

For lunch time, they have a deal of any 3 tacos for $15. They have several tacos to choose from and individually they are $6 – $8.

The tacos were quite small but they had nice fillings. Most of us chose the cochinita pibil (i.e. roast annatto pork) which apparently was the most famous toppings.

Taco de cochinita pibil

Taco de pollo en mole amarillo, taco de pescado frito

Ensalada de nopales y garbanzos – Cactus, chickpea, corn, tomato & parsley – $10

The second exotic dish of this restaurant is cactus salad. The texture and taste were pretty similar to pickled paprika in a salsa. It was very refreshing even for a non-vegetables eater like me!

Ensalada de nopales y garbanzos

Ceviche de pez real – kingfish ceviche, achiote, watermelon, radish & finger lime – $16

The ceviche had a gorgeous presentation. Unfortunately, I think there were way too many other items but the ceviche on the plate. The squid ink watermelon provided an interesting colour to the dish.

Ceviche de pez real

Barbacoa de costilla de res – 12 hours beef short rib, barbacoa sauce, pickled cabbage & baby onions – $32

This dish was the main reason why I decided to come back. I was very tempted to order this on my first visit but $32 and a giant beef rib would not do well for my after-lunch work.

However, I can tell you that the beef rib was very yummy. You don’t even need to use your knife to cut through the meat!

Barbacoa de costilla de res

Flan roto de coco con chocolate y cajeta – Flan of coconut, single origin Mexican chocolate hazelnut & goats milk caramel – $14

I was interested in ordering the flan because of its glowing review in Jugernauts. I think I was over-expecting it a bit too much. It was a nice dessert, but not for $14.

Flan roto de coco con chocolate y cajeta

Bunuelos con chocolate – Mexican doughnuts & chocolate sauce – $12

I love doughnuts… any shapes and sizes! I love them even more when they were freshly made!

Bunuelos con chocolate

The final verdict for El Topo Mexican

I’m pretty sure El Topo Mexican is the only place in Sydney (or Australia) that has crickets and cactus on the menu.

Did you know?

There are two El Topo in this premise: El Topo Basement and El Topo Mexican (on the top floor).

Rating for El Topo Mexican:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $15 – $32 per main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Level 3, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction 2022

+61 2 9387 7828

https://www.theeastern.com.au/venues/

Mar 6, 2015
Triple Pick Coffee

Triple Pick Coffee Review:

This week, I present you a rather unique review. Instead of reviewing a restaurant, this will be the first time that All About Food blog reviews a coffee establishment. For that reason, we will not be using our usual rating concept.

Triple Pick Coffee is the shop that we always go to for a great cup of coffee. They are located in a small street just across the loading bay for Westfield Bondi Junction’s Coles. Despite the busy nature of Westfield Bondi Junction, this location actually creates a more relaxed ambiance.

Triple Pick Coffee only uses Sumatran Mandheling for its coffee. The beans were imported directly from family plantations in Medan, Indonesia. This way, it was ensured that you would get the same quality every time you sip their coffee.

In the summer, you might want to try their Ice Coffee. I love how they do it differently. Instead of having a normal ice cube and whipped cream, they have coffee cube and coffee whipped cream. That way, you will never get diluted feel of the ice coffee. They also have a selection of small bites, homemade sandwiches and cakes to accompany your coffee.

Roasted In-house

One of the unique traits of Triple Pick Coffee was that their coffee beans were roasted in-house. There are only a handful of coffee shops that are also a roaster. What is so special about roasted in-house coffees? Freshness! You just can’t beat the taste of fresh coffee off the roaster.

In Triple Pick Coffee, you can actually see the process of coffee roasting and smell the finished products just as they leave the roasting machine.

The final verdict for Triple Pick Coffee

I have tried several coffee shops that have their coffee beans roasted in-house. I felt that Triple Pick Coffee was the closest one to my taste buds.

Did you know?

Sydneysiders are very particular about their coffees. Coffee culture is so deeply-rooted into the society that great coffee shops often have people lining up just for a sip of their famous coffee.

Details:

17 Gray Street, Bondi Junction

02 9388 9015

http://www.triplepickcoffee.com.au

Apr 22, 2014
Garyu Art and Dining

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Unfortunately, Garyu has closed its doors for good.

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Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10Price: $8.5 – $18 for lunch

Place: 7/10

Review:

Just in time for Easter, I present you Garyu Art and Dining. Garyu Art and Dining is located in the former site of Chikyu-Ya in Bondi Junction. For some reasons, the owner is still keeping Chikyu-Ya’s sign board outside the restaurant.

We went to Garyu for lunch as they have the daily lunch special for a bargain price of $8.5. Every day, they have a different daily lunch special. Since we came on a Friday, the daily special was Chicken Katsu. In addition to the usual main dish + rice dish, you will also receive salad with miso paste, miso soup, and three side dishes. The chicken katsu was nice and soft in the middle with crunchy, golden brown batter. It was definitely the best $8.5 meal deal you can get.

One of the more interesting items on Garyu’s menu was its One Plate Lunch ($11). The set didn’t include rice but you were given eight sushi rolls. You can choose between Salmon Avocado, California or Vegetarian rolls. You also needed to choose from Salmon Teriyaki, Kara-age Chicken, or Sashimi as your main dish. The non-optional part of the One Plate Lunch was its salad and miso soup. It was a seriously tough task to choose for just a ‘One Plate Lunch’.

There was a side dish worthy of a special mention at Garyu. It was their Okonomiyaki. It wasn’t like any ‘normal’ Okonomiyaki you found in any Japanese restaurants. These ones were shaped like a kebab stick and deep fried to perfection. The ingredients were just like any other okonomiyaki with squid and cabbage. How does it taste? Because of its shape, it actually had a lot more crunchy taste. Granted that it might not be as big as the normal okonomiyaki, but it was certainly enough to build your appetite.

The final verdict for Garyu Art and Dining

It was certainly value for money, having lunch at Garyu Art and Dining. Its daily lunch special is more than just rice and main dish.

Did you know?

Before Garyu opened in Bondi Junction, we were invited to a birthday party in its old site in Bondi Road. They had a special baby food for the occasion.

Details:

106 Ebley St, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

+61 2 9386 9534

Mar 31, 2013