Ramen Kan at Bondi Junction

Its been a long time between Ramen feeds. I had tried to take my family to Ryo's noodles over Christmas but found it closed for the holidays so Your Honour, I did make a failed attempt. When your husband is ravenously hungry, ramen seems the logical choice to fill him up and have him slurping happily. After some shopping and browsing at the Borders "library" at Bondi Junction, I was reminded of a place I had walked past a few times that advertised the magical word... "Ramen".

Its a lot sleeker and more modern looking than your usual quaint ramen joint and the fairly extensive menu offers not only ramen, but also udon, curry rice, fried rice and sashimi . I accidentally flip to the last page first and I see what I want to order straight away, Tonkotsu Ramen $10.90, a collagen laden pork stock boiled for 3 days along with 20 types of vegetables and dried foods, intensely flavoured and rich. How could one refuse the offer for a facial treatment while slurping on noodles?

Dithering on what to get for the other dish, we settle for the easiest option, a dinner box complete with a little of everything from the menu, seaweed salad, teriyaki chicken, sashimi, miso and rice $15.90. There is a choice of grilled salmon, pork or chicken katsu or fish teriyaki but I need the sweet salty comfort of chicken. We also choose the takoyaki octopus balls as a starter $4.90. Its scarcely 5 minutes before our takoyaki and mains arrive within minutes of each other and good thing too as we're hungry.

The takoyaki are crispy on the outside, crispier than we've ever had them and gloriously soft on the inside. They're definitely a contender for the nicest takoyaki I've had, even the ones cooked fresh at market stalls don't have this crispy an outer and the contrast makes the soft filling even more luscious than normal.

I try the Tonkotsu ramen, a large steaming bowl filled with gelatinous rich fragrant soup. The soft velvety richness of the stock is instantly soothing whilst the pungent ginger aroma arouses the senses. Its like being lulled and then woken but not minding at all. The thin BBQ pork slices are fall apart good and the ramen themselves are good although of course, the actual noodles are better at Ryo's. So far we haven't come across a place that does the actual ramen better. If only I could have this heavenly Tonkotsu soup with Ryo's ramen it would be Super Ramen!

I try the dinner box next, starting with my favourite item, seaweed salad. The thin bright green strands are flavoured with the lovely sesame and chili dressing. I don't like the fatter darker green seaweed as it mainly taste of salt so I leave that. The chicken teriyaki is great when mixed with the rice, the teriyaki sauce pooling at the bottom of the compartment. The salmon sashimi is good, the pieces a little thicker than normal. I don't like tuna sashimi so I leave that to my tuna sashimi adoring husband. I also leave the miso to my husband as I have scarcely the stomach space to fit in more.

My husband is protectively clutching the Tonkotsu ramen bowl, willing me to leave him to eat the rest in peace. No such luck.

Ramen Kan

Shop 3, 33 Bronte Rd Bondi Junction Sydney 2002

Tel +61 (02) 9387 5691

Open 7 days 11am-9.30/10pm