I first got to know of this place whilst in Sydney. It was later that I learnt the coffee chain was a Korean-based one.

Decided to visit the Singapore branch of Tom n Toms one Saturday evening after dinner. The place was filled with youngsters; in their late teens and early twenties. Mostly students or young working adults, working on their laptops or reading. There were one or two groups of friends chatting.

The cafe sells largely light bites and drinks; other than the caffeine, there are fruit smoothies available.

Set amidst a cosy setting, it was a nice place to chill-out.
However, the cafe could do with some new chairs. 90% or more of the chairs had cushions which showed its internal cottons! I did not feel too comfortable with that but had not much of choice.

Prices here are typical of those you would find at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Nothing to shout about their drinks.

Most people who visit Tai Hwa Eating House are there to patronise the Pork Noodle stall. For those who are accompanying friends/family who insist on having the noodles, yet do not want to eat noodles or can't eat pork, having a western meal might be the only other option.

Positioned right next to the noodle stall, the workers here are working just as hard. An endless stream of customers placing orders and they can afford to have people deliver the food over.

Prices are slightly higher than what you might expect at typical coffee shops, averaging S$6 per meal.

I had the Fish Schnitzel at this visit. The meal comes with a piece of breaded fish, fries, a 'over-turned cup' of coleslaw and a saucer of mayo.

The fries and fish were good and went well with the chilli sauce, which you could help yourselves to.
The mayo was, hmm, not advisable to touch that. It did not appear fresh to the friend and I. I did take a dip of it just to try and, conclusion? It had a weird taste that I did not fancy.

The coleslaw.. oh gosh. I was a little tired so did not do what I usually would have done. Bring the plate back to the stall holder to ask for a change. The coleslaw had a sourish tinge; suggesting it might have been left on the shelves for far too long!

Risk suffering a bout of diarrhoea? Nah. It was pushed aside and never touched again.

This is one bustling coffee shop despite having just two fully operational stalls. Seats/tables are hard to secure during meal times. An advice would be to have a meal before the usual meal times?

It's amazing how Singaporeans will travel and queue for food.

It appears to be a common mentality.. "anything that has a queue MUST BE good". Chances are, you can't go very wrong with this..

Each time I visit Crawford Lane, there is a queue emerging from the Pork Noodle stall. There seems to be no diminishing in the length of the queue for the entire period of time I'm in the coffee-shop.

S$5 for a standard serving of pork noodle, approx. 30mins wait. Well, it's quite worth it I would say.
Each bowl comes with a piece of liver and cuttlefish. Increases the authenticity of the dish it seems.

Well, if 90% of the population knows about the stall and gives it the thumbs up, how bad can you expect your meal to be?

Hardly you would find a Shabu Shabu buffet for the prices offered by Suki-ya.
There is a time restriction though: 80mins for lunch and 100mins for dinner.

Free flow of pork, beef and chicken meat. Order these from the wait staff and they will serve them.
The hot pot allows for a choice of 2 soup bases.
Vegetables and other items such as crab meat balls, sausages, mushrooms are available, free flow at the counter.
You are also allowed a choice of sauce and pastes to mix-in with your food.
Ice-cream is available as a dessert during dinner.

Drink orders are not included in the buffet price. Free-flow drinks are available for an additional cost per person.

The shabu shabu cuts here have never disappointed in the two visits I made.
But because of how thinly they were cut, you might not eat your money's worth of meat if you are a small eater.

The dinner queue can get rather long. Fortunately, the time restriction helps shorten the wait.

The place is an interesting concept, nestled in an unexpected place; amongst all the temples, metal/machinery shop fronts.
If I had not read about the place before going past it, I would not have guessed it was a coffee house, going by its name and exterior.

The entrance of Chye Seng Huat Hardware is via a large metal gate; one which most might think it leads to a garage.

Customers can choose to dine outside or within the store itself. Limited seating inside though, and things can get pretty cramp. For those who enjoy watching the baristas at work, they have the option of sitting at the counter.

The menu is a one-page tagged onto a board. Limited choices of drinks. Some tummy fillers, some specials.

This is truly a coffee place, no fanciful variants of coffee-infused drinks to be expected here. Cappuccino, though not stated on the menu, is available.

Average price per drink is S$5.50. Slightly cheaper for the "Mini" - a cup-size so small, I paid the additional for a larger cup.

No doubt, the coffee was good! Enough crema and the taste was just right. Not overdone nor too burnt. Sweetness was just right for me. Additional sugar can be added from the side corner, where one can also pour out some cold lemon water for oneself.

I have heard much about how nice the cakes were. I was however, too full from lunch to be tempted by any.

When the crowd increased, the place got a little too noisy for my liking. Preferring it to be quieter, having a relaxed afternoon drink.