When my friend first brought me to Noodle House Ken a few years ago, I had not have had good, authentic ramen until that moment.For a taste of authentic Japanese ramen, cooked by a Japanese chef - Ken himself! - you must try Noodle House Ken. Surely the presence of Japanese businessmen having dinner there after work is one of the proof that the place is authentic. Let's not forget the feeling of being teleported to Japan whenever I walk into the main restaurant. The annex unit where most of the seats are have shelves of japanese comics, in japanese!

If that's not enough, the noodles itself will do the talking. The thick pork soup is delicious and wholesome. The noodles are springy and the cut of japanese "Char siew" is generous. My favourite must be the "hot spring eggs" where it's hard boiled on the outside but the yolk is still runny as it should be in a good ramen!

The side dishes are nice too. The gyozas are a standard in ramen noodle houses but I especially love the hot pipping onigiri (rice dumpling wrapped in seaweed) made fresh upon order.

Ah, the days of hanging out in a cozy little japanese restaurant, laughing and joking with friends over a hot bowl of good noodles. this is the place to go. Try not to go with too big a crowd though. 4 is comfortable. 6 is huge. more than that is just too many. The place is tiny so sometimes you may not find seats!

Call us old school but the hubby and I prefers the traditional style of steamboat where the kitchen serves up one plate of assorted ingredients for the hotpot. What we love even more is the hotpot with fresh raw cockles for extra kick! And where can we still find this in Singapore? At Thien Kee steamboat of course! Forget the china-style buffet steamboat or the japanese shabu shabu. This is authentic singapore style!Ever since the hubby introduced me to Thien Kee, we've made our almost monthly homage to the restaurant whenever we are in need of some comfort food on a cold rainy day. You may not think it's much comfort considering that on most evenings, worse on weekends, the place is jam-packed with people! I guess most people have the same idea as us!

Not only does Thien Kee serve a mean steamboat, they also serve the singapore-hainese styled pork chop and hainanese steamed chicken to go along with the steamboat! Our favourite is definitely the pork satay. When the pork fats melt in your mouth, words is lost to describe that delightful feeling.

Be warned though not to go during peak dinner hours on weekends or you may not be able to find any seats at all! It may be rather hard to catch the bosses' attention. But most importantly, don't order extra meat for your steamboat if you're on a budget. Just go for the standard plate! Don't forget to order beer to complete the chillax experience!

I learnt the definition of cosmopolitanism when I visited the Tawandang Microbrewery with my hubby last week. Hubby was eating a very authetic german pork knuckle while I was having a typical thai dish of basil leaf minched meat with rice while we were drinking a pints of handcrafted beer brewed on the spot and looking at the thai waitresses danced to the spanish songs being played at the restaurant! WOW! That is truly global and we enjoyed every minute of it!Despite it being a "Modern Thai Cuisine" restaurant, the must-try at Tawandang is actually the pork knuckle! It was truly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We enjoyed every bit of it. My basil leaf minched meat rice was authentic as well. But nothing was more authentic than our server's thai! The beer on the other hand was slightly disappointing as they only served lager, wheat beer and a dunkel (dark beer). While the lager was a tad sweet and didn't quite meet the hubby's expectation, the dunkel suited me just nice. Nonetheless, we were tempted to order the mini keg of their brew for our next party!

I must confess that I am a hardcore regular of the Pigeonhole. But that aside, an objective introduction of this wonderful haven is necessary. Most importantly, what is so special about this place that makes me come back again and again?

Truth be told, the first time I visited the Pigeonhole, I was being a typical Singaporean, totally appalled by the lack of uniformity in the furnitures. Where was I going to sit? There were tiny chairs and desk right out of the PAP kindergarten and a stone bench from somebody's garden! There were bean bags on the floor and luxurious L-lounge that beckons one to laze on it.

But soon I realise, the unique thing about Pigeonhole is that you can do all that and more! You can be yourself. You can kick off your shoes, put your feet up and laze on the couch and read a book - whether your own or one strewn around all corners of the 2 unit shophouse ground floor. You can even bring your own work, like I do, to pound away furiously at the laptop with the multiple power points around the cafe. Did I fail to also mention that the toilets here are straight out of a spa? There is always no shortage of hospitable service from the staff and owners as well as the most eclectic mix of music played in the cafe. If you're in for some 'live' music, do check out their facebook page for the listing of events where they have indie and amateur bands playing gigs at the pigeonhole. They even have an open mic night so if you're looking for a place to display your vocals, here's the place for you. And that's just the ambience!I must admit that I'm not really a big coffee drinker which Pigeonhole does rather pride itself on. They serve only highland beans, for those who familiar with the variety. But if you're a drinker like me, Pigeonhole serves an amazing array of alcohol. Apart from the swiss beer on tap, they also have an amazing variety of ciders and ales. But for the whiskey connoisseurs amongst us, you may be interested to know that Pigeonhole serves a range of single-malt whiskey, including 12 years Yamazakis for a reasonable price.But please be warned: The Pigeonhole does not serve any food. So if you're coming here on an empty stomach during dinner time, the owners are more than happy for you to packet food from the nearby variety of eateries along tanjong pagar and duxton road to line your stomach before you hit the alcohol! Or coffee of course!

Having said that, the best kept secret of Pigeonhole is really its chocolate bread and butter pudding. It is so delicious that it sells out very frequently. It is a definite MUST TRY here at the Pigeonhole. So if you're looking for a cozy comfortable hangout place with your friends or alone with a book, here is the place for you.

If you detest synthetic tasting hard piece of malay rice cakes (lontong) as much as me, then you'll love the handmade lontong at this coffee shop on Pulau Ubin.

Lontong, in case you are not familiar, is an "Asian dish made of compressed rice that is then cut into small cakes". The lontong found at this coffeeshop is only available on Sundays and if you are late, there will be none left by 10am! Yes, people travel all the way to this offshore island just to eat this highly delectable dish!

The lontong is lovingly made by the proprietors of the coffeeshop. Unfortunately, the macik (auntie) at the stall is very old and her husband who is the proprietor of the stall just passed away in 2010. Their children now run the stall but hopefully the quality has not changed since the cooks have now changed. Lontong that melts in your mouth drenched with light but delicious lemak gravy that has tiny shrimps swimming in it complete with cabbage, hard boiled egg and tofu. If lontong is not your thing, you would also want to try their mee siam, mee rebus or nasi lemak. The kampung taste is not one you can find easily today in urban Singapore. This is definitely one of those rarity in Singapore, to cherish before it's gone! Make sure you check it out soon!