The Hungry Bunny

Hidden away in a little nook on the second level of Keppel Island is a little-known Japanese restaurant, Takumi Tokyo , beloved by the Japanese expat community. With expansive views of the marina and Sentosa coastline, the restaurant is sophisticated, but relaxed. An insider tip is to partake in their weekday lunches; they serve up unbelievably cheap sets that make it very worthwhile to drive out here for lunch.  The Saba Set ($15) comprised a perfectly grilled slab of fish, burnished to a gorgeous gold and delectably moist. The bonito-flaked parboiled spinach and sauteed mushrooms were served refreshingly chilled. The Tempura Hot Soba Set ($15) paired a wholesome bowl of soupy buckwheat noodles, with a duo of massive inari sushi, marinated spinach, and sauteed mushrooms. My favourite, the Tempura Soba Set ($15) juxataposed the piping hot crisp of tempura moriawase with the cool clarity of the icy soba noodles. This was sided by kelp-garnished bamboo shoots, bonito-topped

We stopped by Ichiban Boshi for a quick, low-fuss lunch. The food's far from the best, but prices are relatively cheap, and makes for a reasonably value meal if you stick to a few tried-and-tested basics.  The Chicken Katsu Toji ($10.90), a moist chicken cutlet was slathered with a slightly overdone scrambled egg and sweetish brown sauce. The Dobinmushi ($7.90), a teapot soup of dashi stock flavoured with a melange of seafood like prawns and white fish, and sweetened by enoki and shitake, was intensely umami.  The Hotate Kinono Kaminabe ($17.90), a paper hotpot laden with scallops, salmon, prawn, beancurd, enoki, shitake in a shoyu stock, was rich and robust. Ichiban Boshi 1 Harbourfront Ave Vivocity B2-07 Tel: 6376 8318 Open Mondays to Saturdays from 11.30am to 10pm; Sundays from 11am to 10pm Website: www.ichibanboshi.com.sg

Bari Uma Ramen , a specialist in onomichi ramen, marries the heady saltiness of shoyu and the robust depth of tonkotsu. A Hiroshima import with branches all over Japan, they've recently opened their second outlet in Singapore along the sleepy end of Orchard that is Tanglin Shopping Centre. The offerings here are mostly variants of the onomichi ramen, doctored with nori, chillis, or a medley of toppings. In addition to the ramen and the ubiquitous gyoza, they also serve up a small selection of yakitori, so the cosy little izakaya-styled joint may seem a little smoky. The Kara-Uma ($16) was the spiciest ramen I've had to date. The shoyu-flavoured pork-based broth was liberally spiked with dried red chillis for an intensely rich heat. The chashu here, I noticed, was thicker than most other places, but wonderfully tender and imbued with a smoky charring. The refreshingly clear Corn ($2) helped to somewhat alleviate the spiciness. For those who prefer their flavours clear

The Burger Bar is a scaled-down version of the Fatboys ' chain of burger bars strewn across the island. A hole-in-the-wall of teeny bopper hangout Far East Plaza , this tiny diner is manned by a satellite crew. It's entirely self-serviced (you place your orders through the ipads and make payment at the cashiers), and clearing up after oneself is de rigueur. The menu here is, likewise, downsized, so expect a decidedly limited choice of burgers, sides, and canned and bottled drinks. At least they've retained their build-your-own-burger (aka '"BYOB") option, I'm a big fan of customisation.  The Beef Cheeseburger ($7.50) laden with Bacon ($2), Fried Egg ($1.50), Caramelised Onions ($1), with standard toppings such as tomato, cheese (monterey, in this instance) and gilded with a premium Smoked Chipotle Sauce ($0.50), wedged between pillowy sesame seed buns, was a sinfully delicious greasebomb. Really awesomesauce, but best eaten piping hot when the oil ha

This Bak Kut Teh institution on the fringes of the CBD is a branch of Ya Hua at Havelock Road , but unlike the Havelock original, this is completely non-air-conditioned. It's got a bigger space and larger capacity, but it's not the most conducive of environments to be indulging in refillable bowls of piping hot soup, so it's best to hit this place up on overcast, drizzly days. We opted for the Spare Ribs Soup ($8) over the shorter pork ribs version; it's more satisfying and succulent. There are 2 options for the long ribs: the lean or fatty. My advice is to pick the fatty spare ribs. My mantra, when it comes to food, is to always pick the fatty one. Don't worry, the "fatty option" isn't as fatty as you'd think. It's just the right proportion of fat, and a little fat goes a long way in greasing up the meat. Otherwise, you end up with a dry piece of meat that's tough to get through. The soup isn't the most full-bodied, but I appreciate

Queensway Shopping Centre , where locals flock to for all things sports and optical-related, is also known for good laksa. There are 2 laksa stalls, within a stone's throw of each other, both claiming to serve up the best. Both tout to be affiliates of world-famous Katong ones, and the accolades, writeups and publicity plastered all the utilitarian facades will attest to the fierce competition. Seating at both eateries is cramped and constrained, so dining is really a touch-and-go affair. Both are manned by efficient, if a little curt, bevy of staff, and so turnover is high. Good news for the 5-minute-on-average long line of diners waiting their turn. The menu is similarly limited, with laksa being the primary dish of choice, and its fixins' like otah and lime juice as regular side orders. Curry chicken, Chinese-style, is also a popular option. Janggut Laksa  The Laksa ($3.50 for small) here was disappointingly lackluster. It was insipid, and the milk had obviously cur

Cooking is an art mostly based on "agar-ation" (slang for estimation)., which is why recipes blogged about here are seldom exacting. But this recipe for soft boiled ramen eggs is probably the most precise cooking I've ever done. Just about everything, from the timing to the marinade seasoning, is drawn right down to the wire. The tip here is to start with regular, Goldilocks-sized eggs: not too small, not too big, not the atypical low cholesterol or high vitamin ones; they have to be just right. And, try not to use ultra fresh eggs. I find that the ones that are about 4-5 days old produce the best results. One last tip: always overbudget your eggs, because there will be some that won't make it out of the deshelling. We started off with 10 eggs, and only 7 survived!  Ingredients (feeds 4; estimate 1 egg per person): 4 eggs 1 cup water 1 cup sake 1/2 cup mirin 1/2 cup light soy 1/2 cup sugar Directions: 1) Put the water, sake, mirin, soy and sugar in

We'd read about Baba Wins' Peranakan Cuisine being raved about in the papers, and headed to Star Vista for lunch. A purely family-run establishment, this teeny tiny hole-in-the-wall eatery exudes a cosy, homely vibe dripping with genuine warmth. The eponymous chef runs this eatery with his parents helming the front-of-house. Unfortunately, the kitchen was experiencing a major hiccup that afternoon, so the food took almost half an hour to arrive. BUT, the fact that we weren't too irked speaks volumes about the congenial service and authentic fare. The profuse apologies from the contrite dad was very helpful in mollifying our hunger pangs. To highlight: they deal with takeaways with maximum convenience; they've streamlined a system of taking phone orders, and then waiting for you by the roadside with your orders and exact change for your bill, so you don't even have to get out of your car to doggie-bag their food home! The Nonya Chap Chye ($9.50), with cabbage

&Sons is the latest jewel in the ever-growing stable of F&B ventures of noted restauranteur Beppe DeVito. The Italian restaurant-bar oozes a careless sophistication, so it's perfect for busy executives grabbing a quick and portion-light lunch, or after-work types looking to chill out in a casual but chic watering hole in the CBD. Clearly, the small-plates gastrobar formula works here. It's been a year since the bacaro was launched, and it's still doing a roaring business...It's always packed to the gills everytime I go past it! The food was, as expected of a Beppe DeVito offering, excellent. Just about every small plate we had was masterfully executed, and beautifully plated. We thoroughly savoured our time here. That said, I would have appreciated if they turned down the deep house music a decibel or two. Or ten. I could hardly make out what my galfriend was saying all through our meal, so we ended up shouting at one another, and my ears were still ringi