Marutama Ra-Men
Where: 02-01/02 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6837-2480
Open: 11.30am to 10pm daily
If you can’t get a seat at its popular first outlet in nearby The Central, snag one at this 60-seat branch and slurp on its tasty chicken soup ramen ($12).

Trung Nguyen Coffee
Where: 02-34 to 36 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6837-3314
Open: 9am to 11pm daily
This popular Vietnamese coffee chain offers brews from $3.20 per cup. Also available is coffee brewed from java beans ingested and excreted by the civet cat, which is highly prized by coffee connoisseurs ($9.90 a cup).

Botejyu
Where: 02-32/33 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Tel: 6338-8557
Open: 11.30am to 10pm daily
Fans of the Japanese savoury pancake, okonomiyaki, should check out this outlet for a dazzling variety. Highlights include its Moonlight Special Okos, an okonomiyaki topped with pork, squid and prawns ($14.80), and Omu-Soba, pan-fried soba noodles wrapped in an omelette ($12.80 for the version with pork).

Waraku de Gohan
Where: 01-12 StarHub Centre
Tel: 6721-1123
Open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 11pm daily
Besides offering an array of grilled food items, such as yakitori, or grilled meat skewers ($14.80 for five skewers), it also serves steam shabu shabu, where slices of meat are placed in a wooden steamer over a pot of boiling stock tableside and cooked by the flavoured steam.

Grandma’s
Where: 01-13 Orchard Parade Hotel
Tel: 6732-3082
Open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 10.30pm daily
Tuck into home-style favourites such as nasi lemak ($13.50) at this casual eatery.

Donna Carmela/Caipirinha
Where: 2 Greenwood Avenue
Tel: 6463-4206
Open: Noon to 3pm (Donna Carmela) and 6.30 to 10.30pm (both outlets) daily
This spiffy restaurant offers a two-in-one dining concept to cater to lovers of hearty Italian fare and fans of churrascaria (Brazilian-style steakhouse).

Donna Carmela, which specialises in Southern Italian food, offers items such as swordfish carpaccio ($15). At Caipirinha, diners enjoy a free flow of salads and about 15 types of grilled meats, including Brazilian beef ribs and rump ($37).

Read also>> Restaurants opening in December

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on November 16, 2008.