Togi BBQ & Salad Bar

Togi Korean Restaurant started a decade ago as a small restaurant in Mosque Street and has since opened a 2nd branch in Singapore. Located on the 2nd floor of TripleOne Somerset beside Daruma Ramen House, Togi BBQ & Salad Bar does not look like a typical Korean restaurant. Simply furnished with white walls and high ceiling, it is spacious and not filled with smoke. Clean-looking with vertical gardens on walls and overhanging from above, the place has wooden tables and chairs both indoors and outdoors. Having walked by a couple of times, I finally visited on a weekday evening and was seated immediately. First to arrive was a complimentary small bowl of porridge I could neither rave about nor fault. This was followed by six different types of banchan, of which I liked the anchovies or ikan bilis and fishcake reminiscent of local yong tau hu best.

Daruma Ramen House

Popular with celebrities such as Eason Chan, Daruma Ramen House was named one of the top five ramen restaurants in Hong Kong by Tatler Hong Kong. Founded by proprietor Charlie Chan in Hong Kong's Tai Hang neighbourhood, it serves Kyushu-style ramen in Shoyu, Spicy and Tonkotsu. Ordered the latter at its TripleOne Somerset branch (not the one at Greenwood Estate) on the 2nd floor where Sanomaru used to be, beside Togi Charcoal BBQ & Salad Bar. It came with three slices of braised pork belly with just the right amount of melt-in-the-mouth fats, and a piece of barbecue pork that was neither too mushy nor tough. I loved the nice aroma of sesame seeds in the flavourful broth well-balanced by dried chilli threads and mentaiko but not the ramen, which was too thick and left a taste of flour in my mouth. Did not like that the seaweed was soaked in soup, and the black fungus was too soft for my liking. As for the soft-boiled egg, there was nothing to rave about or fault.

Update: The restaurant has closed.

Black Coffee Dessert Bar

Black Coffee Dessert Bar was opened in 2009 by a few friends fanatic about coffee, food and vintage furniture. According to the website, there are two branches at Hitachi Tower and TripleOne Somerset though the latter has since closed. I have been to both, ordering its Valrhona Chocolate Banana Cake, Valrhona Dark Chocolate Tart and Chocolate Rum Affogato at the former. At the latter, I had its all-day breakfast, Valrhona Chocolate Cupcake with Nutella Frosting, and Macchiato. Other than tables made up of old television sets with sheets of glass on top, there were also gramophone, lamps, old-school clocks and retro-looking display cases. Together, different tables and chairs (including re-holstered old-style sofa) gave cosy vibes to the old-world charm of both places.