The Story

In 2014, I took a holiday out to Kyoto & Tokyo, Japan, for just over a week.

Being (un-regrettably) allergic to just about all forms of seafood, I couldn’t have a sushi or sashimi feast. So I had other things on the menu, like ramen. Lots of ramen.

Of course, I didn’t just eat ramen, but many other local delights.

During my trip, I realised that most of the best food I’ve eaten there are found in the most obscure and inconspicuous “hole in the wall” eateries, with seating space often not much to come by (most small shops in Tokyo I’ve visited do not go beyond 10-15 seats in total). Fronted by hardworking chefs they dish out plates after plates of delicacies at a level of intimacy that you can never get in a chain restaurant or run-of-the-mill cafés ironically labelled as “hipster”.

After the trip, I find myself missing the experience of seeking out these hidden gems. Then, it dawned on me that the surrounding district of my then workplace was a treasure trove of small eateries and hawker food, and I started my journey of exploring the area, one hole in the wall at a time. After some time, holeinthewall.sg is started to bring all my discoveries to everyone!

Over here, expect no reviewed-to-death places, and plenty of up-and-coming food places with unending illustrations to get those salivary glands working up! *yums*

Yue Han (holeinthewall.sg)