Ramen Bar at Berkelouw Books (now closed)

Under a clutch of oversized, swaying red lanterns, tucked down the back of Berkelouw bookstore is a simple, canteen-style Ramen Bar. A couple of high communal tables in raw brick and red surrounds provide congenial seating among the books - perfect for slurping bottomless bowls of comforting, artistic ramen, with dishes named for authors and movie characters including Murakami and Miyagi. Ramen broth sings in three flavours: chicken, mushroom or pork, ladled from giant bubbling pots in the cubby-hole kitchen and dressed with pork belly, melting sashimi salmon or slow-braised beef brisket. Handmade shiitake chestnut gyoza or plates of vinegary black sesame-spiked pickled veg complement the deep, sticky bowls of 18-hour broth.