Trip to in-nabe Tanjong Pagar for Ryan Clift’s inventive tasting menus. A champion of food and cocktail pairing, Clift draws on local influences and global adventures to create beautifully put together, playful, dishes such as rockling and smoked ox tongue, or eel with charred shallot and mustard ice cream, matched with expertly mixed cocktails. The mod meets retro design mixing metro tiles, statement lighting and bold wallpaper gives a fashionable feel to the cosy converted shophouse. Book a seat at the counter to watch your dishes assembled in the kitchen. 38 Tanjong Pagar Rd / +65 6475 2217 / Mon-Fri 12 – 3pm, Mon Sat 6pm-late. tipplingclub.com

Admittedly, the lack of air con, stark strip lights and plastic plates aren’t for everyone but hawker’s really are the best way to sample Singapore’s cuisine. Remember to take your own tissues to use as napkins and to chope (reserve) your table. Find the stalls with the longest queues and join the line. Lau Pa Sat (junction of Robinson Rd and Boon Tat St) is a Victorian cast iron carousel and the prettiest of hawker centres with good satay, but it’s also a tourist trap; Chinatown Complex (335 Smith St) is basic but serves great food and Maxwell Food Center (Kadayanallur St) is perfectly posi’d for pre and post Club St shenanigans. Our top pick is East Coast Lagoon Food Village (1220 East Coast Parkway) for terrific food and beach views. Gets packed and stacked at weekends so go early.

Ask any Singaporean, and they’ll have a favourite vendor for the national dish, chicken rice. At Five Star they only use flavoursome free-range chickens, the rice is subtly fragrant and the chilli sauce has just the right amount of kick. A few doors down from and also a contender for Singapore’s best chicken rice, is Boon Teng. Firmly off the tourist map, this stalwart serves large and tender chooks with good chilli sauce and minced ginger accompaniments. Five Star / 419 River Valley Rd /+65 6235 6760 / 11am-5am / fivestarchickenrice.com Boon Teng / 425 River Valley Rd / +65 6736 3213 / 11am-4am / boontongkee.com.sg

Forget the Medical Centre address and focus instead on the fabulous steaks putting the ooh into umami at this Japanese teppanyaki grill. As the moniker suggests, this is carnivore’s manna, with grade-A beef cuts shipped in from Japan, Australia and the US. Pescatarian friends can sample raw and cooked fish plates – though there’s a wider menu at lunchtime. Private rooms are available, but book a counter seat to catch the action. #01-01/02 Camden Medical Centre / 1 Orchard Blvd / +65 6735 0308 / lunch & dinner Mon-Sat / fat-cow.com.sg

Loved by all and sundry, Daniel Sia’s casj bistro in mod greys specialises in jujjed-up comfort plates to share and handcrafted cocktails. The neat patio with room for just a couple of tables has a leafy view, but sit inside if you want to mix with the local crowd. 26B Dempsey Rd / +65 6476 5305 / lunch Tue-Sat, brunch Sat-Sun, dinner Tue-Sun / Also at The Club Hotel / disgruntledchef.com

She’s in a mall, but this glowing golden girl is a real doll. The fine Chinese menu covers swim-fresh seafood, crispy Peking duck and good dim sum, beautifully served in a moddy, mirrored decor surrounds with views over the waterfront. It’s slap-bang next to the casino should you fancy a flutter for afters. 2/F, The Shoppes Atrium / Marina Bay Sands / 10 Bayfront Ave / +65 6688 7788 Also at #02-05A/6 Great World City / 1 Kim Seng Promenade / +65 6732 2232 / open daily / imperialtreasure.com

Expect strip-lighting and formica, noise and bustle at this 40+ year old seafood stalwart famous for its crabs. Some say NSS over expanded, but it still fries up one of the best chilli clawed crustacean in town along with its famous white pepper version. There’s a wide-ranging seafood menu, including cereal prawns (deep-fried in Kellogg’s’ finest and just divine) and accompanying dishes like broccoli with scallops. NSS has several branches in town; the one by Esplanade theatres is the fanciest; we say go to the original Geylang branch, which is more rustic and less touristy. 414 Geylang Rd / +65 6842 3415 / 12pm-1am Raffles Ave / #01-14/16 The Esplanade / +65 6336 9959 / 11am – 10.30pm / nosignboard.com.sg

Ignore the blah hotel-slash-hostel situ and make a beeline to this Japanese-style, contempo woody haven where local flaves are given a fusion twist. Helmed by Willin Low, a pioneer of mod Singaporean cooking, Wild Rocket offers omakase and a la carte menus – prepare to be wowed by treats like adobo duck with onsen-style quail egg, truffle mash & baby spinach, 48-hour beef short rib with kailan, shiitake & mash rounded out by a sublime pandan-infused panacotta. There’s a decent wine list to pair. Hangout Hotel / 10a Upper Wilkie Rd / +65 6339 9448 / lunch & dinner Mon-Sat / wildrocket.com.sg

Delectable, modern Peranakan food in a converted, pretty-meets-funky shophouse amid Tanjong Pagar’s row of Korean-style bridal shops. The mouthwatering dishes meld the piquant, punchy flavours of Malaysian cuisine with the more delicate Chinese and the results are delish. It’s wise to go with a crowd and eat family style so you can order from across the menu; standouts include the succulent, robust beef rendang, curry sotong (smoky, fragrant squid curry) and otak otak (grilled fish cake in banana leaf), and while service can be a little slow, it’s friendly. 97 Tanjong Pagar Rd / +65 6222 3928 / lunch & dinner daily

Taiwanese born, French trained and Singapore’s adopted son André Chiang plates up visually stunning, tastebud-titillating “octaphilosophic” (eight course) prix fixe menus in an intimate, serene 30-seat shophouse in Chinatown. Such an exquisite experience will flex your credit card – André’s is a gasp-inducing bill even by pricey Singapore standards – but we promise you it will be unforgettable. And the maestro’s creativity if not confined to the kitchen; ask nicely and he might give you a tour of his private atelier containing a cache of designer chairs, vintage collectibles and self-made pottery. 41 Bukit Pasoh Rd / +65 6534 8880 / lunch Tue-Fri, dinner Tue-Sun / restaurantandre.com