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Killiney Kopitiam
This Singaporean institution is the place for breakfast. The waiter yells your order at ear-splitting volume and the coffee - shaken by the resulting seismic disturbance - inevitably arrives erupted into the saucer.
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Kinara
Take a riverside table or eat inside the renovated shophouse, decked-out like a haveli (ornately decorated Indian residence) with copper, iron, teak and sandstone. Try the tandoori hari machli aftab (boneless fish tikka marinated and cooked in the oven).
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Komala Vilas
Wildly popular Komala Vilas serves terrific, cheap vegetarian meals all day long. Try some spicy samosas (stuffed pastries), or order the thali - veggie curries, dhal and condiments served on a banana leaf (scoop it up with your right hand). Its outlet at 82 Serangoon Rd sells sugary Indian sweets.
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Korean Hot Stone BBQ
An alternative to the area's ubiquitous Middle Eastern fare, this is always packed with Singaporean diners at night, feasting on kim chi (pickled cabbage), hotpot and other Korean classics.
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L'Angelus
A decidedly cosy and unstuffy French bistro famed for its escargot and chocolate cake. If it's a rainy night, tuck into the warming, incredibly filling cassoulet (bean stew with meat and sausage) washed down with a glass of something red and robust.
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Lau Pa Sat
Originally used as market (Lau Pa Sat means 'old market' in Hokkien), this handsome wrought-iron canopy was freighted out from Glasgow in 1894. Try the steamed dim sum from stalls on Street 8.
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Lau Pa Sat Festival Market
Vying for the title of Most Famous Hawker Centre, this circular iron structure dating back to 1894 even receives tour parties, who clamber from coaches and stand around looking uncomfortable. Singapore's 'upgrading' mania has bled some of the atmosphere from this venerable institution, but wandering its aisles and picking out your dinner is still a pleasure.
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Lei Garden
Firm favourite for fancy Chinese dinners, the seafood at Lei is particularly well done (try the cod), but the roast pork also attracts a loyal following. Service can be patchy, so avoid when extremely crowded.
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Lingzhi Vegetarian
You might feel like you're going to work as you tale the elevator to the 5th floor, but LingZhi's vegetarian ain't caféteria fodder. Its Su Cai cooking style utilises onions and leeks, unlike Zhai Cai which forbids these ingredients because they incite sexual passion! Bring a date and see what transpires. There's another branch at Far East Square in Chinatown.
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Lucky Prata
One of those little surprises that pops up in unlikely and not entirely encouraging places. The north and south Indian fare is excellent, the fish-head curry particularly good. Wildly busy at lunchtimes, so get there early, or expect to muck in with everyone else.
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Madras New Woodlands
This enduring family favourite is nothing flash to look at, but sometimes you need a break from all that Bolly schmaltz. The banana-leaf thalis are more than generous; the service is gracious and unintrusive.
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Mango Tree
Tiny, elegant, cosy beachfront restaurant specialising in food from Kerala and Goa. The best spot is outside on the small deck, where you can catch the breeze, though the atmosphere is mildly spoiled by the bars sandwiching it either side.
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Marmalade Pantry
Crisp white tablecloths, comfy booths and affluent ladies sizing each other up over the glossy mags set the scene at this substreet café serving tasty morsels. The place to be seen on Sunday mornings, if you're not at a brunch.
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Maxwell Rd Hawker Centre
If you want to get down and local in Chinatown, Maxwell Rd is it (along with Chinatown Complex). Sip soupy, sump oil-like coffee with the 'uncles' in the morning, or battle the huge crowds at lunchtime. Stalls slip in and out of favour with Singapore's fickle diners - look for the queues to spot this week's fad. And who could pass up a bakery stall called Bread Pitt?
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Maxwell Road Food Centre
Generally esteemed as one of Singapore's best hawker centres, this is in an open-sided food barn. Don't miss the ham chin pang (long pieces of deep-fried dough) and the chicken rice from Tian Tian (stall 10).
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Mezza9
Lobsters on ice, baskets of Tabasco Sauce bottles, glazed wine cool-rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows and six open kitchens so you can watch the flames under your wok - there's plenty to look at, and plenty of suits doing the looking.
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Michelangelo's
Michelangelo's offers an artistic selection of pastas (the penne vodka in a creamy orange sauce is the signature dish) and salads. Choose between the fan-cooled streetside terrace, or the romantic dining room with its Sistine Chapel-esque ceiling efforts.
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Moomba
The quasi-Aboriginal murals are about as far from credible as Singapore is from Sydney, but the mod-Oz Wagyu beef, kangaroo and fish dishes are super. Toasty Australian wines come by the glass or bottle.
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My Humble House
We're not sure if the name is ironic, but humble is not the first word that comes to mind when you clap eyes on the outlandish decor (designed by Chinese artist Zhang Jin Jie) and contemplate set lunches with names such as 'The Wind Wafts Above the Shoulder' and 'Memories of that Spring'. A memorable experience.
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New Bugis Food Village
At the centre of Bugis St Market, this has Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Chinese and an embarrassing 'Western' food outlet. It's stifling during the day, the pink plastic chairs taking on a surreal appeal.
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Newton Circus
Vibrant and noisy, this famous hawker centre still has a great atmosphere. You could eat here for a year and never get bored. Well-known stalls include Boon Tat BBQ seafood, Hup Kee oyster omelette (stall 65) and, next to it, Singapore's most famous fishball noodles. Touts can be a problem for foreigners, but ignore them. The best stalls don't need to tout.
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No Signboard Seafood
Legends of hawkers-turned-millionaires abound in Singapore, and few are more irresistible than this. The fame of the white-pepper crab here has helped spawn five branches around the city, but this is the original restaurant - and stays open later than the others, which are at East Coast Seafood Centre, Katong, Vivocity and the Esplanade.
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Ocean Curry Fish Head
Specialising in a Chinese version of the infamous South Indian dish, this street-corner eatery spills out onto the pavement at lunchtimes, when the plastic tables are full of office workers crowding around claypots and mopping their foreheads. If the fish head doesn't appeal, try the prawn-paste chicken, fried squid or chilli kang kong (water spinach).
