(From top): a chef in action at a restaurant; local favourite chilli crab; laksa, another native speciality

What do Singaporeans do when they are through, finally, with shopping at Takashimaya on Orchard Road, though it often seems like they never stop? They head straight for the nearest eating joint and stuff themselves silly with the glorious variety of food available in this island city that seems to have made a profession of eating out.

Studies have shown that Singaporeans eat out an average of four times a week ? one of the highest anywhere in the world ? and that most Singaporeans feel eating out is cheaper than cooking at home. Singapore food is a mixture of the various local cultures that thrive here ? Chinese, Malay, Indian, Indonesian. Along with the fusion food that Singapore has made a speciality, there are restaurants that exclusively serve world cuisines ? from the staid French and Italian to the more exotic Brazilian and Russian.

Like everything else in Singapore, the food business is taken very seriously here and is as well-planned as everything else in this maniacally-organised city. There are several food districts ? each offering a unique experience ? that play host to rows upon rows of restaurants, pubs and bars serving every kind of food on earth. There’s Boat Quay, one of the best spots for alfresco dining. Once Singapore’s busiest docks, it’s been transformed into a popular hangout with chic caf?s, high-end restaurants, pubs and designer galleries. Clarke Quay offers a similar experience, though it is often billed as a riverside festival village since it combines dining, shopping and entertainment. Most of the shophouses (shops on the ground floor, houses on top) mostly dating back to colonial times here have been preserved in the old colonial style with gaily-coloured shuttered windows and wooden seating. All along the riverfront, open-air restaurants buzz with activity after sundown.

The best and cheapest seafood is available at the East Coast Seafood Centre ? it houses the famous Red House eatery ? a colourful, chaotic and completely no-frills joint that serves, among other things, excellent chilli crabs, a contender for the much-wanted tag of Singapore’s national dish. Watch patrons digging in with surprising abandon (they are usually so restrained, these Singaporeans) as you wash down this spicy, tangy dish with gallons of Tiger beer, the region’s favourite drink. While at the seafood centre, try and wolf down as much squids, scallops, oysters, lobsters and prawns as you’ve ever wanted to ? it doesn’t come cheaper than this.

For an authentic Singaporean breakfast, head towards Killiney Road near Orchard Road, the city’s lifeline. The traditional coffee shops here serve the local delicacy kaya toast, kaya being a fresh local jam made of screwpine syrup and eggs, and flavoured with spices. Here, you will also get several varieties of laksa, a seafood noodle soup that’s another local favourite.

For lunch, try another contender for the top spot ? Hainanese Chicken Rice. A fragrant, hearty and filling dish ? you can guess what it’s made of ? it was brought to Singapore by migrants from China’s Hainan province. (see box for recipe). One of the fine dining restaurants serving this is the Chatterbox caf? at the Marina Mandarin hotel, though this is one dish that is available at every street corner and hawker centre ? Singapore’s unpretentious food courts that draw crowds by the hundreds every night.

After the bustle of a typical hawker centre, the quiet of Holland Village might seem a little unsettling, but it is the kind of quiet one can get used to. The main street here is lined with fine dining restaurants. Most have lawn-seating, and on fine nights, one can see rows of foodies tucking into their chow by the light of flickering candles.

For those who go abroad just to see how butter chicken and rasam are made in foreign countries, there are scores of Indian restaurants here ? from Sagar that seems to be a hit with the Bollywood types (whose framed photos line the walls of this restaurant) to Annalakshmi at the Excelsior hotel that does a mean South-Indian buffet. But for Indian food that does not quite feel like it’s been imported from Ludhiana, the Little India district is a good option. Here, Muthus Curry, an eatery with a 100-year history, serves up excellent fish-head curry ? a whole steamed head of salmon floating in spicy gravy made with coconut milk and tamarind. Also try the roti pratta in Little India ? it’s a tautomeric name for crisp little rotis much like our Malabar parathas.

July is the month for the Singapore Food Festival (for more information, go to http://www.singaporefoodfestival.com) so if your taste buds feel a little bit jaded and you think an encounter with spicy Char Kway Teow noodles might just about revive them, head straight for this Asian foodie paradise. Oh, and there’s great shopping at Takashimaya as well.