Balestier

Balestier sits just beyond Little India, and it's where Singapore comes for pepper. The dish is bak kut teh, pork ribs simmered in a peppery broth and eaten, by tradition, first thing in the day. Our pick is Ng Ah Sio at 208 Rangoon Road, open every day of the week. We'd get there soon after the doors open, sit down with a bowl and some rice, and leave the rest of the morning for walking it off along the side roads.

For lunch, head to Whampoa Makan Place at Blocks 90 to 92 Whampoa Drive. It's a hawker centre, a roofed hall of small stalls that each cook their own dishes, and this one mostly feeds the estate around it. The stall we'd queue for is Hoover Rojak at Block 90, #01-06, which is usually open from Wednesday to Sunday. Rojak is chopped fruit and vegetables with bits of fried dough, all stirred through a thick, almost black prawn-paste dressing, and it's a good counterweight to a morning of pepper.

Founder, at 347 Balestier Road, is the late bowl. It usually serves well into the night and closes on Tuesdays, so keep it for a rainy evening or for supper, the meal Singapore eats after dinner. Up on Tai Gin Road, Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall at number 12 is closed for restoration until 2027. Zhongshan Park next door is still open, a lawn where you can see the villa from outside while the work goes on.

Where to eat

• Ng Ah Sio, 208 Rangoon Road: peppery bak kut teh for breakfast. Open daily 9am–9pm, last orders 8.30pm
• Whampoa Makan Place, Blocks 90 to 92 Whampoa Drive: the hawker lunch. Hoover Rojak at Block 90 #01-06 typically cooks Wednesday to Sunday, 10am–4pm
• Founder, 347 Balestier Road: the late pepper bowl, typically 11.45am–midnight and closed on Tuesdays