You can eat magnificently for a fortune or for next to nothing in Singapore. As one of the major crossroads of Asia it has historically served as one of the most important trading posts of the international spice trade, which accounts for the spicy heat of many signature dishes.
These have also evolved from the interaction of the culinary cultures of the city's ethnically Chinese, Indian and Malay population, with some elements lingering on from the former British colonial occupiers, and from other cuisines to which the trading port was exposed.
Although the city's food is often compared to that of neighbouring Malaysia in general, and of Penang in particular, dishes with the same name will often taste quite different on opposite sides of the Johor-Singapore causeway.
Katong laksa is named after an area of Singapore, and it looks and tastes different from Malaysian laksa dishes.
Peranakan or Nonya food - a hybrid of Chinese and Malay cuisines which has been evolving for centuries - is also common to Singapore and Malaysia, but in Singapore the dishes reflect an additional Indonesian influence in the use of coconut milk as an ingredient, while in northern Malaysia the flavouring has more in common with the food of neighbouring Thailand.
Indonesian dishes, such as rendang, nasi goreng and satay, have been adapted and adopted as Singapore's own.
Although Malay, Indian and Chinese culinary traditions continue to coexist, they also constantly interact, with chefs borrowing flavourings and ingredients as they see fit. Chinese Singaporeans will dine regularly in Malay and Indian restaurants, while some Chinese restaurants offer halal menus to Malay Muslim diners.