Singapore Food Festival

Inhale the spicy aromas that swim up over the skyline as cookery classes, demonstrations, tastings and unadulterated excessive eating trumpet Singapore's multiethnic cuisine at the annual Singapore Food Festival. Makan, meaning both "food" and "eat" in Malay, is on the lips of every Singaporean several times a day, while the city's many hawker centers pulsate with peckish locals buzzing around the stalls and agile cooks frenetically chopping, tossing and serving fresh Peranakan, Chinese, Malay and Indian fast food with the trademark Singaporean twist. No other city holds such a thrilling blend of harmonious culinary influences.

Even if you pack your days with spice workshops and culinary tours around Little India and Chinatown, you can still venture out to eat late into the night. Roll up your sleeves to make a hot red mess of chilli crab and cool off with a Tiger beer, the local brew. Show-offs can devour the eyes and lips of a big snapper in a fish-head curry, a classic Singaporean dish of both Indian and Chinese flavours. Rojak is a dizzying salad of turnip, fried tofu, cucumber, pineapple, bean sprouts, cured cuttlefish, Chinese doughsticks and prawn paste dressing. And if your mind wanders towards something sweet, expect the unexpected.

When: Throughout July. Varies by venue.

About the crowd: More than 450,000 adventurous foodies.

Strange but true: Tissue packets left on tables in hawker centres and food courts is a local sign that the table is reserved.

Insider tips: Drop into any Singapore Visitor Centre or major festival venue and show your passport to tuck into three classic Singaporean dishes for free. Look out, too, for discounts on dishes and special free extras on restaurant menus across the capital during the festival.

Get there: An economical Singapore Tourist Pass gives you unlimited rides on the MRT, LRT and basic bus services to get to all the venues.

Price: Free/Moderate.

Tickets and Information: Find booking information for each event on the website or book directly at the respective venues. Cookery classes are extremely popular and sell out quickly so book one to two months in advance. (tel. +65 6273 2998; www.singaporefoodfestival.com)