The best nasi lemak in Singapore, from Adam Road to 3am suppers

The best nasi lemak in Singapore is served at hours you would not admit to.

Start at Adam Food Centre. Selera Rasa and No. 1 Adam's Nasi Lemak share a wall, so one lunch settles the basmati question and the rendang question at once. The compromise with the rest of this list is distance and the clock: the supper names are in Sembawang and Boon Lay, and their best hours are not office hours. Check each stall's hours and rest day before a special trip; they move.

The bones of nasi lemak are simple: rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan, a sambal, crisp ikan bilis, peanuts, cucumber and an egg. Everything else is an argument. Basmati or regular grain? Fried chicken wing, berempah leg or rendang? Is the sambal sweet, nutty or brutally hot? Pick your sides from a tray, cai fan-style, or take the set and trust the cook? We chose these stalls because each answers those questions differently, and each entry says who it suits.

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak, Adam Food Centre

The best-known name at Adam Road, at #01-02. Long-grain basmati and a sweet sambal: the pick if you like your rice light rather than rich. The Royal Rumble is the go-big plate. Check its rest day before you go.

No. 1 Adam's Nasi Lemak, Adam Food Centre

Next door at #01-01, which makes Adam Road the best two-plate taste test in the city. The Adam's Special adds mutton rendang in a thick, sweet gravy, and that is the reason to order here rather than at Selera Rasa. Get one plate from each stall, share, and pick a side. Somebody at the table will be wrong.

Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang, Yishun Park Hawker Centre

The one for the fried chicken leg and a rich chilli, and the best reason on this list to go to Yishun at lunchtime. It has had a Michelin Guide listing. The flagship is at Yishun Park; the Plaza Singapura outlet is the fallback if the north is too far.

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak, Sembawang Road

The supper call. It runs from evening into the small hours with a cai fan-style counter of sides, and the house chilli is sweet and nutty. The standard set has been a chicken wing, omelette, fish fillet and hot dog, which is about as honest a 3am plate as Singapore offers. Check its hours before you drive up.

Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak, Boon Lay Place

The west's late-night heavyweight. The chicken wings carry a hint of ginger and the sambal has a sweet tang. Bring a group and order the Dulang Set, a tray built for sharing; extra sambal costs a little more, and you'll pay it. Check its hours before a late trip.

Changi Village Hawker Centre

Two stalls, one trip to the end of the island, best earned by a bike ride or the boat back from Ubin. Mizzy Corner Nasi Lemak (#01-23/26) does coconut basmati with a spicy-sweet sambal; check its rest days first. A few stalls along, the International Muslim Food Stall (#01-03), about 30 years in, has a sambal that isn't overly sweet, with a hint of dried prawn. Choosing one? Choose by sambal: sweet-hot at Mizzy Corner, savoury at International.

Ponggol Nasi Lemak, Jalan Besar

The chain on the list, and the most convenient: the Jalan Besar shop runs into the evening, so it works as dinner before drinks in the neighbourhood. Order the chicken wing set or the fried fish. Check its rest day before you go.

For the sit-down version with chendol to follow, The Coconut Club is the polished option. But nasi lemak is a plastic-table dish, and the best plate is usually eaten at an hour you would rather not explain.

What to order

• Nasi lemak with basmati rice (Royal Rumble) · Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak · #01-02, Adam Food Centre, 2 Adam RoadFluffy basmati and a sweet sambal; next door to No. 1 Adam's
• Adam's Special with mutton rendang · No. 1 Adam's Nasi Lemak · #01-01, Adam Food Centre, 2 Adam RoadMutton rendang in a thick, sweet gravy
• Nasi lemak with chicken leg · Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang · #01-33, Yishun Park Hawker Centre, 51 Yishun Avenue 11Fried chicken leg and a rich chilli; has had a Michelin Guide listing
• Cai fan-style nasi lemak · Chong Pang Nasi Lemak · 447 Sembawang RoadLate-night institution; sweet, nutty chilli
• Chicken wing set; Dulang Set · Boon Lay Power Nasi Lemak · #01-106, 221A Boon Lay PlaceGinger-tinged wings; open late, so check hours
• Coconut basmati nasi lemak · Mizzy Corner Nasi Lemak · #01-23/26, Changi Village Hawker CentreCoconut basmati and a spicy-sweet sambal
• Chicken nasi lemak · International Muslim Food Stall Nasi Lemak · #01-03, Changi Village Hawker CentreAbout 30 years old; sambal not overly sweet
• Chicken wing set; fried fish · Ponggol Nasi Lemak · #01-01, 371 Jalan BesarJalan Besar shop runs into the evening

Good to know Several of these stalls keep late hours and weekday rest days, and both change; check each stall before travelling.