The best roti prata in Singapore, crispy camp and fluffy camp

Order it plain. A bad dough has nowhere to hide.

If you're in the crispy camp, go to Mr and Mrs Mohgan's in Joo Chiat on a weekday morning and order a plain prata with fish curry. If you want soft and chewy, built for mopping, go to Sin Ming for coin prata and mutton curry, which also suits anyone who can't face an early alarm. The catch with the best counters is the clock: several stop griddling by early afternoon, so prata is a morning plan, or a very late one.

Roti prata is the great leveller of Singapore eating: a slap of dough, flung thin, folded, griddled in ghee or oil and torn apart with your fingers before it has any right to be cool enough. Breakfast for construction crews, supper after a night out and a hangover cure for most of the people in between. Our test at every counter is the plain one. Egg and cheese can hide a tired dough; plain can't. Prata shops also open, close and change hours often, so check before you make the trip.

Mr and Mrs Mohgan's Super Crispy Roti Prata, Joo Chiat

The name does the reviewing. Inside Tin Yeang Restaurant on Joo Chiat Road, the Mohgans hand-make their dough and fry it to a crackle that still leaves the middle soft. Plain prata and fish curry is the order; coin prata if you're still hungry. Go early, especially at weekends: the stall closes in the early afternoon, so this is a morning mission for the crispy camp.

Sin Ming Roti Prata, Sin Ming

The soft camp's pick. Hand-made dough again, but the draw is the coin prata: small, thick discs, crisp at the edges and fluffy in the middle, made for mutton curry. It keeps long hours by prata standards, which makes it the Saturday option for anyone who can't face a 7am alarm.

Rahmath Cheese Prata, Toa Payoh

Ignore the name and run the plain test here: plain or egg prata with fish curry, in a Toa Payoh kopitiam. It's a regulars' counter rather than a destination, and prata stops in the afternoon, so arrive while the griddle is busy. Worth it if you're anywhere in the middle of the island.

The Roti Prata House, Upper Thomson

The Thomson institution has picked its side: crispy, full stop. If you want soft, skip it. Everyone else can work through a menu that runs from plain and coin prata to chocolate cheese and Milo butter (the sweet ones are for people who have stopped pretending). It trades into the small hours, especially at weekends, which makes it the post-midnight option in the north.

Y.R.A. Rasool Fatimah, ABC Brickworks

A hawker stall for a plain, crisp prata without trimmings, and the one to choose when half the table doesn't want prata. The rest of the menu is the reason: mee goreng, a white bee hoon goreng with ikan bilis, and tulang merah for anyone happy to wear the sauce to the elbow.

Thasevi Food Famous Jalan Kayu Prata, Seletar

Jalan Kayu has been shorthand for prata for decades, and Thasevi is one reason; locals simply call it by the road. The shop goes back to the 1960s and is known for round-the-clock hours, with murtabak, cheese egg prata and plaster prata (an egg on top). Check its hours before a late drive, and expect company at weekends.

Enaq, Jurong East

The west's entry, and a neighbourhood shop rather than a destination: a crisp, almost flaky prata, fresh sambal and a choice of curries. If you live out west, it saves you the drive to Jalan Kayu; if you don't, it isn't worth one. Plain and egg are the safe orders.

Crispy or fluffy, the rule is the same: plain first, curry on the side, and never apologise for a second order.

What to order

• Plain prata with fish curry; coin prata · Mr and Mrs Mohgan's Super Crispy Roti PrataHand-made dough; go before the early-afternoon close. 300 Joo Chiat Road.
• Coin prata with mutton curry · Sin Ming Roti Prata · #01-51Crisp outside, fluffy inside; order the mutton curry. 24 Sin Ming Road.
• Plain or egg prata with fish curry · Rahmath Cheese Prata · #01-08Run the plain-prata test here; prata stops in the afternoon. 74 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh.
• Crispy plain prata; coin prata · The Roti Prata HouseCrispy style only; late hours. 246 Upper Thomson Road.
• Prata, mee goreng, tulang merah · Y.R.A. Rasool Fatimah · #01-10Order beyond the prata. ABC Brickworks Food Centre, 6 Jalan Bukit Merah.
• Cheese egg prata; plaster prata; murtabak · Thasevi Food Famous Jalan Kayu PrataServing since the 1960s and known for round-the-clock hours. 237 Jalan Kayu.
• Plain or egg prata with sambal · Enaq The Prata ShopCrisp, almost flaky prata; a west-side local. 303 Jurong East Street 32.

Good to know Several of these counters stop making prata by early afternoon and close one weekday, so check opening days before a special trip.