The Crack Shack
This casual, all-day chicken and egg eatery is one of the most popular spots to eat in San Diego and for good reason. Nearly everything on the menu is excellent, but not to be missed is the fried chicken. Using fresh, free-range, organic jidori chicken, the succulent meat is drenched in a blend of secret spices and then fried to perfection. The thick outer coating is unbelievably crunchy and the actual chicken meat is brimming with flavorful juices. While you’re there, make sure to also order the chicken oysters and try one of their signature chicken sandwiches, like the Senor Croque or Brick House.

Antoinette
Singapore's beloved pastry chef Pang Kok Keong has combined real crabmeat, his special rempah (spice) concoction and a house-made tomato sauce base to create one of the most divine fillings for croissants ever. This one is not afraid to be spicy. It's a great way to enjoy chili crab without fighting to get the meat out of the shell. Your fingers might still get messy though. The chili crab croissant is available at all Antoinette outlets

Original Katong Laksa
The founder, nicknamed Janggut ("beard"), created Katong Laksa - a style of rich Nonya laksa with noodles cut short so you can eat it easily with one spoon, scooping up a nice portion of the savoury coconut-milk laced broth. It's rich with a complex of spices and dried shrimp, but not too spicy. Their history extends to the 1950s and have three outlets today.

Lolla
Zagat listed Lolla as “One of the World’s Top 10 Hottest Places to Eat” upon their opening in 2013. This place still draws in the crowds for its unpretentious, yet inspired dishes with a Mediterranean edge. They believe in sourcing, not saucing, letting good ingredients speak for themselves. You'll find premium grass-fed beef from Cape Grim in Tasmania; Don Bocarte anchovies harvested off the Bay of Biscay, Spain; and cheese from Ceneri, a family-run master cheese refiner in Cannes. Lolla uses Freedom Range Company barn-laid eggs by hens free of hormones and antibiotics. The champagne bar carries labels from small grower producers. Still, it's their spot-on execution that gives the dishes flair. Their signature is the Sea Urchin Pudding: uni from Hokkaido loaded on top of a curiously savoury squid ink custard. The Spanish tortilla with smoked eel is a gorgeous omelette stuffed with potatoes crisped in duck fat, and just enough umami from the smoked eel. One of the must-try dishes is the grilled avocado with feta, pickled fennel and pine nuts. The rack of lamb and grilled octopus are also popular. For dessert, try the Smoked Dark Chocolate Ice Cream exclusively handmade for the restaurant by Creamier. Check out their Sunday brunch for exquisite breakfast dishes, like beef tongue hash and bacon steak. It isn't fine-dining per se, but more like a supper club in a convivial atmosphere (yes, patrons are known to strike up friendships while sharing tables).

Dusty Knuckle
Using only traditional methods to produce their magnificent dough, Dusty Knuckles Pizza hand make everything from scratch using this finest ingredients: from ‘OO’ Caputo Flour to San Marzano Tomatoes. Perhaps this is why their wood-fired pizzas are some of the best in the city. Now with a permanent restaurant in the Canton area, Dusty Knuckles is kneading out some incredible things. The Italian Fennel pizza, topped with Charcutier Ltd’s award winning fennel sausage, ricotta, fresh fennel and pokey red chillies, is our absolute favorite. It is rich, wholesome and crisp with an excellent tomato base and fantastically subtle flavors.

Charcutier Ltd
This Radio 4 Food Programme Award winning pork producer, cures, cooks, smokes and air-dries charcutier. The family-run farm has been selling this specialised meat-product since 2011 and has developed into a major player in the Cardiff industry. They set up shop each week at the Roath Market on Saturdays and Riverside Market on Sundays and sell the best bacon sandwiches in Cardiff. Thick cut bread, with slabs of smoky bacon and touches of quality will surely make you delighted. They will warm your insides on even the coldest of Welsh days.

Calabrisella
Calabrisella isn’t much of a looker. With its brick effect wallpaper, budget furniture and tatty bits of paper plastered across its windows, you could easily mistake this Canton-based Italian eatery for a greasy spoon caff and give it a miss. However, if you did that then you’d be depriving yourself of some of the best Italian food in Cardiff. Pizzas are the forte of the house - They are stunning, with each comprising of a golden crust and a millimeter thin base topped with perky tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. They were also the size of a car tyre. The finest however, is the Calabrisella (£10.90) capped with unctuous, fiery nduja sausage and sun-dried tomatoes, which add a pleasing bite.

Hang Fire Southern Kitchen
Hang Fire has finally opened their first bricks and mortar restaurant in the seaside town of Barry. The drinks are great and the food is better - the main course of choice was only going to go one way - The Big Pit Plate (£34). Two heaving trays of meats and sides hog half of the table. Memphis style ribs are as good as ever - tender, meaty, smoky and coated in a deep-flavored dry rub. If you order one thing at Hang Fire, make it the ribs. Unctuous shreds of 21-hour smoked pulled pork are topped with a good glug of BBQ sauce, whilst the juicy brisket has a blushing pink smoke ring to remind you things are done properly around here. Refreshingly sweet pickles are as close as you come to something green during the meal. Sides don’t let the side down either.

The Early Bird
Located in Cathays on the former site of the Paleo Chef and Falafel Cafe, the Early Bird bakery has been open for business since last November (2015). From the first cup of coffee you can tell there’s a lot of passion that goes into everything that’s served. Coffee beans are roasted in the bread oven - the barista James (and brother in law of the owner) has been experimenting with different roasts. The menu is diverse and the items are fresh and delicious - But the Hulk Smash (£6) was the best of all. A couple of slices of toasted sourdough were topped with a generous mound of velvety avocado, a delightfully runny egg and a garnish of radish. Seasoning came in the form of a drizzle of smoky and fiery chipotle sauce.

Cup & Cake Bakery
I went to Riverside Market last Sunday morning for a low key Cronut from Cup and Cake Bakery (£2.50). However, it’s four days later, I’m still thinking about that pastry. Now I understand the hype and the buzz of last summer’s column inches. I understand those huge stateside queues and the excitement of it all. The crisp croissant-like layers of pastry, the pillow soft sugariness of a doughnut, the sharpness of the raspberry icing and the ooze of white chocolate ganache thrown in for good measure – it still weighs heavily on my mind and just makes a whole lot of sense. Cup and Cake Bakery sell their Cronuts at St Mary Street Market on Saturdays, 11am – 5pm, at Riverside Market on Sundays, 10am – 2pm and online soon. Flavors vary by week.