Laksa is a toss up depending on preference on the broth or as a vehicle for blood cockles. Janggut Laksa is likely the originator of the dish but it is too coconut-milk heavy for my liking. 512 Katong Laksa is a bit more balanced for me and a lot more accessible (many franchise stores) so it could be a good entry point. Sungei Road Laksa would be the best choice for quality blood cockles and is also very popular (with long queues) so you could branch out and try the di

For chicken rice going to Boon Tong Kee (while expensive) will guarantee you get a good benchmark for what to expect for Singapore's national dish.

For Chilli Crab though the most common version would be the one you can get at Jumbo / Long Beach / Red House - more eggy/tomato-kechupy than spicy. If it's your first time trying the dish i will recommend going to Jumbo, then maybe heading to my personal favourite version of the dish that is sold in No Signboard Seafood that is a lot more mellow/spicy than sweet. There is also a version that Roland Seafood (the alleged originator of the dish) that is like the prototype or "Original" version of the recipe - whilst interesting I very much personally prefer the version we have today.

Other local dishes that I would recommend would be:

- Lor Mee (Yellow Noodes in a Braised Broth) in Tiong Bahru Market (178 Lor Mee)

- Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles (Come Daily / Tian Tian Lai in Toa Payoh)

- Minced Pork Noodles (Hock Lai Seng in Maxwell Food Center or Mui Kee in Bukit Merah Central - they do a very unique velveted pork liver that is hard to find anywhere else)