Not one to pull out all the stops for Valentine’s Day? If your idea of the perfect date involves unpretentious, good food and flip flops, By the Fire is just the place to be — bring your spouse or make it a boys’ night out. Located within Alibabar the Hawker Bar, opposite I12 Katong, this hawker stall turns out hearty grills and smart pastas, as well as moreish deep-fried bites like battered baby squid ($9.90) and the very popular Scotch Egg ($6.90). The golden breaded exterior reveals tender pork mince and a perfectly half-boiled egg, and it is served with a tart cabbage slaw to cut through the richness. For mains, you won’t go wrong with the BBQ Pork Ribs ($14.90), slathered in homemade barbecue sauce and served with macaroni and cheese, or the tender Grilled Pork Cheek ($15.90), interestingly glazed with Japanese curry oil. There’s no need for dessert here, not when you can share an order of their signature Keystone’s Seaweed Pasta ($8.90). The simple but tasty combination of aglio olio angel hair pasta with shio kombu and sakura ebi is better than any chocolate cake.

Ambience: Super laidback
Price: Avg $40 per couple