Molly Malone's was the first Irish pub in Singapore, and it's as authentic as they come. It was actually built in Ireland then taken apart and shipped to Singapore, but you'd never know it ­ it looks like it's been in the same spot for generations. Traditional food is on the menu (awesome fish and chips here!), live Irish music is performed Tuesday-Friday evenings, and all the football and rugby games are on the telly for Singapore's die-hard fans.

ORCHARD ROAD. Despite a rather uninspiring location inside a shopping arcade, this Irish pub is the real deal. Like many of the most convincing Irish pubs outside of Ireland, Muddy Murphy's was built in Dublin and shipped to its current home for reassembling. Irish beers are the quaff of choice, and traditional Irish dishes such as shepherd's pie and Irish stew are the preferred foods. Most of the action is on the main floor, but the second level space is a charming retreat if you're more in the mood for a quiet chat.

One of Singapore's two brew pubs, Paulaner always has two regular freshly brewed beers, Munich Lager and Munich Dark, along with a couple of distinctive seasonal beers. Sample them inside or out in the beer garden, then head upstairs where you can dig into some traditional Bavarian cuisine, like cheese spaetzle, wiener schnitzel, weisswurst and pork knuckles. Sunday brunch is great.

You have to admire anyone who's spent the last decade fiddling with yeast and hops to make the perfect brew ­ and avid beer brewer Ernest Ng's efforts at his recently opened microbrewery are getting rave reviews from those in the know. If you're feeling adventurous, try the Monster Green Lager, a swampy-looking brew containing spirulina, the algae that's the breakfast-of-choice for many A-list celebs. More traditional beer guzzlers can opt for the English ale or German wheat beer.