We challenged three writers to stay up from 6pm to 6am and find the best that Singapore has to offer. What did they discover? The Lion City doesn’t shut down for a second. Photography Lester Ledesma

Shoestring: $30

With a measly few bills in my pocket, I hotfoot it to the makeshift Chinatown Complex Temporary Market & Food Centre in pursuit of the $2 bak chor mee I heard sells out before dusk. Arriving at 7.16pm, I get there just in time and order the last bowl of the day at Tew Chew St Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (#01-153).

My next stop is Union Square, which is teeming with salsa enthusiasts dressed in dance-friendly gear – think flirty skirts, heels and colours – who bob in before 9pm to dodge the $15 non-member cover charge. I’m charmed by the strangers who politely ask if I’d like to dance and then actually thank me afterwards. This is definitely different from the common nightclub approach where rudely bumping into or shyly dancing around a girl (and her friends) constitutes as ‘making a move’. I agree to dance with a tall, dark and not-so-handsome stranger. Bless his soul and bruised feet, he’s too courteous to rescind the offer after learning of my absolute inexperience, and agrees to teach me some basic steps. I leave soon after, embarrassed but with a new respect for salsa dancing and the indisputable discovery that I indeed have two left feet.

Conscious of my cash restrictions, I take an 18-minute bus ride to Bugis and then walk another 30 to revel in the people-watching opportunities at Mustafa Centre. I spot my boyfriend waiting for me and immediately launch into my salsa story as we jostle our way through the surprising swarm of 2am shoppers, locals and tourists . We hear the intercom crackle: ‘Mr Singh, please come to the information counter. Your wife is waiting for you and you have a flight to catch.’ We look around eagerly, but don’t see any sign of Mr Singh.

Remarkably bag-free, we leave Mustafa and head back to town. But first we silence the hunger pangs with cholesterol-busting thosai ($1.20) and a warm, milky teh tarik ($0.80) at CMK Restaurant. Back on Orchard Road, we walk by Istana Park and spy couples going at it in the dark. I’m a little surprised that they find that spot romantic. Maybe it’s just me who equates the word Istana with the rather unromantic image of the Members of Parliament. That said, the park is centrally located, you do get a superb view of the stars and some privacy, but wouldn’t the infamous East Coast’s carpark G be much more suitable? It’s secluded, if you don’t mind the cab ride and the scent of eau de bug spray. We consider passing the tip to the kissing couple, but think better of disturbing them and move on.

Intrigued by the seedier aspects of late-night Singapore, we board the last bus to Geylang, the NightRider NR7, just before 5am. Here, we check out the even-numbered lorongs (Malay for ‘lanes’), where the world’s oldest profession is clearly in action, and play ‘Guess which country this streetwalker is from?’ Lorong 12 seems to boast the most thriving international trade . After a short while, I’ve trained my eyes to separate the buyers from the ‘big brothers’, although I’m not sure how this skill will ever come in handy. I also notice I’m getting too much attention from the male population, even though I’m just wearing an old T-shirt and jeans . I can’t help but wonder how much I would fetch in the open market.

By this time, we’re starving and grab quick sustenance at Yong He Eating House. We munch on fried you tiao ($0.80), drink soya bean ($1) and savour the speciality, toasted bun with meat floss and egg ($2.40), while waiting for the bus, which finally arrives at 6.30am. Though the restaurant was bustling with a mix of young and old, of early risers and late-night clubbers, the roads on the coach’s residential route are deserted ; and the few passengers onboard are just as sluggish as I am. Jamie Nonis

Standard: $100

I start off slowly at Knowledge Book Centre, a second-hand store frequented by professors, students and other bibliophiles who have the time and patience to dig through its stacks. The three-books-for-five-bucks deal is unbeatable, and I find a copy of Proust’s ‘Swann’s Way’ before I head to Va Va Voom Café to chill with a cup of aromatic Vietnamese drip coffee. Since I’m here early, I’m fortunate enough to bag one of the cosy daybeds towards the back of the orange and white café. I don’t hesitate to order the signature value-for-money dish: Morning Glory Beef for just $5.

Suitably stuffed and caffeinated, I stroll over to Rev Distribution, which retails a wide range of inexpensive wines. I walk out with a $20 bottle of Selena Estate Chardonnay from Australia. After all, there’s nothing so bad that a bottle of wine can’t fix, and nothing so good it can’t make better.

Open bottle in hand, I amble along Haji Lane, where stylish shops like Black and House of Japan have created a back-alley hipster row. I duck into Pitch Black (movies $7-$8; dinner and movie $12), which feeds you downstairs and then shows you cult, mainstream and Asian movies upstairs. This converted shophouse claims to be the first venue in Singapore to offer Blu-Ray movie technology, but tonight they’re showing a DVD of ‘Species’. As I sink into one of the screening room’s couches, I find myself strangely in awe of Natasha Henstridge’s acting abilities. This must be a really good bottle of wine; I’m glad I convinced them to let me bring it in.

By now it’s midnight and – this being Singapore – it’s been way too long since my last meal. I combine eating with rocking at Gashaus, which serves tasty burgers for under $10 and nightly performances by local up-and-coming bands. I arrive and realise that tonight is Oldies Night, a break from the joint’s usual onslaught of rock, punk and metal. Instead of T-shirt-clad cool kids, middle-age business types take to the karaoke stage for their renditions of 1960s and ’70s songs. When I leave, I need a pick-me-up (and a couple of Panadols), but I ignore the multitude of shisha pipe stores lining Arab Street until I get to Samar Café, a cozy, authentic hideaway outfitted with middle-eastern imported furniture. Upstairs, a band plays Arabian music while I drink sweet hibiscus tea ($5) and inhale from a pipe ($14). Legally.

By 3am, I have a few options, and sleep is not one of them. The DJ at the Living Room Bar in the Marriott Hotel is still pumping hip hop beats. Thankfully, it’s not a crowded scene of clubbers, and only a few people, all respectable adults, are there. If anyone should choose to dance, they’ll have the floor to themselves.

But I’m really curious about a 24-hour angling spot called City Prawning & Fishing. I grab a cab ($7), rent my equipment ($12 per hour for prawning; $35 for eight hours of fishing), slather myself with bug spray and join the dozen or so people relaxing in plastic chairs. The scene is peaceful, with friends talking quietly to each other and sharing beers from the coolers you’re allowed to bring in. When I catch my first prawn, there’s a buzz around the pool; I’m glad I’ve got plastic gloves as I unhook my prize and throw it on the barbecue (coal and firestarters not provided). Around 6am, I see the sun starting to rise with a beautiful orange hue. High on my first-ever fishing experience, I consider a trip to Shears Bridge for a view over the water. But then, it’s 6am, and I’m thinking that the view of my bed will look just as good. Darren Ho

Deluxe: $150

Armed with twice as much money than we normally spend in a night, my best friend and I set off from the Jewel Box where we purchase a $9.90 ticket for a 12-minute cable car ride across to Sentosa. The view, which we usually consider something just for tourists, is really quite beautiful and calms us for the two bus trips that will take us to our destination on Sentosa, Il Lido.

Once there, we settle into the comfy lounge chairs and begin the indulgence with $22 glasses of rosé champagne. This is going to be a good night. Once we’ve watched the sun set (and drained our glasses), we make our way out, but not before noting down the address of the pod-casts done by resident DJ JNR (ex-model Tirso).

On the trek back from Sentosa, we stop at VivoCity to admire the seven public artworks that were commissioned for the Singapore Biennale 2006, which are now permanently installed there. On the giant mall’s boardwalk, we argue over the merits of Korean artist Choi Jeong-Hua’s six-metre-tall ‘Flower Tree’, a spherical bouquet of brightly coloured blooms. A glance at my watch confirms that it is definitely time to eat. We take the 963 bus ($0.85) to Alexandra Road and cross to Gillman Village for dinner at Turquoise Room. Housed in what used to be a cinema in the 1950s, the restaurant is a hidden treasure with its whitewashed floors, whimsical turquoise swirls on the wall and menu of simple, tasty food. When we ask to sit outside, the waiter tells us only the daybed is left. Score. Soon we’re comfortably stretched out, sharing mushroom pâté on crostini ($8) and scrumptious banana crumble ($8.80). I order the crab meat linguini ($22) as a main course and insist on having a glass of sauvignon blanc ($11). My share of the bill comes to approximately $46, but I don’t mind. No worries tonight.

Post dinner, we hail a cab and split the fare ($4) to Abrazos, where we’ve heard about a tango milonga, or dance salon, that takes place every Friday. For $20, we’ll pick up dancing tips and get some refreshments, not that we can eat anything else. We are greeted by one of the regulars, who quickly explains the art of the dance. ‘It’s all about letting go and feeling the music,’ he says. Turns out ‘feeling the music’ involves some very specific etiquette rules. For instance, the tables must be organised in a traditional Buenos Aires format around the floor so that the men can circle the room before inviting a lady to dance, which they do by making direct eye contact and waiting to be accepted. When our guide demonstrates by looking me right in the eye, I nod and soon we’re off for a quick (and always counter-clockwise) twirl.

By midnight, we are all tangoed out, but we re-energise ourselves with a hot Coke and ginger at Tong Shui Café. It’s terribly sweet but exactly what we need to keep us going. We’re tempted to order slices of thick toast with creamy peanut butter and condensed milk, but manage to resist. Deciding that some additional chill-out time is necessary, we hop into a cab ($2.30 for a half-share of the fare) to Settler’s Café, where we spend the next hour reviving our long-running Scrabble rivalry ($9 each, because I’m not paying for her to beat me). For the record, she won. Again.

The night is still young and as we wander past Attica, we’re tempted to do the typical Singaporean girl’s night out thing and go dancing upstairs at Attica Too (open until 6am). But a peek inside reveals a too-crowded dance floor and without much hesitation we decide that tonight we’ll do something different, like refresh our pool-playing skills with a game at China One. It’s a busy night but a live band, Tabula, entertains us while we wait for a table to free up. We leave at closing time, 4am, and find that we’re still doing okay for money since we’ve only spent $16 each for the pool table and one drink. With two more hours left to go, we head down by taxi ($3 each) to Spize, the Makan Place to take away our favourite supper: chicken murtabak ($2.50). Once we have our orders in hand, we spend another $2.50 each to get to the Botanic Gardens, where we sit in one of the gazebos to polish off our supper/breakfast. Just as we’re each taking our last bite of the murtabak, I look up to see the sky beginning to brighten with slivers of golden orange light. And that last bit doesn’t cost us a cent. Charlene Fang