In this, the first and most delicious of my ninth annual end-of-year round-up posts, I highlight some of my favourite coffee shops, restaurants and dishes of the year, both in London and on my travels. This year, I visited nine countries (Estonia, the US, Germany, Switzerland, Estonia, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain and France). From £4 chicken rice in Singapore to tempting tasting menus in Tallinn, as well as sublime speciality coffee, it's been quite a year. As usual, I've only included places I visited for the first time in 2019.

When I thought I would have an eight-hour layover in Singapore on my way to Australia a couple of years ago, I started researching specialty coffee shops. The layover didn't work out, but my research didn't go to waste as I spent just over two days in Singapore at the end of my recent trip to Malaysia. I visited eight coffee shops and roasters during my stay. Not by coincidence, my hotel was also located in easy reach of many of the coffee shops on my list.

While planning my trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2017, I thought I could include an eight-hour layover in Singapore. I spent some time researching what I would do, but it didn't work out in the end, and I just spent a few hours at Changi Airport instead. But I was sure to make time for a visit to Singapore at the end of my Malaysia holiday, and loved spending time in the green but high-tech, historic but multicultural city-state.