Starting out as a food for the Incas as early as 750 BC, it was only 200 years ago or so when the humble potato was accepted as food in the Western world. Although the origins of the term “French fries” is highly debated, there are several stories of how it came to be. The French say that recipes for the dish appeared in their cookbooks all the way back to 1755, while the Belgians claim that American soldiers discovered the snack in their country during World War I and called it French as it was the official language of the Belgian Army back then.

Whatever the origins of the term, the humble French fry has captured the taste buds of food-lovers around the world and is no longer just an American classic, it’s become a Singaporean favorite too. But with so many places serving the salty snack, how can you make sure you’re eating the best? After much munching, and thousands of calories later, we bring you a guide to the best French fries joints in town.

Barracks Café

The legendary truffle fries here are delicious crispy shoe string fries from the US that are fried till golden in vegetable oil, tossed with quality white truffle oil from Italy and sprinkled with UK sea salt. Keeping to the slightly military theme at Barracks Café, they come in a metal tin layered with parchment paper. Each addictive 225 g portion of the truffle fries is priced at $9. It is served along with sweet potato nibblets when you order their American sliders beef burger. The fries go great with alcoholic beverages and are good enough to be eaten without any dips. The fries are also available at all Skinny Pizza outlets.

Best Fries Forever

Bring your best friend down to share the lovely fries here. Freshly cut daily from 100 per cent US potatoes and cooked to order to ensure you’ll enjoy a fluffy inside and crisp outside every time. The fries are best enjoyed with one of the funkily-named signature sauces, such as “friendly fire,” “wazabee,” “wow wow west,” “ole ole,” “gusto garlic” and curry favor. Many of the sauces are unique to BFF and have been specially created to complement the fries. #B1-06 Cathay Cineleisure Orchard 8 Grange Rd.

Botak Jones

The fries at our favorite local American food joint are served in a huge portion. The crinkle cut fries ($3.80; large $6, extra large $8) come coated with a simply additive Cajun powder seasoning. Orchard Youth Park, 121 Somerset Rd., 6735-0225.

Everything With Fries

The name says it all. Instead of fries as just a side dish, the focus here is on the fries. You can choose from straight cut or shoestring fries that come with a wide variety of seasonings such as original, curry, salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion as well as garlic and herb. The portions are fairly large and cost only $3.90. Great taste and value-for-money, what more can we ask for? 40 Lorong Mambong Holland Village, 6463-3741.

Novus Restaurant, Bar, Café & Courtyard

The triple-cooked fries ($8) are first steamed, put into a blast freezer and then moved into a chiller. Next they’re deep-fried at 150 degrees until a hint of crust forms, after which, they are put back into the chiller before finally being deep-fried at 200 degrees just before serving. This two-day process is completely worth it; the fries are amazingly fluffy on the inside but crispy on the outside. They are made from Idaho potatoes and are served as an accompaniment to their beef variation dish ($50). According to head chef Stephan Zoisl, the secret to getting the right texture for the fries lies in the tedious preparation process and using potatoes with the right amount of moisture.

Paulaner Brauhaus

Try the fries with curried tomato sauce ($9.50) which come doused in a layer of curry powder; like in Berlin where it is a popular street snack. If you’d like a little meat to go with your potatoes, order the grilled veal sausage with curried tomato sauce ($12.50) which comes with the French fries.

Totally fried

Fast food fries are accessible for city slickers, but are they any good? We find out:

Burger King (large $2.75)
We approve of the fries here but they don’t strike us as particularly special. Not exactly the place that comes to mind first when we need our fix of fries. 3 / 5 stars

Carl’s JR. (large $3.50)
One of the best. The fries come with skin on it and taste wonderful. Plus, it’s thicker and heftier than the rest. 4/ 5 stars

McDonald’s (large $2.55)
A classic for a reason—it’s crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The clown sure knows how to put a smile on our faces. 4 / 5 stars

MOS Burger (large $2.40)
The fries here are big and thick, just the way we like it. We love sinking our teeth into the chunky delights here and we’re sure you would too. 3.5 / 5 stars

Superdog (large $2.80)
Not bad but not outstanding either. It’s going to take more to leave a lasting impression on us. There’s nothing particularly memorable about the taste and it comes across as your average fried potato. 2 / 5 stars