If eating at fine dining restaurants isn’t a habit of yours, The Clan makes for a good first experience as staff are friendly and the vibe not too stuffy or intimidating, despite an exclusive-looking interior. The restaurant has moved from its previous premises on Neil Road to PoMo.

Their 6-course set dinner costs $78++ and you have a choice between mains such as wagyu beef loin ($48 à la carte menu) and Spanish pork belly ($32 à la carte).

#02-01/08, PoMo, 1 Selegie Road 

Senso is one of Singapore’s best loved Italian fine dining joints and has been around for ages. The vibe is very classic, so try not to wear your tshirt with the banana print.

Homemade pasta dishes include ravioli al vitello ($32) and taglierini neri o bianchi ($34) (that’s squid ink pasta), while mains include roast cod fillet ($40).

Definitely get a subscription to The Entertainer if you’re thinking of dining here, because you can get one-for-one main courses—that would lower the price of your pasta to under $20. You can also use the Entertainer to get 1-for-1 on their Sunday prosecco brunch, which means you and a friend can go for $49 per person rather than $98.

21 Club Street

This Japanese-inspired steakhouse attracts carnivores in droves, all hankering for the juiciest cut of wagyu.

Meat of this quality doesn’t come cheap—this isn’t Aston’s. A half cut of Grade A3 tenderloin saga costs $98—and that’s the cheapest cut on the menu. A full cut of Grade A5 ribeye tochigi will set you back $320.

Use The Entertainer and you’ll get 1-for-1 on your mains. That means you and a friend each save a whopping $160 on your Grade A5 ribeye tochigi, which is even more than the cost of the subscription.

#01-01/02 , Camden Medical Centre , 1 Orchard Boulevard

The new National Gallery opened to much fanfare in 2015, but many Singaporeans are more excited by the fact that it’s the building where Aura is housed than the actual exhibitions.

The restaurant has a sky lounge with the usual stunning views of the city skyline.

Their four-course set dinner costs $88 and features contemporary Italian dishes—during the Chinese New Year season they’ll be serving up porcini mushroom tortelli with pumpkin and candied ginger, and whole steamed Italian seabass with asparagus and sea urchin sauce ($39 à la carte). 

#05-03 and #06-02, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrews Road

Local cuisine rarely gets much airtime when it comes to haute cuisine, which is what makes Labyrinth so unique. The menu has been designed to display Singaporean flavours and textures.

Order from the à la carte menu and you should be able to keep the bill to under $100 per person.

Their starters include Hokkaido scallop ($20) and hiroshima oyster laksa ($18), mains include roasted pork belly siew yoke umami rice ($24) and cod XO fish noodle soup ($30), and there’s lychee, corn and strawberry ice kachang ($16) and xiao long bao chendol ($8) on the dessert menu.

#02-23, Esplanade Singapore, 8 Raffles Ave

Text: Joanne Poh/MoneySmart