It isn’t easy getting a reservation for this à la carte buffet. And for good reason: it’s a great deal. $42 gets you thick slices of sashimi, yakitori, tempura, and noodle dishes.

It’s not cheap ($168 including free flow of Moët & Chandon), but the food (eight varieties of oyster, à la minute lobster, and foie gras; on our visit, we saw an entire roasted Wagyu beef leg) really is exceptional. Also, there are 50 varieties of cheese.

There’s pizza made in a wood-fired oven, local chow like chili crab plus à la minute pasta, and noodle options at this buffet which goes for $58 at lunch and $55 at dinner.

The Italian à la carte brunch here is $118 and includes rock oysters, tender osso bucco, and simple pastas. You can also have free-flow Champagne for $158 (Ruinart R de Ruinart Brut NV), $248 (Ruinart Blanc de Blancs) or $488 (Dom Pérignon).

Besides a stellar antipasti and dessert selection, you also get mains like lamb chops and gorgonzola and cod fish with Umbria lentils at this longstanding Italian favorite. The buffet goes for $48 (Mon-Fri), $54 (Sat) and $88 (Sun).

The buffet ($39 at lunch, $59 at dinner) includes not only an Asian and Western spread but also special Plates of Pleasure such as assam laksa, which are cooked-to-order.

The city's highest brewery boasts hearty mains such as the all-day breakfast ($25; consists of fried egg, butcher's sausages, crisp bacon and forest mushroom) and oven-baked egg and potato rosti with crisp prosciutto ($24.50).  

The weekend dim sum brunch ($98, or $158 with a free flow of Champagne) at Yan Ting is a quiet, classy event with excellent Cantonese cuisine and an 80 item-strong brunch menu. Besides dim sum, there’s Cointreau glazed-pork ribs and prawns sautéed with XO sauce.