Indulge in some fine Italian cuisine as you enjoy the view of the waterfront. Begin with items like lobster bisque with crab raviolini, followed by beef cheek with 100 percent chocolate and herb polenta. Finish with delicate petit four morsels. Three courses will set you back $38, including coffee or tea.

Celeb chef Daniel Boulud’s casual yet chic establishment dishes out well-executed fare, which you can sample with two- ($42) or three-course ($52) set lunches. There’s country duck terrine to begin with, as well as more filling options like pork schnitzel with glazed potatoes and flourless chocolate cake to close.

Aside from nice surrounds and well-trained staff, the grub’s also consistently good. Set lunch offerings like their Peony set ($78) include their la mien soup with shredded duck and Sichuan vegetables and oven-baked lobster in spicy XO-cheese sauce. Strapped for time? Order the Lily business set ($58) which includes the Cherry Garden trio (cherry wood-charcoal-roasted duck, Cantonese-style roasted pork belly and crisp wasabi-aioli prawn).

The deal: This stalwart Cantonese establishment has been dishing out scrumptious Chinese plates since 1995. It’s won a slew of awards and is a regular haunt of society’s elite. With its glitzy rep and prime location on Orchard Road in the Marriot Hotel, dinners here can be pretty pricy. So going for the $68 (seven courses) and $88 (six courses) executive lunch sets is a great way for plebs to get a taste their fine fare.

Starting at $60, set lunches here don’t come cheap but are a steal compared with dinner prices which run to $450. The most basic set will get you six pieces of sushi, an appetizer, miso soup, and dessert. It doesn’t sound like much but all of it is exquisitely prepared right before your eyes by skilled Japanese masters. 

Sets start at $19 (for salmon don with pickles and soup) but go up to $92 for the Wagyu course with six appetizers, sashimi, Wagyu sukiyaki, rice, and dessert at this home-style Japanese joint. 

The menu here is modern Australian, accented with Asian flavors. Expect to shell out $40 for two courses: an entrée, and a main. Some of Aussie Luke Mangan’s signatures make an appearance in the set meal, including the “glass” Sydney crab omelet in a mild white miso-mustard broth.

There are 10 international selections for each course at lunch (from $29 for two courses) here. Mix and match appetizers like chilled sliced pork trotter or smoked Scottish salmon with mains such as the Wagyu cheeseburger or bara chirashi.

The deal: For $45, you get a four course lunch at Singapore’s best known fine dining joint, including dishes like tomato mozzarella salad, French onion soup with cheese toast, and black cod grenobloise-style.

Why it’s worth it: There’s no more affordable way to dine at the iconic 20 year-old establishment. Ok, so the food doesn’t provide the excitement of some of the newer names on the restaurant scene. But it’s a historied space, which continues to draw the city’s movers and shakers.     

We don’t need to tell you about this internationally-renowned restaurant, but you should know about their four-course lunch menu ($85 for a starter, a pasta dish, a main and dessert), which changes every one or two months. Expect elegant preparations like venison with pumpkin and coffee. Herbivores are well-catered for here, too.