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The Line

Shangri-La Hotel, Orange Grove Road, 6213 4275.Available: 12pm-2.30pm (lunch); 6.30pm-10.30pm (dinner)

The buzzThis sprawling 1,350 buffet restaurant is a pioneer in offering a theatrical dining buffet concept. For $47 (lunch) and $68 (dinner), you get 16 open-style cooking stations where diners can see their food being prepped àla minute.

What’s special Making a stop at each station is like visiting a mini restaurant in itself: The Italian counter serves up a good range of pasta with homemade sauces and pizzas; The sashimi station beckons with supremely fresh raw fish, sliced upon ordering; and there are stacks of steamy bamboo baskets with dim sum, roast meat noodles and local delights such as satay and fishball noodles.The Northern Indian spread is also not to be missed.

The dessert department is also just as elaborate. Apart from cakes, there’s a chocolate fountain and an ice cream teppanyaki station where your favourite flavour and toppings are mixed together on the chilled marble slab - the original Cold Stone Creamery? The Line is also probably the only buffet restaurant where its coffee counter is manned by a trained barista who can brew a gourmet cuppa to end your meal on a lovely note.

The buffet dinner on certain days of the week comes with special themes - oyster night's on Tuesdays, grilled meats and seafood on Wednesdays and a crustacean feast on Thursdays.

Also tuck into: The Olive Tree Restaurant at Hotel InterContinental (lunch $45++; dinner $55++) serves an array of Asian and Western favourites that borrow touches from cuisines from all over the world.

At The Ritz Carlton's Greenhouse, East meets West on Friday and Saturday nights ($82++) with dishes drunken prawn hot pot, glazed unagi and truffle potato salad and mushroom and crab roe tart.