Dine at a celebrity chef restaurant for cheap

Rather than sit in the stiff dining room, lounge in the bar or terraces instead. Wolfgang Puck's Spago serves snack- and tapas-sized portions ($15 for a plate of agnolotti to $52 for a USDA Prime sirloin) of its dishes, made with the same ingredients, no less.

And at CUT, you get a USDA Prime flat iron steak and tempura onion rings for $45 – compared to the starting price of $80 in the restaurant proper, albeit for a different cleave, it’s a steal.

Up the surfboard at Flight Bar and Lounge, homeboy Justin Quek's signatures like his foie gras xiao long bao ($25), beef noodles ($14) and wok-fried beef ribs ($18) beat paying the same price for the battered bar grub you'd find for the same price in the less spectacular Clarke Quay. 

The more affordable way to taste Waku Ghin's sweets is to head to Rise Lounge at the MBS hotel, where a case of pretty cakes from Tetsuya Wakuda's Patisserie Platine sits. Pastry chef Yasushi Ishino and his team produce 18 types of cakes, pastries and macarons each day, with prices ranging from $10 for a plated dessert to $25 for a dozen macarons. Don't worry, lunch money – we got your back.  

One (hyphenated) word: pre-theatre. Daniel Boulud's db Bistro and Oyster Bar dishes out two ($58) and three ($68) of his exquisite and carefully turned out plates from 5.30 to 7pm, accompanied by a glass of Bordeaux to help you get a little giggly even if you're not catching a show.

On Thursdays at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, whose chef is the holder of the most Michelin stars in the world, ladies are treated to a four-course meal ($98) and free flow sparkling wine or Bellini to take them to a happy place. Sorry, dudes. 

Foodies swear by this trick, and why not? At Tippling Club, you get the same inventive snacks and a meal as the dinner patrons – who pay upwards of $170 for five courses – at just $46 for two courses and $60 for three.

Over at Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora, $58 nets you three lunch plates sanctioned by the former Iron Chef, and an up-close view of one side of the blue abyss of the SEA Aquarium, without having to put up with the screaming children and selfie-chasing tourists next door.