LUCE

LUCE is the ground-floor restaurant of Frasers House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, the former InterContinental Singapore on Middle Road. It now runs as a buffet with open kitchens and live stations, led by chef de cuisine Giuseppe Di Gaetano, whose cooking leans towards Southern Italy. Italian dishes make up most of the spread, with some Asian and international items alongside.

Start at the seafood on ice and the Italian cold cuts and cheese room, then head for the live station, where squid ink tagliolini is tossed in a Parmesan wheel and you can pick a pasta with carbonara or bolognese. Hot dishes rotate but have included Ragout alla Napoletana, Guinness-braised lamb shank and Sicilian-style baked whole fish. The pinsa, burrata caprese and tiramisu are worth leaving room for.

It works for family celebrations, office lunches and groups who want variety. Weekday lunch is the best value at S$59++, dinner runs S$85-98++, and children aged 6 to 11 pay a reduced rate. A Sunday champagne brunch runs 12pm-3pm. Pork appears in several dishes.