Singapore — Taste, as they say, is highly subjective. Some, like marketing professional Calvin Wee, will gladly spend most of his weekday dinners at his favourite zi char restaurant, because he and his wife have a penchant for the S$4.50 salted fish fried rice from Master Crab Seafood Restaurant. In contrast, others don’t mind dishing out S$25 for Chen Fu Ji’s Imperial Golden Fried Rice, which, granted, does feature the use of fresh crab meat. And even though this is like comparing fighters of different weight classes, it affirms the fact that good value is as biased as good taste.

Still, today’s invitation to dine out comprises a smorgasbord of exceptional indulgences with its own set of disputed proposals. One person’s wasted plate of calories is surely some other’s gastronomic rapture. “I had good and affordable French cuisine at Saveur on Purvis Street, I think mains were under S$25,” said MediaCorp artiste Priscelia Chan. That said, she still can’t swallow forking out S$20 for bad “mixed vegetable rice” while in Paris, France.

Another Singapore actor, Desmond Tan, added that his most recent affordable luxury, foodwise, is the duck confit at Le Petite Cuisine (at Serene Centre). “It’s only about S$15, and it tastes good.” Conversely, the most overpriced meal he has had is an order of laksa at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. “I co-hosted one episode of a food show (Just Noodles) where I ate at six recommended stalls in Singapore, and some tasted better than the one at the Four Seasons,” Tan added.

And it’s all easy to fathom — theoretically. Making sense of the fact that diners here complain about rising costs of a cup of coffee, yet willingly pay close to five times the average price for a plate of chicken rice can be tricky; not to take anything away from Chatterbox’s feted S$27 version of this local plebeian staple.

Spurred on by the recent kerfuffle surrounding the S$20-per person bowl of Buah Keluak Sambal Fried Rice from Immigrants, which we reported on last week, a casual spoon test was conducted by the writer to determine just how many are in a serving. Immigrants’ best-selling (and only) rice dish scored 13.5 spoons in total, or S$1.48 a spoonful if you prefer a more pecuniary perspective. In contrast, Tomo Izayaka’s California Temaki (S$6.50) with 2.5 spoons cost S$2.60 a spoonful. It could also be said that the Black Mediterranean Rice dish from Food Bar Dada (S$8 for 2.5 spoons) would set the diner back S$3.20 a spoonful; while the Truffled Field Mushroom Risotto from Marmalade Pantry (S$22 for 13 spoons) would cost S$1.69 a spoonful, whether or not you clean your plate.

An interesting and fair point, particularly where rice dishes are concerned. But these findings also remind us that there is more to a worthy splurge than meets the eye, be it in relation to the prized fungi or fresh seafood used, or the meat’s lineage.

And it needs to be measurable, agreed food pundit and writer Rebecca Chua. While others have argued that the setting alone might justify a premium — chicken wings ostensibly cost more at a trendy bar — it’s still complicated.

In my line of work, though, I’m often reminded that not all meals are created equal, not even at the top. The price difference between a grade 9+ Blackmore full-blood Australian wagyu (the highest marbling score for Australian wagyu) and a proportionately well-marbled proposition from Kagoshima is discernible, though not always to the inexperienced palate.

What then would it require a diner to be able to fully appreciate the nuanced eccentricities that make a 350g serving of Argentinean grass-fed Angus rib-eye at S$40 a good buy? Or if the aforementioned Blackmore, which could flagrantly command S$150 for 250g, might offer better returns? How many then would be able to discriminate or make an educated plea?

What remains more immediately puzzling to the man in the street are dishes that seem to flout common sense. We know we’re not getting away from paying anything less than the market price for our portion of fried Maine lobster Hokkien noodle (S$48 from Sky On 57). Yet we ponder hard before deciding on paying twice the average tag for a gourmet hot dog — made from fresh ground meat from grain fed cows and pigs. Well, simply because the more economical (aka mostly processed) and no less tantalising alternative is readily available. On the flip side, and artisan burgers like db Bistro Moderne’s S$42 foie gras filled sirloin whopper notwithstanding, there are surprisingly affordable luxuries that have made fans out of a fair share of penny-pinching gourmands.

It’s a niggling matter in certain circumstances, but as Chua reiterated: “No matter how good the meat is, S$150 is never a steal.”

It boils down to how well it is prepared and served. And, clearly, few possess the clout to justify a premium simply for getting it right.

In essence, the New Zealand Angus sirloin served as part of a S$19 set meal at Table Manners, for instance, could prove to be one of the best you’ve had in a while. It would be hard then to deem a dish costing S$20 (and above) as “good value”.

Radical subjectivism as such has led me to believe that, like any expensive meal we’ve managed to lap up without so much as a hint of guilt or shame, each of these are what they are. Good value if you’re accustom to a privileged lifestyle; and by all accounts, quite simply a good indulgence.

How’s this for a steal?

Here are some of our choice pickings when it comes to food that’s worth its weight in taste (and dollar value).

Wagyu skirt steak (S$44) from Skirt

W Singapore, 21 Ocean Way, Sentosa Cove, Tel: 6808 7278

This lean cut is imported exclusively for the restaurant. But it’s the chef’s deft touch and shrewd timing that keep it tender and succulent; while the high fat content — wagyu 9+ — affords it those sumptuous deep rounded flavours.

Ciabatta-wrapped egg (S$15) from Amuse

#01-29 Orchard Hotel, 442 Orchard Road, Tel: 6735 3476

This dish has always been a fine example of former Les Amis chef de cuisine Armin Leitgeb’s culinary finesse. It features an egg that has been steamed at 71 degrees Celsius to an invitingly wobbly state, and then encased in a crisp sliver of thinly-sliced ciabatta lined with Parma ham. At the bottom of the dish is an earthy sauce made of mushrooms and chicken jus. And it’s now available at a pocket-friendly price.

Omakase set dinners (S$40 to S$60) at Teppei Japanese Restaurant

#01-18 Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link, Tel: 6222 7363

Where else in Singapore could you have an omakase meal (the Japanese equivalent of a degustation — although in this case, chef-owner Yamashita Teppei decides on the selection) at that price? Realistically, though, one should not expect a match to Tatsuya or Shinji. The inspired menu of 10 to 12 courses is more in line with quality izakaya pickings.

Tortilla Omelette Deconstruccion (S$10) from Catalunya

The Fullerton Pavilion, 82 Collyer Quay, Tel: 6534 0886

So it’s a tapas dish, but it’s not like anything you’d be able to get anywhere else. For some time (14 years, actually), this, visionary chef Ferran Adria’s ode to the Spanish omelette was only at the now defunct elBulli. On the palate, this clever amalgamation of a rich egg yolk sabayon, drizzled with chopped caramelised onions and then topped with silky, aerated mashed potatoes, is divine.

Petit filet mignon sandwiches (S$22 for a set of 4/ free-flow during Mortini Hour) from Morton’s The Steakhouse

Mandarin Oriental Singapore, Fourth Storey, 5 Raffles Avenue, Tel: 6339 3740

Served with mustard mayonnaise, this popular bar bite is a great way to sample what the restaurant does best. Best of all, you can sample as much as you want during Mortini Hour — 5pm to 7pm from Monday to Saturday — during which martinis are S$12.95 each and the sandwiches are served butler style.

Pan seared foie gras with lentils (S$7.90 for 35g; S$14.90 for 70g) from Saveur

5 Purvis Street, Tel: 6333 3121

Can’t complain about portions here because you get essentially what you pay for. And for the most part, this deviously simple dish to prepare is served just right.

Additional reporting by Serene Lim.