On a recent Thursday at about 8 p.m., a few dozen patrons are midmeal at CityZen in the Mandarin Oriental when the hotel’s fire alarm goes off. No one gets up. Not one. In fact, only a few even raise their heads to look around for more direction.

They’re intent on staying put because they’ve paid handsomely for the privilege of dining here — between $75 and $110 per person, excluding drinks and wine. It’s the kind of place where the ratio of guests to employees can be as low as 3-to-1; where you get a choice of butters from two different farms with your bread; where the contents of the cheese cart are worth thousands.

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