The Place Italian-Japanese fine-dining cuisine is not that common in Singapore and La D’Oro (meaning gold in Italian) located at Mandarin Gallery is one of the newest restaurants to open in Orchard Road that spans Italian-Japanese casual and omakase dining. 

The restaurant is split into two sections, the casual dining space with an all-day menu for comfort Italian classics, and a hidden door which leads to a L-shaped 12-seater black granite counter seating for the omakase experience. Both concepts are helmed by Chef-Owner Yohhei Sasaki with over 20 years of culinary experience in Italian restaurants across Japan, Italy and Singapore. 

The Food I went for the 8-courses Dinner Omakase (S$258++) where the meal started with a glass tower of Amuse Bouche. The 5-courses Lunch Omakase is S$158++. 

A plate of freshly and thinly shaved cheese which looks like white snow is then served, Italian Raspadura Cheese from Bella Lodi, Lombardy. It is light and not too pungent, quite perfect as a nibble in between all the courses. 

The bread course was then served where I had a platter of Mini baguette, Walnut sourdough and Pistachio brioche along with Yuzu butter. Love freshly baked bread! 

Next up is the Wabi Sabi course – Himi Winter Yellowtail, Smoked Daikon with Mascarpone Cheese and Daikon Herb Powder. It feels like a winter wonderland. 

I then had the Unagi & Fegato Rossini, a combination of eel and foie gras with marsala reduction, sansho pepper, and dusted with black truffle. The classic kabayaki style of unagi is glazed with aged balsamic vinegar and marsala wine reduction, a rather interesting approach to unagi for me where you get that bit of citrusy notes as well, along with a tinge of peppery sansho pepper. 

For the pasta course, I had the Linguine Al Riccio Di Mare (+S$25 supplement) which uses homemade linguine with Hokkaido Uni, Sardegna bottarga and yuzu zest. This is an umami rich al dente pasta dish cooked with clam and sea urchin stock, where you get a generous topping of fresh Uni, along with some citrusy notes from the yuzu. 

Alternatively, the other pasta option to choose from the Omakase menu is the Fedellini Al Ganchio which showcases homemade fedellini with king crab meat and bisque, celeriac purée and lime jus. The presentation is quite interesting as the crab bisque is contained in its shell, separate from the fedellini where you are supposed to enjoy it Tsukemen-style where you dip the pasta into the flavourful crab bisque. 

Next up was the Pesce Il Iverno with Awaji fruits onion purée, Italian fried tomatoes sauce and oil of Kyoto kujo negi scallions. I love the Amadai fish here which is fried to a perfect crispy texture for its scales. The broth has a nice balance of the sweetness from the winter onions sweetness, and a tinge of sourness from the tomatoes. 

For mains, there is a choice of the Sendai Wagyu (+S$40 supplement) or Agnello (Baby lamp chop). I had the Wagyu beef, a rich and well-marbled A5 Tenderloin along with eggplant, lotus chip and wasabi apple sauce. La D’Oro is currently the only restaurant in Singapore to serve Sendai Wagyu beef. 

I love how rich and succulent the beef is, and it goes well with the wasabi apple sauce which helps to balance the richness of the meat. Of course, the beef is also delicious just on its own without any condiments. That said, have the beef with the miso salt by the side which enhances the flavour for me. 

The Rantee went for the Agnello – Baby lamp chop with Sendai hakusai and Italian castelfranco salad with Aomori yamabudo reduction. It is a tender piece of meat where the lamb used is less than 40 days old, though the flavour is slightly gamey. 

Before dessert was served, I was told that there was a bonus pasta dish. This is chef’s secret noodles dish of Aglio Olio, prepared for eight hours with three types of chicken including French organic chicken. The handmade pasta is then cut with a ramen machine; hence the texture of the noodles is quite firm.

Toss and mix the noodles along with the yuzu, red chilli and parsley, and the resulting flavour is a delicious supper dish. 

On to a Pre-Dessert to cleanse the palate.

For Dolce (dessert), I had the Cream of Anno Imo, sesame sauce, truffle creme brûlée and gelato. The candy ball wraps up the sweet potato and creme brûlée gelato, where I really enjoyed the sweet potato flavour.

It is a pleasant surprise to me that this dessert does not taste too sweet at all as I polished up the gelato. 

Finally, a series of Petit Fours to conclude the meal. I had Chestnut from Italy, Italian pistachio and a puff infused with Yamasaki whisky. Every bite size here is on point. 

Rants Relatively steep price for its dinner omakase.

Will I Return Again? Every course hit the right notes for me at La D’Oro, and this is one restaurant to check out if you love Italian-Japanese cuisine. It is also great that the restaurant offers both casual and fine-dining concepts under one roof to cater to a wider dining audience. 

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

Make your reservations instantly at La D’Oro here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4.5/5

La D’Oro  
333A Orchard Road 
Mandarin Gallery, #01-16/17 
Singapore 239987 
Tel: +65 8382 6200

Opening Hours  
Fine Dining 
Lunch: 12pm to 3pm (Last seating 1.30pm) 
Dinner: 6pm to 10.30pm (Last seating 8pm) 
Closed on Sunday 
 
All Day 
Lunch: 12pm to 3pm (Last order 2pm) 
Dinner: 5pm to 10pm (Last order 8.30pm) 
Closed on Sunday 

Ranted by The Ranter