Singapore may be small, but we are inundated with choice when it comes to eating out. Sometimes, this can lead to the first-world problem of CHOICE(!) ANXIETY(!!) If, like us, this leads you to becoming a sad creature of habit who keeps eating at the same old places, check out our bite-sized JUNK food reviews for what you should be eating next.
Some of the great unsung heroes of our local dining scene are the many neighbourhood Italian places that dot our little island. Da Luca is a stalwart on that list and is a gem of a restaurant, tucked away on the first floor of the pink Brutalist ring that is Goldhill Plaza.
We sat down to a meal of Burrata eggs, browned butter tagliatelle and a T-Bone steak. The eggs were warm and comforting, if slightly over the top with the gratuitous shaved black truffle. The homemade pasta was as generous and as unctuous as you would hope for if you came in desperately hungry, the main course of the T-bone steak was good enough to slow the meal down to an appreciative pace of quiet enjoyment and the apple galette that brought the meal to a close, was a masterful sliver of crisp ‘appliness’ that almost brought on another order; It’s just that we realised that we were the last in the dining room and the staff were politely waiting for us to…leave.
This is neighbourhood dining that can get unexpectedly high-end given the quality ingredients, but not in a wanky, “gastronomy” way. The food here feels home cooked by a real chef – and not some well-meaning cook. And finally, the service was personal and warm, giving it the distinct feel of a family-run business, which is essentially what it is.
Time to mangiare. (You can crucify us if we got that wrong!)
The Score
