I've always been a big fan of Japanese inflected cuisine and was thrilled to hear that a branch of Tokyo's Italian restaurant La Luna Rossa is opening in SIngapore. Itameshi has finally arrived! Made my way over to Orchard for a weekday lunch with M and loved the cheerful rustic-modern decor of La Luna on first sight. Overall, lunch was a sublime experience from our sun-bathed table overlooking Scotts Road (loved the floor-to-ceiling windows), great value lunch sets (starting at S$20 to S$60) and attentive service. Now if only the food packed a tad more punch. We started off with a lightly battered, almost tempera-like calamari which was fried just at the right temperature to bring out the clean flavours of the calamari and vegetables.
Next came the spaghetti with mushroom cream sauce. Nothing wrong with a simple pasta dish but if it's going to be that simple, every component has hit the mark. My issue was this dish was the bland brown mushrooms which did nothing to lift the heavy cream sauce. A little morel mushroom certainly would help bring the dish to a whole new level, in my opinion.
The braised osso bucco with gremolata sauce was another hum-ho affair. We didn't get the zing from the parsley, lemon zest, garlic in gremolata and the osso bucco braised in a tomato sauce came out a little less fork-tender that I would have liked.
The star of the meal had to be the chocolate terrine with orange sorbet. The chocolate flavour was intense without being cloyingly sweet and complements the slightly bitterness of the orange sorbet perfectly. A great way to end the meal.
Conclusion: Still prefer my Italian food hearty and rich. And while I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience & would probably return for another meal, Chef Takada's light virtuous interpretations are just too subtle for me.
La Luna Rossa
6 Scotts Road
#02-01 Scotts Square
Tel: 66362951
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Labels: La Luna Rossa, Reviews
