Trattoria Gallo D’Oro @ Central Mall

Trattoria Gallo D’Oro (The Golden Rooster) is a cosy italian restaurant located at Central Mall. It specialises in home-styled italian cuisine and is helmed by Chef Carlo Marengoni, one of the co-owner of the restaurant.

When you know the chef himself has a stake in the restaurant, you can certainly be assured of quality.

Chef Carlo has over 17 years experience in fine dining restaurants in 5-star hotels. Instead of lavish fares at Trattoria Gallo D’Oro, Chef Carlo is proud to share with his patrons, the goodness of home-cooked Italian food, particularly from his hometown, Bergamo.

When Chef Carlo Marengoni first arrived in Singapore in 1995, he knew not a word of English. Taking this in stride, he took on the role of Head Chef in Restaurant Fratini. His affable nature combined with the universal language of food soon established him as a culinary superstar in italian cuisine – he was chosen to host the inaugural dinner for the Singapore delegation of Italy’s most prestigious gourmet association, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (“Academy of Italian Cuisine”) and in 2010, prepared a feast for then-president SR Nathan at the Istana. He is also an ambassador for italian food, being one of the approximately 200 Master Chefs certified worldwide by the Academia Barilla.

Rachel and I dined at Trattoria Gallo D’Oro a few weeks back and had the privilege of meeting Chef Carlo in person:

Friendly and passionate about his cooking, Chef Carlo shared with us his concept for the restaurant, opting for simplicity and homeliness in both the decor and the cuisines so that patrons can feel the warmth of true home italian cooking.

This does not mean less effort is put into cooking in the kitchen of Trattoria Gallo D’Oro. Chef Carlo recounted to us the details when preparing his dishes. To ensure authenticity, some ingredient like the fresh sardines used in one of his signature dish have to be specially imported from Italy.

There items on the menu are specially crafted and selected by the chef and there are daily specials, depending on what’s fresh in season. For regulars, you can also order hard-to-get items like authentic whole italian roast pig that is not on the menu. Note that ample time must be given for preparation and you should call in to check in advance if you are interested to make such special orders.

Rachel and I tried one of the daily selection sharing menu for two (S$68 per pax, minimum 2 pax to order):

We enjoyed ourselves very much at Trattoria Gallo D’Oro. The menu has many sharing  options, true to the restaurant’s emphasis on home-cooked goodness where good stuff is meant to be shared. In this way, one can sample more dishes, instead of individual portioning.

The fresh sardines were superb and will amaze Singaporeans who are used to only seeing sardines being packed and preserved in cans. I quite like the linguine too while Rachel voted for the antipesti for her favourite dishes that night.

Here is the restaurant’s details if you are interested to visit:

Address:
Blk 7 Magazine Road #01-03 Central Mall Singapore 059572

Telephone: 6438 8131
Fax: 6536 4149
Email: reservation@gallodoro.com.sg

Opening hours:
Mondays – Saturdays (Closed on Sundays)
Lunch: 12pm-3pm (Last Order: 2.30pm)
Dinner: 6.30pm- 11pm (Last Order: 10.30pm)