Meta-licious – Meta Singapore Review
Korean French fusion? What would that taste like wonder the Foodie Mookie crew. In truth Pookie already knew but wanted to surprise Mookie. So off set the Crew to seek out Keong Saik Road in Outram to taste the brain child of South Korean chef Sun Kim. Meta is small, seating only 30 in a very narrow space. In truth seats at the counter are more interesting but Pookie noted that the beverage service is not as good at the counter so the crew chose a table.
Chef Sun Kim is a protege of that Australian legend Tetsuya Wakada who also has a restaurant in Singapore, Waku Ghin which Foodie Mookie reviewed here. Some fan-fare was made in the earlier days of the restaurant about the pastry chef Tammy Mah being on the desserts roster but she appears to have moved on and the Crew don’t notice any drop in the excellence of the dishes moving from savoury to the desserts. Perhaps the discernible difference is in the fact that the desserts incorporate traditionally savoury ingredients (beetroot and carrot) but both are lovely. Meta recently attracted a Michelin star so it would appear that grand old institution agrees with the Foodie Mookie crew.
Dishes to note were the 2 optional courses in the degustation. Both were excellent but it is the Irish oyster that lingers on the taste buds and in the memory to this day. The scallop with peas and onion was another fabulous dish and beautiful in its simplistically refined presentation. The other notable call out was again seafood in the fish dish and also the duck which was prepared to perfection. Sun Kim has put a lot of thought into the progression of dishes and the pacing, both were excellent and heighten the over-all experience to be greater than the sum of the individual dishes.
The seating at the restaurant can be a little challenging and the tables are tiny but these small inconvenienced are thoroughly eclipsed by the meal itself. If you are in Singapore then you should definitely try Meta and be sure to get the optional courses if you have the means and can fit them in!