Meta

Flavours of Korea with Japanese and European Technique in Singapore

Another difficult to get reservation in Singapore, Meta has been on my list for awhile.

As I was leaving Zen, I was speaking with the Maitre’D about other amazing restaurants to try in Singapore, and the top of her recommendations was Meta. Conveniently, I had a reservation there the next night!

I had some friends coming into town and the staff at Meta were the most accommodating with my rapidly changing plans, changing my reservation from one, to two, then three as my plans changed at the last second.

Meta is the brainchild of Chef Sun Kim, combining his Korean Heritage with Japanese techniques and his Western training. Born in Busan, Chef Sun’s mother ran restaurant and he grew up around the kitchen. As he grew up, he trained at Italian and French restaurants, before attending Le Cordon Bleu in Australia. He worked at Tetsuya’s in Sidney and was seconded to Tesuya’s outpost Waku Ghin in Singapore, crossing paths with Chef Mano of Thevar, perhaps explaining similar influences in some of their dishes. A year later, he struck out on his own, opening Meta.

Meta first opened in 2015, earning its first Michelin star in 2017, and its second in 2024. Meta has been consistently ranked among Asia's top restaurants, making it to No. 20 in the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2022 and No. 17 in 2023.

Notably, Chef’s Sun Proteges have ended up opening restaurants of their own. Chef Kevin Wong of Seroja worked his way up from junior sous to head chef at Meta before leaving to start his own restaurant, and Chef Louis Han also worked under Chef Sun before striking out on his own to open Nae:um.

The restaurant itself is nondescript, and located in a shophouse near other fine-dining restaurants. At first, we struggled to find the place because we saw the Michelin plaque for the French restaurant next door and thought we went to the wrong restaurant. We eventually found the restaurant, and we were led past reception to a minimalist room with show kitchen in back.

The meal started with a red pepper salad dressed with soy citrus sauce on a bed of soft tofu skin, with some wasabi in between adding a bit of pungency.

Next up was a tuna tartare sandwiched between two delicate crackers topped with an egg yolk confit, and a row of ikura (salmon roe).

Third came a scallop ceviche tart with raw diced scallop marinated in a soy sauce mirin mix, topped with finger lime and flying fish roe.

The final canape was a sweet prawn toast, topped with Ossetia caviar on a bed of roasted eggplant and home-baked toasted kombu brioche. This is apparently one of the classic canapes at Meta.

Moving into the appetizers, the first one was a yellowtail sashimi, with strips of raw cuttlefish in a briney seaweed sauce, topped with yuzu juice and shaved radish strips.

Into the hot appetizers, a silky steamed egg dish in a spicy crab shell sauce with drops of minari (Korean watercress) oil and chili oil and all topped with marinaded shirako (cod sperm sac). Some people love shirako for its mild flavour and creamy texture, but personally, I’m not a fan.

The next dish reminded me of a nearly identical dish that I had a few nights ago at Thevar, but has been on the menu at Meta since day one. A chargrilled Jeju abalone, sliced into thin strips and served on top of a rice porridge. In this case, the flavours were Korean instead of Indian, using roasted seaweed and coarsely chopped lily bulbs in the Korean “jok” (rice porridge) for texture. Smoky, rich, and perfectly tender at both restaurants, this dish was amazing and a highlight of the meal.

A Japanese tilefish with oil blistered skin, served with tender poached cuttlefish and tiny purple tender baby radishes in a delicious fish bone sauce. Light, delicate and a large assortment of textures - crispy blistered fish skin, slight chewiness of the cuttlefish, a little bit of spring from the radishes. Another big hit.

Meta’s take on a traditional Korean noodle dish, the naengmyeon, chewy long noodles dressed with perilla oil and served cold. I’ve never been a huge fan of this dish, as the noodles tend to stick together into one heavy clump, but it was well-executed nonetheless.

On the side, the naengmyeon was served with a white kimchi that omitted the chili paste and chili flakes traditionally used to make kimchi, and seaweed and eggplant topped with thin strips of leek and peppers.

The side for the main course was presented before the main - a traditional clay pot rice cooked with burdock root and topped with shaved black truffles.

The main was a Korean BBQ Wagyu steak, served with a caramelized onion puree, soybean paste wrapped perilla leaf, and fresh kimchi celtuce made in house. Along the side was a perilla leaf wrapped around fresh lettuce kimchi and a small scoop of rice from the clay pot presented earlier

Wrapping up the mains with a hot corn husk and parsnip tea before moving on to dessert.

The pre-dessert was a mint infused granita, with a scoop of cream fraiche ice cream, orange puree and juicy Jeju mandarin. Forget everything else, just give me more of that mandarin - intensely sweet and incredibly juicy, I wish I had more than a few slices.

The main dessert was a sweet potato, buckwheat and white chocolate ice cream, over some sweet potato cubes and a sweet potato madeleine. Wasn’t a fan of this one, it felt a bit one dimensional. At first I thought it was more of a rice mochi given the thick, chewy appearance.

The petit fours started with a slice of geotgam, a half dried persimmon filled with nuts and mascarpone cheese. Surprisingly good!

A small plate of Juak, a puffy, chewy deep-fried Korean rice donut coated with a heavy layer of sweetened rice syrup and some lighter chestnut cream puffs to end the meal.

Overall, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from high end Korean cuisine. When I was in school, the cheapest warm meal was at a nearby Korean restaurant, so I grew up eating gamjatang or soon tofu stew every day. I think of Korean cuisine as as cheap but delicious comfort foods - served in hot stone bowls or some of the best fried chicken in the world served with copious amounts of beer. I think back to giant communal bowls buddaejiggae or “soldier stew”, incorporating canned spam, cocktail sausages, processed cheese, instant noodles and rice cakes with a uniquely Korean black bean, kimchi and chili paste broth and its unique heritage from wartime famines. I remember blended watermelon soju served in a scooped out watermelon and Korean BBQ meats over a communal grill wrapped with Korean pepper paste in a lettuce or perilla leaf. All incredibly delicious, but a far cry from haute cuisine.

Meta did an amazing job, translating authentic Korean flavours to a contemporary, European style dining experience. Would I have preferred a bit more warm, spicy comfort food? Yes. Was Meta delicious nonetheless? Also yes. Would I return? Eh, not in a hurry.

Total Damage: 1900 SGD/3 people