(T R E A T)
There are some chefs whose food once you’ve tasted, is clear they have a fantastic palate and you just know are capable of even more exciting things. In my opinion, such is the case with Head Chef @kurt.sombrero at Meatsmith Little India.
I have always found his menu for the Campbell Lane outlet of Meatsmith, peppered with Indian-inspired twists (a homage to its location), creative and well-tuned in flavour balance. With the launch of the new dining concept - Meatsmith Little India Level 2, he now has another avenue to flex his culinary muscles (while still running the kitchen for the restaurant downstairs and the takeaway menu - phew!).
The multi-course Tasting Menu he’s devised for Level 2 is explorative, refined, and undoubtedly worthy of attention ($85++ per pax). To complement, Senior Bartender Kelvin Chow (@ch0wwww) has engineered a special cocktail pairing menu at $65++ per pax.
Our dinner commenced with vibrant small bites of a coriander cream-dressed Potato “Pani Puri”, an artfully balanced Biryani rice and cured Hamachi Sushi, “Fish & Chips” made with purple potato chips, smoked creme fraiche and cured hamachi, as well as a collection of colourful bites on skewers. These included a pan-seared Amaebi wreathed in pickled fennel, its head deepfried to a crunch, Tandoor oven-baked Leek with Foie Gras, and a cabbage-wrapped Chicken Medallion “lollipop”. Kelvin’s first cocktail to go with these was a light concoction of distilled lemongrass and tea with a hint of honey.
Chef Kurt presented the next course himself, a stunner of Carabinero prawn with cauliflower purée, seaweed salad tossed in oils from curry and prawn shells, and for a finishing touch, curried smoked granita - easily one of the strongest dishes in the menu. Lightly fermented Mango with apricot, barley and fresh coconut went into its accompanying cocktail.
Then came an irresistible grilled squid in thick, aromatic curry shielded by wavy Pappadum “shells”. To enjoy this dish, the “shells” were broken and swiped through the curry. The matching drink was my favourite of the night, an alchemised liquid of fermented green apple and fat-washed burnt cream.
Crispy grilled pork cheeks, pickled beetroots, chives and chilli aioli on grilled potato buns (made in-house at Burnt Ends Bakery by @tart_tatin and her team) made up the next course. This delectable mix was matched by a cocktail of fat-washed red and green apples, and distilled macadamia. General Manager @thomaskoh83 told me it’s his personal favourite.
From the three main course options, I picked the Butter Chicken Deluxe, and was suitably delighted by Chef Kurt’s contemporary take on the classic Indian dish showcasing smoked butter and cream, on to which he shaved black truffle. @huatkaliao opted for the Tandoori Cube Roll (this requires a $15 top-up) and loved every bite of the smoky, tender and richly-flavoured meat. I stole some of it and was equally enamoured. A fab choice for red meat lovers. We were presented with the Pork Belly Chop with Sauerkraut Kombucha to try too and it was good, but my heart really belonged to the other two. It’s good to see all the mains come with housemade Roti as they‘re perfect for mopping up curries and sauces.
My hubby had done a wine-pairing instead of cocktails, and he was very pleased with the pours. So pleased that at the end of the night, he decided to purchase a couple of the wines from @burntends.cellars.sg.
Of course Chef Kurt wasn’t about to do a simple dessert for his inaugural Level 2 Tasting Menu. Hence, what appeared was a scrumptiously complex offering of smoked yoghurt ice-cream, ginger ale-compressed apple, sugarcane meringue mousse with kaffir lime and orange zest, and a shockingly fragrant butter and cumin bread smoked till dry and crumbly. A Coffee Negroni was its sparring partner.
Lastly, on a bed of edible “Gunpowder” spices and Milo were these nibbles to send us rolling off into the night: a fluffy coconut caramel sponge with coconut caramel purée, chocolate ganache and sour plum jelly.

Thank you again for springing a surprise on us and taking care of the bill, Thomas 🙏🙏😄. I’m sure you know we would have happily paid for it.