First look at the new Meta: Chef Sun Kim goes back to his Korean roots at his one-Michelin star restaurant

Separating the reception area from the dining room is a black steel and glass paned sliding panel referencing the windows of traditional Korean hanok houses that are made with traditional hanji paper.

And, throughout the restaurant, the warm-toned, hand-plastered curved ceiling is complemented by bronze elements, honouring traditional Korean hand-forged bronzeware known as bangjja.

It’s apt that the restaurant’s evolution reflects the “metamorphosis” from which Meta takes its name.

When he first opened Meta, Busan-born Kim, an alumnus of Tetsuya in Sydney and Waku Ghin in Singapore, was serving a cuisine he termed “modern Asian, which drew inspiration from my past experiences”.

Back then, “I did not have much input in the design of the restaurant.” The Keong Saik area was “very casual, young and energetic… a melting pot with restaurants of different cuisines and trendy bars, so it was an ideal location for us to be serving our modern Asian menu.”