Ms Skinnyfat

Are you the kind of diner who chase celebrity chefs or collect Michelin star eats, or are you the type more likely to support a restaurant for its beliefs? Well if you're never considered the latter, here's introducing Kausmo, an intimate restaurant backed by the Les Amis Group. The restaurant is run by Lisa Tang and Kuah Chew Shian, and the duo aims to elevate your consciousness about sustainable and thoughtful living through their meal. 

If you don't know by now, food wastage is a big thing in Singapore and it starts even before you see the produce at the supermarkets. Kausmo showed us how these ugly unwanted produce could be created into beautiful dishes. Local perennial (think Singapore kampong vegetables), sustainable ingredients and secondary cuts of meat are used as well. Even their tableware are repurposed or upcycled. As the meal unfolded, we can't help but rally to the cause and be more determined in making conscientious choices. 

Kausmo serves a 6-course Carte Blanche menu ($75/pax) based on the availability of produce, with a home-brewed Kombucha tasting at an additional $20. The dishes combine European techniques with Asian influences, and are inspired by thoughtful stories. 

We started with crisp but fluffy Kausmo flat bread served on a Southern Wood Tzatziki, flavored with herb oil and pork rib rillette (which i thought could be saltier). 

Next, a squash gazpacho made with aesthetically-filtered pumpkin. The pumpkin puree tastes exactly like how a pretty looking one. Substance over looks anytime. This was topped with heirloom tomatoes and pistachio with locally grown savory with a flavor profile of marjoram and mint. 

For protein, we had the local Golden Pompano which was lightly fried. This was served with a crustacean bisque beurre blanc and pickled leftover melon rind. The local herbs tasted like mango rind too.

The second meat dish was an Australian pork striploin. The pigs are reared in an environment where the farmers focus a lot on carbon reducing practices, resulting in these carbon-neutral pork. The clean tasting meat was marinated with a spiced broth, and served with a rosemary pumpkin puree. Adorning the meat were some locally grown sorrel which brought about a burst of citrus. A plummy fermented miso garlic jus further flavors the meat. 

While most of the food is strongly European at its core, Lisa added on a touch of her Teochew heritage with a local Barramundi belly congee. We understand that Threadfin is the usual fish used but it's overfished now and thus Lisa went with Barramundi instead. The massively comforting porridge is topped with fried shrimp lard (which uses the fat from the earlier pork dish), brine-preserved plum, and perfumed with fried shallots and chilli, together with Sissoo spinach.

The pre-dessert was an unusual tropical fig leaf tea jelly with preserved citrus and star fruit flowers but it tasted rather regular. I guess that prevented it from stealing the thunder away from the coconut yogurt cake with an puree made from overripe and overstocked nectarines. The touch of shaved nutmeg and laksa leaves provided a familiar savory note to dessert, which i enjoyed a lot. 

The dining experience at Kausmo was an enlightening one. I was nourished not only by the food but also by the thoughtfulness behind the meal. 

1 Scotts Road Singapore 228208