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lifestyle
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo, Instagram/100ontherocks
PUBLISHED ON September 22, 2025 3:22 PM BY Melissa Teo
Several months after being crowned the winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 4, chef Inderpal Singh opened his own restaurant, Meh'r, along South Bridge Road.
The 36-year-old has since relocated the eatery, which officially opened on Sept 9, to a more accessible and visible location just across the street.
Despite the new space, Meh'r, which is named after his daughter, still specialises in Inderpal's contemporary take on Southeast Asian and Indian flavours, which he draws inspiration from cities like Bangkok, Bali and Amritsar.
And though there are a myriad of cuisines featured on the menu, some still assume that Meh'r only serves Indian food based off Inderpal's ethnicity, which is most definitely not the case.
"In terms of how I am perceived, I think there is a bit of learning curve for me to sort of get through to people, in the sense that they look at me and automatically assume [Meh'r] is an Indian restaurant, but it is not," he told AsiaOne with a chuckle when we visited the new restaurant.
"So I think that part is always fun to try to, you know, put that message across to people. Because people get very excited when I do non-Indian dishes.
Though Meh'r is in a new space with a new look, Inderpal has kept some of the old favourites on the menu despite feeling the need to up the restaurant's game.
"I think with more visibility comes a little bit more pressure to deliver something a bit more sophisticated," he shared.
Some dishes his customers would be familiar with are Bak Bak Wings and Lamb Briyani.
While Inderpal is very proud of his entire menu, he shared that one of his favourite dishes is the Jack Kut Teh, inspired by the well-loved peppery local soup dish.
"Based on the street [Meh'r is located on], we have a lot of bak kut teh restaurants in the area. The Jack Kut Teh is the vegetarian version of a bak kut teh and as we did the research and development for this, it was super fun," he recounted with a wide smile.
"We just kept making broth after broth and tasting it and perfecting it. And when we finally nailed it, we were just very, very happy with the outcome."
Prior to winning MasterChef Singapore Season 4, Inderpal ran a humble home-based business and worked at acclaimed restaurants like Thevar and Burnt Ends.
Now that he finally has a restaurant to call his own, he shared that there's a lot more "tangibility".
"In the sense that when you own a space, somewhere that you come to everyday, you have to open the doors, you have to pay a lot more bills," he elaborated.
"But I think the biggest difference is having people who actually believe in the brand stand with you. When I owned a home-based business, I was a one-man show. So I did everything from the marketing to the cooking to delivering everything myself. But having a team that really believes in the brand with you, I think that's so important and that really helps to alleviate a lot of the workload and pressures that I feel."
Inderpal also shared that him winning the competition has definitely helped with the way diners view him.
"There's a lot more visibility and I think people sort of recognise what I'm trying to do a little bit more. People are willing to go out on a limb and give [my food] a try. This is something that has definitely changed," he shared.
Despite this, there is always the concern that Meh'r will be affected by the erratic F&B climate, which has seen hundreds of local eateries shutter.
"Yes, we've seen the closures. These varying factors have influenced our decision to move as well because visibility is very important," said Inderpal.
He added that apart from rent and location, the rising cost of living is affecting everything, including simple things like produce.
"These are choppy waters at this point of time, but I think it's not just something that is specific to the F&B industry. I think everybody is having a bit of a tough time with the way the world is at the moment, in terms of everyone's financials," Meh'r said.
"So I think generally what we're trying to do is we're taking it day by day, we want Meh'r to be here for as long as possible."
There are three different tasting menus for diners to choose from — The Prelude (three-course, $78), The Interlude (five-course, $128) and The Odyssey (eight-course, $198, $188 for vegetarian option).
I got to sample The Interlude during my visit and we started off with an Amuse Bouche of toasted sourdough topped with lime leaf and basil mousse, mango gel, micro coriander and lemongrass.
The Amuse Bouche. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
Next up were the appetisers and I was served three different ones which were to be eaten in this order: Bali Hamachi, Duck Tahu Bergedil and Fruity Puri.
The Bali Hamachi, which features a seven-day dry-aged hamachi, bali broth essence, sea grapes, compressed seasonal vegetables, plum gel wrapped in a shiso leaf, was a light and refreshing way to start the meal.
From bottom to top: Bali Hamachi, Duck Tahu Bergedil and Fruity Puri. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
My favourite of the lot was the Duck Tahu Bergedil, an elevated version of the classic hawker snack. Here, 14-day dry-aged duck, red curry hollandaise, egg floss and a pineapple cube are put together and transformed into a crisp bergedil.
Finally, there was the Fruity Puri, which consists of red and white dragon fruit, melon, dehydrated curry, basil leaves and laksa leaves encased in a crispy pani puri (hollow fried ball).
Moving on to the starters, I tried the Bak Bak, which was one of my favourite dishes of the entire meal.
Bak Bak is stuffed with fragrant Hainanese chicken rice. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
This essentially was a chicken wing stuffed to the brim with Hainanese chicken rice. It also came with a side of banana chili, which is prepared in-house, and chicken liver parfait.
I love stuffed chicken wings and this was my first time having one with a rice filling. It did feel like I was eating a plate of chicken rice in one mouthful with all the components packed into one chicken wing.
I was also addicted to the banana chili and have never had anything like it. This was creamy and slightly sweet with a spicy kick.
If guests were to order the vegetarian version of the Meh'r Interlude, they would be served the Jackfruit Jack Kut Teh, which chef Inderpal kindly let me sample too.
The Jackfruit Jack Kut Teh is a vegetarian option at Meh'r by Inderpal. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
As mentioned earlier, this is inspired by bak kut teh and has been reimagined into a vegetarian version by switching out the pork to jackfruit.
The jackfruit is slow-braised in a broth of white pepper and presented inside a juicy roasted shiitake mushroom and topped with youtiao (dough fritters) crumbs, black garlic gel, white pepper espuma and mustard greens. It is also served with a side of peppery broth which I found soothing and nostalgic.
I was the most excited for the main course, which features my all-time favourite protein — lamb.
This is also one of chef Inderpal's most popular dishes and happens to be the centerpiece of his new menu too.
The Lamb Briyani definitely lived up to all the hype. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
The Lamb Briyani features a juicy tandoori lamb rack paired with cranberry and pistachio rice that is topped with burnt cucumber raita and tomato pachidi. If you love lamb and briyani like I do, I am confident that you'll enjoy this.
Before getting my dessert, I was served a pre-dessert that is also suitable for vegetarians — a papaya milk magnum ice cream that is garnished with lime zest and chili salt.
The pre-dessert, which is a papaya milk magnum ice cream. PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
This refreshing sweet treat was the perfect palate cleanser before the main dessert — Koh Phi Sang.
Also vegetarian-friendly, Koh Phi Sang features a burnt banana semifreddo with a bru coffee caramel, roasted walnut crunch, plum gel and a fried banana shard.
While I was impressed by the sustainability efforts to use the entire banana, I was initially a bit concerned about eating a banana peel.
Yes, the banana shard is edible! PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo
This ended up being my favourite part of the dessert and was sweet, crunchy and very addictive.
Want to visit Meh'r by Inderpal for lunch? There's the three-course Meh'r Power Lunch menu ($39) which is available from Mondays to Thursdays, 11.30am to 2.30pm.
Guests can choose between appetisers like Duck Tahu Bergedil and Natsu Tahu Bergedil, as well as mains like Lamb Briyani, Lions Mane (vegetarian) Briyani, Ikan Assam or Tembikai Assam (vegetarian). The lunch set also comes with the dessert of the day.
Apart from running Meh'r, Inderpal shared that he and his team are in the process of launching a new brand within the company itself called Briyani Bro?, which is appropriate since his briyani is one of the more popular dishes at Meh'r.
"We're going into a more different pricing model for Meh'r itself but at the same time, we want to reach the masses. Briyani Bro? is something that is accessible for the lunchtime crowd because of [our location]," Inderpal elaborated.
Briyani Bro will not have a physical store and will operate from the same kitchen as Meh'r. As such, it will be a delivery-based business and diners can also opt to pick-up their food from Meh'r itself.
While the menu at Briyani Bro? will not feature Lamb Briyani like Meh'r, it will have three staple briyani options — mutton, jackfruit and chicken.
lifestyle
'They look at me and assume it's an Indian restaurant': MasterChef Singapore winner Inderpal Singh on offering unique dishes at new eatery
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Melissa Teo, Instagram/100ontherocks
PUBLISHED ON September 22, 2025 3:22 PM BY Melissa Teo
Several months after being crowned the winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 4, chef Inderpal Singh opened his own restaurant, Meh'r, along South Bridge Road.
The 36-year-old has since relocated the eatery, which officially opened on Sept 9, to a more accessible and visible location just across the street.
Despite the new space, Meh'r, which is named after his daughter, still specialises in Inderpal's contemporary take on Southeast Asian and Indian flavours, which he draws inspiration from cities like Bangkok, Bali and Amritsar.
And though there are a myriad of cuisines featured on the menu, some still assume that Meh'r only serves Indian food based off Inderpal's ethnicity, which is most definitely not the case.
"In terms of how I am perceived, I think there is a bit of learning curve for me to sort of get through to people, in the sense that they look at me and automatically assume [Meh'r] is an Indian restaurant, but it is not," he told AsiaOne with a chuckle when we visited the new restaurant.
"So I think that part is always fun to try to, you know, put that message across to people. Because people get very excited when I do non-Indian dishes.
Though Meh'r is in a new space with a new look, Inderpal has kept some of the old favourites on the menu despite feeling the need to up the restaurant's game.
"I think with more visibility comes a little bit more pressure to deliver something a bit more sophisticated," he shared.
Some dishes his customers would be familiar with are Bak Bak Wings and Lamb Briyani.
While Inderpal is very proud of his entire menu, he shared that one of his favourite dishes is the Jack Kut Teh, inspired by the well-loved peppery local soup dish.
"Based on the street [Meh'r is located on], we have a lot of bak kut teh restaurants in the area. The Jack Kut Teh is the vegetarian version of a bak kut teh and as we did the research and development for this, it was super fun," he recounted with a wide smile.
"We just kept making broth after broth and tasting it and perfecting it. And when we finally nailed it, we were just very, very happy with the outcome."
Prior to winning MasterChef Singapore Season 4, Inderpal ran a humble home-based business and worked at acclaimed restaurants like Thevar and Burnt Ends.
Now that he finally has a restaurant to call his own, he shared that there's a lot more "tangibility".
"In the sense that when you own a space, somewhere that you come to everyday, you have to open the doors, you have to pay a lot more bills," he elaborated.
"But I think the biggest difference is having people who actually believe in the brand stand with you. When I owned a home-based business, I was a one-man show. So I did everything from the marketing to the cooking to delivering everything myself. But having a team that really believes in the brand with you, I think that's so important and that really helps to alleviate a lot of the workload and pressures that I feel."
Inderpal also shared that him winning the competition has definitely helped with the way diners view him.
"There's a lot more visibility and I think people sort of recognise what I'm trying to do a little bit more. People are willing to go out on a limb and give [my food] a try. This is something that has definitely changed," he shared.
Despite this, there is always the concern that Meh'r will be affected by the erratic F&B climate, which has seen hundreds of local eateries shutter.
"Yes, we've seen the closures. These varying factors have influenced our decision to move as well because visibility is very important," said Inderpal.
He added that apart from rent and location, the rising cost of living is affecting everything, including simple things like produce.
"These are choppy waters at this point of time, but I think it's not just something that is specific to the F&B industry. I think everybody is having a bit of a tough time with the way the world is at the moment, in terms of everyone's financials," Meh'r said.
"So I think generally what we're trying to do is we're taking it day by day, we want Meh'r to be here for as long as possible."
What's on the menu?
Drawing inspiration from Inderpal's roots and travels, the menu features soulful, contemporary interpretations of Southeast Asian and Indian cuisine.There are three different tasting menus for diners to choose from — The Prelude (three-course, $78), The Interlude (five-course, $128) and The Odyssey (eight-course, $198, $188 for vegetarian option).
I got to sample The Interlude during my visit and we started off with an Amuse Bouche of toasted sourdough topped with lime leaf and basil mousse, mango gel, micro coriander and lemongrass.
Next up were the appetisers and I was served three different ones which were to be eaten in this order: Bali Hamachi, Duck Tahu Bergedil and Fruity Puri.
The Bali Hamachi, which features a seven-day dry-aged hamachi, bali broth essence, sea grapes, compressed seasonal vegetables, plum gel wrapped in a shiso leaf, was a light and refreshing way to start the meal.
My favourite of the lot was the Duck Tahu Bergedil, an elevated version of the classic hawker snack. Here, 14-day dry-aged duck, red curry hollandaise, egg floss and a pineapple cube are put together and transformed into a crisp bergedil.
Finally, there was the Fruity Puri, which consists of red and white dragon fruit, melon, dehydrated curry, basil leaves and laksa leaves encased in a crispy pani puri (hollow fried ball).
Moving on to the starters, I tried the Bak Bak, which was one of my favourite dishes of the entire meal.
This essentially was a chicken wing stuffed to the brim with Hainanese chicken rice. It also came with a side of banana chili, which is prepared in-house, and chicken liver parfait.
I love stuffed chicken wings and this was my first time having one with a rice filling. It did feel like I was eating a plate of chicken rice in one mouthful with all the components packed into one chicken wing.
I was also addicted to the banana chili and have never had anything like it. This was creamy and slightly sweet with a spicy kick.
If guests were to order the vegetarian version of the Meh'r Interlude, they would be served the Jackfruit Jack Kut Teh, which chef Inderpal kindly let me sample too.
As mentioned earlier, this is inspired by bak kut teh and has been reimagined into a vegetarian version by switching out the pork to jackfruit.
The jackfruit is slow-braised in a broth of white pepper and presented inside a juicy roasted shiitake mushroom and topped with youtiao (dough fritters) crumbs, black garlic gel, white pepper espuma and mustard greens. It is also served with a side of peppery broth which I found soothing and nostalgic.
I was the most excited for the main course, which features my all-time favourite protein — lamb.
This is also one of chef Inderpal's most popular dishes and happens to be the centerpiece of his new menu too.
The Lamb Briyani features a juicy tandoori lamb rack paired with cranberry and pistachio rice that is topped with burnt cucumber raita and tomato pachidi. If you love lamb and briyani like I do, I am confident that you'll enjoy this.
Before getting my dessert, I was served a pre-dessert that is also suitable for vegetarians — a papaya milk magnum ice cream that is garnished with lime zest and chili salt.
This refreshing sweet treat was the perfect palate cleanser before the main dessert — Koh Phi Sang.
Also vegetarian-friendly, Koh Phi Sang features a burnt banana semifreddo with a bru coffee caramel, roasted walnut crunch, plum gel and a fried banana shard.
While I was impressed by the sustainability efforts to use the entire banana, I was initially a bit concerned about eating a banana peel.
This ended up being my favourite part of the dessert and was sweet, crunchy and very addictive.
Want to visit Meh'r by Inderpal for lunch? There's the three-course Meh'r Power Lunch menu ($39) which is available from Mondays to Thursdays, 11.30am to 2.30pm.
Guests can choose between appetisers like Duck Tahu Bergedil and Natsu Tahu Bergedil, as well as mains like Lamb Briyani, Lions Mane (vegetarian) Briyani, Ikan Assam or Tembikai Assam (vegetarian). The lunch set also comes with the dessert of the day.
Apart from running Meh'r, Inderpal shared that he and his team are in the process of launching a new brand within the company itself called Briyani Bro?, which is appropriate since his briyani is one of the more popular dishes at Meh'r.
"We're going into a more different pricing model for Meh'r itself but at the same time, we want to reach the masses. Briyani Bro? is something that is accessible for the lunchtime crowd because of [our location]," Inderpal elaborated.
Briyani Bro will not have a physical store and will operate from the same kitchen as Meh'r. As such, it will be a delivery-based business and diners can also opt to pick-up their food from Meh'r itself.
While the menu at Briyani Bro? will not feature Lamb Briyani like Meh'r, it will have three staple briyani options — mutton, jackfruit and chicken.
