It was a Friday night and I was going for dinner at Violet Oon in ION Orchard with the wife. It had been a long week and I was looking forward to unwinding with a good meal at this famous restaurant in Singapore.
Violet Oon Singapore
Violet Oon is a well-known restaurant in Singapore that offers a variety of authentic Peranakan food and local delicacies.
It is the brainchild of famous Peranakan chef Violet Oon, a Singapore Nyonya born in 1949.
Oon opened her original namesake restaurant in Bukit Pasoh Road, as well as a food outlet in Takashimaya in the 1990s.
In 2014, Oon teamed up with Manoj M Murjani from Group MMM to rebrand the business. Violet Oon currently has five outlets in Singapore:
The Bukit Timah branch offers classic Peranakan cuisine.
The National Gallery outlet serves Peranakan food and local delicacies such as fish head curry and chilli crab.
Violet Oon Satay Bar & Grill at Clarke Quay features satays, grilled fish and Nyonya signatures.
Violet Oon Ion, which is the branch I visited, offers Peranakan food, local delicacies, and fusion British-Hainanese food. It also has a retail front selling traditional Chinese snacks.
Violet Oon at Jewel Changi Airport, the newest and largest outlet, offers Peranakan food, local favourites, roti pratas, and a fun “Nyonya Poh Piah Party” for groups of six.
ION Orchard Mall Outlet
Dining area designed Brasserie style
Retail Shop
Cashew cookies
Violet Oon ION Orchard is an elegant open-air space decorated in a classic French bistro style.
I had made reservations for two persons at 7.30pm on a Friday. However, when I arrived at 7.25pm, I was informed by the restaurant manager that our table was still not ready.
When I enquired how long it would take, the apologetic manager told us that they were having a busy night and we might have to wait for around 15 to 20 minutes.
He suggested for us to sit at the bar, but the wife and I decided to just wait around in the retail shop section.
I was little annoyed because I was quite hungry by now, but at least the manager seemed quite sincere and even served us refreshments (cold ginger tea) while we were waiting.
The wife and I killed time by checking out the variety of pretty cakes, cashew cookies, pastries, pineapple tarts, kaya and calamansi jams on sale in the shop.
After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were led into the restaurant by the manager, who apologised to us again for the long wait.
Menu
The Violet Oon ION menu features a variety of classic Peranakan dishes and local delicacies. In addition, it is the only branch to offer British food interpreted by early Hainanese chefs in colonial Singapore.
Some of the popular dishes include the Kuay Pie Tee ($17), Hainanese Pork Chop ($34), Dry Laksa ($24), Beef Rendang ($23), Oxtail Stew ($42), and the classic VO’s Shepherd’s Pie with House Salad ($24).
Drinks wise, there is a variety of juices, premium tea, artisan coffee, cocktails, beers, spirits and wines.
There are also breakfast and high tea menus.
You can click here to see all the Violet Oon ION Orchard food and drinks menus.
Kuay Pie Tee
The Kuay Pie Tee ($17) is a Peranakan pastry made of shredded turnips and bamboo shoots served in a deep fried flour cup, and topped with a large slice of juicy prawn. You can eat it with sweet fruit sauce and chilli sauce.
I really enjoyed this starter dish! Eaten with the two sauces, it was spicy, refreshing, savoury, and tangy at the same time.
Hainanese Chicken Rice
The Hainanese Chicken Rice ($21) is a familiar local delicacy. The Violet Oon version has a beautiful presentation and is served with chilli garlic sauce, ginger jam and thick dark soya sauce.
However, other than the presentation, the dish was quite disappointing. The meat was not very tasty, and the rice lacked that distinctive rich chicken fragrance.
Considering that I paid $21 for chicken rice, I had been expecting a much tastier dish.
Dry Laksa
Luckily, the Dry Laksa ($24) saved the day. Everything was on point here.
The laksa sauce was creamy and aromatic, going together perfectly with the rice noodles. The prawns, tau pok, and bean sprouts were fresh and delicious.
Conclusion
On the whole, the wife and I had a pleasant dining experience at Violet Oon ION Orchard. Service was decent and ambience was good. We really enjoyed the delicious Kuay Pie Tee and Dry Laksa. However, the Hainanese Chicken Rice was frankly quite disappointing. The prices are high here, but I guess I’m paying for the classy ambience. I will be returning to check out the other Violet Oon Nyonya signatures.
Violet Oon ION Orchard
What to Order: Kuay Pie Tee ($17), Dry Laksa ($24), Beef Rendang ($23), VO’s Shepherd’s Pie with House Salad ($24)
Address: ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn #03-22, Singapore 238801
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 10pm
Website: https://violetoon.com/violet-oon-singapore-at-ion-orchard
Phone: +65 9834 9935