Restaurant Review: Violet Oon's Kitchen

Violet Oon's Kitchen

881 Bukit Timah Road
279893 Singapore

+65 6468 5430

If you're thinking about visiting Violet Oon's Kitchen, it's probably because someone mentioned this restaurant to you, or you read about it someplace. You're unlikely to stumble across it, as it is a rather small, out-of the way and inconspicuous eatery. Even so, it made it into the NY Times, a fact Ms. Oon doesn't fail to mention to her guests. Ms. Oon has been much lauded and talked about in Singapore, being a celebrity chef and even Singapore's Food Embassador.

I hadn't heard about Violet Oon's Kitchen until a colleague told me, and even with his detailed description it was a chore to guide our taxi driver there, as actually it is located in a little side alley running parallel to Bukit Timah Road. When we arrived, we were wondering why it was so crowded and noisy for a restaurant, until we figured out that we had actually gone into Bar Bar, which is right next to Violet Oon's Kitchen.

With Bar Bar as it's next door neighbor, dinner at Violet Oon's Kitchen is not a quiet affair, at least not sitting outside on the weekends. Aside from that, the atmosphere is rather relaxed and casual. The staff is friendly, and Ms. Oon and her son make the rounds with guests to chit-chat and to ask if everything is in order, a nice touch.

Appearances are not everything. Even though Ms. Oon's creations sounded good on the menu, and were indeed nicely presented, I unfortunately have to say that I don't understand the hype. Reinventing and adjusting Peranakan cuisine is a great idea, but none of the three dishes we tried at Violet Oon's Kitchen was a revelation.

All in all it was a decent dinner, with good service, for a just-ok amount of money, but nothing that I would deem outstanding. Also, I don't quite get the concept of putting shepherd's pie on the same (rather limited) menu as beef rendang. Portions are reasonable, and after 3 mains and desert we were actually stuffed. That said, neither the mains nor the dessert were truly great-tasting food. The mixture of Nonya with Western food might be working, but it's not the holy grail of Peranakan it is made out to be in many blog reviews. Our bill came to SGD 120, and for less money I can get better Straits food, therefore I doubt I will visit again.

3/5 Stars