Violet Oon ION Orchard – Classy Brasserie Offers Nyonya Signatures, Local Delicacies, & British Fusion Food

It was a Friday night and I was going for dinner at Violet Oon in ION Orchard. It had been a long week and I was looking forward to unwinding with a good meal at this well-known Peranakan restaurant. This article was last updated on 03 Oct 2019 with reviews of more dishes.

Violet Oon Singapore

Violet Oon is a longstanding restaurant in Singapore that offers a variety of authentic Peranakan food and local delicacies.

It was founded by famous Peranakan chef Madam Violet Oon, a Singapore Nyonya born in 1949.

During the 1990s, Madam Oon opened her original namesake restaurant at Bukit Pasoh Road, and another food outlet in Takashimaya.

In 2014, Oon teamed up with Manoj M Murjani from Group MMM to rebrand the business. Violet Oon currently has five outlets in Singapore:

Violet Oon ION Orchard, 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.

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 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

The dining area is designed Brasserie style

Violet Oon ION Orchard is an elegant open-air space decorated in a classic French bistro style.

I made reservations for 7.30pm on a Friday, but 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 I decided to just wait around in the retail section.

I was little annoyed by the delay, but at least the manager seemed quite sincere and even served us refreshments (cold ginger tea) while we were waiting.

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 + Popular Dishes

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), Ngoh Hiang ($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 check out all the Violet Oon ION Orchard food and drinks menus on their website.

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.

Ngoh Hiang

The Ngoh Hiang ($17) is another delicious starter dish! This traditional Teochew snack consists of deep fried beancurd skin roll with prawn, crab, chicken and water chestnut fillings. It is seasoned with five spice powder.

The dish may not look very appealing, but it was really delicious. It was very crispy and had a rich savoury flavour along with a wonderful bite. The sweet sauce and chilli sauce made it taste even better.

Dry Laksa

Everything was on point for the Dry Laksa ($24).

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.

Beef Rendang

The Beef Rendang ($23) is a popular traditional dish that originated from Indonesia. The Violet Oon version comprises tender beef shin braised in a creamy coconut sauce, and flavoured with a variety of spices, kaffir and bay leaves.

The dish may not look very attractive, but it was really delicious and satisfying. I was pleasantly surprised by how soft the beef was. It felt really good to chew on the tender meat in my mouth.

The beef was complimented perfectly by the rendang sauce, which had a rich luscious texture along with a mild feistiness and a balanced savoury flavour. It was also perfect for eating with my fragrant Jasmine Rice ($2).

Roasted Sarawak Black Pepper Tiger Prawn Pasta

The wife likes eating pasta so she ordered the Roasted Sarawak Black Pepper Tiger Prawn Pasta ($26).

This straightforward spaghetti dish is topped with “Singapore’s classic black pepper prawns” and a handful of rocket leaves.

The spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente and had a lovely savoury taste. The plump prawns were fresh and juicy, with a distinct black pepper fragrance. The crisp rocket leaves provided a refreshing balance.

On the whole, the wife and I both found this prawn pasta to be really delicious.

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.

Turmeric Chicken Wings

I had high expectations for the Tumeric Chicken Wings ($15), but unfortunately I was not a fan of the rich turmeric flavour and tangy chinchalok sambal sauce. It is more a matter of taste preference though.

Hainanese Pork Chop

For my recent visit to Violet Oon, I ordered the signature Hainanese Pork Chop ($35), which was surprisingly delicious.

This British-Hainanese fusion dish consists of fried Kurobuta pork loin crusted with a cream cracker batter, served with steak cut french fries and a generous serving of green peas. It is paired with house-made tomato reduction sauce.

Looking at the pork chop’s texture, I had expected it to taste dry but it was actually quite tender and juicy, with a pleasant meaty fragrance. In fact, it reminded me of the delicious Tonkatsu I ate in Tokyo.

The chewy green peas provided a refreshing balance. A touch of tomato sauce added a tang and an extra dimension to the pork chop.

Conclusion

On the whole, I had a pleasant dining experience at Violet Oon ION Orchard, though it was quite an expensive meal. Service was average and ambience was good. We enjoyed most of the dishes, but the Hainanese Chicken Rice was frankly quite disappointing. 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