Violet Oon’s Kitchen - A Quick Sample Of Intense Peranakan Cuisine

Bukit Timah
Central, Singapore
July 2015

Through "Living Culinary Treasures", Violet Oon showcases age-old culinary traditions in 8 workshops in an intimate kitchen setting. In these workshops with chefs like Tania Aris, Sarah Benjamin (from Asian Food Channel) and Wee Eng Hwa (daughter of the late President Wee Kim Wee), Singaporean family recipes and traditional cooking techniques handed down through the generations are shared.

As part of the Singapore Food Festival, Merlion Wayfarer went on an experiential gastronomic journey to Violet Oon's Kitchen. 

The facade is simply titled "Violet Oon", an attestation to the significance of the chef behind the name...

   

An auspicious pineapple on the black reservations desk inlaid with good lettering...

The front entrance in similar branding with mosaic floor tiles...

The beautiful in-restaurant atmosphere with warm wall lamps and clear glass ceiling lamps. Careful thought had been put into creating an enjoyable experience with the single stalk of fresh ginger flower placed on every table...

Elegant porcelain mosaic tiles salvaged from the old shophouse it took over...

The event hall is located within the restaurant.
From the event hall, a panorama of the elegant main dining hall is visible...

The walls of this area are decorated with mementos from Violet's past...

Violet's own personal native bird - the Violet Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx xanthorhynchus)...

Violet's handwritten recipe for Curry Puffs from 25 January 1963 (52 years old!)
and a typewriter-typed one for Bread Pudding...

Ingredients were laid out on the table before the session
- lily buds, belachan, lime, coconut milk, sugar and salt...

Well-designed recipe cards were placed before each of us...

Using the coffee sock, squeeze out the water in the lily buds...

Then mix in the dried lily buds with the other in ingredients to taste.
The result is a Perankan-style kimchi style salad...

Place the completed salad into the plate, garnish with sliced boiled prawns, starfruit, cucumber and chilli...

In the next segment, Living Culinary Treasure host Tania Aris shares her childhood memories on how she mastered the art of ketupat making...

There are two main types of ketupat served in our region - Ketupat Nasi is made from cross-weaving the leaves to get a chequered pouch while Ketupat Palas is more on round-weaving the pouch looks into a triangular tube. Of the two, the Ketupat Nasi is easier to learn. 

With her patient guidance, guests were taught how to make a ketupat using coconut leaves made from young coconut shoots...

It is believed that seafarers used to bring cooked rice together during their long sea voyages. With limited staples along the seafaring journey and the challenge of open fire onboard wooden vessels, the method of pre-cooking rice dumplings wrapped in coconut leaves was devised. The ketupat was able to sustain these sailors and fishermen for many days.

The coconut leaves - Only young coconut leaves are used as they are more malleable for the weaving...

And the finished ketupat...

Nangka curry served with ketupat
- Mildly aromatic and perfect for those who are not used to the strong taste of nangka...

Even the toilet is special in Violet's unique way.
The walls are pasted with pages from Violet's food magazine, The Food Paper... 

Once again, the thoughtful touch with the ubiquitous pink ginger flower...

More on Violet Oon's Kitchen and the Living Culinary Treasures cooking workshops can be found at violetoonskitchen.com. The line-up of programs for the Singapore Food Festival is available at Your Singapore. Merlion Wayfarer's coverage of the Singapore Food Festival can be found here.

Thank you for the opportunity...