Slowly but surely, Violet Oon is cementing her status as the doyenne of Peranakan food in Singapore, with her fourth and latest outlet, she's launched a new retail and restaurant flagship that fits a hundred people on the third floor of ION Orchard.
While the all-day dining destination serves Nonya favourites like dry laksa ($24) and ayam buah keluak ($23) that you find at her other restaurants, this outlet stands out for its focus on Singapore's colonial past. There's mulligatawny soup ($16), a Eurasian dish with British-East Indian origins as well as Hainanese pork chops ($34) crusted with cream crackers – a throwback to the early Hainanese chefs' interpretation of British cuisine.
There's also a dedicated retail section at the front of the restaurant where you can pick up goodies like cashew cookies ($16/$30), sugee cookies ($16/$30) and handmade pineapple tarts ($28) so you don't have to wait around till Chinese New Year. Colourful cakes line a long counter where you can pick up financiers ($28), pandan gula Melaka cakes ($43/$75) and Oon's signature carrot cake ($52).