About Us
Welcome to Violet Oon Singapore, where we celebrate the rich tapestry of flavours that define our nation’s culinary heritage. Rooted in our Peranakan heritage and drawn from Chef Violet’s treasured archives, our menu features heirloom recipes alongside the diverse influences of Chinese, Indian, and Malay kitchens — a tribute to Singapore’s cultural crossroads and storied past.
Our dishes embrace tradition while highlighting carefully sourced ingredients that showcase native flavours and seasonal produce at their peak. Everything we put our hand to reflects our passion for quality food, presented beautifully with heartfelt Peranakan hospitality.
Each of our locations features a distinct menu curation, ensuring that every visit brings a new discovery while remaining rooted in the beloved flavours of home. Whether reuniting with family and friends, showcasing Singapore to international guests, or creating a memorable corporate event, our venues offer the perfect setting.
Meet our
Culinary Curator & Chef,
Violet Oon
Violet’s life mission is to curate, collate and celebrate Singapore’s food. Born a Singapore Nyonya in 1949, Violet Oon is the grande dame of Singaporean cooking and is widely considered to be an authority on Asian cuisine, specialising in Nyonya food. Her reputation as a chef and food connoisseur spans the international arena and she often represents Singapore as a food ambassador abroad.
She learnt to cook in earnest at the age of 16, making great efforts to master the intricacies of Nyonya cooking from her aunts and grandaunts. Later on, as a professional food critic from the mid 1970s she met some of Singapore’s culinary treasures, from local chefs to home cooks to hawkers – who welcomed her into their kitchens. She has spent over 50 years honing her culinary skills and craft in the cooking of Singapore. Violet’s career began in journalism in 1971 as an Arts and Music critic and then as the food critic for the Singapore newspaper the New Nation. She was later the food critic for the Sunday Times. Driven by her passion for sharing good food, Violet started her own culinary magazine called The Food Paper in 1987. Violet has shared her culinary experiences and cooking skills with TV audiences in programmes filmed and aired by the BBC, CNN, The Food Network and also by Singapore’s Channel 5, where she had her own cooking programme called What’s Cooking in the 1980s.
In the 1990s, Violet opened her food outlet under her own name in Takashimaya as well as a restaurant in Bukit Pasoh Road, and launched her Curry Powder collection, which was exported to Japan. For the Raffles Hotel re-launch in 1991, Violet was commissioned by the hotel to create her curry powders and a range of cookies for their shop. Her children, Su-Lyn Tay and Yiming Tay were passionately inspired to share Violet’s heritage of Singapore cooking with a wider audience and in 2012, they joined forces to open Violet Oon’s Kitchen in Bukit Timah. The restaurant garnered critical acclaim from its inception with the Sunday Times of Singapore on 29 July 2012 featuring a preview of the restaurant review by Wong Ah Yoke with the headline “COMEBACK QUEEN – Super Ayam Buah Keluak at Violet Oon’s new place”. In the New York Times review on 18 March 2013, Justin Bergman wrote, “Before Joel Robuchon, Guy Savoy and Daniel Boulud came to Singapore, the country had its own homegrown celebrity chef – Violet Oon, sometimes referred to as the Julia Child of Singapore.”
Violet was appointed Chef de Mission, leading Singapore’s team of chefs at the Worlds of Flavors Conference and Festival (2004, 2007 & 2009), held by the Culinary Institute of America. She was appointed Food Consultant for the IMF World Bank Meetings in 2006. She has written three cookbooks: Peranakan Cooking, Violet Oon Cooks and A Singapore Family Cookbook and in 2016 was inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame by the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations as well as lauded by Singapore Tatler with the Culture Award in 2016. In 2018, Violet was conferred two Lifetime Achievement Awards for her work in food in Singapore – by the World Gourmet Summit and by the Asian Masters organised by The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao. She was also honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism by the Tourism Board of Singapore.
Our Food
Drawing on our country’s diverse culinary traditions, we serve authentic Nyonya and local fare with a side of Peranakan hospitality. Everything we put our hand to reflects our passion for good food showcasing our rich heritage of many cultures. From sizzling satays, to our signature dry laksa, locally caught grilled seafood topped with fiery sambals and handmade kuehs, the Violet Oon Singapore menu puts forth our nation’s most beloved dishes alongside lesser-known family recipes. We honour the Singapore food story in every occasion.
Our Drinks
Complementing this rich culinary tapestry is our new beverage programme, specially designed to blend tradition with contemporary refinement. From cocktails that balance aromatics, spice, and depth, to alcohol-free alternatives crafted to offer the same layers and complexity, and kopi brews, teas, and infusions prepared using classic methods, each drink has been thoughtfully curated to reflect Singapore’s cultural richness. We also incorporate ingredients from our edible garden into a selection of artfully crafted cocktails, spirit-free creations, and other delectable drinks. Each sip serves as a reflection of our heritage, and a bridge between past and present.
