Violet Oon's Kitchen

Buah keluak pasta. LOVE.
Wish it could be less oily.

So lovely of A to randomly text at the last minute to say that she wanted to take me out to dinner. I happened to have cancelled dinner plans. Hehehehe. That would have been a corporate meal. Eeeks. It would be much preferable to sit down with a girlfriend any day.

A doesn't mind Violet Oon's Kitchen; I don't mind it either. It's a convenient makan venue for us. Opinions over the food at this restaurant are divided, even among friends. I've eaten my way through their menu, catered for two or three small gatherings, and frankly, I'm all right with what the kitchen churns out.

It's by no means traditional Peranakan cuisine. The menu's got all the requisite dishes, including the wing bean salad, but they've all been give a make-over. Nothing strange though. I'm not a fan of all traditional Peranakan restaurants, not when they're heavy-handed on the oil and stingy on the rempeh, and usually leans towards a menu heavy on pork or chicken. I don't mind Peramakan at Keppel Club or Dulukala or Guan Hoe Soon. One will always compare the traditional restaurants to what one can get from the home kitchen, so it'll never be to the preferred flavors. I like the tweaked flavors and spices at Candlenut Kitchen and this one.

Violet Oon Kitchen's sambal variations remain spicy. Their ngo hiang holds less stinky meat than the usual probably because of the addition of crab meat; their kueh pie tees are nicely filled, and the tauhu goreng has been broken down and presented beautifully with the balanced gravy that isn't too sweet or too salty. I love their buah keluak pasta. Their meatless meatballs are fun and really tasty. What I've never managed to eat is their weekend special tau kwa pau. A stuffed beancurd thingy. It's always unavailable. Ugh.