National Kitchen by Violet Oon (Singapore, SINGAPORE) ★★★★☆

I had such a great time at National Kitchen by Violet Oon last time that I decided to bring my whole family here on our first night.



Celebrated chef Violet Oon has a few restaurants around town but I've always liked this branch a bit more. The vibe has a lot to do with it.



Everyone looked a little out of gas after spending 6 hours in the sauna they called Singapore Zoo. So, I decided not to bother asking what they wanted to eat and simply go with my instincts.



Gado Gado (SDG$ 18.00) - The Indonesian salad surprisingly didn't come with any Singaporean twist. Just the usual mixture of tempeh, fried bean curd, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, long beans, cabbage, cucumber and lontong rice topped with a mildly spicy
and creamy peanut sauce and prawn crackers. Not bad.



Chicken satay (SGD $15.00) - The grilled chicken had been marinated in spices and served with a spicy peanut sauce topped with grated pineapple, steamed rice cake, cucumber and red onion.



Chicken and prawn Bostador (SGD $15.00) - A dish from the Eurasian recipe that I've yet to try. The minced chicken and prawns were drizzled in a fragrant spicy sauce made with green chilli padi. A very aromatic dish that worked well with our steamed rice.



Butter Prawn (SGD $32.00) - One of the few non-spicy dishes tonight (for mom mostly). The fried Angka prawns were tossed in butter floss and crispy curry leaves resulting in the buttery and crunchy texture on the outside.



Beef Rendang (SGD $23.00) - I thought one of the best dish of the night, if not the best. 
Tender beef shin was braised in a melange of spices flavored with kaffir and bay leaves and finished with a creamy coconut sauce. I can't say enough about the tenderness of the beef shin. Lovely melt-in-the-mouth texture which combined well with the tangy spicy sauce.



Dry Laksa (SGD $24.00) - Probably my second favorite dish. The fresh rice noodles were tossed in Chef Oon's laksa gravy topped with prawns tau pok and bean sprouts. A nice, modern interpretation of the traditional laksa without the patented spicy broth. Love this~



Buah Keluak Noodle (SGD $24.00) - Another house specialty but didn't get the same raving reviews as the previous laksa dish. This was okay thanks to the black diamond of the Nyonya kitchen. Pretty interesting mix with the minced prawns, chilli padi, coconut milk and spaghetti noodle but some of us thought it was weird.



Hainanese Chicken Rice (SGD $21.00) - The Singapore classic and Chef Oon interpreted it well with the usual ingredients of chicken and fragrant rice infused with rich chicken stock. It was served with chilli garlic sauce, ginger jam and thick dark soya sauce.



After enjoying three desserts in the afternoon, I decided not to have my fourth of the day and for the rest of the gang, they were just glad that it's finally time for bed. So, we settled the bill and took a slow walk back to our hotel.

Many thanks to Agent-I for introducing Chef Oon's delicacies to us. That was a pretty nice start for our Singapore trip.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: 1 St. Andrew’s Road, #02–01, National Gallery Singapore (City Hall Wing), Singapore
Closest Metro Station: City Hall
Tel: +65 9834-9935
Website: Link