Peranakan food under $20? Violet Oon’s new cafe Bibik Violet opens at Orchard Road

Peranakan food doyenne Violet Oon is on a roll in 2025.

After opening Violet Oon Singapore in Dempsey Hill and moving her restaurant at Ion Orchard to bigger premises in the same mall, she is launching a new dining concept, Bibik Violet.

The first cafe will open on Sept 29 at Temasek Shophouse, housed in a row of heritage buildings next to MacDonald House in Orchard Road. Bibik Violet will serve an all-day menu of dishes such as nasi lemak, Nonya laksa, prawn noodles, kueh pie tee and buah keluak pork ribs.

Temasek Shophouse is a social impact hub which brings social changemakers together through events and programmes.

It has undergone a revamp and will also house Martket by Abry. The store by home-grown fashion and lifestyle brand Abry will carry, among other things, merchandise featuring artwork by deaf artist Canlaken, commissioned by Temasek Shophouse.

Foreword Coffee, a nine-outlet home-grown brand which provides employment for people with disabilities, will also open a cafe at Temasek Shophouse.

The 54-seat Bibik Violet is a new brand for Ms Oon’s portfolio. The 76-year-old runs her restaurants, including National Kitchen at National Gallery Singapore, with her children, Ms Tay Su-lyn, 48, and Mr Tay Yiming, 43.

Ms Oon describes the new concept as a more casual, fun and approachable offshoot of her Violet Oon Singapore brand.

“While Violet Oon Singapore remains focused on refined dining experiences, Bibik Violet allows us to connect with a wider audience at a more accessible price point,” she says, adding that the food is “more reminiscent of the everyday meals you might enjoy at your grandmother’s kitchen table”.

Like at her other restaurants, the decor at Bibik Violet will include vintage furniture and original Peranakan tiles salvaged from shophouses dating back to the early 1900s. Rattan accents will add to the casual feel of the place.

Ordering will be done via QR code and the cafe will be for walk-ins only, with no reservations taken. It is expected to open from 8am to 9.30pm daily.

Breakfast offerings include kaya toast with kopi or teh, soft-boiled eggs, hae bee hiam toast and mee siam. One-dish offerings at lunch include laksa, nasi lemak and prawn mee, to be priced below $20.

Heartier dishes include buah keluak pork ribs, chicken curry, babi pongteh, ayam goreng berempah and chap chye, to be served with rice. There will also be sugee cake, pandan chiffon cake and Nonya kueh.

Bibik Violet is named after sassy Peranakan women.

Ms Oon says: “In the Peranakan kitchen, ‘bibik’ is the auntie who knows her way around the pots and pans. She’s warm, wise and always ready with something delicious. Bibik Violet is our tribute to that spirit.”

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.