Violet Oon's modern Nonya-style "nasi ambeng"-inspired Family Trays

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parce que c'est pertinent...

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Because I put my money where my mouth is, I'm supporting Violet Oon's riff on "nasi ambeng".

If your issue is with regard to the Peranakans allegedly "stealing" another race's cuisine, is it then also an issue that satay has been sold by Chinese hawkers for as long as I can remember? (the Chinese put pork in their satay, is that sacrilegious too?)

If your issue is with regard to the Peranakans culturally appropriating your cuisine so that each race should stick to cooking only their own cuisine, shall we then ensure no one but the Indians make and sell roti prata, no one but the Chinese make and sell chicken rice, and no one but the Italians/French/Japanese make and sell Italian/French/Japanese cuisine respectively?

If your issue is with regard to the Peranakans reinterpreting a dish that allegedly wasn't their so-called "heritage" to begin with, then please first ensure you don't cook bak kut teh with any meat but pork: the name itself "bak" refers to pork meat. Did you know that? (this applies to Teochew bak chor mee and Teochew fishball noodles cooked using chicken mince...or Cantonese dim sum sans pork...ooh the sacrilege😲!)

If your issue is with regard to Violet Oon serving your so-called "heritage food" on a square/rectangular/angular shaped tray instead of a round plate, then please also ensure white rice accompanying Chinese food is served in a bowl, and not a plate. Korean food too. How many of you living in glass houses "culturally appropriate" Korean cuisine? And did you know soup bowls are only positioned on the left while the rice bowl is only ever placed on the right on a Korean table? Do you know why? 

If your issue is with regard to the supposedly exorbitant price points at Violet Oon, then please don't buy from Violet Oon. Nobody's forcing you to buy from the Peranakans, allegedly so rich why would they need the money anyway, right?

If your issue is with regard to the Peranakans allegedly profiting off your cuisine, please then, go ahead and sell your own cuisine, at whatever prices you wish to set. It's a free market, and if you think you can do better and make money out of it, then good on you.

If your issue is with regard to Violet Oon not offering a vegetarian option, or offering more than the usual two side dishes in traditional nasi ambeng, then please don't eat it. It's a free market. If Violet Oon wants to sell whatever adaptation of whatever dish by offering more side dish options, and their customers want to eat such stuff, then I cannot understand the beef here? It's a 'willing buyer, willing seller' market, isn't it? Neither do I go around to steak restaurants to indict their failure to cater for vegetarians.

If your issue is with regard to Violet Oon's so-called "hipster appropriation" of your so-called "heritage food", then perhaps is it also an issue of "cultural appropriation" with fine-dining modern Australian restaurant Cure marketing their beef rendang pie? The fusion pie is apparently quite the bestseller on its take-out menu. (ooh the horrifying triple whammy of supposed "cultural appropriation" of your so-called "heritage food", profiting off of such "appropriation", and such dastardly infliction of hipster twist on such traditional foods) (for the record, and for the benefit of those who missed the sarcasm in the immediately foregoing, I love Cure and its fusion cuisine and their beef rendang pie is fantastic)

SMRT Feedback by The Vigilanteh was absolutely bang-on when he said that all this hullabaloo was "the most ridiculous snowflakery I've ever heard".

Food is just about the only unifying aspect in our delicately multi-racial Singapore, it's practically hallowed ground in how neutral it is in food-obsessed Singapore.

There are actual race issues in Singapore, if you really need to pick a fight, please, there are many: serious issues that are in need of real paradigm shifts, to fight over, from Asia's obsession with fair skin = beauty, and daily microaggressions experienced by the minority races, to the demonizing/bullying of the darker skinned races. Like that boy who allegedly ranted about a dream to kill believers of a certain religion? I would applaud any of you writing an open letter to demand an apology/issue a retraction for posting such violent bigotry.

I would be most grateful if food isn't weaponized into a race issue. We're Singaporeans first, and no matter our differences big or small, the commonality of our love for Singapore food unites us all. In fact, the food landscape in Singapore is the one aspect that we're increasingly seeing inspired homogeneity, in our shared identity as Singaporeans. The adage of 'what's mine is yours and vice versa' rings especially true when it comes to food, and almost nothing else in our capitalist materialistic society.

So please, leave my damn food out of your petty little grievances.

We had the Family Tray A ($139.10) which was delicious, and that's all that mattered to me. I couldn't care less whether it's called Nonya-style nasi ambeng-inspired family tray or your great-great-grandmother's village chief's wife's nasi ambeng.

And to all you green-eyed twerps, yes that's the most expensive platter, because I wanted to eat it, and simply because I can.

peace and #goodvibesonly,
the 바보 who loves wasting money on exorbitant overpriced food




Violet Oon Singapore
Website: violetoon.com
Order online

Comments

j said…
Totally agree. No idea what the fuss is about. One part about living in the cultural melting pot that is Singapore is that different cultures take turns in cooking their own versions of others’ dishes. Absolute snowflakery indeed

The only reason why I haven’t ordered the Nasi Ambeng is because my Peranakan aunties would kill me if they found out I paid that much for the food
Bern said…
our Peranakan families dont read this blog, so no issues there hahahaaa! but seriously, a mate pointed out that "we all campur our food in Singapore lah", and she's absolutely right. This whole "this is my race/culture's food, and mine only, you cannot cook/adapt/profit off of it if you're not of my race/culture" mindset is insular and divisive

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