Restaurant Week, 2013 edition: Violet Oon's Kitchen

It was Restaurant Week once again in Oct. Even though I had my priority booking, I wasn't keen to try out any restaurants. Then itchy fingers me decided to try my luck when booking was made available to the public. I wasn't looking for anything in particular - more of browsing and if anything fits my slot, then it must be fate! Before I knew it, I had made reservations for 3 restaurants, oops! 

Our first stop was Violet Oon's Kitchen. Nestled along Bukit Timah Road, locating this place was a breeze (all thanks to my trusty google map on iphone!). We arrived earlier, but were promptly ushered into the restaurant with a smile.

 Violet Oon was known as a food columnist before being appointed as a food ambassador by Singapore Tourism Board. Through her travels, she brought home a rich knowledge of cuisines discovered aboard and married those gems with her beloved native Singaporean cuisine. 

While I was expecting a more traditional Peranakan decor, I was surprised to be greeted with a clean black and white decor instead.

Drinks selection, which we didn't try :( The Ka Gua sure looked  interesting :)

I love it when there is fresh flower on every table! I have always contemplated on getting fresh flowers for the house, but never got around to doing it. Haiz, must procrastinate less so I can get more things done heh.

Leecher with the ala carte menu, when we are ordering from the set menu - extra leh! 

Say hello to the new Mrs Lim - his new Samsung Note 3. I think he was more excited over getting a new phone than marrying the REAL Mrs Lim, lol! Kept showing me the new functions while I just rolled my eyes as I find it extremely difficult to use.

We started with Vietnamese Prawn Summer Rolls served with Chilli & Hoisin sauce. The skin was chewy BUT beansprouts tasted raw. I was expecting spicy chilli, but it tasted mild in reality.

Leecher ordered Kuay Pie Tee ($18) from their ala carte menu. My my, these were extremely good! Julienne of bamboo shoot and turnip poached in a rich prawn bisque served in a deep fried "top hat" patty, topped with prawn. This was quite a different rendition from the usual kuay pie tee that are sold outside. Recommended!

 There were 3 options to choose for main course - we settled for Buah Keluak Pasta & Beef Rendang. Buah Keluak Pasta was fried with garlic and chilli tossed in spaghetti. This was da-domb! I'm still not a fan of Buah Keluak, but the spiciness was a tad overwhelming for me. This was the kind of spiciness I was looking for :) Leecher was debating b/w having Beef Rendang or Kerabu Fish, but eventually settled for beef rendang. Beef was soft and tender that it simply melts in your mouth - nothing spectacular though.

With newly crowned Mrs Lim again once we finished our main course. 

 

Testing out Leecher's camera on the new phone. 

Ended the meal with desserts - kuay beng kah (tapioca cake) and bubor cha cha panna cotta.

The sky turned dark by the time we left the place. I would love to be back for their brunch menu if time permits :) 

Violet Oon's Kitchen

881 Bukit Timah Road

Singapore 279893

Tel: 6468 5430

Opening Hours: 11.30am till 10pm, closed on Monday.

KL Work Trip, Oct 2013: Heading Home

Arrival in Shangri-La Hotel

Shang Palace  

******

Thank god for a public holiday in the middle of a work week. While Leecher had a long weekend, I headed to work on Monday feeling exhausted. The rainy morning made Monday seemed bluer than usual :( I was tired as we had a long day on Sunday with the uni gang - brunch, followed by games @ EK's place then dinner, lol! Told myself that I had to stay home today to finish the must-do before I get any panic attacks, lol! 

The final entry for Oct KL biz trip :) Still can't believe how efficient I am in churning out the entries when I only went for the trip last week, lol! I initially wanted to head for a quick workout session before breakfast, but laziness got the better of me. It didn't help that the bed was extremely comfy, heh. 

Breakfast at Lemon Garden cafe, where I devour a bowl of curry noodles and some pastries before heading off for the first meeting.

Curcuma was used in this centerpiece. The name comes from Arabic kurkum, meaning "tumeric". I later learnt that every week, a different and distinctive flower centerpiece is placed in the lobby. No wonder every time I checked into Shangri-La, I always get to see the floral centerpiece in different flowers! 

On the way to the airport after an intensive 2 hour meeting/training session with my clients. Strike a deal with the cab uncle to wait for me at the office, so he could send me to the airport immediately to catch my flight.

Headed to Old Malaya Kopitiam for lunch. Bad choice for the food and drink were mediocre, despite a hefty price tag of RM$50. If you are at KLIA, avoid this place for there are better food outlets around the airport. 

Old Malayan Kopitiam

KLIA

KL Business Trip, April 2012 P2

 

Part One here.

The unfamiliar surrounding of LCCT made me panicked a lil, as I wasn't sure of the exact location of this terminal nor am I aware of how far I am from KL city. At the back of my mind, I was prepared for the worst case scenario - that I would tell my boss I landed at the wrong terminal, lol! I wondered how "foolish" that would make me look. Maybe I should start practicing my blur-and-dunno-what-to-do expression to make it more convincing. While clearing immigration, I asked the officer the cab journey b/w LCCT & KLIA. I heaved a sign of relief when he told me that it was approx 20 min drive. Based on the calculations, I could still make it on time for the meeting. Nothing could describe my joy when I saw the all-time familiar airport transfer sign! Hopped onto the cab and soon, I'm on the way to KL city :)

 Took the train from client's place to KLCC for lunch. Needed the fuel for the next round of meeting in the afternoon.
 

Everywhere was crowded during lunch hours. Decided to settle my lunch at Dome, since the turn-over rate was high based on my observation :) 

The place was packed with people and tables were lined so close that I could hear the conversation going on at the tables beside me.

Tomato soup - Classica style made with loads of fresh tomatoes and herbs topped with croutons, served with fresh baguette slices. This big bowl was enough to last through the day! 

Dome Cafe

Suria KLCC 

Tel: 603 2166 1948

Work commenced again after lunch with another client. We ran into some technical difficulties & took a rather long time to resolve. I was on the phone with the boss on troubleshooting the problem when boss suddenly reminded me that I should be on my way to the airport. Geez, my flight was at 7pm and I was still at my client's place at 4.30pm. Thankfully, the system was up and running again! My kind client got me a cab. Once I hopped on, the driver told me to buckle my seat belt while he zoomed all the way to the airport. 

 I managed to reach the airport at 6pm - still in time to catch my flight.

There are quite a variety of dining options in LCCT, like McDonald's, MaryBrown, Coffee Bean etc.

I settled my dinner @ Taste of Asia, which is a local food court.

Queuing up at the "gate". Looked like it will be a full flight.  

Can't wait to head home &  crawl into bed :)