Northstar

www.travelweekly-asia.com | 9 UNDER MY SKIN Last month, the Singapore Tourism Board conferred its highest award on chef and restauranteur Violet Oon -- Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism. As one of Singapore's early culinary pioneers, she's credited with inspiring generations of foodies, hobby cooks and Michelin- starred chefs with her specialty on peranakan cuisine. Oon, who turns 70 this year, was instrumental in Singapore's early efforts to promote the city state as a foodie paradise, including a coveted stint at the James Beard House in 2002. Travel Weekly Asia caught up with Oon at her home. Did you ever expect your achievements in the culinary world would garner such a significant recognition by the tourism industry? When I got the call on the award, I was flabbergasted. I kept asking them: Are you sure? Then I went home and traced all my work from my childhood up till now. Of course, it's very exciting for me; I never expected to receive this award. Maybe it's the acknowledgement that food has and is drawing tourists, because people do actually travel for good food with a restaurant list. Today's traveller wants not just a holiday, but an experience. I think so, unless a visitor wants to stay for three months. (laughs) I was actually surprised at the quality of food at the Chinatown food street; I honestly never ate there. Sometimes we ourselves can be a little culturally arrogant. I happened to bring a group of friends there and went away feeling like "wah, not bad". The roast meats were nice and the hokkien mee was good. I still love the hawker centres like Maxwell, ABC Brickworks, Tiong Bahru, East Coast Lagoon and Newton, where I recently had an amazing or luak (oyster omelette). I was quite impressed when I saw the hawker packing the or luak. He has this technique where he leaves an opening to let steam out so it doesn't get soggy. He brought to his craft that love and commitment, which is most important. Singapore recently nominated its hawker culture to be recognised by UNESCO. How do you see food playing a bigger role in driving Singapore's tourism in future? I think Singapore's UNESCO bid comes at an ideal time as we celebrate our hawker way of dining. In this age of divisiveness, I think the message of inclusion will have even greater resonance internationally. Singapore has always been outward- looking and the bi-centennial celebration of our modern history as a major world entrepot reflects that. STB has done a stellar job of earmarking food and beverage as a major tourist draw, and going all out 10 years ago to attract the best culinary talents to Singapore. Bringing the integrated resorts to Singapore was a turning point for tourism. The arrival of celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Joël Robuchon marked a turning point and made our food scene distinctive and varied. More recently, there was Gordon Ramsay, David Myers, and our very own, Justin Quek. Locally, there has been another wave of interest in Peranakan food since I rebranded as Violet Oon Singapore in 2015. This has allowed Malcolm Lee and Candlenut to flourish and inspired Desmond Lim of the Les Amis Group to venture into starting his own Nyonya restaurant, based on his family's strong Peranakan roots. Violet Oon received STB's highest award in May. "I think Singapore's UNESCO bid comes at an ideal time as we celebrate our hawker way of dining. In this age of divisiveness, I think the message of inclusion will have even greater resonance internationally." - Violet Oon, chef and restauranteur What's the story you want people to know when it comes to Singapore food? We are so lucky that Singapore is an immigrant culture and an entrepot; we offer the whole of Asia on a plate. Food in the Singapore context is pretty unique. We are a perfect storm of a confluence of the greatest of Asian culinary traditions, drawing from southern China, southern India, and the surrounding Malaysia and Indonesian archipelago. As an immigrant culture that grew wealthy, food became exquisite. Homemakers here are cooking among the most exquisite food. If it's an Indian family, they're cooking thosai and idli for breakfast. Do you know that takes intense technique? It's made from naturally fermented batter. That kind of sophisticated technique is not something every housewife of other cultures has. I think we don't realise, whether you're rich or poor, that we have this common gourmet culture. Did you know that Singapore food was on The Simpsons? To me, that says that Singapore food has "arrived" on the global scene. Do you think Singapore can sustain the interests of tourists today — and where would you recommend that they eat? The culinary queen serves up her thoughts about why Singapore continues to be a gastronomic melting pot for locals and tourists alike. By Naomi Neoh In The Hot Seat With Violet Oon

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