ION Orchard impresses both locals and international guests with the world’s best-loved brands—be it luxury boutiques, lifestyle stores or sensational F&B establishments—ION Orchard has literally become a beacon of envy in the retail scene.
Over 300 retail, F&B establishments and entertainment stores—which includes some of the world’s top luxury brands—we honestly can’t think of a better lifestyle destination to splurge and indulge as the year draws to a close.
ION Orchard houses a vast array of both homegrown and internationally-renowned fashion boutiques, food brands and some of Singapore’s finest restaurants, including award-winning Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine and the newly-opened Violet Oon Singapore.
With the new revamp on Level 3 as well as several new additions to the basement food hall, ION Orchard has even more to offer now. Life’s already short enough as it is, so treat yourselves to some year-end indulgence—both shopping and feasting—and if you need a solid place to start, let ION Orchard be your preferred location.
VIOLET OON’S NEW FLAGSHIP
The brand-new Violet Oon Singapore in ION Orchard occupies the open space on Level 3. The new restaurant traces the Singapore food story back to colonial times with dishes that include British food interpreted by Hainanese cooks back in the day.
Offering a stellar menu that covers every aspect of the niche cuisine such as oxtail stew, Hainanese pork chop and shepherd’s pie and a selection of Violet’s crowd-favourite Nyonya signatures, all nicely cradled around the ideology of Peranakan hospitality, the restaurant is perfect should you wish to stop by for a tasty meal, a cocktail or coffee in the midst of your shopping.
The all-day restaurant has also tailored special menus to cater to diners looking to enjoy breakfast, high-tea and weekend brunch as well.
New to her repertoire of dishes and exclusive to this outlet is her Steak Sandwich. A traditional take on a classic British sandwich that sees elements of Nyonya cuisine injected into the sauce, good bread and a perfectly seared-off 150-day grain-fed Blank Angus ribeye.
Nicely seared on the outside but staying perfectly pink in the middle, the beef was tender and gave off a nice grilled aroma. However, impressive as the steak was, it was the Nyonya-style green chilli relish that truly made it for us. Punchy with a good amount of heat, the piquant relish added a dimension of fresh, botanical flavours underscored by a sharp spicy kick, to further lift an otherwise decent-but-typical steak sandwich.
A crowd-favourite and one that warrants multiple return visits is their signature Dry Laksa. Reduced down naturally rather than thickening with a roux, the flavour is concentrated and rich.
Punctuated with the fresh, uplifting flavour of laksa leaves, the dish is an aromatic and decadent marriage of flavours that represent centuries of Peranakan food heritage—presented and interpreted in a modern way of course.
At the entrance of the restaurant, visitors can feel free to browse through shelves of pre-packaged edible delights such as homemade pineapple tarts, cashew cookies, and kaya.
Available throughout the year, diners (both local and foreign) will be able to bring home a part of Singapore’s culinary heritage along with them.
Violet Oon Singapore (ION Orchard)
ION Orchard #03-28/29
2 Orchard Turn,
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 9834 9935
Daily: 12pm – 10pm
IMPERIAL TREASURE FINE TEOCHEW CUISINE
Awarded a one-Michelin star for 2 years running, Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine in ION Orchard is one Chinese restaurant that can always be relied on to provide us with an exquisite, out-of-this-world dining experience whether it be a casual dim sum brunch or a full-on feast. And judging from our recent visit, we can see why the restaurant is indeed deserving of the prestigious accolade.
Well-lit and accentuated with lots of fresh flowers and natural sunlight, the interior gives off a cheery appeal and an overall laid-back vibe—but the atmosphere is only secondary to their array of brilliantly crafted dishes. Nuanced in flavour, their food is prepared with the utmost skill and attention to detail by a team of master chefs.
Delicious, straightforward and great for sharing, we opted for their delicately hand-crafted Diced Abalone wrapped with Egg White Skin , Wok Fried Hor Fun with Diced “Kai Lan” and Preserved Radish as well as their Frog Legs with Sze Chuan Peppercorns.
Freshly poached daily in a mix of sauces and spices, their marinated offerings take on a lacquered sheen of brown, indicating that flavours have indeed been permeated all the way through. We opted for the Three Kinds Of Marinated Combination In Teochew Style that includes marinated pork knuckle, sliced duck meat and octopus.
The flavours were mellow, refined and milder in comparison to other dark-coloured braised meats found elsewhere. Based solely on taste, we have to admit we were hesitant about its lightness but as we proceeded to take more bites, sampling the various sauces as we went, the items became more and more addictive.
Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine
ION Orchard, #03-05,
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 6736 2118
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Sat: 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Sun: 10.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
AWFULLY CHOCOLATE
Well-known for their ultra-rich and sinfully-good chocolate cakes and desserts, local chocolatier Awfully Chocolate, is no stranger to anyone who’s ever had a hankering for decadent desserts. Tucked away in a cosy corner of ION Orchard’s basement, Awfully Chocolate’s only concept store offers takeaway cakes, sliced chocolate desserts as well as a permanent collection of handcrafted chocolate bars, cookies and gift sets.
Exclusive for the festive season, Awfully Chocolate has launched a new range of Artisanal Christmas Cakes that include luxurious and decadent Christmas Fruit Cake Brownie (S$78 for 800g), Crème Brûlée Cake (S$98 for 1.8kg) as well as many others.
Awfully Chocolate
ION Orchard, #B4-50,
2 Orchard Turn,
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 6884 6377
Daily: 10am – 10pm
Dedicated to serving high-quality brews made using only the freshest and top-quality ingredients, it is no surprise that HEYTEA is the most highly sought-after tea brand in China—and now, Singapore. The original inventors of the acclaimed cheese tea, HEYTEA has garnered many fans across Asia and inspired a global trend.
Having opened its very first outpost outside of China in Basement 4 of ION Orchard, the cheese tea giant serves massive queues on a daily basis. Their tea leaves are specially sourced and blends are customised for their own use only and with it, they brew a myriad of thirst-quenching, refreshing beverages that come with a generous dollop of their signature Cheezo.
HEYTEA Singapore
ION Orchard, #03-0528/#B4-29
2 Orchard Turn
Singapore 238801
Tel: +656908 0019
Daily: 10am – 10pm
LUXURY FASHION BOUTIQUES GALORE
Boasting floor upon floor of luxury brands and boutiques, ION Orchard is a shopaholic’s heaven. The 3rd floor of the mall recently underwent a revamp and features more internationally-renowned brands such as Valentino, HUGO, PINKO, Longchamp, Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF) and Karl Lagerfeld.
Feeling like you need a wardrobe makeover? Pick up a printed dress from Diane Von Furstenberg; a pair of shoes and some accessories from Karl Lagerfield and a bag from Longchamp.
With big names such as Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber being the faces of these brands, get a piece of Europe and its incredible fashion right here in the heart of Orchard Road—at ION Orchard.
Now you know where to get luxurious Christmas presents too, yes?
This post was brought to you by ION Orchard.