Singapore's Violet Oon food culture appropriation dispute shows importance of a name
New dishes launched by celebrated Peranakan restaurant Violet Oon are usually received with great fanfare, but the Singapore eatery's recent announcement of a new set meal meant for four to share was instead met with ire. The point of contention? Its name.
"Nyonya Nasi Ambeng Trays" was what the restaurant called its assortment of dishes " various meats, vegetables and a sambal belacan condiment accompanied by blue pea flower rice. It advertised the trays on Facebook and Instagram, and soon the criticisms of cultural appropriation poured in.
"Nasi ambeng is of Javanese origin and traditionally eaten during religious ceremonies as a communal activity. It has deep cultural significance and slapping 'Nyonya' on this (and then profiting off my culture) is NOT okay," wrote food writer and editor Azimin Saini on his Instagram account.
Azimin was not the only one calling the restaurant out. Complainants said they felt their heritage had been "stolen" by the restaurant suggesting the dish was Nyonya " referring to a style of cuisine that weaves together Chinese and Malay ingredients and recipes " because the dish originated from Java in Indonesia and had cultural significance for the Malay community.
A screengrab of an Instagram post by Azimin Saini reacting to the dish. Photo: Instagram alt=A screengrab of an Instagram post by Azimin Saini reacting to the dish. Photo: Instagram
Adam, a Singaporean Malay with Javanese origins who declined to use his real name citing work reasons, said he found it offensive that the restaurant would "take something Malay or Javanese and then brand it as Nyonya".
Nasi ambeng is a Javanese dish served on a round tray meant for sharing between family and friends. It consists of rice placed in the middle of the platter, surrounded by different dishes such as sambal goreng (a spicy dish made of tofu, tempeh and long beans), chicken curry, bergedil (fried patties made of potatoes and minced meat) and urap (steamed vegetables with grated coconut).
Nasi ambeng is served during special occasions such as the fasting month of Ramadan or at weddings.
About 15 per cent of Singapore's population are Malay, many of whose ancestors migrated from the Indonesian island of Java. Peranakans, meanwhile, descended from early Chinese settlers to the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian archipelago who married local Malay women. The community is also referred to as Straits-born Chinese.
The restaurant has since acknowledged its misstep and apologised, saying it "insensitively" used the name of a symbolic dish for a Nyonya interpretation without articulating the significance and origins of nasi ambeng.
"As a brand dedicated to exploring the rich and diverse food cultures of Southeast Asia, we have fallen short by culturally appropriating this dish," it wrote on Facebook. The meal has been renamed as just family trays.
Such cultural clashes over food are not new. Two years ago, many across Southeast Asia were infuriated when a white male judge on British TV programme MasterChef criticised a contestant's chicken rendang " a dry curry dish " as "not crispy enough". Singapore and Malaysia have frequent food disputes, too, with each laying claim to dishes popular in both countries, or insisting its version is better.
The current Violet Oon backlash, however, is seen by the Malay community as endemic of a larger issue. Azimin, the food writer and editor, told This Week in Asia that it places Malay culture at a disadvantage compared to Peranakan food even though "Malay cuisine is its cultural mother". "Despite being Singapore's largest minority community, Malay food in Singapore has been largely under-represented " glimpses of its DNA are only seen in Peranakan cuisine," he said. "As a whole, it feeds into an ongoing narrative where Peranakan food is seen as 'heritage' and worth preserving while Malay food is unhealthy even though the ingredients, techniques and even dishes are the same."
Azimin said food codifies history, politics and cultural dynamics, and this incident "speaks volumes about the power structures buried in society's fault lines: where one is deemed worthy, and the other is not".
Nasi ambeng. Photo: Twitter alt=Nasi ambeng. Photo: Twitter
For Adam, the dispute was about selectively taking what is "good" about Malay culture, when "as a brown person, I deal with micro aggression on an almost daily basis". "Sometimes, it feels like Malay people are constantly regarded as stupid, lazy, ugly etc and then [other people] find one thing they like about the culture and they swoop down and steal it."
With Peranakan cuisine also adapting traditional Malay and Indonesian desserts, there has also been debate over whether these items can even be described as "Nyonya".
Those commenting on the restaurant's Facebook page pointed out that it described roti jala, a savoury crepe, as a traditional Nyonya lace pancake, while kuih bingka (bingka means tapioca in Malay) was spelt kueh beng kah.
Hidayah Amin, who recently published a pictorial guide to Malay desserts or kuih, posted on Facebook: "Please do not appropriate our Malay dishes and 'kueh'. You don't find us appropriating your Peranakan food as ours, do you?"
Singaporean food consultant K.F. Seetoh said he did not see anything wrong with serving such dishes, because "the Chinese, Malays, Indians, Nyonya, and Eurasians have adapted each others' dishes and ideas since time immemorial", but the mistake was in its name. He thought the restaurant was also held accountable by the public because Oon, the celebrity chef behind her namesake restaurant, is well known. "People are quite sensitive about these things, especially when it touches on cultural pride," he said.
Azimin, the food writer, said the shared heritage between Malay and Peranakan cultures "is beautiful and is one that we should rightfully celebrate" " so long as it is correctly attributed.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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