Never heard of purple-hued herbs before? Don't worry. Neither have I. Hence, a resounding opening statement that Violet Herb would be a rare find amongst the throngs of F&B establishments linearly crowding the Tras Street vicinity.
Edward Hoe, the executive chef and owner of Violet Herb is a rigorous miniaturist, combining a few ingredients at a time into compositions that were utterly complete, even if they left you wanting more. At a tender age of 34, he already had an impressive sense of what to put on a plate and what to leave off. His 20 years of kitchen experience stems to some prominent stints including Restaurant Ember, Keystone Restaurant and the fine dining establishment, The American Club.
My first encounter with Edward was in 2010 whilst busting tables at Epicurious, just a stone's throw away from the maiden household. Even then, his tenacity in the kitchen was evident, his efforts to produce innovative cuisine despite the limitations were astounding; and often, the staff got to reap the benefits of his labour at meal times. Hence, it was with my utmost pleasure that I had the opportunity to sit down to a proper meal at his restaurant a few years down the row, devoid of beads of sweat rolling down my temples and black t-shirts reeking of grease.
