23-Year-Old Gives Up Job Hunting After 6 Weeks To Open $80K Peranakan Eatery

Took months to convince grandma to teach him her Peranakan recipes

His granny’s recipes are so closely guarded that even his mum hasn’t been able to get ahold of them. “My grandma’s very stubborn - when she says no, it’s really a no. I asked her to teach me before, but she didn’t want to share her recipes - even my mum doesn’t know them. And now some of the things she teaches me, she tells me not to tell my mother,” he laughs.

Ernest first took interest in learning how to cook his grandmother’s dishes three years ago. He had developed a passion for cooking since he was 16 years old, and at 20, decided that he wanted to learn his grandma’s recipes for fun, since he grew up eating them. Like him, his grandma used to run a small Peranakan eatery before he was born, which operated for roughly 10 years before shuttering due to family issues. 

Why was granny so secretive about her recipes initially?

So after months of prodding his popo to impart her expertise, his persistence paid off: “I kept ‘poking’ her, and every time she cooked for us, I helped her prep. I observed [her cooking], and over time she gave in more and more,” he says. 

Why is granny so secretive about her recipes? “There’s no right and wrong recipe when it comes to Peranakan food, every Peranakan household recipe varies and they cherish it like a precious gem,” she explains cryptically. 

Ernest adds: “Because of her declining memory and health, it took her some time to recognise my passion for cooking [and finally share her recipes]”. If he ever hires a cook to help out at his eatery, he admits he probably won’t be able to give them the full recipes. 

However, he proudly says that everything on the menu has attained his grandma’s hard-earned stamp of approval: “She has to approve [and taste all the dishes] first, before I add it to the menu”. 

Poor job market led him to start biz, granny now an investor

As we’d expect from his traditional grandma, the elder’s initial reaction to Ernest’s biz was not the most enthusiastic.

“She was like, ‘why don’t you want to get a job outside?’, ’cos in my grandma’s experience, the F&B industry is not very stable. Initially, she was not very supportive of it. But she supports everything I do lah, so if I insist, she’s okay with it,” he says. Now, the elder has come around, and even paid half of Ernest’s $80K investment to open the eatery, while Ernest forked out the remaining $40K using savings from part-time jobs he took on while studying in poly. 

But why did Ernest, who has a diploma in Electronics from Nanyang Polytechnic, decide to open his own restaurant? “When I ORD’ed, I wanted to go and work ’cos I don’t like studying. But the job market was bad, and my CV wasn’t strong, so I got quite a lot of job rejections,” he shares. Ernest tells us he applied for F&B jobs as an operations manager, as he doesn’t enjoy engineering. 

Though six weeks is a short time to stop his job hunt, Ernest says he got the idea to start his business after discussing it with his friends, who encouraged him to do it. His parents, who work in entirely different industries (his dad runs a business selling sensors, while his mum works in HR), were also supportive from the get go: “My parents are quite supportive, they don’t object to what I want to do as long as I can give them a good reason for why I want to do it,” he says.

He adds: “I looked into why most F&B businesses fail, and asked my friends [who have parents in the] scene also. The cash flow is good initially, but when there’s no stable product, it can only last so long until the business starts losing money. But when I look at it, my product quality is definitely okay, since it’s my grandma’s recipe. And unlike many people in the scene, I don’t come in just for the cash grab - of course money is important, but it’s more about honouring my grandma’s recipes”. 

“No perks” being a biz owner yet, but he enjoys it

These days, Ernest devotes almost all his waking hours to Kokoyo. He reaches the shop at 7.30am, and stays behind till 11pm to prepare his ingredients for the next day. Currently, he’s the only cook here, but has six staff helping out, three of which are his friends. 

Despite the working hours being way more rigorous than a typical nine to five job, Ernest says he has no regrets: “I enjoy what I do - I haven’t gotten to the point where I’m like, wah, I hate my life! No lah, I don’t think I’ll get to that point,” he laughs. 

At the same time, he debunks the rumours that being a young biz owner is very glamorous: “People always say there’s lots of freedom, but it’s not true! I haven’t met my friends in a while. Maybe next time if [my biz] does well - but for now, there are no perks. I have to be here everyday from Monday to Sunday, but I don’t regret it,” he says.

Given that he’s only been in business for around two weeks, Ernest says he doesn’t have any plans for expansion yet. However, with the current influx of customers, he estimates that he’ll be able to break even on his investment in roughly 10 months’ time. 

The menu 

Kokoyo currently has 14 items on its menu, with a focus on nasi lemak mains like Nasi Lemak Inchi Kabin ($10.90), Nasi Lemak Beef Rendang ($11.90), and Nasi Lemak Sambal Sotong ($11.90). There are also dishes like Teochew Fish Soup ($8.90), Babi Pongteh ($10.90) and Kari Kay Chicken Curry ($8.90). 

Nasi Lemak Inchi Kabin, $10.90 (8 Days Pick!)

Kokoyo’s best-selling dish. Our nasi lemak comes with coconut rice, a medium-sized deep-fried chicken leg, sambal telur, and quintessential sides of ikan bilis and peanuts. From the first bite, the coconut rice here is ultra fragrant, moist and fluffy. Ernest explains that he steams the rice, which involves soaking the grains overnight, and double-cooks it by par-steaming the jasmine grains then later steaming it fully to make it fluffier. 

The chicken is also impressive - crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. It’s also made with a whopping 22 spices, instead of the usual 10 that inchi kabin (Nonya-style fried chicken, typically marinated overnight with spices and coconut milk) is made with, says Ernest. So on top of typical ingredients like chilli powder, cumin powder and turmeric, he adds ingredients like biryani masala to enhance the flavour. Though we can’t say it’s exceptionally spice-filled, the chicken here is definitely flavourful and coated in a punchy marinade that’s quite addictive. 

Nasi Lemak Beef Rendang, $11.90 (8 Days Pick!)

Though the inchi kabin here is tasty, we actually prefer the beef rendang. The chunks of shin beef here are coated in a mildly spicy, thick gravy. Our favourite part of the dish is the fork-tender beef, which is equal parts fatty and meaty. 

Teochew Fish Soup, $8.90 

Nonya kueh handmade by grandma daily 

Though Ernest’s granny doesn’t visit Kokoyo often due to her weak legs, she whips up around 200 pieces of eight types of nonya kueh from home for Ernest to sell at his shop daily. Offerings like lapis sagu, pulut hitam, ondeh ondeh, and ang ku kueh are sold at $1.50 per piece, or $12 for 10 pieces. 

All of granny’s kuehs we tried are tasty, with chewy skin that’s not too thick, and filling that’s not overly sweet. We particularly enjoyed the peanut ondeh ondeh and yam ang ku kueh. The peanut ondeh ondeh is nicely springy, with a finely grated nut filling that’s crunchy and salty-sweet. Meanwhile, the ang ku kueh is stuffed with a smooth, sweet yam filling. 

Kokoyo Nonya Delights is at #01-43, 263 Serangoon Central Dr, S550263. Open daily 11am - 8.30pm. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Kelvin Chia, Kokoyo

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