Hip Pink-Haired Mum Sells Shiok 80-Cent ‘Kampong Fried Chicken’ At Home-Based Biz Malayleh

Adding to the fun vibe is the bubbly 38-year-old boss, who greets customers with hot pink hair and cat eye glasses. She serves freshly fried “kampong-style” chicken wings and drumettes for just 80 cents apiece.

This is Malayleh, a Muslim-owned home-based takeaway business selling traditional Malay snacks and dishes, plus teh mawar tarik (rose-infused milk tea).

Its name, suggested by Mary’s husband, is a riff on meleleh — Malay for “dripping” or drooling. “Malayleh” combines “Malay” with the Singlish expression “leh”.

Couple with creative background

Despite appearances, the flat’s colourful decor was not created specially for Malayleh. It reflects Mary and her husband’s personalities and was also designed to provide a cheerful and stimulating environment for their four-year-old son, who has Down syndrome.

Their creative streak is perhaps unsurprising: Mary previously studied Fashion Design at LASALLE College of the Arts, while her husband works in the creative department at Apple.

Built home-based biz around caring for son with Down syndrome

Mary left her Fashion Design course in school after her second year for personal reasons, which she prefers not to disclose. However, she does not regret the decision. “Ultimately, it led me to where I am today,” she asserts.

Fashion nevertheless remains part of how Mary presents herself. Asked if she designed her family’s eye-catching outfits, Mary clarifies that she simply enjoys dressing them up.

“I’ve actually forgotten how to sew already,” she laughs. Her mother is skilled at sewing, and Mary hopes to revisit the craft one day to continue that part of her legacy.

Her move into outdoor education happened by chance when she accepted a camp instructor job despite having no experience in the field.

“I was honestly just in survival mode [back then], trying to hustle for money,” she recalls.

Why she quit full-time job as camp programme manager

It marked the beginning of a 13-year career in outdoor education. After freelancing as a camp instructor, Mary joined C’ignature Group full-time and worked her way up to assistant programme manager, planning camps and team-building programmes for schools and corporate clients.

Her life took another turn during the pandemic, when she became pregnant and subsequently learnt that her son has Down syndrome. Knowing that raising a child with special needs would require more of her time, Mary and her husband decided that she would quit her job and become his primary caregiver.

“When I started Malayleh, I wasn’t just starting a business. I was also trying to build something around my life as a mum,” she tells 8days.sg.

Started out cooking more elaborate traditional Malay dishes

A self-taught cook, Mary started Malayleh in late 2024 with one dish: Ayam Lemak Cili Api ($18), chicken cooked in a spicy coconut gravy.
Inspired by Negeri Sembilan-style lemak cili api, her rendition is made with spices containing “loads of fresh turmeric”. Instead of using a blender, Mary pounds the spices by hand with a mortar and pestle.

“It takes more time and effort, but I feel that you can really taste the spices when you eat it,” she says.

Other advance-order dishes include Ayam Kari Kerisik With Roti Jala ($18) — chicken curry enriched with toasted grated coconut and served with lacy Malay crepes and rice — and Asam Pedas Ikan Pari ($22), featuring stingray in a spicy and sour gravy, rice and a sunny-side-up egg. Each set feeds two.

“Who would have expected a lady with hot pink hair [to be] embracing her roots and cooking traditional kampong-flavoured dishes?” she jokes.

“I don’t want people to feel like traditional Malay food has to be presented in a serious or formal way,” she adds. “You can have traditional cooking methods with that nostalgic kampong feeling, while still having fun with it.”

First day of walk-in sales drew three customers

While Malayleh initially focused on traditional dishes requiring around three days’ advance notice, Mary later wanted to offer something neighbours could buy on a whim.

Around April 2026, she introduced a walk-in takeaway concept offering casual Malay-inspired snacks and drinks.

Only three customers showed up on the first day.

Mary documented the quiet launch in a reel about opening her home-based “café”. The clip unexpectedly took off on TikTok, growing Malayleh’s following from 150 to 1,100 within a week.

The star of its walk-in menu is Mary’s kampong fried chicken.

Why sell fried chicken for only 80 cents?

Mary deliberately kept the price low so customers could try the chicken without thinking too much about the cost.

“At 80 cents, someone can buy one piece just to try it, or buy several to share with their family,” she says.

As for why she calls it kampong fried chicken, Mary wanted the dish to evoke the comforting feeling of home. “It’s just like when someone says, ‘Balik kampong liao’ — it means going home or clocking out of work,” she explains.

The petite wings and drumettes are marinated for 24 hours in Mary’s blend of aromatics, including garlic and red chillies, then coated in a thin batter and fried à la minute shortly before collection.

When our colleague tried the chicken during a weekend visit, she found it “very crispy and succulent”. Served with fried curry leaves, she said it was particularly aromatic too. 

The accompanying Thai-style chilli sauce was sweet and tangy with a fairly spicy kick — “shiok”, she declared.

She also reckons the chicken is worth the money and the trip, with leftovers crisping up nicely in an air fryer.

There is no minimum order for self-collection, so customers can buy just one piece if they wish.

Mary typically sells around 100 to 120 pieces per day. Keeping the price this low is “definitely challenging”, she acknowledges, though operating from home means she does not have to pay commercial rent. But she adds she might have to adjust the price in future if costs keep rising.

Not earning as much as before, but appreciates the flexibility

Mary receives around 20 to 35 pre-orders a week and says these typically amount to approximately $280 to $550 across three to four working days.

Mary earned around $3,000 a month in her previous full-time job. Unlike her former fixed salary, her current earnings fluctuate according to the size of her orders.

“It’s much more challenging to raise my boy [after I quit my full-time job], but it’s still better than having no income coming in,” she reasons.

“Also, running a home-based biz gives me more flexibility. If I didn’t start my HBB, we would be suffering more financially,” she shares.

$2.50 rose milk tea

Apart from fried chicken, one of Malayleh’s signatures is Teh Mawar Tarik ($2.50), Mary’s floral spin on teh tarik.

Made with real dried rose buds, BOH tea leaves and condensed milk, the creamy drink is pulled teh tarik-style to create a light froth, then finished with a sprinkling of petals.

Mary spent time adjusting the proportions so its floral fragrance wouldn’t be overpowering and excessively sweet.

“I didn’t want it to feel like you were drinking rose perfume,” she quips.

Becomes “gamer mum” after cooking to unwind

Beyond cooking, Mary streams horror games online under the moniker PlayWithMary. This basically means viewers tune in to watch her get spooked while playing these games live, chat with her and, if sufficiently entertained, support her with virtual tips or paid monthly subscriptions.

She started out on Facebook Gaming in 2020 before moving to Twitch and TikTok, earning up to $300 a month at her peak. However, Mary has always treated gaming as a hobby rather than a viable full-time career.

“Being a special needs parent can be tough on some days, and streaming gave me a space to channel that energy somewhere positive, have fun interacting with my viewers and just be myself for a while,” she says.

Although Mary hopes to open a physical shop for Malayleh one day, she doesn’t want to lose the freedom that running a HBB gives her to care for her son.

“I’m a mother first,” she says. “I want Malayleh to grow, but I also want it to grow in a way that fits into our family life.”