Kokoyo Nyonya Delights: A 23-year-old’s homage to Grandma’s home-cooked Peranakan food

At 23 years old, many of us would be just dipping our toes into adulthood and joining the workforce. Meanwhile, Ernest Ang dove headfirst into the world of entrepreneurship by founding Kokoyo Nyonya Delights — a Peranakan-inspired eatery deeply rooted in family tradition. 

Kokoyo isn’t just Ernest’s first venture into managing an F&B. It’s also a tribute to his 72-year-old grandmother, whom he lived with most of the time growing up. 

The name “Kokoyo” is an endearing tribute to how she pronounces coconut, a core ingredient in many of Kokoyo’s dishes. 

She showed him around the kitchen when he expressed a desire to learn how to cook from her and has played a pivotal role in his culinary growth.

As the only two people in the family who cooked, cooking is a symbolic part of their grandmother-grandson relationship. 

“Since I was young, I’ve always watched her cook,” Ernest recalls. “Now that her mobility isn’t as good as before, I think it’s time for me to cook for her.”

His grandmother, although initially hesitant about Ernest pursuing a career in F&B, has expressed immense pride in her grandson’s new eatery and even contributes to the shop by making kuehs (sweets made of rice or glutinous rice) to be sold here. 

A menu inspired by the family experience 

Many dishes on the menu are inspired by the dishes Ernest’s grandmother cooked for him as a child, including the sambal bendi (okra, S$4.90).

“When I was a kid, I hated vegetables,” Ernest recalls. “But my grandma wanted me to eat them, so she created this sambal cincalok sauce to cover up the taste of the vegetables.” 

And it worked — the dish became one of Ernest’s childhood favourites. 

Kokoyo may be Ernest’s baby, but he credits his family for their significant role in shaping the business. 

You’ll find some of his family’s favourite dishes — including babi pongteh (S$10.90), a braised pork in fermented soybean dish — on the menu.

“Initially I was hesitant to put it on the menu because it’s a complicated dish, but my brother insisted because he loves babi pongteh,” says Ernest. The dish has since become a fan-favourite. 

Naturally, you can expect the flavours at Kokoyo to be simple, comforting and familiar, with an eye (tongue?) on the older generation. 

He emphasises that his goal is to consistently bring high-quality and homely flavours to the table.

The star of Kokoyo’s menu is the nasi lemak available in four different options –  inchi kabin (nyonya-style fried chicken, S$10.90), beef rendang (S$13.90), sambal sotong (S$11.90) and kosong (sans protein, S$4.90). 

While it may seem like a simple dish, Kokoyo’s rendition places heavy emphasis on perfecting its sweet and sour chilli and fragrant coconut rice. 

In particular, the rice has its own 14-step recipe that has been passed down from Ernest’s great-grandmother. It ensures that the rice is imbued with its signature coconut fragrance and maintains a light and fluffy texture.

Ernest’s personal favourite is the inchi kabin. The meat is marinated with a variety of spices, giving it that peppery, slightly sweet flavour.

“You have to marinate the chicken for minimally six hours. My grandmother said that if it’s anything less than that, I’m not allowed to sell it,” he jokes.

Even with his grandmother’s tutelage, Ernest says that the beef rendang was one of the most difficult dishes to master. 

As with many chefs and heritage recipes, she tended to to estimate her ingredients and makes adjustments as she goes along, which makes it hard for Ernest to follow. 

The long cooking hours for this dish made it very challenging. 

“I’d have to wait four to five hours for the dish to finish cooking so that I could tell if the dish was a success or not,” said Ernest. The entire process took him about three to four months of cooking the beef every other day.

Starting from scratch 

Without formal experience running an F&B operation on his own, it has been a challenging few months for Ernest to bring Kokoyo to life.

He’s had to tweak the layout of his kitchen several times to ensure that customers can get their food quickly — it opened officially on September 6 — and learn how to juggle preparing multiple dishes at a time for a much larger group of people.

He admits that, while he feels confident about the taste of his food, he still lacks experience when it comes to managing an eatery. He turns to his friends with prior experience for expertise, or relies on the advice of his employees who’ve had over 10 years in the F&B scene.

He is learning as he goes.

Ernest is also pursuing a degree in accounting at SIM at the same time, making for long and busy days. He gets up when the sun rises to prepare for Kokoyo and works on his coursework sporadically throughout the day, or at night once the eatery has closed for the day. 

“It’s quite stressful, but I don’t regret my decision,” Ernest says. “I tell myself to focus on what I can control and try to empty my mind of the rest.”

The journey so far 

Even though the journey so far hasn’t been entirely smooth, Ernest remains hopeful with the positive reception from the neighbourhood so far. Folks are intrigued by the colourful kuehs on display and impressed by the affordable fare.

“The neighbourhood is surprisingly close-knit. There was an uncle who ate here and after confirming that the food was good, he stood at the edge of the shop and started calling his friends to come down and eat here,” Ernest recalls. 

Paying homage to his grandmother and the home-cooked meals that have shaped his life, Kokoyo is more than just an F&B venture for him. 

He hopes that Kokoyo will be a place for other families to bond and connect, especially with their grandparents. 

And it’s not just lip service, either. To encourage this, he has launched a promotion to entice more families to come by and hopes to do more soon. 

If you’re popping by Kokoyo before October 10, you can enjoy 20% off your total bill if you dine with your grandparents.

For more ideas on what to explore, check out the newly opened Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck at Jewel Changi Airport or Seoul Noodle Shop at Tanjong Pagar. 

Kokoyo Nyonya Delight is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine Out service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Kokoyo Nyonya Delights at Serangoon.