Hedy Khoo

Singapore

Senior Correspondent at The Straits Times

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Articles

How these young brewers turned their homes into cafes serving specialty coffee and matcha

2 days ago | herworld.com | Hedy Khoo

The hottest trend in Singapore’s cafe scene is not housed behind floor-to-ceiling glass windows or nestled within heritage shophouses. It is brewing on front porches and in HDB flats in residential estates islandwide. Since late 2024, a batch brew of cosy home cafes has been started by young Singaporeans eager to share their passion for coffee and matcha, without the financial burden of operating a full-fledged commercial outfit.
Home cafes in Singapore: Young brewers serving matcha and kopi

1 week ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – The hottest trend in Singapore’s cafe scene is not housed behind floor-to-ceiling glass windows or nestled within heritage shophouses. It is brewing on front porches and in HDB flats in residential estates islandwide. Since late 2024, a batch brew of cosy home cafes has been started by young Singaporeans eager to share their passion for coffee and matcha, without the financial burden of operating a full-fledged commercial outfit.
Less frills, more flavour: Fast-casual restaurants take off amid belt-tightening

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – Veterinary nurse Natasha Allen, 25, has cut back on dining expenses – but not on meals with friends. She used to dine at full-service restaurants such as Spanish restaurant Tinto and Italian restaurant Sospiri twice a week, spending close to $100 an outing. Now, she opts for fast-casual eateries like Korean chain Jinjja Chicken, where her bill size is about $20.
Food Picks: Home-style flavours at Palapa Indonesian Fast Food

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – If you think Indonesian food is just ayam penyet or nasi padang, Palapa Indonesian Fast Food wants to change your mind. Opened in June 2024 by Mr William Luimenta, 35, and Mr Timothy Santika, 34, the fast-casual eatery offers a tight selection of chicken (fried and grilled), lamb and beef. Both co-owners, originally from Indonesia, are Singapore permanent residents. Mr Luimenta is from Medan, while Mr Santika is from Jakarta.
Food Picks: Soulful traditional Teochew flavours at Chaoshan Xiaochi

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – No-frills eatery Chaoshan Xiaochi offers a tight but punchy selection of traditional Teochew fare and snacks in small servings. The Teochew owner, Singaporean Ricky Koh, 69, used to run a 200-seat Teochew restaurant in Shun Li Industrial Estate. which closed in December 2021 when the lease ended during the Covid-19 pandemic. After three years of retirement, he opened Chaoshan Xiaochi, an ode to traditional Teochew fare, served in small plates and through homely snacks.
Food Picks: Old-school noodles at industrial canteen stall Wei Ji Noodle House

2 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – At a time when noodle chains peddling Teochew noodles have quietly ditched braised mushrooms, Wei Ji Noodle House still makes them from scratch. Run by Mr Ricky Loo, 69, and Madam Jenny Chong, this stall sticks to tradition – right down to slicing and frying shallots for their own shallot oil, the backbone of both noodle and soup. Mr Loo is Teochew and holds purist views on food, which explains his refusal to use factory-made sole fish powder.
Tastemakers: Ex-teacher sells modernised nasi padang to preserve parents’ food legacy

4 weeks ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – While his classmates spent weekends at play and enjoyed family outings during school holidays, Mr Eugene Tan’s boyhood memories are of cutting long beans and gutting fish at his parents’ nasi padang stall. By age 13, he was dispatching live crabs. His brother, who is two years younger, began helping out too, at age seven. “Our school holidays were spent doing ‘child labour’ and ‘interning’ at our parents’ stall,” says Mr Tan, a 46-year-old former teacher. At first, it felt novel.
Tastemakers: Ajumma’s founder gave up university and concert pianist dream to start restaurant

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – Mr Dominic Tan, 33, once dreamt of becoming a concert pianist. These days, the co-founder and chief executive of fast-casual Korean chain Ajumma’s composes dishes instead of music, to the tune of $15 million in annual revenue. At just four years old, he began studying music. Sharing a birthday with classical great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart cemented the notion that he was made for a life of music. Heused to hog the only piano at Rosyth Primary School, practising for hours. “I loved it.
Tastemakers: How a supper stall side hustle became a $10-million mala empire for this 25-year-old

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – At 10pm, when most students were winding down, Mr Lee Ray Sheng was firing up the wok at his Nanyang Technological University (NTU) hostel canteen stall. Armed with garlic, bean sprouts and soya sauce, the second-year computer science undergraduate transformed a quiet canteen into a late-night supper venue. In February 2020, the owner of Raydy Beehoon sold out 200 packets of his $3 supper set of fried beehoon, chicken wing and egg. That was just the first night.
Food Picks: Makan Empire brings spice to Woodlands Health Campus

1 month ago | straitstimes.com | Hedy Khoo

SINGAPORE – Fancy nasi lemak with less post-meal guilt? Try the Grilled Ayam Taliwang Brown Rice ($10.90) at Makan Empire By Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang. The 50-seat eatery at Woodlands Health Campus has a Healthy Choice Meal section on its menu, offering four versions of Nasi Lemak Ayam Taliwang’s grilled chicken paired with brown rice. Calling it brown rice might be a stretch. It is actually a mix of short-grained pearl rice and Thai riceberry, a deep purple wholegrain rice.