Millennial fulfilled dream of owning food stall, with one problem

"It took one bite into the massive fried chicken leg from Jonas Koh's food stall to know that he is doing it right. The leg -the biggest I've ever seen in my years of eating Singapore's hawker fare- was crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, and coated in spices without being overpowering. The onion and chili sambal paste on the side, Koh's pride and joy, added spice and sweetness to the dish."

""Our chili is what separates us from the rest," Koh, 30, said to me when I visited the stall in November. "We get a lot of customers who come back and literally just buy chili from us." Koh started The Kumpong Boys in September 2024, a hawker stall in Singapore's northern Ang Mo Kio neighborhood. He specializes in nasi lemak, a dish originating in Malaysia that consistsof fragrant rice, sambal, fried chicken, an egg, anchovies, and cucumbers."

Jonas Koh opened The Kumpong Boys in September 2024 in northern Ang Mo Kio, serving nasi lemak with large fried chicken portions and a signature onion-chili sambal. The sambal attracts repeat customers who sometimes buy it separately. Koh worked in food and beverage from age 17, earned a business degree, and developed the nasi lemak recipe with a mentor from OverEasy. He invested about S$7,000 from savings to set up the stall and prepares rice, eggs, and chicken curry from 9 a.m. with one staff member. Strong food quality has not translated into sales because the surrounding older, price-sensitive neighborhood limits demand.

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