MasterChef Singapore Season 2 winner who dropped out of NTU opens new hawker stall serving ayam goreng berempah

Twenty-nine-year-old Derek Cheong has a lot on his plate. The winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 2 recently welcomed his first child with his wife. All while running a private diner from his HDB flat, being the boss of two Japanese rice bowl stalls in Singapore Polytechnic and strangely, a trading card game business (more on that later). Now, he has opened a new hawker stall in Beauty World Food Centre called Berempah Bros with business partner Ong Zhen Ning, 28, a fellow hawker-preneur.

“My son is apparently nocturnal and he doesn’t sleep at night,” Cheong laughed. “Being a father means I am on standby 24/7. Life has been hectic with managing all my various ventures,” he told 8days.sg.

Berempah Bros was launched just weeks after Cheong's son was born. The concept is inspired by ayam goreng berempah, a Malaysian-style fried chicken built around a spice paste with aromatics such as lemongrass and turmeric. The 'Bros' approach sits somewhere between the Malaysian chook (where spices are worked into the meat like those you find in The Coconut Club’s nasi lemak) and Indonesian ayam goreng rempah (where spiced battered crumbs are added on top). But there’s an added step at this stall – the meat and fish are dipped in seasoned batter before being deep-fried for a thicker, shaggier crust. Each dish is served with sinful coconut and chicken fat-infused rice. 

Prior to joining MasterChef Singapore in 2021, Cheong was studying for a degree in material science and engineering in Nanyang Technological University. He told 8days.sg that he was “passionate about cooking”, and would cook regularly for others in his university hall back then. Word of his pantry dining services spread and he even had to create a Google Form to manage sign-ups, with students often placed on a waitlist for a chance to try what he whipped up in the pantry.

“I was already cooking a lot back then,” Cheong said. “Eventually, people encouraged me to join the competition, so I decided to give it a shot.” To do so, he applied for a leave of absence and he has never looked back since. 

Between post-production and finding out the results, Cheong spent several months working in Michelin-starred kitchens, specifically at restaurants Zen in Singapore and Mirazur pop-up at Mandala Club in 2021. The stints were short – about two months at Zen and roughly five months at the Mirazur pop-up – but purposeful. He rotated across stations, from meat and seafood to garnish and snacks, taking in how high-pressure top kitchens operated.

When he was crowned the winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 2, Cheong had just completed his stint at Mirazur and returned his focus to private dining, running his concept Twelve Flavours from his five-room HDB flat in Pasir Ris. 

Although he briefly returned to university after the show, his parents hoping he would complete his degree, Cheong ultimately decided to drop out for good and commit fully to life in the kitchen. “I actually dropped out before I told my parents,” said Cheong. “I don’t think they were disappointed, but they expected it. They knew I was clear on what I wanted to do and that’s nothing related to engineering.” He was halfway through his four-year uni course.

Before Berempah Bros entered the picture, Cheong was already stacking side hustles. In 2023, he launched Tamagood, an egg-based rice bowl concept at Singapore Polytechnic. The two stalls serve Japanese-style rice bowls topped with eggs. Cheong's parents help run them.

In a non-F&B related move, Cheong opened a trading card game business at Beauty World Shopping Centre last year, driven by a long-time love for Pokemon cards. “It’s my alternative investment. Hopefully, I can use it to pay for my son’s tuition and my collection can be passed on to my son,” he laughed.

Why so many different ventures? “I like to do many things because I have passion for many of them,” he explained. “Of course I’m tired, but it really is fulfilling.”

Introduced by a mutual friend (who’s now a silent partner) in December, the partnership between Cheong and Ong Zhen Ning came together quickly.

“We have a lot of common background in cooking, and when we were discussing this concept, many things just fell into place easily,” Ong said. “We had a food tasting within a week. And that’s where we knew we needed to work together and bring this [berempah concept] to the masses.”

Ong owns hawker business Liu San Jie Mee Hoon Kueh with stalls in Toa Payoh and Yishun, and is also currently running casual eatery Bronzo Pasta Bar at Beauty World Shopping Centre.

The 28-year-old graduated with a diploma in culinary arts from At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, and spent six months working at Damian D’Silva’s now-defunct restaurant KIN before starting his own businesses.

Ong told 8days.sg that he oversees the day-to-day operations at Berempah Bros. Cheong pops by when he can, and they’re supported by three full-time staff. They spent about S$30,000 (US$23,360) setting the hawker stall up.

THE MENU

The Ayam Berempah is priced at S$7.50 and comes as breast, thigh or wing. Other proteins include Fish Berempah (S$8.50), Pork Berempah (S$8.50), and Unagi Berempah (S$12). Each set is served with coconut rice, house-made achar, sambal belacan, and spiced typhoon shelter-style crumbs.

AYAM BEREMPAH, S$7.50

Our chicken thigh arrives deeply browned and buried under a generous mound of typhoon shelter-style crumbs. The batter is dense and double-fried, which helps the crust stay crisp, though it also makes the chook feel heavy.

Cheong shared that the rempah contains around 16 different spices, such as galangal, cumin and tumeric. However, the flavours were rather subtle during our visit on the stall’s second day of opening (early days, to be fair). Meanwhile, the brined chicken is suitably juicy but a little salty, something the guys say they are fine-tuning.

We love the fluffy Thai jasmine rice cooked with chicken fat and infused with coconut milk and pandan leaves. Think of it as chicken rice with a mild lemak hint.

TYPHOON SHELTER CRUMBS, S$1

These savoury-sweet craggy bits take their cue from Hong Kong’s famous typhoon shelter dish, but with a Malay twist. Breadcrumbs, oats, kerisik (dry toasted shredded coconut), sakura ebi prawn, garlic, other spices, and curry leaves are fried till crisp. While these come free with every dish, definitely add an extra serving for a buck as a decadent topping.

The house-made achar helps cut through all the grease, though it could do with a deeper tang. We found the accompanying sambal belacan a little sweet and mild.

PORK BEREMPAH, S$8.50

Reminiscent of tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside tonkatsu – but with a robust hit of turmeric and galangal. Yummy.

FISH BEREMPAH, S$8.50

The flaky dory holds up well to the thick batter. A decent option.

UNAGI BEREMPAH, S$12

The natural softness of the eel combined with the gelatinous quality of its skin feels jelak (cloying in Malay) paired with such a dense batter. Skip.

Berempah Bros is at  #04-51 Beauty World Food Centre, 144 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 588177. Open Mon to Sun 10.30am to 8.30pm. Visit Instagram for more info.

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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