SINGAPORE – The home kitchen was the starting point for two new food ventures with family at their heart.
When Mr Yap Hong Eng and his wife found a note from their six-year-old daughter asking for a pizza shop, they took it seriously. Within a year, they were testing dough at home and opening Famiglia Panizza in Jalan Pelikat.
And for Mr Andy Toh and Ms Cheree Chew, a couple in their 30s who began making overnight oats in 2020 as part of a pre-wedding diet, their routine led to the opening of Oatsome, their Korean-inspired dessert cafe and Greek yogurt bar in Tanjong Pagar.
Here is how two couples turned their homemade meals into businesses.
Mr Yap Hong Eng, his wife Betty and their daughter Skylar at Famiglia Panizza’s foodcourt outlet at Marina Bay Financial Centre.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
Two years ago, six-year-old Skylar Yap handed her parents a note that read: “Dear Mum and Dad, let’s open a pizza shop.”
Mr Yap Hong Eng, 48, and Mrs Betty Yap, 52, took the suggestion seriously.
They were struck by how Skylar – who had always preferred noodle soup, rice and other Asian dishes – had taken to pizza after tasting a slice at a family gathering.
The couple decided to try making their own pizza. Over the next year, they studied the market and experimented with dough at home, testing different recipes and fermentation methods until they arrived at a version they felt was ready for sale.
In December 2025, with $100,000 in savings, the couple launched Famiglia Panizza, a takeaway concept at The Promenade @ Pelikat, built around pizza and panini made from housemade dough.
Famiglia means “family” in Italian, reflecting how they run the business. Panizza refers to their signature dough, used for both panini and pizza.
They had a head start. Mrs Yap is a self-taught baker and runs bakery White Spatula, which she started in 2015 in the same building. This allowed them to convert one of her rented units into a takeaway concept to test demand for Famiglia Panizza.
Three months later, the couple invested $40,000 in opening a second outlet at Marina Bay Financial Centre on April 1. The foodcourt stall functions as a mini restaurant and targets office workers in the area.
“When we saw our daughter’s note, it definitely got us thinking if we should take her idea and turn it into a business,” says Mr Yap. “We asked her if she meant it seriously and she said yes. That was what made us take on the mission of turning her dream into reality.”
The couple started the business after studying the market and noticing pizza was trending. Mr Yap recalls: “Many of the pizzas were Neapolitan-style, wood-fired or sourdough. We realised we needed something different to stand out.”
What followed was a year of trial and error. The couple, who had no formal training in pizza-making, began experimenting at home while also sampling different styles of pizza across Singapore and on their travels in Australia, South Korea and Japan.
“It was very much a joint effort,” says Mr Yap, who also works full-time as an operations director at a multinational corporation. “We both played our part and spent a lot of time testing and refining to get it right.”
The couple tested brands of flour from different countries, including those from Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan. They eventually chose an Italian blend of flour meant for pizza-making that rendered the best results.
The couple tested dough recipes for a year until landing on one suitable for their panini and pizza.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
While Mr Yap focused on researching recipes and processes, his wife made dough.
Mrs Betty Yap at Famiglia Panizza’s new outlet at Marina Bay Financial Centre.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
They lost count of how many versions they made. Some were too dense, while others lacked flavour or did not hold their structure. To improve consistency, the couple began tracking fermentation stages.
“We set up a roster to monitor the fermentation at different stages,” Mr Yap says. “We kept improving from there until we arrived at the final recipe.”
Skylar, who turns eight later in 2026, was closely involved and helped her parents by tasting the results. “She’s our little ‘judge’,” says Mr Yap. “She lets us know if she likes it or not.”
Skylar Yap inspired her parents to start a pizza brand.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
At the centre of the menu is their housemade dough, which undergoes a multi-day fermentation process. “Our dough is light and airy, giving a balance of comfort and indulgence without feeling heavy,” says Mr Yap.
Two of their bestsellers are the Morty Panini ($9.50 a quarter, $34 whole) and Parmy Pizza ($9.50 a quarter, $34 whole).
The Morty Panini features mortadella, pesto, rocket leaves and crushed pistachio. Burrata is added after baking, creating a contrast between the warm, crisp base and the cool, creamy cheese.
Famiglia Panizza’s signature dish, Morty Panini.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
The Parmy Pizza is richer, layered with Parma ham, truffle cream which is blended in-house, mozzarella, fresh rocket leaves for a peppery lift and finished with parmesan.
Parmy Pizza at Famiglia Panizza.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
The takeaway concept in Kovan was aimed at gathering customer feedback, allowing the couple to refine their products. Early response was encouraging, helped by support from neighbouring tenants and friends.
The expansion to a second outlet in the Central Business District came later, after they gained confidence in the concept.
“We are not there to compete with everyday options like chicken rice,” says Mr Yap of their foodcourt stall. “We position ourselves as offering restaurant-quality fare that is convenient and quick.”
They have six employees across both outlets. Mr Yap expects the business to break even in 12 to 18 months. They hope to launch up to five outlets in the next three years and are open to franchising.
Mrs Yap oversees the kitchen and day-to-day operations. Mr Yap handles planning, marketing and administrative matters.
“We complement each other,” he says. “I’m more direct and goal-oriented, while she works very well with people. We leverage each other’s strengths.”
This has also meant learning to manage differences.
“Running a business together can be emotionally draining, especially when we have different views and can’t compromise,” he says. “Over time, we’ve learnt to manage it better and not let it spill over too much into our home life, especially with Skylar around.”
“We now share a common objective of building Famiglia Panizza into a success story, to create something meaningful and leave a legacy,” he adds. “It feels like teamwork, not just in how we divide roles, but also in how we approach things.”
The business has changed how they spend their time. Mrs Yap starts her day at 5am to shower and get ready for work, while Mr Yap begins at 6am.
They send Skylar to school, then head to work. In the evening, they fetch her, have dinner and often continue working after she goes to bed.
Weekends with friends, personal hobbies and even regular exercise have taken a back seat.
“Time is the biggest sacrifice,” says Mr Yap. “We don’t get to spend as much time with Skylar as we would like, especially since we work most weekends.
“But we try to find pockets of time whenever we can. Betty also goes through her schoolwork with her, so we stay involved in her daily routine.”
Even so, he thinks the business has brought the family closer in other ways.
“The time we spend together at the shop feels more intentional. Skylar gets to be part of it, seeing what we do and being around the shop. We are going through this together as a family.
“Family meals are a must,” he says. “No matter how busy we are.”
Where: B1-124 The Promenade @ Pelikat, 183 Jalan Pelikat (takeaway and delivery only); 02-01/02/03/04 Food Loft, Tower 3 Marina Bay Financial Centre, 12 Marina Boulevard
Open: The Promenade @ Pelikat unit is open from 10.30am to 7pm, Tuesdays to Sundays, and is closed on Mondays. The Food Loft stall is open from 9am to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays, and is closed on weekends
Tel: 9862-4134
Info: famiglia.group
Married couple Andy Toh and Cheree Chew at their cafe, Oatsome, in Tanjong Pagar.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
In 2020, while preparing for their wedding, Mr Andy Toh and Ms Cheree Chew began making overnight oats as part of their healthy diet.
“Healthy eating became part of our routine when we wanted to slim down,” says Ms Chew, now 31. Her husband is 34.
“It was a mix of health, weight loss and convenience. We needed something we could stick to long-term and overnight oats worked, because it was easy to prepare and kept us full for hours.”
It took a few weeks to arrive at a version they liked. Early attempts were inconsistent. Some were too watery and others too dry or bland.
“We probably tried more than 10 recipes,” Ms Chew says. “We kept adjusting the ingredients and ratios until it became something we actually looked forward to eating every day.”
Mr Toh and Ms Chew at their Greek Yogurt Live Bar.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
“We realised it worked when we found ourselves eating it daily without getting bored,” she adds.
They each lost about 5kg over three months before tying the knot in December 2020.
Ms Chew began posting about her overnight oats on Instagram. When friends and followers asked if they could buy them, the idea of selling came up.
“It wasn’t a serious decision at the start,” she says. “We just tried making a small batch to see if anyone would order.”
They began selling overnight oats in jars from home in mid-2020, pricing them from $5.90 to $7.90 each to cover costs.
Most early customers were friends, colleagues and people who followed them online. Business was consistent during the Covid-19 pandemic and improved afterwards, with products often sold out.
Oatsome’s housemade yogurt and toppings attract a crowd of regulars.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
“It felt surreal,” she says of the first sale. “We packed the jars ourselves and delivered them personally. Looking back, that was the starting point of everything.”
The couple met while working part-time in retail and began dating in June 2009.
“When Andy and I started dating, we used to joke about opening a cafe together, even though we had no idea what we would sell,” Ms Chew recalls.
When they started selling overnight oats online, both held full-time jobs. Ms Chew was a higher executive officer in the public sector, while Mr Toh was a sales manager in a catering company. They prepared orders at night and over weekends.
“It started to feel like we had two full-time jobs,” Mr Toh says.
As demand grew, so did the workload. Evenings were spent preparing orders, while weekends were taken up by sourcing ingredients, testing recipes and packing.
When sales started becoming more consistent, the couple realised they needed a name and identity for their business. They named it Oatsome in 2023.
In January 2025, Ms Chew left her job to focus on Oatsome full-time as a home-based business.
A month later, the couple took up a 10-week stint at Baker X, a project by real estate developer Far East Organization to support home-based baking entrepreneurs in Singapore.
There, they were able to operate in a more structured environment and reach a wider customer base before committing to a permanent outlet.
The experience cemented their confidence in taking their business further.
Mr Toh left his job in December 2025. The couple invested $200,000 of their savings in setting up a bricks-and-mortar cafe in Tanjong Pagar, which opened in January.
The Korean-inspired dessert cafe, which has a yogurt bar, is so popular that there are often queues outside the 14-seat cafe before it opens. The cafe fulfils mainly takeaway orders.
Customers queue outside Oatsome cafe before it opens for business.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
“It was definitely not an easy decision,” Mr Toh recalls. “Walking away from our fixed incomes felt very risky.”
Today, the menu centres on oats, yogurt and baked goods. A signature item is the Apple Cinnamon Parfait ($20), layered with cinnamon yogurt, apple compote, housemade dark chocolate ganache and cinnamon oat crumble.
The couple make the toppings instead of getting ready-made ones from suppliers.
Apple Cinnamon Parfait at Oatsome.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Mr Toh says this is so they know what is in the food and can make it as healthy as possible, cutting back on sugar and avoiding additives.
Another key offering is the Greek Yogurt Live Bar ($12 a bowl), where customers customise their bowl of Greek yogurt with two toppings and one drizzle. The yogurt is fermented for about eight hours and strained for up to 72 hours.
There are six toppings, including housemade dark chocolate granola, no-sugar yogurt brownie bites and fresh mango. Customers have three choices of drizzles, which include pistachio butter, almond butter and honey. The pistachio butter is blended from 100 per cent pistachios without extra sugar or additives.
Greek Yogurt Live Bar at Oatsome.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
“Everything we sell is something we would eat ourselves,” says Mr Toh. “We still eat our food for breakfast daily.”
Roles are split based on the couple’s strengths. He oversees operations and finance, while she handles product development and baking.
Working together has blurred the line between business and personal life.
“Even after the shop closes, we still find ourselves talking about what needs to be done next,” Mr Toh says.
The long hours have come at a cost. “Time is probably the biggest sacrifice. We work almost every day,” quips Ms Chew.
But the couple, who have no children, say the experience has strengthened their relationship.
“We see each other at our best and at our most stressed, but we’re building something together,” says Mr Toh.
For now, they aim to stabilise the business before expanding.
“We want to build something sustainable that can last,” says Ms Chew.
Where: 100 Tanjong Pagar Road
Open: Noon to 7pm or till sold out on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays; 11am to 3pm or till sold out on weekends. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Info: @weareoatsome on Instagram
Dining and Cooking