Vincent Toh’s distractions are part of his allure.

Within our 30-minute interview, the founder and owner of Nanyang Bliss punctuated our conversation with fervent glances radiating towards each passer-by; slowing them down with a warm smile or even squeezing in a cheery hello and nod whenever a little silence ensued in our interview.

His warmth prompts wandering shoppers to stop in front of a small kiosk on the second floor of White Sands Shopping Mall. They cast curious looks at his brightly lit menu gallery of smoothies, all inspired by classic Singaporean desserts like Black Glutinous Rice, Green Bean Sago, Bubur Chacha and Cendol. Even those who don’t buy a drink leave with an impression, exclaiming how “damn enthusiastic” the staff are (which was how I first heard of the place).

Vince, as he prefers to be addressed, started this venture in early 2025 to turn classic desserts into milkshakes and smoothies. His mission is to bring back traditional flavors that remind Singaporeans of their childhood.

Before this, the businessman with topknot hairdo and a full-sleeve tattoo left a twelve-year career in hairdressing.

His hair salon in Roxy Square was losing customers to Malaysian salons, and he didn’t think it could survive the bleed further once the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link launchs.

But the former hairstylist’s foray into this new concept is not a spur-in-the-moment decision.

The business daredevil considers this a personal challenge and commitment, because he wants to “do something that people don't dare to do, or don't think it's doable."

Flavors personalized to-your-taste

With the help of his mother-in-law, Vince spent two months developing a 15-item menu across four categories that they currently have. Besides a collection of drinks inspired by classic Singaporean desserts, there are also taro-inspired drinks, fruity ice blends and hot beverages — all customizable with chewy toppings like taro balls, sago pearls or cendol kueh; or fruity add-ons like corn and pomelo.

His favorite? The Black Glutinous Rice Smoothie. His version of the dessert doesn’t include any milk, as he is lactose intolerant. That’s also why he offers choice — customizing every cup with sugar level and milk of his patron’s choice.

Customers can choose from fresh UHT milk, coconut milk or simply no milk. No creamer is used in any of their drinks.

Even the beans and gula melaka are cooked in-house. “We don’t use any packaged products. Everything is made fresh batch by batch,” said Vince.

The menu has no caffeine or tapioca pearls, which are the twomost familiar ingredients of bubble tea that Singaporeans are addicted to. For Vince, that’s intentional.

“What makes you think that we can compete with Chagee, Koi or Chicha? Some of them are listed companies you know.”

He doesn’t see a value in serving the same drinks. “Doing business is already a risk. So why am I doing something that’s still the same?"

An uphill battle

But starting something new comes with its unique set of challenges.

They barely sold 20 cups a day back in their opening days. “It was really very tough, nobody wanted to try our products,” Vince recalled when I asked him about a moment when his belief was tested.

Shin, Vince’s employee who flashes a similar bright smile, explained that most of his work lies in convincing the undecided to give their drinks a try: “They often don’t know if they want to try it or not, so we have to talk and explain to them.”

Price is also a concern. “They always think it’s desserts that you can get upstairs,” he said while pointing upwards to the food court. Desserts of similar names cost only $2 - $3 while the drinks at Nanyang Bliss cost an upwards of $5.50.

“Customers don’t understand the amount of work that goes into our desserts,” Shin quietly tells me one-on-one that the trio takes turns to cook and cool the beans every night until 2 - 3 a.m. Besides the labor cost, it’s also a lot of heart and soul put into prep.

Their customer demographic ranges widely, but a few afternoons at the store would reveal that most of them are between their thirties to seventies — which makes sense why they are working with Singaporean actor and comedian Henry Thia to draw in more footfall.

Vince admits that there are challenges in engaging a younger crowd: “To be honest, whenever I ask kids in their teens or twenties what they want as dessert, they want Chagee or Nine Fresh. They don’t want to try our flavors because they don’t know about them.”

But he hopes to build a legacy of franchised stores that preserve traditional flavors “that are slowly dying off” for his children and grandchildren. 

Betting on human touch

Despite grueling hours and intense competition, Vince bets on good service — by thinking about how he’d want to be treated after a long day at work.

“To me, smiling, chitchatting, should be a very normal concept. But I guess now it’s become a traditional way of service. Nowadays with AI, there’s no longer a relationship with the customer, it’s so cold.”

And while novel front- and back-of-house technology like robot waiters and chefs are still not as widely adopted here, the government continues to encourage small medium enterprises (SME) to drive AI-enabled operations. Schemes under EnterpriseSG, ones like the Food & Business (F&B) AI and Digital Integration Program, encourage businesses to enhance customer experience and loyalty through AI-assisted chatbots and reservations — presumably to reduce reliance on service staff that are hard to come by.

But the last thing Vince wants is for the service to feel transactional — which isn’t uncommon in the current reality of scan-to-order QR code menus which Makansutra founder KF Seetoh considers a “slow and steady rot of service culture” in a Facebook post.

“I’m selling drinks that remind people of their childhood. Even if I have a self-service ordering kiosk, I want to ensure that people will have an option to order from the counter to feel our warmth,” he said.

Vince wants to make sure every customer leaves with a smile and conversation, drink or not, reminiscent of what he experienced with his childhood desserts. His inspiration?

The ice-cream uncle selling potong ice-cream in the back of their motorbike — before the more familiar era of ice cream bread or ice cream cones — back when he grew up in Tampines.

“He might not be earning a lot, but he was always doing it with a smile.”

Taste test

Mung Bean Smoothie: This is a rare sight for Singapore — transforming the already “cooling” mung bean soup that we’re familiar with into an even wintry blast with added ice and milk.

This drink holds a special place in my heart on my Taiwan trips, but it’s the “pasty” smoothie at Nanyang Bliss that I’ve fallen in love with. Their low-sugar option tastes like a protein bean blend on steroids that would be perfect for health-conscious drinkers chasing the traditional “not-too-sweet” taste.

You can also ask for a smoother version that’s lighter on the beans and heavier on the milk.

Cendol Smoothie: There’s an interesting hubbub of characters in this cup, each loud on its own, but everyone comes together to form a symphony that keeps you coming back for a second mouthful.

The intense sweetness of coconut milk and gula melaka balanced with a tiny bit of salt carries the main melody; while the juicy corn bits, translucent sago pearls and soft cendol kueh interject as staccato surprises.

And while the kueh can’t rival the ones at Yat Kah Yan for their fragrant pandan flavor, there’s much to applaud for not being flavorless or frozen-in-the-middle.

Taro Milk: This simple combination of taro and milk is weirdly the most nostalgic among them all — every sip reminds me of Grandma's orh-nee paste made into a frozen drink with milk and chewy taro bites.

Mango Sago Smoothie: The pomelo’s characteristic tartness and slightly bitter skin adds dimension to the creamy mango milkshake — making it perfect for younger folks seeking a fruity flavor.