In 2019, Galvin Sng went for a regular medical check-up and was told that he was at risk of developing fatty liver disease.

“The doctor said it was most likely due to my weight. So I wanted to go on a journey to lose weight. That’s why I started on a keto diet again. I had done it before,” said the 44-year-old.

The Sngs in 2019, the year Galvin decided to go on a keto diet which led him to create his own keto ice-cream.

He joined Facebook communities that promoted the keto diet to learn more recipes. But there was one thing he really wanted to recreate.

“I was craving ice cream. But all the existing keto recipes didn’t suit my taste.”

Then COVID swept across the globe and everyone hunkered down at home. With nothing much to do, many turned to DIY projects and home-baking. Galvin turned to experimenting with keto-friendly ice-cream.

His first try – his favourite chocolate flavour – was an immediate hit with his most important critic, his wife Charmaine, 42.

That original chocolate ice-cream which Galvin first made is now sold as Chewy Nama Chocolate, the number one best-seller at Ketojiak.

She said: “Usually when people come up with recipes, you always hear, ‘Oh, we tested it like 60 times, we tested it for a year.’ But for him, he usually gets it right at the first try.

“I realised that it’s something that God has really given him a talent for. So when customers ask me, I say, “Oh, we get our recipes straight from heaven.’”

They did not know it then, but this would be the start of a journey of faith that would become Ketojiak, an ice-cream parlour that specialises in diabetic, keto and celiac friendly ice-creams and waffles.

Meaningful work

At first, Galvin merely made the ice cream for his own consumption. But when he shared his creation with the keto diet community, orders starting coming in. So began his “interesting side hustle” right out of his own kitchen.

Orders within the online keto community soon turned into a Facebook group, which eventually turned to a website. At that time, he still had no intention of making anything more of it.

As orders for his keto ice-cream increased, Galvin consided moving from an online business to an ice cream store.

But he started receiving feedback from customers beyond those “trying to lose weight for aesthetic reasons”.

He heard from those living with diabetes, recovering from cancer treatment, and people avoiding sugar because of their health. Even his family, who had no dietary restrictions, were enjoying Galvin’s ice cream.

“I realised that this is something that can be meaningful. It gave me the impression that our ice cream is something that can be enjoyed by everyone.

“Why not have a space for people to come together to enjoy the ice cream together?”

The vision solidified, but the Sngs could not decide on when to take the plunge. Then in 2023, changes at Galvin’s workplace “caused me to be out of my comfort zone and I found myself at a crossroads”.

That was the push they needed.

“It was a huge step of faith because we had no money,” Galvin told Salt&Light.

Days of Elijah

Someone Galvin knew from the Facebook keto community offered to invest in the business.

So the Sngs went about looking for a retail space and found one that seemed to fit their needs. It was already an ice cream store so there was little need for renovations, purchase of equipment or kitchenware. Its name – Days of Elijah – also seemed like a sign. They decided to pray about it.

Ketojiak’s first shop at Owen Road.

Said Charmaine: “That very evening we went for a choir concert. We were sitting there, and suddenly the choir started shouting ‘Elijah’ multiple times.

“I looked at Galvin, he looked at me and we said, ‘What is happening?’ But we are rational people. I thought we couldn’t just base our decision on a song. There had to be other signs. It had to be within our budget.”

The Sngs went to speak to the owner of Days of Elijah, whose name is Elijah. After negotiating, they agreed on an amount that was well within the couple’s budget.

Suddenly a text message came from their investor friend.

“She said that due to some matters, she wouldn’t be able to commit that initial sum that she had mentioned,” Galvin related to Salt&Light.

“She could only commit this other sum, and this new sum was the exact amount that we had just agreed on with Elijah!”

The Sngs signed the paperwork for the place and Ketojiak the ice cream store was born.

Steps of faith   

Their Owen Road shop may have been a tiny setup with just 12 seats, but it was a huge step of faith for the Sngs.

Charmaine said: “Previously, Galvin was in a salaried job. Every month you don’t really need to check, you know your salary will come in and it is a certain amount.

But “the fun of this business is seeing God just provide what you need.”

And provide He did. Every time a part-timer quit because they were “starting a new season”, someone else would be available to step in. This happened not just once but repeatedly.

“It was very mundane things like that but also very miraculous,” Charmaine added.

Ketojiak hires part-timers. Every time one leaves, another would become available. The Sngs see this as God looking out for even the details in their business.

The display freezer at the store would break down two to three times a month. In the beginning, they would get it fixed. But because it happened so often, repair costs became too high.

Buying a new one was out of the question because the display freezer was built in. Any change would require hacking away the counter and removing the front door.

The display freezer at the Owen Road shop often malfunctioned.

“We had a couple who were our very first employees and they are also believers. They would command that freezer to come to life and it would.

“It was quite funny that in our first year, second year of operations, that freezer was being commanded to life like every other week, but it sustained us,” Charmaine told Salt&Light.

Two as one

As Galvin busied himself with the business, Charmaine, who continued to work, found herself struggling.

“My children were falling sick constantly, I was falling sick constantly. There was all this effort to keep my job going, to keep the kids going to school.  

“And there was just this awakening, ‘Why am I trying so hard, what am I really holding on to?’

“I felt that if I say that I really trust God, if I say that I really believe Him, where is the scope in my life to experience that? It was an inner heart issue I had that God was kind of poking at.”

Charmaine struggled with the decision to quit. She had got her job as a result of a prestigious scholarship that she had won. To give it up was painful.

Eventually, in faith, she stepped away from her job, thinking she could throw herself into raising her two children.

But that was not the case. 

Charmaine had been feeling increasingly “like the third party in my marriage” because of the amount of time and effort Galvin was putting into Ketojiak. The couple’s marriage mentors asked Charmaine to consider joining Galvin.

So she began popping in and helping around at Ketojiak.  

Husband and wife now work shoulder-to-shoulder. This has given them a better appreciation of each other.

“Coming in (to work with Galvin on Ketojiak) was really a journey of love,” she told Salt&Light. “I tried to be there, to support in whatever way he needed.”

A sudden stroke  

In 2025, the couple decided that they were ready to move to a bigger, more central location. During the period of negotiations for a space at Bras Basah, Galvin suffered a stroke while working alone at the original Ketojiak store on Owen Road.  

The night before, Charmaine had been looking for loopholes in the tenancy agreement with a friend when they chanced on the concept of keyman risk. That is the vulnerability a business faces when its success is heavily dependent on a single critical individual, as is the case with Ketojiak.

“The moment she pointed this out to me, Psalm 27:5 came to me,” Charmaine said. “It was the verse that God gave Galvin before his mum had a stroke.

“I refused to entertain the thought of something happening to Galvin. Instead, I thought of Psalm 27:5.”

When Galvin texted her a garbled message the next day asking for help, Charmaine instantly knew he had had a stroke. She called for an ambulance immediately. Because the shop was so near Tan Tock Seng Hospital, doctors were able to treat Galvin within the first critical hour – the golden hour – after the onset of the symptoms, vastly increasing his chance of a full recovery.

A CCTV screenshot of Galvin being rescued and brought to the hospital after he suffered a stroke at the shop.

Said Charmaine: “Those verses comforted me that day. It was like, ‘Oh, that explains why the verse came to me.’  All this was not out of nowhere, not something God does not know about.

“God really trains us in baby steps.”

Galvin and Charmaine at the hospital.

Galvin walked out of the hospital seven days after the stroke. They had to close Ketojiak temporarily in the weeks it took him to get back to churning fresh batches of ice cream.

“We were concerned about finances, and our staff suddenly had no income for that period,” Charmaine said.

“I messaged them to say, ‘If you need money or a pay advance, we will work something out. We have been richly blessed and provided for because our God provides for us.

“This is the way we want to be a Christian business.”

Go ahead, or just stop?

Though Galvin was out of commission for awhile, God remained at work in the business.

Charmaine said: “I was asking God about the new space, ‘Do I go ahead or do I just stop?’

“One day when I was in the hospital ward, I realised that, looking out from the window in a straight line, I could see our previous shop at Owen Road, and if I were to continue down that line, it led directly to Bras Basah Complex.”

The view from Galvin’s hospital ward.

It felt like a sign from God to go ahead with the Bras Basah space. Other practical considerations also confirmed this. Most importantly, the landlord was willing wait a few weeks so the couple could sign the lease together.

In the first quarter of 2026, Ketojiak moved to their new location. In an attempt to “steward the space”, they designed the shop with space enough to hold Alpha meetings. They have offered the location to Alpha Singapore.

Ketojiak’s new Bras Basah shop.

“Early in the business, we were concerned about how we could be profitable, have time for the kids and church, how to build a brand,” said Charmaine.

“But now we believe that the business belongs to God. He has to keep it running. And if God has given us the influence, a voice in the marketplace, we want to be successful and bigger to make a difference, so we can offer better jobs for a longer time and hire more people.”

Galvin told Salt&Light: “I tell myself that God is my pillar stone. We steward the place properly, we churn up good ice cream.

“He will bring the people, He will come through for us.”

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