Celebrating 30 years of Drama with British elegance

Yesterday was a big day for us, because many artistes were gathered at the TV Theatre to celebrate 30 years of Drama.

It was all quite a rush for us, so I realised I didn’t get to take that many pictures of my own. Here’s one, with my hair stylist for the night, Ryan Yap from Passion.

Pictured here with Ryan Yap, Passion

He asked me what sort of hairstyle I would like to have. I suggested “40s Glamour” and this was what he came up with — ala Marilyn Monroe he said.

Thank you Martin for picking this out for me.

I fell in love with it almost immediately because I’m have been crazy about knee-length dresses for the past few months. With the Duchess herself being here in Singapore, I couldn’t help but be inspired by her simple and elegant dressing. This gold sequin dress by Burberry couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

It’s sexy without revealing too much (actually, it does, but I kind of didn’t want to go that far) and the conservative length was perfect for the occasion. I wanted something that wasn’t too casual like I would wear to a Christmas party, and not too formal like I was going to a Charity Ball.

Star Awards 2011

It took me a week to put this post Star Awards entry together because I needed to let the excitement settle and compose an entry that wasn’t emotionally-charged.

This year was exceptional because I’ve had the opportunity to experience a bit of what goes on behind the scenes in preparation for Star Awards. These are things that will never make it to the press, and if anything would probably surface in the form of hear-say, gossip and most likely twisted versions of the truth.

Still, I guess some things are best kept this way. Real or not, it doesn’t matter.

It was also this long and grueling period leading up to the final day, that put allies to the test and allowed me the rare opportunity to discern those with self-serving purposes from those with a true heart. I’ve found friends who don’t ask for anything in return, and would go above and beyond to help me be the best I can on my special night. I’ve gained confidantes who would give me room to grow and willingly offer whatever resources they have for me to utilise, without expectation of remuneration.

I count my blessings for the good people around me, and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.

For Show 1, I was in a white Givenchy outfit with Guiseppe Zanotti heels.

Yue Li and I

Pierre Png and I at the post-show reception.

My "date" for the night was Qi Yuwu, who is also my co-star in the upcoming 20-episode police drama C.L.I.F, which debuts end of May.

For Show 2, David Gan booked a suite where we could preen in private.

The maestro himself at work, with Kenneth Lee, my make-up artiste for the night.

Singapore-bred international designer Ashey Isham offered this couture dress from his A/W11 collection for me and I was really flattered and grateful for the opportunity to showcase his collection that has yet to make its debut in this part of the world. If you're interested, you might like to check out the 2011 Fall collection by some of the other international designers like Sarah Burton and Karl Lagerfeld. They all seem to be going for this "dark" theme in the next season.

This is Martin aka Martina Wong.

All done up and heading over to the convention center to meet with the rest.

Here we are gathered right before we got into the cars that will take us to the red carpet.

Post red carpet, pre-opening. Pictured here is Tay Ping Hui and his assistant.

This is Waithong from August Pictures, the man I thanked when I received my Best Info-Ed Programme Host award. He was the one with the vision for the programme, the one who trusted me with this show and the one who constantly reminded me to be natural and not be afraid to speak my mind when I see or feel something there. Without him and his team, the win wouldn't have been possible. Thank you!

This is Qiaojuan from August Pictures. She was the coordinator of the programme.

Nominees of the Best Actress category. (From left) Ruien, Jeanette, Joanne (me) and Liping.

I remembered Mike He (in white) as the "bad boy" in Devil Beside You, and here I am receiving the award of the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes from him.

Honestly, I didn't even notice that there was a monitor by the bottom of the stage that showed the timer counting down until much later when all the artistes were gathered on stage and the credits were rolling.

I would like to thank all the people who called in to vote for me. I really appreciate your generosity.

Qi Yuwu, who won Best Actor, was also one of the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes. We were making our way to the post-party backstage.

Dai Yang Tian and I at the post party.

White Day (ホワイトデー Howaito Dē)

I turned up for Shiseido White Day on 14 March only to learn that this is a special day practised in Japan and South Korea. Someone mentioned Taiwan, but I’m not too sure about that. Anyone?

Apparently, in Japan, Valentine’s Day (14 Feb) is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. A handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl’s “only one”. On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a honmei-choco (本命チョコ?, “chocolate of love”) or giri-choco (義理チョコ?, “courtesy chocolate”) on Valentine’s Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts, usually more expensive. (Taken from Wikipedia)

I’m not too sure this is something that will catch on in Singapore, but I reckon one month is too much time given to the men to consider a lady’s “proposal”. It would be such a torture for the ladies who are waiting!

Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun at the event, with 2 lovely hosts and invited guests all dressed in white. It was a very pretty sight!

It was hard to keep from laughing and smiling because the two guys were so funny! Bobby and Leslie. I hope I didn’t get their names wrong, if I did, I’m sorry and please leave me a comment!

One of the non-smiling moments.

I shared with the crowd some of my personal beauty tips.

Then there was a lucky draw with some lovely prizes. I made a face because there were so many names, I felt bad for those whose names I didn’t manage to pick.

Signing on a pledge.

Beauty bloggers and I with our pledge.

A very fragrant bouquet of lilies was presented to me! They made my car smell so good after.

And oh, please don’t forget to vote for me in Systema’s  Most Charming Smile award here.

NDP2010

The last time I attended the National Day Parade live was at the National Stadium when I was performing in the band during my secondary school years. After that, I had to contend with watching the parade from television every year.

This year, it was held at Padang and by serendipity, I managed to get last minute tickets (at 5.20pm!) to the parade.

There was a massive crowd around City Hall area as everyone tried to catch a glimpse of the sky performances. We weaved through the mass of people and finally got to the venue, hot and confused. Thankfully there were a lot of ushers around to point us the right way.

I’ve never seen so many uniformed men converge at one venue!

We were supposed to be seated at the Green sector, but we were told there were no more seats, so we ended up at the Yellow sector and this was the sight that greeted us when we popped our heads out of the scaffold spectator stand.

I’m guessing you have to come early to “chope” seats? Anyway, we ended up sitting on the steps which was a lot less stress-free because it would be really disruptive to the rest if we needed to answer nature’s call.

The sea of red is gorgeous!

The backdrop complements the celebrations, especially when night fell and the lights took over.

I found out from the magazine in the goodie bag that there were 7 different designs of it.

I plucked out the candy portion and ate only the biscuit!

The President driving past our section.

I love the sounds of these jets! I especially like the display where 2 jets criss-crossed one another and when one of the jets took a vertical climb up into the sky.

The entrance and exit points for the formation performers were on the side I was sitting on, so I could snap these “behind-the-scenes” photos!

The flash on my camera reflected off the costumes of these performers.

Sparks and aerial performer really took the show to another level! The lights casted on the columns of the Supreme Court really made the show exceptionally colourful!

The costumes made them look like characters off some video game. Quite scary!

The aerial shot of this was gorgeous from the screen, where Kit Chan was perched at the tip of the crescent moon. It was the perfect formation for us to recite our pledge.

My gift to David Gan

I’m so glad I managed to return just in time for David’s birthday. I wanted to surprise him and the plan was to custom order a Birkin cake for him and I even had the colour and style chosen. But while I was in Laos, the chef emailed me and said Dr Georgia Lee had presented him with a Birkin cake at the surprise party she threw him! Thank the people who invented Twitter because otherwise it would have been so embarrassing!

We were both disappointed that we had to scrap the Birkin cake idea, because she was really excited about making a Birkin cake. We didn’t mull for long because I managed to come up with an alternative which she liked and said could be done!

I suggested to her the Limited Edition Hermes Leica M7. This is how the real one looks!

This is "The Birthday Cake".

David could not bear to cut it and had no idea where to start!

Here's the chef, Felicia. I'm so proud of her because she's young, pretty and so incredibly talented. She designed and conceptualised everything, including the paper bag and gift box! I'm going to hire her if I ever open a bakery/cafe.

Look closely at the details of the actual camera

Now look at this. Would you believe this was edible?

Look at the incredible amount of details she's included in this!

She's got it covered from all angles.

I can't quite decide what my favourite part of this paper bag is. The delicate stuffing or the black cord that is so realistic. Notice the fold lines of the paper bag.

I've blurred out the words on the gift box because I'm a bit shy but here's Felicia's masterpiece. What a piece of art! I ordered it to be chocolate and I have to say it taste as good as it looks. The fondant was not too sweet but delicious enough to make you want more. I was so happy when someone at the salon said it tasted better than the Birkin cupcake at the Fullerton! Way to go Felicia! Whoever posted her blog address in my comments section, thank you for sharing.

Thank you Felicia, and the people at Passion, for helping me make this a special surprise for David.

Check out more of her delicious food designs at http://muffinsareuglycupcakes.wordpress.com/

Of Horses and Carriages

Last night, Elvin Ng and I were invited to the Singapore International Racing Festival Gala Dinner held at The Shangri-la Hotel.

I do not know much about horse-racing, but I love horses, and this year it is even closer to my heart because horse carriages were crafted as part of the festival.

I love horse carriages, because growing up in an era of automobiles,  there’s always a fascination with the older modes of transportation. Or maybe it’s just a simple case of  yearning for something you cannot get. We got a chance to see one of the six horse carriages outside the ballroom last night.

Princess Victoria

A group of musicians were seated in the horse carriage to entertain guests at the cocktail reception.

The closest I get to owning a horse!

In front of the Singapore International Racing Festival ice sculpture with Charlee

The whiff of chocolate was so tempting, but I was battling food poisoning yesterday, so I couldn't enjoy this lovely dessert.

Has any of you seen these carriages around?

This was outside Mandarin Gallery.

This was at Bt Panjang Plaza.

This was at Bugis Junction before moving to Raffles Plaza Park.

This was at Plaza Singapura.

This was at Junction 8.

My favourite horse carriage! This was at Raffles City before moving to Raffles Plaza Park.

They were on display at various locations in Singapore till 14 May. I would probably see all of it tonight at the race itself!

Star Awards 2010

I caught a bit of the re-run of Star Awards yesterday afternoon and I don’t know if it’s my ageing television or just simply the way sound is transmitted, but it did JJ Lin’s voice no justice. I’ve always been a fan of his because he’s a local singer/song writer who has displayed great talent and showmanship throughout the years.

He performed《无法克制》at the live venue, and his voice was crisp and confident even when it came to the high notes in the song. It was immaculate! But somehow on television, the power of his vocals failed to come through. In any case, he gave a flawless performance that night and I love it!

JJ Lin performing 《无法克制》on the second day of Star Awards 2010 held at Resort World Singapore, Compass Ballroom.

JJ and I at the post party!

The day of Star Awards happened to fall on my birthday (25 April), so before the whole frenzy began for hair and make-up, I had a sweet surprise backstage.

Winnie and Xing Ni quietly singing a birthday song for me.

Making my wish before cutting the "cake".

Mini-cake/Muffin. Winnie knows I'm cutting sugar so she made a really guilt-free one with no sugar! Aww...so sweet of her!

Me and my home-made "birthday" dinner. My mom cooked everything except for the chicken breast, which is my own salt-free, less oil recipe. I had chicken, egg, brown rice, vegetables and bittergourd beancurd soup. Yummy!

Oops...and everyone else was eating packed dinner provided. It's the company that matters!!

And then the frenzy began. As I was the first out on the red carpet, producers were calling and rushing everyone to standby. Ryan touching up my hair; Jeremy adjusting my outfit; Elaine finishing up with my make-up.

My fan club - Jolliteers

We stole a group photo before making our way to the ballroom. (From left to right) Belinda Lee, Priscelia Chan, Pan Ling Ling, Joanne Peh (me), Cai Peixuan, Jin Yinji, Yvonne Lim and Lin Meijiao.

The not-so-glamourous secret passageway that leads to the ballroom. Pan Ling Ling played my mom in The Little Nyonya, so I never stopped calling her mommy since then, athough Ling Ling is way too young to have me as her daughter. Still I just love her!

While we wait for the rest of our colleagues to come in after the red carpet, we decided to kill some time.

With the cast of YOUR HAND IN MINE, Zhang Yaodong (left) plays the love of my life and Shaun Chen (right) plays a baddie!

Huang Wenyong (left) and Chen Shucheng (right) are also part of YOUR HAND IN MINE.

Pierre Png plays my boyfriend in YOUR HAND IN MINE. Yes, I'm stuck between two guys, and as the drama unfolds, keep watching to see who I end up with. Weekdays, 7pm on Channel 8!

Chen Liping sporting a new haircut for her new drama. I love her image now, it's refreshingly different from her character currently in YOUR HAND IN MINE. This reminds me of Ellen Degeneres!

Some of the men that I have been paired with in dramas throughout my career. (From left to right) Tay Ping Hui, Qi Yuwu, Elvin Ng and Nat Ho.

Announcing the last position for the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes award. All my colleagues congratulated me prematurely while the presenters on stage took their time to announce the last name. I was so embarrassed! What if it's not me?!?!

The final 10 of us on stage.

April Delight

This has been a big month for me, in more ways than one. It started off with a Nespresso machine as a birthday gift.

Then there was winning the Media Darling Award in last Sunday’s (18 April 2010) Star Awards organised by MediaCorp Singapore.

My outfit for the night was a D&G ensemble. My stylist Jeremy improvised with the fishnet stockings and a bodysuit underneath because it was so sheer. I was freezing the whole night! The dress had to be flown back to Milan the next day.

Dolce and Gabbana Spring 2010 RTW

And a double birthday celebration from my fans!

After the awards, my very sweet fans were waiting for me outside and celebrated my birthday for me again. I say again because we had an earlier gathering to celebrate my birthday already!

I got cupcakes because they know I’m trying to stay trim and fit. How thoughtful!

High on Heels

I’m one of those people who get high on shoes, especially heels! There’s something delectable about stilettos that I can’t describe without sounding obsessed. It’s the way it’s made, and the way it makes me feel when I put them on.

What is it about expensive shoes that make them worth so much more?

I think it’s the ergonomics of the shoe. Expensive heels elongate your legs and adorn your feet so that they blend into your silhouette.

I am not a guru yet, but here’s my two cents worth based on my limited experience with Louboutins and Zanottis.

My pair of Christian Louboutin has a hidden platform so it’s very comfortable even at towering heights. So much so that I feel like I can prance around in them the whole day.

Giuseppe Zanotti on the other hand, forces my feet into an arch, so my calves are leaner, my butt is perkier and my back is slightly arched. Their shoes makes me feel sexy!

Giuseppe Zanotti heels galore! I'm so thrilled! Which ones do you like?

I like this pair...

...and this pair!

My ensemble for the 8DAYS event at Iluma. BCBG dress with Giuseppe heels.

Jade and I posing at the wall, with our covers behind us!

Besides the Press Conference…

好多人都在问我最近忙什么，什么时候能在电视上看到我，现在就跟大家说。
我正在拍摄长剧《想握你的手》。这部剧的拍摄从去年12月开始而将会在明年中结束。不过本剧将会在11月9日，晚上7点播出。播出的当儿呢，我们将会继续拍摄。现在我们已经拍摄到100集以上，还有80集哦，所以还是得花一段时间。

现在就和大家分享前天媒体招待会的幕后情况。

Many people have been asking me what I’ve been busy with lately and when will my next drama be on television. Thank you all for asking!

I am currently still filming the 180-episode long drama YOUR HAND IN MINE. Filming for this drama began last year in December and will end mid next year. Currently, we are done with about 100 episodes, so that leaves another 80 more to go. However, our drama will be coming to your television screens from November 9th onwards, every Mondays to Fridays, at 7 pm on Channel 8. This means that we will be filming while the drama is airing! It’s fun that none of us knows how it’s all going to end!

In the meantime, here’re some pictures taken during our press conference held for the media two days ago…

《想握你的手》主要演员. Cast of YOUR HAND IN MINE.

姚文龙和方展发。播映日期和时间在背后！Yao Wen Long and Pierre Png.

Chinese characters for "YOUR HAND IN MINE"。

媒体招待会还没开始之前，演员们在干什么呢？哈哈， 当然是拍照啊！

Before the cast goes on stage to meet the press, how do we pass time? It’s got to be massive photo-taking.

我好喜欢这个手镯。它很独特，而且色彩鲜艳！I love this bangle! Actually it is made up of 2 bangles and the multi-coloured skulls add a dash of fun to the otherwise typical design.

让你再看清楚一点：这是莫小玲的私家货。Take a closer look at this private stash that belongs to actress Patricia Mok.

在等待媒体招待会的当儿，我们就 “无聊” 起来。。。Nothing else better to do, we start photographing our expensive shoes.

还加入了不同款式。。。猜猜谁是谁？And we have additions to the family! Guess who's wearing what?

李心钰，莫小玲，白薇秀 (我），林湘萍，蔡佩璇 （左到右）。Belinda Lee, Patricia Mok, Joanne Peh (me), Yvonne Lim and Cai Peixuan. (left to right).

拍了鞋子，就低镜头拍脸，哈哈，我不小心按了 zoom 所以三人好挤。Bored with the shoes, we started experimenting with unflattering low angle shots. I accidentally hit the zoom button, that's why it's so tight.

莫小玲拍我在拍我们。哈哈！ Mok taking a photo of me taking a photo of us.

闹完自拍就拍别人。。。Done with self-portraits, I started playing paparazzi...

夫妻潘玲玲和黄世南。Married couple Pan Lingling and Huang Shinan.

还没有机会和大家拍照就得进场了。台上访问结束后，就和几位记者朋友私下聊了一点。随后就赶去录些预告片。一个人录没意思，所以就跟戏里面的情人搭档啦！

Before I had a chance to snap pictures of everyone, it was time to be on stage. We have a huge cast, so the interviews took some time. After which, I spoke privately with a couple of reporters quickly and had to proceed to shoot some trailers and interstitial. I was paired up with none other than my lover in the show!

张耀栋。Zhang Yaodong.

我们在为《想握你的手》录预告片，你们一定要留意收看。我们没有剧本，也没有台词，不过感觉很好。不是我老王卖瓜，而是耀栋和我在一起拍了这么长的时间，默契十足。题材原创于我们，蛮好玩，希望大家会喜欢。We are doing a trailer for YOUR HAND IN MINE. It's unscripted but after filming together for so long, we've got good chemistry. It's original material from us, so I hope all of you will like it. Stay tuned!

导演在向我们解释他的概念。The producer is explaining the premise of the trailer.

我们还录了中文的圣诞祝语，说了一堆无里头的话，哈哈哈！We also recorded a Christmas trailer in Mandarin so look out for it!