Celebrity Chow with actress Kate Pang

Celebrity Chow with actress Kate Pang

Choices, choices, choices.

We were at The Marshmallow Tree - a homely cafe in Telok Blangah - for breakfast and MediaCorp actress Kate Pang was deliberating over what to drink.

Like most pregnant women (she is 11 weeks along), she had struck caffeine off her list.

The 30-year-old bubbly Taiwanese newly-wed and first-time mum-to-be - she married local Taiwan-based actor Andie Chen last month - took a glance at the coffee-centric beverage menu and said: "I don't think there's anything suitable."

"Why not a hot chocolate?" I suggested off the top of my head.

It came down to personal experience - when I was pregnant, hot chocolate was the next best alternative to a good brew.

"Oh, that sounds great," she said, her eyes lighting up.

Pang, one of six contenders for Best Supporting Actress at tomorrow's Asian Television Awards 2013 for her role in the drama Joys Of Life, was in an upbeat mood.

As she dug into her chicken quiche, she candidly shared with me her pregnancy cravings and the removal of alcohol from her diet...

Any morning sickness

or weird cravings so far?

I used to enjoy eating healthy, but now, I would vomit at the sight of steamed vegetables, mushrooms and fish. I tend to prefer unhealthy stuff.

My cravings are super erratic. On different days, I'd crave for fried rice, biscuits, crabs, mooncakes and chicken legs.

The other day, I suddenly felt like eating pork ribs rice, which is a Taiwanese delicacy.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to find it in Singapore, neither do I know how to cook it.

Then, Andie had to add to my misery by showing off his delicious, authentic pork ribs rice over our Skype video call!

There are some foods that are apparently out for pregnant women, like sashimi. Minimise coffee intake and alcohol's totally out.

Yes, according to experts, one cup of coffee a day is all right. No alcohol for nine months is painful! (Laughs) I mean, who cares for coffee right. I'd rather switch coffee for alcohol.

But I'm determined to be a responsible mum, so I'm not going to take any risks. What if alcohol harms my baby? I'd be guilty forever.

When Andie was still living in Singapore, where would you go for romantic dates? Any interesting encounters over food?

He's not the romantic sort, nor a foodie. We're both very practical people. Our favourite place is Thomson Plaza because we live nearby and parking there is convenient.

By virtue of that fact, I still head there, but to be honest, I'm pretty sick of its food choices.

Well, there's one memorable encounter at a cafe.

It's quite hilarious, actually. We went there on one of our dates.

The waffles were amazing and Andie loved the place initially. He even said: "We can make this our regular haunt."

After his remark, the cafe owner walked over and asked me out of the blue: "Hey, where is the guy you came with last time?"

I was stunned because I don't remember being there before, let alone who I was with.

It was extremely embarrassing. Andie, of course, was miffed. He was adamant that we should not visit the cafe again.

So, a reminder to cafe bosses, don't shoot your mouths off. (Laughs)

Who's the better cook - you or Andie?

Of course I'm the better cook! I even taught him some dishes.

My love for cooking started when I was a child. I'd follow my grandma around the kitchen.

I can do spaghetti and most Chinese dishes.

That being said, cooking for or even eating out with Andie is no fun at all.

He's allergic to so many things - cucumber, eggs, crabs, soya sauce, basically anything that contains yeast.

If he eats any of these items, his skin would start itching badly and he would break out in pimple-like rashes.

So when we eat together, it's mostly steamboat. He likes chicken breast and vegetables.

keeyunt@sph.com.sg


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