Celebrity Chow with YouTube child star and vegetarian Dr Jiajia

Kids say the funniest things, especially this one.

Lunching with local YouTube star Dr Jiajia proved to be a hilarious affair.

The precocious and bespectacled eight-year-old constantly foiled my attempts at conducting a serious interview, thanks to his inane and at times off-tangent answers. Sometimes he would parrot my words before breaking into uncontrollable giggles.

It is precisely this mischievous charm that has endeared him to netizens.

The Primary 3 pupil at Maha Bodhi Primary School shot to fame with his Singlish comic skits that also feature his brother Jin Chou, 14. They have nearly 53,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel and more than 47,000 followers on Facebook.

As we tucked into our meal at new meatless eatery, Beyond Veggie at Greenwood Avenue, Dr Jiajia devoured six slices of margherita pizza.

He was with his mum and older brother, who enjoyed dishes like fried oyster mushrooms, the restaurant's signature fried rice, and homemade tofu.

Dr Jiajia's family is vegetarian as they are against the killing of animals.

During the meal, he mused on his favourite animal ("I like the owl most, because I am like an owl. At night I don't want to sleep and in the morning, I want to go to bed") and recalled a character he played in his YouTube videos ("the uncle has very hairy armpits").

You have been a vegetarian since birth. Have you ever felt just a little tempted to try a hamburger?

No. Animals are my friends and I don't want to eat my friends.

I am participating in iFly Singapore's new charity initiative, So You Think You Can Fly, and one of the beneficiaries I'm representing is Save Our Street Dogs.

If we have school outings to burger places, I will order fries and a corn cup. Or my teacher will help me order a burger with just tomato and cheese, no meat inside.

What are your favourite foods? Anything you would never tire of eating?

I love margherita pizza. I can eat six slices in one sitting. That's my record so far.

When I was younger, I was quite fussy when it comes to vegetables. I refused to eat anything except broccoli. Now, I can take cabbage, cauliflower and potatoes.

Any foods you really don't like?

Bittergourd, dragon fruit, pineapples and durian. I can't stand the smell of durian.

What are some vegetarian restaurants you and your family like going to?

My brother (Jin Chou) likes Indian food, so my family likes going to Raj Restaurant in Little India. We also like Rice House at Geylang East, which has porridge, macaroni and soup noodles.

Occasionally, we go to Whole Earth and Miao Yi Vegetarian Restaurant.

Your mum is Taiwanese. Do you have any favourite foods from when you visit her hometown?

Vegetarian fish head beehoon. (Dr Jiajia's mum steps in and asks if he's sure there's such a dish in Taiwan.) Oh, I got it wrong! Okay, I like Taiwan's bubble tea.

Is your mum a good cook? What dish does she do best?

My mum does steamboat very well. My favourite part about steamboat is the Maggi noodles.

This article was published on May 21 in The New Paper.

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