PUBLISHED ONApril 29, 2026 10:19 AMBYYeo Shu HuiHuang Yiliang might have left showbiz for years, but he has not been forgotten by friends.
In a Facebook post on April 27, the 64-year-old former actor posted photos of local television directors, producers and former actors Yang Libing and Lin Yisheng dining at his hawker stall Old Fisherman, which is located in Circuit Road Hawker Centre.
He wrote in the caption of the post: "Thanks to the drama department's 'big shots'... Thank heavens for giving me face."
Yiliang debuted in local showbiz in 1985 and was a familiar face on TV screens, including in My Genie (2001-2002), Home in Toa Payoh (2003), Holland V (2003) and Women of Times (2006), winning Best Supporting Actor at the annual Star Awards a record three times.
He was married to veteran actress Lin Meijiao, 62, from 1991 to 1997, and they have one daughter, local actress Chantalle Ng, 30.
Yiliang left Mediacorp in 2008 to run his own movie production company and plumbing business, of which the latter is still in operation. He is now remarried with a son, 21.
Libing and Yisheng, like Yiliang, were active on TV from the 1980s to the 2000s.
In recent years, Yiliang was involved in a series of legal troubles, including a 10-month prison sentence in 2021 for assaulting a Bangladeshi worker. In 2024, he was fined $3,000 and disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for five years after hitting a cyclist with a van.
In February, he set up Old Fisherman, with the aim of selling restaurant-quality seafood dishes at affordable prices.
He spent $20,000 setting up the stall, including kitchen equipment from online shopping platform Taobao.
The Straits Times reported on April 11 that Yiliang also operates a wet market stall selling seafood at MacPherson Market.
He said the idea to venture into F&B came to him while he was in prison, where he interacted with cellmates who had experience in the industry.
He added that he learnt to make his crab bee hoon after asking over 20 chefs for tips and refining his recipe for over a decade.
He told the newspaper: "There is no harm in trying. If I cannot make it, I can close the stall in two years. It is like movie-making. I want to test my limits and see how far I can go."
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