Bubble tea with Mark Lee, pig trotters with Jack Neo next for fried chicken mogul Nono?

Today, fried chicken. Tomorrow, world domination.

Taiwanese comedian turned F&B mogul Nono Chen already has a successful fried chicken chain Monga, with over 45 outlets in his homeland, but his sights are set on conquering the rest of the F&B market next.

The 48-year-old was in Singapore on Sept 27 to celebrate Monga's first outlet here and wasted no time in coming up with new business ideas with his celeb pals.

Nono, who also owns the bubble tea brand Hua Xian Mu Lan, told reporters, "I hear that bubble tea is very popular in Singapore. I hope to work with Mark Lee to bring Hua Xian Mu Lan to Singapore soon."

There's no word on whether comedian Mark, who also has a chicken rice chain 13 Stages, is on board, but director Jack Neo also got in on the brainstorming.

He suggested that Nono open a shop with him selling pig's trotters, saying, "I've always wondered why nobody is bringing it to Singapore. When I was filming in Taichung, I had delicious pig trotters there but there isn't a similar one in Singapore."

While it remains to be seen whether those ideas would be hatched, Nono already has plans for a second Monga outlet in the east.

For Nono, choosing Singapore as one of the locations for expansion was a no-brainer.

"Singapore is my second home. I go overseas a lot but this is one of the countries that I visit most often. The food here is good and most importantly, my good friends are here," he told us, citing Mark Lee, Jack Neo and singer A-Do as some of his buddies.

When asked about his favourite local hangouts, Nono, who has a five-year-old daughter with singer Angel Chu, 34, admitted that they have changed since he became a dad.

"Before I had my daughter, I would go anywhere freely. If I wanted to watch a movie then I would just go. But now my life revolves around my daughter and the family's routines."

Nono said that now his favourite spots in Singapore are family-friendly destinations such as Universal Studios and Sentosa.

He might be busy growing his F&B empire and being a family man, but Nono, who rose to fame on variety shows alongside funnymen Jacky Wu and Kang Kang, said that TV would always be his passion.

"Variety shows are my main job and I will never give up on them because I love bringing laughter and entertainment to people," he said.

"The success of my F&B ventures is also in part thanks to the support that I get from my variety career and friends in showbiz," he continued.

Could a reunion with buddies Jacky and Kang Kang be on the cards? Fans of the trio would be happy to know that it could happen in the future. 

According to Nono, they are still close and working together is just a matter of time.

"Do I still contact them? How can I not contact them? People always tell us to get together to host another variety show. As for when, I'll have to give them a call."

kimberlylim@asiaone.com