'Don't talk when we are tired': Felicia Chin and Jeffrey Xu quarrelled over filming of new variety show

There can be trying moments when couples work together and Felicia Chin and Jeffrey Xu can attest to it.

AsiaOne recently spoke to them about their experiences managing a pasar malam stall for the upcoming variety show Pasar Malam Stars, and they admitted they ended up quarrelling during their discussion.

After they were given the food theme for their episode, the participants had to brainstorm for ideas.

While opponent team Darren Lim and Evelyn Tan were done with their discussions in half an hour and "looked like they were ready to go home and rest", things were less straightforward for Felicia, 38, and Jeffrey, 34.

Felicia shared with AsiaOne: "During our onscreen discussion, we thought of selling cold brew tea and Korean food and didn't come to a complete conclusion. We continued our discussions off screen…

"We only reached home at 1am and continued talking till 2am. I remember we even quarrelled till past 3am and didn't reconcile before going to bed."

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Though Felicia didn't share details of their tiff, it was contributed by their tiredness from the brainstorming process.

"There was still tension when we did our makeup for our shoot at 9am (the next day) and we didn't speak much. It was only after makeup that we hugged and kissed each other to reconcile," Felicia elaborated.

"Even though the theme (of our episode) is sweet love, there are always other flavours behind every relationship, like sourness, bitterness and spiciness. What matters is how we deal with these things. Our food also represents these flavours, for example, there are smoky paprika and salty flavours.

"The moral of the story is, don't talk when we are tired," Felicia concluded cheerfully, with Jeffrey laughing heartily with her.

In Pasar Malam Stars, the guests on each episode have to plan, prepare and manage a pasar malam stall selling foods that align with the given theme, and make a higher profit than their opponent team.

On the day of the competition, the stall will operate from 5pm to 9pm and the winners can keep their earnings.

'Marcus was the real MVP of our stall'

Jeffrey and Felicia were exceptionally thankful to Marcus Foo, Jeffrey's best man at his wedding, who is also the one of founders of the cafe Chye Seng Huat Hardware.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Felicia Chin 陈凤玲 (@iamfeliciachin)

Jeffrey shared: "Not only did the idea of Ice Shaken Lemon Tea come from Marcus, he also taught me how to make the drink according to the Chye Seng Huat recipe and explained the origin of the recipe, which had taken months of experimentation."

Foo also gave them the idea for their snack offering of codfish strips and helped them secure sponsors for their plastic cups and tea leaves.

"He is the real MVP of our pasar malam stall," Felicia chirped.

On the day of filming, Foo came with his family to support them, and one of Felicia's bridesmaids also came with her husband.

'I was a national softball player so I wanted to win'

Among the two of them, Felicia is the more competitive one, not least due to her athletic background during her school days.

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Felicia said: "Maybe because I used to be a national softball player, so I had the mindset of wanting to win."

Jeffrey was also inspired by Felicia, saying: "We had a half-time break and had an hour left. She told me, 'No matter whether we are ahead of or trailing behind the competition, let's just do our best in the remaining time!' I thought, 'Wow, that's really a strong sense of sportsmanship.'"

Both of them also agreed that it was a fun experience where they learnt "how to communicate, how to solve problems, and how to serve people".

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jeffrey Xu (@jeffrey_xu)

Jeffrey also found something else heartwarming, sharing: "Felicia received many gifts from stallholders and supporters, like portable electric and paper fans. It made me feel Singapore's kampung spirit, which I have not experienced before."

Having been born and raised in Singapore, pasar malam offerings are not unfamiliar to Felicia.

Felicia's favourites are local delights like tutu kueh, herbal tea egg, butter corn and Taiwanese sausage, whereas for Jeffrey, who was born in Shanghai, his favourites are more tied to his experiences on the show.

"I found the watermelon juice I drank after shooting particularly delicious. I really enjoyed the pancake I ate on the first day of filming too," he said.

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jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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