Elvin Ng's weird quirk that might gross you out and other surprising things about local celebs

Who knew prim and proper Elvin Ng is "addicted" to sniffing his stinky watch strap, while Ya Hui used to be known by her English name?

Several local celebs recently participated in an online trend sweeping through Taiwan which called for people to share "five points about me which may surprise you".

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, the artistes gamely revealed their weirdest quirks — those that they are willing to share, of course.

And Elvin, 41, surprisingly did not hold back.

What probably had us a little shook was Elvin's odorous confession — the actor admitted that he enjoys sniffing his leather watch strap which he wears for months at a time — for a whiff of that icky, sweaty funk. Yes, let that sink in.

In fact, he went so far as to admit that he has an addiction to the stench smell. "It makes me feel refreshed and I get hooked!"

Elvin also disclosed how he would "share the good fortune" by inviting his close artiste friends to take a whiff from his wristwatch. Eww.

Other surprising quirks about the actor? How about that he's scared of lizards or that he can't live without tissues?

The latter might be in part due to the fact that Elvin is lactose intolerant. He shared that "90 per cent of the time" when he has to do a "number 2", it's usually a case of diarrhoea.

"I'm lactose-intolerant, but I don't watch what I eat — I love milk products, laksa, curry, coconut and mala." Erm, TMI? 

Jesseca Liu couldn't differentiate fish from chicken meat

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Jesseca Liu may seem like a domestic goddess now based on the cooking videos she posts on social media, but she revealed that it's a recent transformation.

"When I was 20-something, I couldn't even differentiate between chicken meat and fish," the lanky actress divulged.

In what sounds like a flex to us, Jesseca also shared how her independent streak before marrying fellow artiste Jeremy Chan brought her on many solo trips around the world, including hiking in the Nepalese mountains.

What we can't imagine though, is Jesseca as a naughty kid who would challenge boys to fights, or how she sneaked out of their kampung in Malaysia at night (appointing her younger sister as a lookout) to go and buy snacks.

"I'm not as gentle as everyone thinks," laughed Jesseca.

Ya Hui's forgotten English name

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Serene Koh, is that you? Yes, that was Ya Hui's English moniker, once upon a time. The actress shared that the name was given by her elder brother.

"Because I was very active, he gave me the name Serene, hoping that I would be more gentle. But after some time I felt the name really didn't suit me, so I didn't use it."

The actress also admitted to being a sentimental person who still keeps stuff from her kindergarten days, along with all the scripts from her time as a Star Search contestant back in 2007. Hoarder much?

Another surprising secret that's out of the bag is something not even her parents know.

"When I was in primary school, I pretended I couldn't see clearly in order to get prescription glasses, because I thought they looked pretty.

"I wasted a lot of my parents' money; I think they still don't know about this!" shared Ya Hui. Well, now they do.

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candicecai@asiaone.com