PUBLISHED ONJuly 24, 2024 1:25 AMByYeo Shu HuiWhile the cast of upcoming local drama Emerald Hill were mostly in an angsty mood for their scenes in Melaka last weekend, it was all fun and laughter after work.
Multiple Instagram Stories (IG) posted by actors including Romeo Tan, Aileen Tan and Hsiu Chieh-kai show them exploring the city and bonding over food.
Chieh-kai, who plays Jinhe, the second son of the wealthy Zhang family, posted IGs on July 17 of him taking a trishaw — Spider-Man-themed no less — and exploring the city.
Because he's playing a Peranakan in the drama, the 41-year-old Taiwanese actor had a full experience learning about the culture while he was there.
AsiaOne was invited to visit the filming at Melaka on July 20 to 22, and during an interview, Chieh-kai told us: "I explored a Pernankan museum and realised that a lot of aspects in our drama are very detailed [to the culture]. The details in the museum made me feel like I am back at my home in the drama. That was quite a special experience for me."
Chieh-kai added that he also had Nyonya dishes, which he had never tried before, and it was delicious.
He visited the restaurant Peranakan Place together with the other cast members including Aileen, Chen Tianwen, Tasha Low, Juin Teh and Romeo, with the latter two posting photos on their IGS on July 20.
Romeo, who plays Jinhe's brother Jinquan, also visited a bar called The Old Merchant, and enjoyed the live band performance with Chieh-kai, Juin, Jesseca Liu and Elvin Ng on July 20.
Besides that, he also posted a group photo taken at a Korean barbeque restaurant.
Romeo, 39, told AsiaOne: "One of the most anticipated things while filming overseas is for everyone to gather after filming to dine, chat and shop together."
He added that he's been to Melaka before on a one-day self-drive trip with friends previously, but didn't get the chance to explore the weekend market, so he looked forward to doing that while he was there.
The dinner at Peranakan Place wasn't the first time Aileen visited the restaurant, as she had actually been there a few days earlier on July 15 with veteran local actresses Zoe Tay and Chen Huihui, and actor Tyler Ten. Zoe was there on a one-day trip.
The 57-year-old actress, who plays Fengjie, the owner of a private social club in the drama, told us: "When we arrived in Melaka with Zoe on July 15, we went around eating and playing. We can have three lunches a day.
"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit into my qipao, so I kept telling her to go back to Singapore quickly, if not I really wouldn't be able to fit into the qipao and would get a scolding from the executive producer! My qipao is very expensive, it costs $500 a piece, so I treasured it a lot."
Watch out for our E-Junkies video with Jesseca, Chieh-kai, Romeo, Ferlyn, Aileen, Tasha, Juin, Zhang Zetong and Huihui!
Emerald Hill also stars Chen Liping, Shaun Chen, Dawn Yeoh, Chantalle Ng, Zhu Zeliang and Priscelia Chan, with Jeanette Aw reprising her role as Yamamoto Yueniang from The Little Nyonya, and is expected to premiere in the first half of 2025.
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