VETERAN actor and food critic Moses Lim got tongues wagging in May, thanks to his dramatic weight loss.

Where he once tipped the scales at 125kg, he is now a much trimmer 95kg. He lost the weight over a period of three years, and there was speculation that he had suffered a heart attack.

Speaking to my paper at a press event for Marina Mandarin Singapore hotel's Hong Kong street-food buffet at Aquamarine restaurant last Wednesday, he set the record straight.

'It's not true. I wasn't sick and I have never had a heart attack in my life,' said the 60-year-old, who endorses Singapore- based slimming product Xndo, which he says is responsible for his weight loss.

But some feel that Lim, who built his name on being a roly-poly comedian, is losing his X factor.

Civil servant Abdul Muhaimeen, 23, who was a fan of local 1990s sitcom Under One Roof, which starred Lim, said that when he thinks of the actor, he pictures a 'round and funny person'.

'But with him being slimmer now, it makes me wonder if he still has what it takes to crack people up,' said Mr Abdul.

Lim, a father of two, doesn't give that sort of talk much thought. He's healthier, happier and is moving on from the entertainment scene anyway.

At the Aquamarine event, for example, he acted as a consultant, helping to come up with the menu for the buffet, which offers popular fare, ranging from dim sum to claypot dishes.

Marina Mandarin executive chef Tony Khoo said: 'Moses helped to advise us on the dishes that should be served at the buffet. He knows a lot about Hong Kong food, so he was very helpful.'