Former 90s stars Huang Yiliang and Cherie Lim make acting comeback in kopitiam microdrama

SINGAPORE – After months of making headlines for his eventful foray into the hawker trade, Huang Yiliang is heading back to more familiar territory – acting.

The 65-year-old former actor, who has been running seafood stall Old Fisherman at Circuit Road Hawker Centre since February, will make his return to the small screen in new local microdrama BingBingBiangBiang Kopidiam.

In a case of art imitating life, Huang plays Ah Liang, the new towkay of a kopitiam stall selling crab bee hoon called That Stall.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Aug 21 at the Singapore Expo for the BingBingBiangBiang Kopidiam press event, Huang said he never thought of returning to acting after 19 years, as he is focusing on his hawker business.

His last TV outing was Channel 8’s 2007 drama The Golden Path. He later acted in two films where he served as director – thriller Autumn In March (2009) and comedy My Ghost Partner (2012).

Huang admitted he was initially reluctant to act again as he did not understand the microdrama format. However, it was when his friends and former Mediacorp colleagues Cassandra See and Jason Oh convinced him to “play himself” that he agreed to perform again.

Helmed by veteran TV producer Michael Woo, known for producing hit local series including Don’t Worry, Be Happy (1996 to 2001), BingBingBiangBiang Kopidiam is a 100-episode three-minute sitcom inspired by everyday Singapore life.

Set in a neighbourhood coffee shop, its stories revolve around the colourful characters and encounters that unfold over kopi and meals, with some plots drawing inspiration from incidents that have gone viral online.

The microdrama is set to premiere in mid-September on Bing Bing Biang Biang Squad’s social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Bing Bing Biang Biang Squad is a live commerce channel founded by See, Oh and actress Constance Song.

Besides Huang, the production stars other familiar 1990s Mediacorp personalities, including See, Oh, Song, Cherie Lim, Tang Miaoling, Apple Hong, Jin Yinji and Joy Yak.

Huang said he also eventually signed on as he had received much support from them since he started Old Fisherman. He added that they also stood by him throughout the tumultuous few months when he was embroiled in a highly publicised dispute with the operator of a neighbouring chicken rice stall.

Huang made headlines on May 6 after a five-second video went viral online showing a heated argument between him and the 50-year-old female owner. Huang alleged that she had spread rumours about him having an improper relationship with his stall assistant.

Tensions escalated on May 10, when Huang claimed he was struck from behind by the chicken rice stall owner’s husband and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. A police report was subsequently made.

While Huang did not want to comment on the status of the police investigations, he said he and the chicken rice stall owner are no longer on speaking terms.

“A line has been drawn, and we have no dealings with each other any more.”

He is also running Old Fisherman without any assistant, explaining that it is too costly to hire someone, with many people “complaining that either the pay is too low or the hours are too long”.

Huang admitted that running a one-man operation is tiring, but he is making more money now as he pockets whatever profit he makes. To ensure his customers do not wait too long, he now focuses only on his signature dish – crab bee hoon. He is thankful that business is relatively brisk and his food still draws queues.

Now, he will have to juggle the demands of hawker life with filming. But it has been manageable so far, as filming is done on Mondays, which are his days off.

For Huang, going back to his former craft was relatively easy. What has been challenging is keeping up with the fast-paced filming required of microdramas. “I’m so old already,” he said, laughing.

Meanwhile, Huang is not the only familiar face returning to the spotlight.

Former actress Lim, who has largely gone under the radar since leaving show business in 1994, is also making an acting comeback in BingBingBiangBiang Kopidiam.

Lim, who married Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim in 2003, has kept a relatively low public profile over the past three decades.

She said friendship was one of the reasons she agreed to return, revealing that the idea for the project grew when they rallied around Huang during his recent troubles.

“I don’t like how (Huang) is always portrayed as the villain when he is not... people see from only one side during the controversy,” Cherie Lim, 56, told ST.

Returning to acting after more than 30 years, however, has required some adjustment. Lim plays nosy fried chicken rice stall owner Bing Bing, the “ji po” (Chinese for busybody) in the coffee shop.

Lim joked that she had to “start the engine” again and get back into the swing of things. Memorising Chinese dialogue, she added, has also proved challenging.

When asked if she worries about criticism that her acting chops are not up to par, an unfazed Lim said: “You cannot please everyone in the world... people will always say what they like.”

She added: “As long as you’re doing something you like and if it helps people laugh, I think that’s good enough. We don’t have to answer to everybody.”

Lim joked that her only concern is that her facial flaws due to ageing will be “magnified” because of modern high-definition cameras.

“People age – you age, I age. If they can accept me, it’s good. If they cannot accept, then what can I do?”