My Perfect Weekend with actress and entrepreneur Irene Ang

Who: Comedienne, actress and artiste management agency Fly Entertainment’s founder Irene Ang, 55, who stars in the Mediacorp series To Be Loved, which is available on mewatch. The finale of the 20-parter airs on Channel 8 on May 24 at 9pm.

In the series, she stars as a housewife whose son, played by Ayden Sng, becomes depressed due to the high expectations placed on him.

Outside acting, Ang launched the IAmCasting app in December 2023 to simplify the casting process for the industry and Asian creative talents. 

“On weekends, I want to recharge spiritually, mentally and physically.

I go for a swim or walk, which is a love I developed during Covid-19. I never used to go on walking tours, but during that period, I joined some local ones. 

There was one around Labrador Park led by an uncle who has Parkinson’s disease. You can walk all the way to VivoCity and go up to Mount Faber and down to HortPark in Queenstown. Now that I’m more familiar with the routes, I’m the one leading my friends on these walks.

I usually start walking at about 5pm, or if I want to do a longer walk, I start at 4.30pm and walk for an hour or two, covering 5 to 6km. I’m a sunset chaser. My motivation for walking is not only to sweat and exercise, but also to catch the sunset. 

I like walking from Gardens by the Bay to Tanjong Rhu, where there is the most beautiful skyline of Singapore with the sunset if you reach at about 6.30pm.

Walking to me is not just an exercise, but also time to reflect on things that have happened. As an entrepreneur, there are many things I need to solve, and walking is akin to meditation. It helps me feel calmer and I can think more clearly. I try to arrange a walk with friends at least once every month.

I prefer to walk on Saturdays so that I have a day to rest on Sunday before going back to work.

As for Sundays, I consider it my Sabbath. I wake up at my own time and don’t really have a schedule to follow. 

Sometimes, I explore different food places with my family. My younger sister and her husband, who are the family’s foodies, always have suggestions and recommendations.

We like to drive up to Johor Bahru in Malaysia to have hotpot because there are always such new places sprouting up there.

Hotpot is good for families because everyone can eat what they like. I prefer mushrooms, vegetables and prawns, and avoid processed food, while my sister loves eating meatballs, seafood balls, prawn balls and so on.

On my own, I attend service at New Creation Church, either in person or online. 

Sundays are also my self-learning days. I like to read or watch educational videos on YouTube, such as those about artificial intelligence or new skills like how to best use free ChatGPT. I like these things that can enhance my knowledge. 

During Covid-19, I also discovered the joy of Bollywood movies, which I watch at home. I’m a huge fan of them. I’ve probably watched over 100 at this point.

I love that so many of them are based on true events, and they’re so inspiring, like the film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020) on Netflix, about one of the first Indian female pilots to fly in combat. 

I take a lot of strength and inspiration from these movies because life as an entrepreneur can be a bit lonely. Other people may quit their jobs, but as the founder, I cannot just walk away.”