My Perfect Weekend with model-actress mum Ase Wang

Who: Model-actress Ase Wang, who previously starred in Channel 5 series such as Tanglin (2015 to 2018), recently signed with local broadcaster Mediacorp’s The Celebrity Agency as one of its artistes.

The 41-year-old Singaporean of Chinese and Swedish descent is based in Bangkok, Thailand, with her husband, America-born Chinese entrepreneur Jonathan Lor, and their two-year-old daughter Kaya. She shuttles between Singapore and Thailand for work.

Wang, who conceived Kaya via in-vitro fertilisation, is a strong advocate of elective egg freezing for non-medical reasons to help women preserve their fertility – a procedure she underwent in 2018 in Thailand. Elective egg freezing was allowed in Singapore in 2022.

“My weekends are very different now that I’m a mother and everything is much more family-oriented. We like to take Kaya out for some activities over the weekends, be it going to the park or swimming or visiting the beach, since Bangkok is close to Pattaya and Hua Hin.

One thing we always do during weekends is go out for breakfast, and we love trying out different breakfast spots. Some of the places we frequent are the casual eatery Roast at The Commons, Thonglor, and Kay’s at Sukhumvit, which has great breakfast sets.

We also go to Sansiri Backyard at T77 Community in Sukhumvit, which is a park with a farm. There is a restaurant and a supermarket, and a chicken coop where the kids can collect eggs. Sometimes, you can pick your own fruit and vegetables there too. It is a really nice spot for families.

People tend to think of Bangkok as a city that does not have a lot for kids to do, but there are actually some really cool kid-friendly places. For Kaya’s second birthday this year, we celebrated at a kids’ cafe called Lilliput Thailand with a Madagascar safari-themed party because she loves animals.

Life does not stop just because my husband and I have a kid. We have a live-in nanny, so we still go out for date nights during weekends. Recently, we went to the members’ club Soho House, which just opened in Sukhumvit.

We also love going for dinner at Fatboy Izakaya in the Ekkamai district. It makes a really great Caesar salad, and I love its snow crab and avocado roll.

I spend time taking care of myself as well. I exercise a lot – I have a personal trainer who comes to my place on weekdays, but on weekends, I like to go for spin class.

I also pamper myself and get my hair and nails done when I have time.

My Bangkok salon recommendation is this chain salon that is famous among locals. It is called Panipa and it is not particularly fancy. There are several branches around Bangkok and the prices are affordable.

It is about 300 to 500 baht (S$11 to S$19) for a haircut or a manicure – depending on the length of your hair and the design of your nails – which is still definitely cheaper than the average salon.

The great thing about Panipa’s salons is that there are so many staff members that you can just walk in and get your hair and nails done at the same time, instead of doing one after the other. It’s a great time-saver.”