My Perfect Weekend with Shero actress Cheryl Chou

Who: Actress-host Cheryl Chou is a new addition to local broadcaster Mediacorp’s stable of talent. The Miss Universe Singapore 2016 winner has years of training in cinematic martial arts and will put that to good use in the upcoming Channel 8 series Shero. She plays a female bodyguard alongside actresses such as Carrie Wong and Joanne Peh. The series premieres on Monday at 9pm.

 The 27-year-old – an only child – relocated to China at eight when her parents moved there for work. She came back to Singapore in 2015 to study fashion media at Lasalle College of the Arts. Her parents have since returned to Singapore as well.

“When I am not working, I am a homebody. It gets quite tiring being out on the weekends, so I prefer to spend time with my family, and baking and cooking.

I started being more active in the kitchen when I first moved out of my parents’ place at 18 to go to college in Hong Kong, before moving to Singapore a year later in 2015 to study at Lasalle.

I learnt to cook for myself then and that was when I really found joy in experimenting in the kitchen. Whenever I am free and have a craving, I whip something up. It is very therapeutic.

I spent the whole of the circuit breaker period analysing how to make the perfect bread because I am a huge carbs person. During my Miss Universe Singapore days, I spent some time in the Philippines. They eat this traditional bread roll called pandesal, which is one of the first few breads I learnt to make. 

I have a sweet tooth, so I make cakes and cookies too. I get recipe ideas from scrolling through food accounts on TikTok or Instagram, and I recently made almond cranberry cookies. Most of my bakes are vegan or dairy-free because I am lactose-intolerant.

As for cooking, I am quite good at double-boiled soups because my family is Cantonese. I have become really good at vegetarian soups. I am an animal lover, so I have been mostly meat- and dairy-free in the last 10 years, and it is just easier to cook at home.

It can be quite hard to find vegan dairy alternatives like vegan butter or vegan condensed milk, so I sometimes make an exception with the dairy.

But there are definitely more vegan and vegetarian options in Singapore now. For example, there is a vegan supermarket called Everyday Vegan Grocer in Haji Lane which has a lot of dairy-free ingredients. There are also more plant-based meats.

Outside the kitchen, I enjoy going on hikes. I usually go for long walks, between two and four hours, along the MacRitchie Nature Trail or Rifle Range Nature Park. Sometimes, I will even walk from Rifle Range to MacRitchie.

I recently went hiking with my Shero castmates Tay Ying and Grace Teo. It really made for good bonding time.”