Home-grown chef and restaurateur Bjorn Shen is well known in the culinary scene here, but on a recent trip to Hong Kong, all he could do was eat humble pie.
This is all documented in the new TV series The Ultimate Brocation, where the 34-year-old is seen holidaying in Hong Kong with four other loud male personalities: Filipino singer Billy Crawford, Thai radio host DJ PK (short for Piyawat Kempetch), Malaysian rapper Sona One and Hong Kong action star Philip Ng.
None of the guys knew one another before getting together for the show, but Shen realised just how popular the others were as soon as he arrived in the city.
The owner of restaurants Artichoke and Bird Bird tells The Straits Times: "My entire role on this trip was to be the guy who holds the camera to take pictures of them with their fans.
"Everywhere I went, people wanted to take pictures with them. When we were walking through the crowds in Jordan with Philip, he was like Moses parting the Red Sea. When I ate in a Thai restaurant with PK, the staff freaked out.
"There was a lot screaming from girls everywhere and we needed security. The other guys didn't freak out because they're used to it, but I freaked out on their behalf."
In the five-episode series produced by Hong Kong-based TV channel Kix, the guys are seen eating and partying their way through Hong Kong - all without their other halves or children in tow.
When the producers first roped in Shen for the show, he admitted to having some reservations.
Shen, who is married to Ms Roxanne Toh, who handles administration and human resources for his eateries, says: "When it's just a bunch of dudes on a trip, things can get crazy very quickly. I've been on a number of these 'brocations' with my own bros myself, so I know.
"I had concerns over the dynamics among the guys because we didn't know one another. The thing is, there is a fine line between a prank and a felony - if you know them and you pull down their pants, that's a prank. But if you have no chemistry, that's a crime."
Fortunately, he had nothing to worry about because he quickly discovered that the others were all as easygoing as him.
"I think we all went into the show with very positive and chill mentalities, so there was very little ego among us.
"Now I have pictures of them p***ing. We still chat with one another every day on WhatsApp, where we send one another obscene images," says the straight- talking chef.
In fact, they bonded on the first day they met, especially after a challenge where they were split into two teams to compete on reaching Victoria Peak as fast as they could.
He recalls: "I won't tell you which team won, but even the losers didn't feel like losers because we were all just so happy to get up there.
"We shared a tender, mushy moment where we squeezed one another's butts. Philip wasn't there that day, but if he was, I'm sure we would have all taken our clothes off."
• The Ultimate Brocation premieres on Kix (Singtel TV Channel 309 and StarHub TV Channel 518) tonight at 9pm.
