Kit Chan returns to dramaland

SINGAPORE — Yes, it is official: Kit Chan will return to dramaland after a hiatus of more than a decade.

She will be starring in upcoming Toggle Web series, Patisserie Fighting, an eight-episode drama about baking that is set to premiere next year. The series also features Taiwanese actor Chris Lee, who was last seen in Toggle Originals, Trapped Minds.

The popular homegrown singer-actress’ last drama was 2004’s Cash Is King, which co-starred Taiwan actor Chin Han and Hong Kong actress Michelle Yim.

“Wow, I think it’s been 15 years since I last filmed a drama,” Chan, 44, chuckled. “I’ve never rejected the idea of acting or being in a drama, but because I’m so used to a singer’s routine, I find an actor’s schedule too hard to handle,” she said.

“It’s not that being a singer is easier or harder, but the rush to complete filming means that we usually sleep late and wake up really early the next day, so that was really difficult for me to get used to,” she explained. “Since this is only an eight-episode drama, I think I can handle that.”

An avid baker herself, she says her favourite baked goodies are “classics”, namely pound cakes and oatmeal raisin cookies. “I usually bake a lot when I’m resting — I like things such as cakes because it’s something you can keep for a long time (after baking it). Even when I’m stressed, I’m not the type who likes to eat fancy-looking things. A simple cookie or slice of cake and a glass of milk will do the trick,” she mused. Chan also casually let slip that she is more of a foodie than her husband, who is simply known as “Han”.

So does she have any plans to restrict her diet for her comeback performance on TV? “Being in front of the camera is really terrible because you end up looking bigger than you actually are. That being said, I’ve let go of a lot of things and I think it’s fine as long as I don’t look too big on screen,” she chuckled in reply.

At least we know whatever Chan makes will look legit. Her close friend and fellow songbird, Tanya Chua, who went to Paris for a three-month baking course to hone her skills, has promised to teach her how to make sweet bread when time allows. “When I saw the sweet treats that she made while she was there, I was like ‘Wow’ and felt that she was really talented ... I really love Paris and I’ve actually thought of going there to learn French (instead of baking),” she said. “I don’t have any definite plans for that now and this is just a dream that I don’t know when I’ll be able to fulfil.”

For the moment, Chan will be spending the rest of the year filming for Patisserie Fighting and has shelved plans for other projects.

“I requested to take time off to guest at Tanya’s upcoming concert and they were able to fit it in to our filming schedule,” she shared. “I actually did reject quite a number of offers because of this drama, but that’s okay!”

PASTRY CHEFS IN THE MAKING

To prepare for the show, Chan and Lee went through a six-hour training session at Brettschneider’s Baking & Cooking School, which was helmed by international baker Dean Brettschneider.

It was serendipitous, as Chan said she had actually enquired about the same school’s classes earlier this year, with the intention of signing up for some lessons. She never got around to doing it because of her busy schedule. “I figured I could now come for classes and be working at the same time by saying yes (to being in this drama),” she said, grinning.

Asked to rate her performance after the class, Chan gave herself an eight out of 10, joking that her creations “weren’t that much worse-looking as compared to the chef’s”.

On the other hand, Lee, who stepped off the plane and into the imaging studio a day before training, had a harder time with the baking session. “The hardest part of my role is probably the baking itself,” he laughed. “The class was rather tough, partially because it was conducted in English and because I don’t really have a sweet tooth.”

Revealing that he did not know that he would be starring alongside Chan when he accepted the offer, he said: “I saw her on I Am A Singer 3 and I really respect her, so I felt nervous when I found out that she’d be my co-star just before I flew here.”

He continued: “Kit has done a musical with Jacky Cheung (and I felt pressured because I know who she is) but she made me feel really comfortable around her from day one. My impression of her is the best.

“I thought that she’d be really feminine because of the way she sings — the mental image I had of her was that she talks softly, does things slowly and is very refined. Of course, she’s really refined but I don’t feel that there’s an unbridgeable gap between us.”

Chan added that working with a younger co-star does not make her feel any pressure. For the self-assured star, she “has accepted that my future co-stars are likely going to be younger than me, anyway”. TOGGLE

Patisserie Fighting is slated for a 2017 release on Toggle.