Best Things Under S$10: Chua Wei Ping

SINGAPORE — Mother knows best, it seems. At least for Chua Wei Ping, the Y.E.S. 93.3FM DJ who helms the weekend Good Evening show.

It’s clear Chua’s mum remains a key inspiration for her. “My mother is a very strong woman,” said Chua, adding that her father passed away 36 years ago. “She worked very hard and brought up my sister and I singlehandedly. She’s a very noble mother. She sacrificed a lot and did everything without any help.”

According to Chua, she has inculcated her mother’s lessons, like keeping her daughters, Claire and Chloe, away from carbonated drinks. “I don’t like to let them drink soft drinks; they’re bad for health,” she said, although she cheekily recalled sneaking some back in Primary School, where her mother worked as a store vendor.

Although she said she isn’t a great cook, Chua, who also fronts the programme House Of Style and moonlights at live music cafes, heaped kudos on her daughters — who, although aged 10 and eight, already have hopes to own a bakery in the future. “My daughters are very nice — they say my food is nice no matter what I cook! They are very appreciative whenever I spend time to cook for them. And I’m also happy because even if my dish is not yummy, they think it is!

“But my mum cooks better than me so I leave the job to the chef. When I try to do ‘hands on’, she will nag me and I’ll be like ‘okay, you do, lah!’,” she laughed.

Chua confessed that she can’t stay away from her mother’s mouth-watering specialties, which include spicy curry chicken and Hokkien delights like lor bak (braised pork), orh kueh (steamed yam cake) and glutinous rice kueh. “I really like her herbal soups like her hei ji (black herbal chicken) and shan yao (mountain yam) soup, which she leaves out for me when I come back home late. She knows I need a lot of soup to soothe my throat so I think it’s very sweet.”

> BREAKFAST: Porridge from Rong Ji Chicken Rice And Porridge at 247 Joo Chiat Place (S$9.80 for two bowls of porridge and a plate of steamed chicken for two people). I usually get home too late to talk to her, and in the day I’m busy so she doesn’t talk to me, so breakfast is the time we usually get together. After I send my girls to school, we go to the market, then I take her for breakfast. She gets very happy because we finally have time to talk. Then she’ll tell me all her stories and I’ll listen!

> LUNCH: Fish soup at Haig Road market (about S$4). It’s a Teochew fish soup store that sells very nice, nutritious and healthy fish soup. My mum’s already 64 years old and she has cholesterol problems, so I think more about her health now, compared to before when we didn’t hold back on food. We used to eat a lot of seafood but now I try not to let her have so much ... unless she really wants it, then of course, I’ll do it for her.

> DINNER: Uno Beef House at Toa Payoh Lor 5. My mom loves the chicken chop. It’s S$6.80. And the pasta is also good and it’s only S$8. CHRISTIE YEO