Mobile WorldFriday, 06 February 2009

20 Questions with Angel Wong

- MW TeamBetter known as Chui Ling to her legion of fans, she is a veteran in hosting andemceeing. Since moving to Malaysia fromHong Kong nearly a decade ago, the chattycelebrity has no plans of leaving. MobileWorld gets to know the real person behind a big voice.

You are said to be a workaholic. Is thattrue?

Well, I was but I have improved in the recentyears. Over the last 3 to 4 years I learnt howto relax. I’ll be working the whole year andfor two weeks I’ll disappear somewhere for aholiday. I can’t stay in Malaysia because I’ll be tempted to work. Today is a goodexample. I’m supposed to be off. But I loveevery bit of what I’m doing so it’s OK.

We’ve seen you a lot on TV this year.What is keeping you busy these days?

I’m involved with a couple of projects that will hit the screens next year. First is a woman’s of talk show called Ladies Sdn Bhd. I’ll be hosting with two other girls, Vivian Tok and Lynn Lim. Canyou imagine 3 of us talking at the same time? We’ll be touching a lot of rather sensitive relationshiptopics, so keep your Sunday nights free and tuned into Astro Wah Lai Toi. Also, I just got back from Beijing filming a Feng Shui related program but details are hush hush at the moment. Another thing is I’m coming up with 2 books which are long overdue. One is a food glossary and one ismore personal, based on my Drivetime Mall segment on My FM.

How is it like hosting the Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant?

Initially, I was supposed to be a judge then they roped me in as a host and this is the 3rd year already. I think it is more challenging for the participants. For me, I need to be in control during theelimination rounds because emotions can get out of hand. Also to make my hosting more efficient, Ineed to get to know each girl.

Beauty pageants are often said to demean women. What’s your take on that?

I do think beauty pageants look for a certain type of girl. She has to fit a list of criteria. At least,now they are stressing on a lot of other aspects besides physical beauty. They are required to doTVCs, hostings, debates and so on. I feel most of the participants are quite sheltered by their family.One even drove a BMW to the audition.

With so many girls squeezed under one roof and pressured to outdo one another, are there anycatfights?

Catfights are very rare but from time to time there are a few troublemakers. More often that not,these troublemakers are eliminated in the early rounds. This is a good stepping stone for those whowant to join the entertainment scene so most of them are well behaved.

You are such a successful TV host. What are your secrets?

What is most important is to do your homework and research before any show so you don’t end upasking stupid questions and embarrassing yourself. I also prep myself in between shoots so as not towaste anyone’s time. For example in One Day Five Meals, the segment for each meal is about 10minutes but I spend about 1 to 2 hours prepping the bosses and breaking the ice with them. That’swhy they seem natural on camera. Good time management is also vital to keep your life in a balance.

Have you had any bad experience on One Day Five Meals?

Prior to shooting, we will recce the place first. It is important to make sure that the food werecommend are good because it’s my name on the line. There are cases where some places closeddown before we aired the episode and there was one time this guy moved his stall. I also tell themto serve me the correct portions because viewers will expect the same portions when they eat there.

How do you stay healthy with all that eating?

This is one of the most common questions asked. For about two weeks when we shoot the series, Ihardly get any sleep. I need to get up about 5am for make up and start shooting by 7am. We willonly wrap up at about 1am so I only get to sleep by 2.30am. How can I gain any weight when Ihardly get rest? Not to mention I do my own scriptwriting. I also try and do 15 minutes of yogaevery day.

After sampling a wide variety of Malaysian food, what are your favourites?

There is a place in Rawang that sells the most delicious winter melon soup ever. Too bad I forgothow to get there. I also like sang har yee mee which I can’t find in Hong Kong. But I wouldn’ttouch the durian. It tastes weird. I prefer stinky tofu!

How did you realise you got a knack for hosting?

I didn’t. Way back in school I always got picked to represent them in solo verse speaking and I keptthinking normal people don’t speak like that. This sounds so weird. I was also very talkative in classand often got into trouble because of that. Now I tell my teachers that my talking skills finally paidoff. For inspiration I watch Larry King. He is my idol (laughs).

You have a degree in genetics engineering. Any plans to go back into that?

The funny thing was a pharmaceutical boss offered me a job in his company via Facebook but Idon’t think I’ll go that way.

Hosting wrecks your vocal cords. How do you keep yours in good condition?

Actually I’m lazy to take care of it properly but I do follow some rules. Off screen or off stage I’mon what I call the slur mode so I minimise using those cords. I also avoid clubs and karaoke asmuch as possible. You need to scream to be heard and I’m already partially deaf, thanks to my job.I’d rather hang out in a lounge with friends or spend time with my babies, my 4 dogs.

I noticed your phone is pretty busy. What model are you using currently?

Right now I have a Sony Ericsson T650i. Ever since I started using mobile phones, this is my 20-something phone. I always need to replace the phone not because I lose them but because it breaks.

Wow! What do you do to those phones? Put them in a torture chamber?

Erm…I’m a very heavy user and not very diligent in taking care of them. I mean after the first threedays I tend to be quite rough. Besides I’m always on the phone for business and personal reasons. Ialso use the camera a lot.