Lydia Sum’s Daughter Joyce Cheng Is Looking For “A Wealthy Businessman Who Wants To Throw Money At [Her]”

Shortly after Joyce went on stage to present the Best Newcomer award, which was won by Jasmine Sim, we were ushered into a room where we were a little startled by Joyce’s booming voice echoing throughout the room as she greeted us in Canadian-accented English. 

“Finally! An interview in English! My Mandarin sucks!” Joyce exclaims as she offers us a bottle of water as well as a mint. When we tell her that she looked amazing on TV, her eyes widen in disbelief. “Are you kidding me, I was so nervous on stage!" she exhales. "I am so insecure about my weight, my nose, my skin, my pores, my teeth, my hair… The reason why I look amazing now is because a professional woman worked on this for two hours!” 

She's down-to-earth, relatable and very chatty. Especially when she starts to gush about her love for local food, rambling away so much that we had to steer her back to the topic at hand before our 10-minutes is up. It’s no surprise that the singer is a foodie — she is the founder of one of Hongkong's most successful cookie shops, Homie Cookies. 

She tells us that she has tried a lot of Singapore food over the years but the one local dish she's truly craving for, well, at least for tonight, is roti prata. And because she tells us that she didn’t have anything to do after the ceremony, we decided to be a nice host and give her the address to a 24-hour prata shop in Thomson.

And she actually took up our supper suggestion, which we found out when we DM-ed her later that night to ask if she really had prata.

"Yaasssss! So good!" she replied.

8 DAYS: You looked amazing on the red carpet earlier. What’s your secret to being so confident in front of the camera? 
JOYCE CHENG: Yes! Well, to be honest, I have my bad days. When I have bad days, it’s pretty bad. But in general, I just have to remind myself that there’s no need to compare yourself to others. This part is especially hard since I’m in this industry where it’s not only about talent. It took me a long time to come to terms with being okay with myself, especially when there are expectations to have a certain body type. Since I was young, I knew that I don’t fit that mould, so I worked particularly hard to hone my craft. And because of that, my skills give me confidence. I don’t think someone’s appearance should define who they are. It’s about what you have on the inside. I don’t think there’s a secret! It takes time, you just have to work on it. 

When was the last time you looked at your younger pictures?
You know how Facebook memories would pop up on your feed? A few days ago, that popped up and I screen-grabbed it to show it to my best friend. It was a photo of me in 2010, when I was at my slimmest. It was a selfie and I looked all emo. The caption was, “Urgh, I feel so fat today! Being fat is not as bad as feeling fat.” And I was like, "Please, just get over yourself!"(Laughs) 

How do you get through your bad days? 
My bad days can get super bad. As I get older, I look back at the things I was unhappy about and I realised that they were nothing. So now when I’m going through something stupid or sad, I just have to step back and remind myself that in the future to come, this would also be nothing.

What advice do you have for girls who want to be just as confident as you are?
Honestly, f*** what other people think. Just be yourself. Everyone has their own “cool stuff” you know? Take pride in your individuality. It’s boring to be like everyone else. I’m 32 this year, and a lot of younger women look up to me. 

What kind of insecurities do you still struggle with? 
So many. But I’m probably most insecure about my identity. I was born into a family with very prominent figures in entertainment, and as I got more and more involved in showbiz, finding my own identity became my biggest struggle. For example, when I’m doing an interview and someone only wants to ask about my parents, it makes me feel really bad. ‘Cos it’s like, well, I’ve been working really hard these past few years… (Laughs)

How much would you say your mum has influenced the way you think now?
You know what? All the women in my family are super big influences. Everyone on my mum’s side are big women, but we rock it with confidence. I love seeing my bigger family members wearing all kinds of colours… Like who cares? Who says bigger girls should only wear black? Whatever! Whatever. I wear whatever I want! (Laughs)

What do you think your mum would say about the person you are today?
I hope… I hope she thinks I’m doing a good job? (Laughs)

For many years, you’ve been a paparazzi target in Hongkong. Does that still bother you a lot? 
With the rise of social media, the paparazzi culture isn’t that crazy anymore. It took me two years to realise that the paparazzi are just doing their job. (Laughs) Even now when I see them, I would... (poses with the peace sign) (Laughs) Please make me look good! (Laughs) I think it’s okay ‘cos this comes with the job. But they have bigger respect for me now because they know I’m not just here to mess around. (Laughs)

We have no paparazzi in Singapore. Do you think you’ll enjoy living here? 
I love Singapore so much! (Laughs) We went to the hawker centre when we arrived, and I was telling my friend that I think I can marry this country! (Laughs) Singapore is so amazing, but I do have one complaint — it’s really hot here! However, the hawker centres here are surprisingly not as hot as I thought they would be ‘cos there are huge fans. And it’s clean! I love laksa, otah, kaya toast, pandan cake, kueh lapis… All of your food! 

Your mum used to have a Ch 5 sitcom, which aired from 2001 to 2005, called Living With Lydia. What do you remember about Singapore when you were a kid? 
It was so much fun on set! I actually met up with [former Ch 8 actress] Ng Hui last night! She played my mother’s daughter in the show. I’ve known her since I was 13, and she took me out for food. We had stingray, la la, rojak… And we had bak kut teh for lunch today! Amazing! So good! It was really nice, I’m still friends with her and we talk once in a while. Even just now during the ceremony, I met crew members that I recognised! It’s been years!

When was the last time you were in Singapore?
Too long ago. (Laughs) The last time I was here was in 2013 for 24 hours to promote a movie, but I don’t count that. Prior to that, the last time I was here was in 2005.

You also have a successful cookie business in Hongkong. Do you plan to bring it to Singapore? 
I would love to! But you guys are so good at sweets! You guys have so many different choices! I am seriously humbled by my business because it’s so hard to run it! Why we’re successful in Hongkong is because we’re so niche. Before we came along, I don’t think soft cookies were a mainstream thing 'cos Hongkongers eat a lot of hard, British cookies. (Laughs) My cookies were a new thing, so it worked! But here, you guys have everything. It’s not a new thing! But if there’s a wealthy businessman who wants to throw money at me, then sure! I’ll open a store here! (Laughs) E-mail me!