Xiang Yun, Who Filmed At Changi Prison, Says Prison Food Was "Really Delicious And Nutritious"

When you think of prison food, gourmet meals probably aren't the first thing that comes to mind.

But according to Xiang Yun, 64, the food at Changi Prison is actually pretty good.

The veteran Singapore actress was recently filming at Changi Prison for Ch 5 drama Yes Captain, in which she plays a long-serving inmate.

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, Xiang Yun revealed that the production team ate meals prepared by the prison canteen during filming.

"I thought it was really delicious. There was Western food, chicken chop and all kinds of dishes. The menu changed every day. The food was quite tasty and nutritious too," she shared.

Okay, that's not quite what we imagined prison food to be like.

However, Xiang Yun was referring to meals prepared for the production team, and it's not known whether these were the same meals served to inmates.

Here's something you might not know about Xiang Yun. Despite having been in showbiz for more than four decades, the actress still gets nervous about acting in English.

"I failed English all the way until Secondary 4, so you can imagine how bad it was," she admitted.

In fact, Yes Captain is only her third production where she speaks only English, after the 2004 telemovie Sweet Dreams & Turtle Soup and HBO Asia's 2013 drama Serangoon Road.

When she was first approached for the role, Xiang Yun couldn't quite believe someone wanted her to act in English again.

"When someone approached me to act in an English-language drama, I thought, 'Is that even possible? How dare they approach me when my English is so terrible?'" she recalled.

Still, after more than four decades in showbiz, she wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to challenge herself.

To prepare, Xiang Yun turned to Google Translate, relied on a specially prepared Chinese translation of the script and wrote phonetic pronunciations beside unfamiliar English words.

She then memorised her lines word for word.

"Ninety per cent of the credit goes to the production team," she said, thanking the producer, director and writers for patiently helping her understand the script.

Speaking of improving one's language skills, remember how Prime Minister Lawrence Wong recently revealed during this year's National Day Rally that watching Ch 8 dramas helped him brush up on his Mandarin?

Conversely, could Xiang Yun perhaps improve her English by watching PM Wong's English speeches?

The actress also admitted that her English has occasionally provided some entertainment for her family.

"My English is still at the level I used to communicate with my helper when I had one. I've made so many funny mistakes speaking English," she said.

"Luckily, I'm quite thick-skinned. People laugh at me, and sometimes even my children can't help laughing when they hear me speak English. But I just carry on speaking anyway."