'I'd have durian every time I passed through Singapore': Fei Xiang on visiting frequently, his top 5 local foods

His debut single Liu Lian may have been a homonym for durian in Chinese, but how does Fei Xiang feel about the king of fruits?

In an interview with AsiaOne yesterday (Oct 3), the Chinese-American singer-actor told us about his first experience eating it.

"I remember when I promoted my first album in 1982, and the first time I came to Singapore, I did not even know what a durian was," Fei Xiang (also known as Kris Phillips) said.

It was a time "way, way before the internet" and people wouldn't know what a durian was until someone cracked one open and offered them a bite, he said.

"But I loved durian from the first time I tasted it, and I actually still love it," the 62-year-old confessed. "It was ironic that the title song of my debut album, which was so helpful to me as it was so successful, actually sounded like the name of the fruit in Chinese.

"So [the song title was] quite easy for people to remember."

As he was only in Singapore for two days and wanted to be "kind" to other passengers on his flight, Fei Xiang won't have an opportunity to eat durians this time around.

"But I would every time I passed through Singapore, and I do quite often pass through Singapore because I have friends here of many years," he said. "I like to visit them, and I love Singapore so much."

Not only does he think our island is "so beautiful" but he also admires the values of positivity he feels Singaporeans have.

After his many visits to Singapore, Fei Xiang also has a list of his top five local foods. In reverse order of ranking, he told us he likes black pepper crab, kueh lapis, durian, laksa — "sadly which I can't eat very much because it's fattening" — and in first place, ice kacang.

"I just love the taste, and I love that it reminds me of my childhood in Taiwan," he said. "When I grew up in Taipei, they had shaved ice treats and I grew up eating them."

'What are we gonna talk about, myself?'

Despite visiting Singapore often, Fei Xiang doesn't feel a need to give interviews or go on local TV unless he has work to promote.

"What are we gonna talk about, myself?" he said. "I see no point in that. I'm not on Facebook, I'm not on Instagram, I don't have any of that because I'm actually not interested in myself."

Now, however, Fei Xiang is happy to give interviews because he has "something new to bring" — Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, the first in a trilogy of epic fantasy films by director Wuershan.

It portrays a fictional account of the ascension of the last emperor of the Shang dynasty and the political turmoil that followed. Fei Xiang plays Yin Shou, the second prince and later emperor of the Shang dynasty, who becomes a cruel and neglectful ruler.

Fei Xiang's comeback for the movie has critics telling people to "hide their mothers" after seeing his bod in a few shirtless scenes in the movie, but Fei Xiang thinks it should be "hide your grandma" at his age.

"I have to be honest, I'm quite a lazy person by nature," he said. "I'm not going to the gym, and I've had to maintain [my body] because of my work. For this film, it was all for the role.

"I knew that, to portray this warrior king convincingly, I would have to put in the work."

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He also considers himself as very realistic about his age, not wanting to "prance around on stage singing boy band songs" after turning 40, for example.

"You have to, at each age, do what's appropriate for yourself but also for your audience. They don't want to see you doing things that are age-inappropriate either," he said. "I've always had my audience in mind because they've been with me since 1982."

Before accepting his role, Fei Xiang was happily living a semi-retired life with homes in London and New York.

He said: "I have no problem just watching opera, theatre, movies. I have close friends I will have dinners with. Now I'm actually making an effort to touch base with my old classmates and get together with them because I feel like I have the time and the space.

"I have two cats in my home in London who are very demanding and I just have a very quiet, boring life reading books, and time passes quite easily."

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Upon receiving the script from Wuershan, however, Fei Xiang thought it was too good to pass up despite having to commit three to five years to it. Filming for the three movies was done back-to-back, taking up a total of one-and-a-half years for him. The following two movies in the trilogy are scheduled to be released next year and in 2025.

"I have to be honest, I'm 62 years old now. When you're in your 20s and 30s, you can easily say yes to a product of a year, three years, five years, but at this age, you don't have too many five years to give away."

If a production is going to get Fei Xiang "off his sofa and working again", he said, it has to be worth it.

"But I'm still willing if it's something good," he concluded.

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, which also stars Luke Chen, Li Xuejian, Chen Kun and Yuan Quan, is currently showing in Singapore cinemas.

Watch for our upcoming E-Junkies video interview with Fei Xiang.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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