Former celebrity cook 'Fang Tai' Lisa Fong appears in rare photos

Now this stirs up feelings of nostalgia.

Before there were celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Eric Teo, we had Lisa Fong's cooking shows dominating our television screens in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lisa, who is respectfully known as Fang Tai (Madam Fang), made a rare appearance in a Facebook post last Friday (June 9).

The post, believed to be made by her daughter Bao, shows two photos, the first with Lisa herself, and the second photo with Bao, with the caption: "I went to eat Korean barbeque with Fang Tai today and actually forgot to take a photo before that."

In the photo, Fang Tai, who is now 88 years old, looks radiant, energetic and in good spirits. She even had her signature smile on.

The post garnered more than 2,400 likes as of this morning, with many netizens commenting on how they missed her shows and wishing her good health and happiness.

A netizen wrote: "Fang Tai, wishing you good health. When I was young, my mum would watch your cooking shows. We really enjoy your efficient and neat cooking techniques."

Another wrote: "I am really happy to see you, you still look radiant as ever. You are my mum's idol and she is even happier to see your photos than me."

According to a report by Hong Kong media HK01 yesterday, Fang Tai, who is a Singaporean, has been staying in Hong Kong and enjoying the company of family after she retired. She had initially planned to return to Singapore at the end of 2020 to take care of her grandson but her plan was thwarted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She currently lives in Hong Kong with Bao.

While Fang Tai fades out of the small screen, Bao will still update her mother's Facebook page from time to time, sharing recipes, old clips of her cooking shows and bits of Fang Tai's retirement life.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao in 2020, Fang Tai, who is already a great grand-mother, expressed her desire to return to the small screen in Singapore.

She told the Chinese daily then: "If there is a chance, I would very much like to return to Singapore to film a cooking show and teach everyone how to cook healthy meals."

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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