Celebrities who visit Singapore often wax lyrical about chilli crab — some actually sing about it, while the 'adventurous' folks may even branch out to black pepper crab. In a Singapore fanmeet today (Dec 21), Jackson Wang, who is no stranger to our shores, gave the humble chicken rice some recognition instead.
When asked if he liked the dish, the multi-hyphenate star's response was: "I'm actually planning to go eat it after this."
Jackson Wang continued: "My first chicken rice was in 2012 — no, 2010, the first time I was in Singapore as an athlete for the Youth Olympic Games. I actually thought it was really, really good."
Jackson Wang realised that the woman who had asked the question was a chicken rice stall owner and asked for the name of her establishment.
Another regional delicacy Jackson Wang enjoys is durian, but that comes with a caveat.
"I love durian, but because I said I love durian, every single person I meet gives me durians," the 28-year-old lamented.
"I love it so much, but that doesn't mean I have to eat it every five minutes. I love durian, but don't worry, I'll get it myself."
He also wanted to visit local night markets, and the audience suggested Bugis and volunteered to bring him to various pasar malams.
Jackson is in Singapore for a concert on Dec 23 as part of his Magic Man World Tour.
He said about his first world tour: "It's hard, but at the same time it feels like a start because I've worked seven, eight years within a group (K-pop boy band Got7), and it's a new start for me as a solo artist. Even though I've had a four or five-year solo career, this is my first concert."
Jackson let his cheeky side show through during the fanmeet, calling upon a random "person with the cellphone filming, with glasses" to ask a question.
When the fan responded with bewilderment, Jackson quipped: "Your question is 'oh s***'?"
He even picked consecutive questions from a man and his girlfriend.
"When's the marriage?" he asked before bursting into laughter.
A fan even shot her shot by asking Jackson if he likes Singaporean girls and if he'd invite them to Marquee with him, while another asked him to simply say, "Hi, Sabrina."
"Love you, Sabrina!" he yelled instead.
Jackson also announced that a new album is in the works.
"I recorded a song yesterday, I think it's gonna be in Magic Man 2. I think I'll be making four or five songs for it," he said.
"When will it be released? When it's ready - I don't think it's ready yet. I'll probably release two more songs before April next year.
"But no more crazy music videos, because it's too much, I have nightmares because of them. But — can I spoil it? — I wanna do something new for my visuals, not cinematic anymore, something else."
The music video for his most recent single Come Alive was released on Dec 9.