what to eat
Music be the food of love
Boyband-material singer Wang Lee Hom talks about his favourite food and singers. And compares both.
By Kenneth Lim
|
| Pretty-boy Wang Lee Hom discusses food with gusto. -- GEORGE GASCON |
So, the whole Mandarin-speaking world now knows that Wang Lee Hom can sing, produce as well as act. And, oh, the 24-year-old, according to an online poll, has been voted the top sexual fantasy of Taiwanese girls.
Yummy.
Growing up in New York, speaking English, the handsome crooner's career, however, has been riding on the success of his Mandarin albums. The music he writes ranges from soulful R&B to heavy rock.
So far, the triple-hyphenated Wang has managed to avoid being pigeonholed into a stereotypical anything.
He is a pretty boy but his music is acknowledged by critics as hefty. He is a prime candidate for a mushy romance but he chooses to make his acting debut in China Strike Force, a hardcore Hongkong stunt fiesta.
The same can be said about Wang's fave nibbles. Like the man (who dislikes dressing up for photo shoots), the dishes he loves are pared-down and unadorned.
LTW sits the star down and takes a peek into his stomach.
McDonald's double quarter-pounder with cheese meal, no super-size thank you
 |
They don't have the Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese in Singapore, and they super-size it in America rather than up-size it. The difference between the Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese and the Big Mac is simple.
"The Double Quarter-Pounder with cheese is huge, it's even bigger than a Big Mac," explains Wang, who eats at McDonald's a few times a week whenever he's travelling, and almost every day when he's back in the States.
"What I like about McDonald's is its convenience. I don't like it very much, I just eat it a lot.
"I would say that 'N Sync is like McDonald's because they're like a McSync. They're omnipresent. They can be admired for their quality, but that's not what they stand for. They stand for being everywhere."
prime rib steak with mushroom sauce
 |
"There's this great feeling of barbarism, satisfaction, when you finish a piece of steak," Wang says with gusto.
"I was a vegetarian in high school because I went through this philosophical phase when I felt that it was wrong to kill anything at all, like I wouldn't even kill flies or insects. So, I wouldn't eat any meat. After, like, a year, I thought, "OK, I haven't killed any animals for a year.' So I ate some meat and it just felt so good.
He thinks musician Gustav Mahler, famous for his use of large orchestras, is the most steak-like.
"After you listen to his symphonies, you feel like a barbarian."
chocolate mud pie, no whipped cream
 |
Wang likes his mud pies rich, sweet and pure. He considers whipped cream a distraction from the heavy, chocolatey, sugary high.
"When I think of chocolate mud pie, I think of Stevie Wonder, because after you eat it you feel really happy with all the sugar in it," he says.
"It's very visceral. Stevie Wonder is just such a righteous dude, he's always singing about justice and being good with children. He's very idealistic, almost preaching."
Wang has said before that Wonder is one of his favourite artistes. The reason - "Stevie has a lot of rich substance."
salmon sashimi with a healthy dose of wasabe
 |
It's gooey, it's fresh and the wasabe clears the head. Asked to compare salmon sashimi with a musician, Wang came up with R 'n' B artist Craig David.
"Craig sings really effortlessly. When you hear him sing, it's always very intense. It's really really fast. When I eat a fresh piece of sashimi, my mouth feels the same way my ears feel when I listen to Craig David," Wang says.
Without missing a beat, he continues: "In fact, it's a little like Norika, my co-star in China Strike Force. The way she holds herself, the way she talks, it's really smooth and comfortable.
"I'm not saying I want her, I'm just comparing her to sashimi."
