22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
My Perfect Weekend with actress-host Farhana M. Noor
The local artiste unwinds by chilling out at Changi Airport with her family and taking Zumba classes. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FARHANA M. NOOR
Who: Local actress-host Farhana M. Noor, 34, has starred in television series such as Channel 5's long-form drama Tanglin (2015 to 2018) and Suria's romantic comedy Kahwin Satu Keluarga (2023 to 2025).
She made he r d ebut in 2013 with the musical drama Rima Hatiku and has since become a familiar face on Suria.
On May 25, she will co-host local TV awards show Pesta Perdana 2025 with fellow artistes Najip Ali, Fauzie Laily and Era Farida.
Returning for its 18th edition, the event celebrates timeless moments in local Malay entertainment and Suria's 25-year legacy. The live ceremony will be available from 8.30 to 11pm on mewatch, Mediacorp Entertainment on YouTube and Suria.
'As a mother of a four-year-old boy and one-year-old girl, I used to think of my work as my downtime, but I realised after a while that I needed to find something else to make me feel like myself again.
For me, that was Zumba and exercising. I go for my Zumba classes solo and make friends with others there. It's a safe space for me. People will be dancing and following the instructor, and I'll just be grooving by myself, releasing the stress from whatever hectic week I had.
My friends always laugh at me because they say that Zumba classes are for 'makciks' (aunties), but it's really not.
Farhana M. Noor (left) with her Zumba instructor.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF FARHANA M. NOOR
Changi Airport is a special place for me, and I like spending time there with my family over the weekends. There's a playground at Terminal 1 for the children, lots of food options, the waterfall at Jewel, and we can go shopping.
I spent a lot of my childhood at Changi Airport. My parents would take me and my brother there every weekend to spend time with their best friends, so I basically grew up there.
We would pretend to be the Power Rangers and chase one another around. So I want my kids to experience what I did at the airport.
My most memorable weekend was probably the one when my son was turning three and we took him to S.E.A. Aquarium in 2024. He had first visited as a baby, so he didn't understand anything then. He still didn't understand anything the second time round, and was just running about.
Farhana M. Noor with her son at the S.E.A. Aquarium.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF FARHANA M. NOOR
But by the third time, he was just beginning to talk, so we had tiny pockets of conversations with each other.
He was curious about everything, especially the big floor-to-ceiling tank. So we were just eating snacks and staring at the tank, with him asking so many questions. It was very nice and enjoyable.'
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