3 days ago
Ayden Sng sells his 'go-to' drink Milo Dinosaur in China cafe for reality show Smile at You, Entertainment News
Local actor Ayden Sng, who is growing his showbiz career in China now, is also spreading our culture overseas.
The 31-year-old, who is currently a participant in new Chinese reality show Smile at You where he operates cafe uSweet in Harbin with four others, has introduced our kopitiam drink Milo Dinosaur to the menu.
In a uSweet cafe's Xiaohongshu post on Wednesday (June 4), they posted a picture of a cup of iced Milo Dinosaur with the caption: "Milo Dinosaur is a specialty drink originating from Singapore. It is very popular in Southeast Asia and Singapore's first Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling's favourite.
"At the same time, it's also our Singaporean actor and uSweet cafe store manager Ayden's go-to drink. This drink has always been at the top of the list of must-have Singapore delicacies."
Milo Dinosaur, sold in eateries in Singapore and Malaysia, is a cold chocolate malt beverage topped with undissolved Milo powder.
In a fancam posted on the platform yesterday, Ayden is also seen making the drink while a fan engaged him in small talk.
Netizens who had visited the Harbin cafe and ordered the chocolate malt drink also commented in uSweet's post that it tasted good.
Smile at You, which premiered last Thursday (May 29) on streaming platform iQiyi, is a reality show involving 35 young men who undergo a month of professional training including business management, product development and customer service, and are divided into groups to travel to different cities in China to run a cafe.
Some of the judges and trainers include former Exo member and businessman Huang Zitao, director-actor Tang Guoqiang and singer-host Wu Yi.
In the first episode, when the young men had to mingle and find their roommates, Russian-Korean twin influencers Denis and Kirill had trouble understanding and communicating in Mandarin because their translating device had not arrived on the set. Ayden approached the duo and helped them discuss with the participants to come up with a suitable rooming arrangement for the brothers.
In additional content released on June 1, he also helped Denis while they practised customer service and greeting customers.
He also practised making cakes and biscuits with a participant, Chinese swimmer Chen Mucheng, on a few evenings where they discussed procedures and ingredients. While there were some charred products, other participants who tried his products praised his effort.
In the third episode released on Thursday, participants had to work in pairs to present desserts and coffee to the judges, including their baking instructors.
Ayden chose to create his own recipe using what he had learned in his baking lessons for the past few weeks.
He said: "If you're a consumer, would you want to eat a basque cheesecake, tiramisu or black forest cake? Or would you prefer to eat something that the pastry chef invented which you have never tried before?
"So this time, I insisted on not using the recipes I already have. I really want to create something that belongs to me. The cake is combined from what the pastry chefs had taught us from the first lesson till now."
He added that his product is an eight-layer cake, and each layer is made with different steps.
When presenting his final product to the judges later, Ayden specially dedicated the cake to one of the pastry chefs who taught him.
He said: "I've always wanted to learn how to bake, but I've been filming for the past few years. So, it has become something that I've always wanted to do but never got around to because I don't have the time. I'm really very happy to be guided by the mentors. I really like to be in the kitchen."
Despite his efforts, he wasn't given a pass by the judges.
In the latest episode yesterday, while two of the chefs commended his efforts, they were concerned about food safety, as Ayden had placed cling wrap around the cake before baking it in the oven.
Smile at You releases new episodes every Thursday and Friday at 12pm on iQiyi. Ayden's new Chinese drama Feud , which stars Bai Lu and Joseph Zeng, is currently streaming on iQiyi and Viu.
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