Eat Already?

Eat Already? (Chinese: 吃饱没?) is a Singaporean dialect drama series which is telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, Mediacorp Channel 8. It stars Li Yinzhu, Elvin Ng, Marcus Chin, Aileen Tan, Wang Lei, Aden Tan and He Yingying of the series with special appearances by Minister of State for Communications and Information , Chee Hong Tat & Parliamentary Secretary with the Ministry of Education, Low Yen Ling. [1][2]

Eat Already?
Traditional食飽未?
Simplified吃饱没?
HokkienChia̍h-pá-bōe?
GenreFamily
Sitcom
Pioneer Generation
Written byXu Liwen 许丽雯
Directed byRoyston Tan
StarringLi Yinzhu
Elvin Ng
Marcus Chin
Aileen Tan
Wang Lei
Aden Tan
He Yingying
SPECIAL APPREANCES:
Chee Hong Tat
Low Yen Ling
Opening themeEat Already? (吃饱没) by Dream FZ
Ending themeSegments of Next Episode
Country of originSingapore
Original languagesMixed Dialogue, primarily Singaporean Hokkien
No. of episodes10
Production
ProducerDing Meilian 丁美莲
Running timeapprox. 23 minutes
Release
Original networkMediacorp Channel 8
Original release9 September (2016-09-09) 
11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)
Chronology
Followed byHappy Can Already!
Related showsEat Already? 2
Eat Already? 3 (2017)
Eat Already? 4 (2018)

It is primarily targeted at Singaporean elderly as most of them speak Chinese dialects at home. It gives them various tips for healthy living and aging.[3]

Plot

The series is set in a coffee shop and it focuses on an elderly widow, Ah Niu Sao (Li Yinzhu), who works as a dishwasher and cleaner in a coffee shop in order to support her two sons. They are Ah Bee (Elvin Ng), who is formerly a gambler and currently a chef, and Ah Kiong (Aden Tan), who is a disabled person. As the series progresses, she faces many kinds of difficulties in life but manages to pull through due to the help from her neighbours and various healthcare support schemes.

Cast

Main cast

Cast Character Description Episodes Appeared
Li Yinzhu
李茵珠
Ah Niu Sao
阿牛嫂
  • Ah Bee and Ah Kiong's mother
  • Ah Shun and Ah Shun Sao's neighbour
  • Niao Wang's love interest
1-10
Elvin Ng
黄俊雄
Ah Bee
阿米
Tan Chee Boon 陈志文
  • Gambler, later became a chef
  • Ah Niu Sao's elder son
  • Ah Kiong's elder brother
1, 3-10
Aden Tan
陈昱志
Ah Kiong
阿强
Tan Chee Kiong 陈志强
  • Handicapped patient
  • Ah Niu Sao's younger son
  • Ah Bee's younger brother
  • In love with Meimei
1, 3, 5-10
He Yingying
何盈莹
Meimei
美美
  • Ah Kiong's colleague and love interest
  • Meimei Gege's foster younger sister
3, 5-6, 9-10
Marcus Chin
陈建彬
Ah Shun
阿顺
  • Ah Shun Sao's husband
  • Ah Niu Sao's neighbour
1-5, 7-10
Aileen Tan
陈丽贞
Ah Shun Sao
阿顺嫂
  • Ah Shun's wife
  • Ah Niu Sao's neighbour
1, 6-10
Wang Lei
王雷
Niao Wang
鸟王
Bird King
  • Ah Niu Sao's long time friend
  • Likes Ah Niu Sao
  • Daniel's father
  • Da Pao and Ahmad's friend
1-10
Xu Buliao
许不了
Da Pao
大炮
  • Niao Wang and Ahmad's friend
2-7, 10
Ahamad AliAhmad
  • Niao Wang and Ah Pao's friend
2-5, 7, 10
Brandon Wong
黄炯耀
Daniel
大鸟
  • Bird King's son
8-10

Cameo appearance

Cast Character Description Episodes Appeared
Ye Shipin
叶世品
Boss
  • Coffee shop's boss
  • Ah Niu Sao and Ah Shun's boss
1-2
Pan Lingling
潘玲玲
  • Nurse
1
Chen Liping
陈莉萍
Ms. Tan
  • Clinic nurse
2
Kym Ng
钟琴
Dr. Tay
郑医生
  • Clinic doctor
2
Zoe Tay
郑惠玉
Dr. Tay
郑医生
  • Clinic doctor
4
Low Yen Ling
刘燕玲
Herself
5
Cavin Soh
苏梽诚
  • Ah Bee's boss
5, 8
Nick Teo
张钧淯
Meimei Brother
美美哥哥
  • Meimei's foster elder brother
6, 9
Chee Hong Tat
徐芳达
Himself
  • Minister of State for Communications and Information
  • Shared tips on healthy eating and sang at a community event, which the other characters attended
7

Episodes

No. overall Title Original Airdate
1"Episode 1"9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)
PG Some Disturbing Scenes
A cooking competition is happening at a Community Centre. Amongst the participants is Ah Bee, who wins the competition. Ah Bee starts his thank-you speech by recounting his past; how he was contemplating suicide just a mere few months ago. Ah Niu Sao finds Ah Bee sleeping, and not fulfilling his promise to bring his brother Ah Qiang to the Enabling Village. She has no choice but to do it herself. She receives a call from her boss, who threatens to fire her if she doesn’t report to work. Ah Niu Sao goes to work but faints.
2"Episode 2"16 September 2016 (2016-09-16) PG
Bird King coughs incessantly and the club members urge him to visit the doctor. Dr. Tay reports that he has high cholesterol, and borderline high blood pressure. She gives Bird King some tips about healthy living. Ah Niu Sao receives her pay, but realizes that it is short of $50. Uncle Soon tries to help but the boss threatens to fire her. Uncle Soon advises Ah Niu Sao to seek help at Meet-the-people Session. There, Ah Niu Sao receives a call from Ah Qiang. He tells her that the loansharks have beaten Ah Bee up.
3"Episode 3"23 September 2016 (2016-09-23) PG
Ah Bee’s nonchalance despite being beaten up by loansharks disappoints Ah Niu Sao. Witnessing his mum’s sadness, Ah Qiang agrees to check out the Enabling Village to get a job. There, he meets Meimei, a volunteer, whom he warms up to. Ah Bee steals Ah Niu Sao’s salary and gambles it all away. Bird-King starts showing signs of dementia, and his friends urges him to see a doctor.
4"Episode 4"30 September 2016 (2016-09-30) PG
Bird King gets progressively more forgetful. DaPao is worried about Bird King’s condition, and persuades Bird King to go for a check-up. Ah Niu Sao desperately looks around for Ah Bee. She hears the song “Jia Hou” playing at a getai, and ends up in tears. Unbeknownst to him, Ah Bee is looking on from afar. After seeing how Ah Niu Sao is worried for him, he decides to go home and turn over a new leaf.
5"Episode 5"7 October 2016 (2016-10-07) PG
The slap from Ah Niu Sao brought Ah Bee to his senses. He decides to turn over a new leaf and attends a cooking class. He subsequently gets a job at a restaurant and his boss challenges Ah Bee to cook a dish for him. Ah Niu Sao frets over Bird King’s illness.
6"Episode 6"14 October 2016 (2016-10-14) PG
Ah Qiang starts falling for Meimei. He loses sleep over this and Ah Bee and Ah Niu Sao decide to give him some advice. Auntie Soon urges Ah Niu Sao to join her and several other old folks at the Senior Citizens’ corner to make friends. Da Pao brings Bird King to the Senior Citizens’ corner as well to let him socialize in order to prevent his dementia from getting worse.
7"Episode 7"21 October 2016 (2016-10-21) PG
Minister of State for Communications and Information Chee Hong Tat shares tips on healthy eating and active ageing with the seniors at a talk happening in Toa Payoh East CC. Ah Bee surprise Bird King with a ‘healthy birthday cake’, but Bird King forgets that it is his birthday. Da Pao worries that Bird King he may one day forget everyone. Ah Bee bumps into his old friends who cajol him to go to the gambling den. Will he give in to temptation once more?
8"Episode 8"28 October 2016 (2016-10-28) PG
Ah Niu Sao decides to enroll herself in a computer course in order to search for Bird King’s son through social media. Both Ah Bee and Ah Qiang suspect that Ah Niu Sao has a hidden agenda, which is to search for their long-lost sister. Ah Bee confesses to his boss about his gambling debts. How will his boss react?
9"Episode 9"4 November 2016 (2016-11-04)
PG Some Violence
Ah Qiang finds out that his rival in love is actually Meimei’s brother. Ah Bee’s creditor turns to Ah Qiang to pay for his debts. Ah Qiang gets injured in the process, and Ah Bee is stricken with guilt. Bird King reunites with his son, but tension arises. Ah Niu Sao suspects that Meimei could be her long-lost daughter.
10"Episode 10"11 November 2016 (2016-11-11) PG
Ah Niu Sao forgives Ah Bee’s moment of folly and the two reminisce on memories of Ah Niu Sao’s daughter Xiao Mei. Ah Niu Sao shares her suspicion that Meimei could be her long-lost daughter. Ah Bee rents a stall in the coffeeshop and starts his own business.

Trivia

  • Even though the series is targeted at the elderly population, many Singaporeans of different ages actually watch it because it is very engaging and interesting.
  • While most of the characters spoke Hokkien, the Teochew dialect was used by Chen Liping and Zoe Tay in several episodes.
  • This is the second Channel 8 series known to have Cabinet Ministers making cameo appearances. The last time this happened was in World At Your Feet, when then-Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong (now Minister for Education) was a "guest of honour" at a community football match. Low Yen Ling had introduced the courses offered by the Lifelong Learning Institute in her capacity as then-Parliamentary Secretary for Education (now Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth), while Chee Hong Tat engaged senior citizens in his Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC in his capacity as Minister of State for Communications and Information (now Minister of State for Transport and Foreign Affairs).
  • The series received positive acclaim with 250,000 viewers on average, and has garnered over 1.6 million online views on Youtube.[4]

Awards & Nominations

Star Awards 2017

Eat Already? was nominated for one category. The other drama serials that are nominated for Best Theme Song are You Can Be an Angel 2, The Dream Job, Life - Fear Not & If Only I Could (TV series). It did not win a single nomination.

Star Awards – Acting Awards
AccoladesCategoryNomineesResult
Star Awards 2017 Awards Ceremony 红星大奖2017颁奖礼 Best Theme Song
最佳主题曲《吃饱没?》
Dream FZ Nominated

References

  1. "New Hokkien drama aimed at seniors to be launched on Sep 9". Channel NewsAsia. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  2. Rachel Au-Yong (2016-09-01). "New Hokkien drama to explain government policies to seniors, Politics News & Top Stories". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  3. "Eat Already? Hokkien drama aimed at seniors to return for second run". Channel NewsAsia. 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  4. Last Updated on 04 Mar 2019. "Dialect drama 《吃饱没?》 ("Eat Already?") returns for Season 2 in early 2017". Mci.gov.sg. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.