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No raining gold coins. No basketful of red packets either. The God of Fortune is quite busy at the moment, sorry. He’s chatting with his business client but he politely acknowledges my arrival by giving me a quick nod. And as soon as he’s done, he says corporate-toned: “Come, let’s chat in

my offi ce.”A while later, a family friend serves a tray of tea. Not just any tea, okay -- Lavender

and Earl Grey fusion. Speaking to Lifestyle in his HDB room-turned-offi ce, Alec Chia, better known as

the God of Fortune mascot, is still larger than life even in a business shirt. He’s in the crystal distribution business and works from home.

And before any questions are asked, he announces: “1887”. Excuse me? Oh, wow. As if he had anticipated the question, he says he weighs a whopping 188.7kg. “Can buy 4D ah,” he says, before breaking into a hearty laugh, like a jolly Cai Shen Ye.

BIG break So how did our happy big boy end up being the God of Fortune? It all started

out with Moses Lim’s kai xin pang pang ju le bu in 1992. That mouthful, when translated, means happy fatty club, the then SBC’s candid version of TAF club. Alec and his fellow fatties appeared regularly on variety shows and acted in skits with Moses Lim.

Lady Luck came to Alec in 1995, the year when he took over from Moses to play God of Fortune in variety shows. Since then, Alec has been getting lucky with his

It’s River Hongbao time soon and as usual, visitors will want to get cosy with the roly-poly Cai Shen Ye. LEONG WAI KIT beats the crowds by knocking on the door of the ‘God of Fortune’.

He should be so lucky, lucky, lucky

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newfound persona. Besides advertising and hosting deals, the 34-year-old is also invited to make auspicious guest appearances at charity and corporate events.

Celestial songsterThe former Concorde Hotel chef

says one of his hobbies is singing – not surprising considering his impressive vocal control. He demonstrates by crooning a Fei Yu Qing evergreen, complete with falsetto and vibrato. Then he turns Pavarotti and belts out an Italian opera, sounding every bit like a well-trained tenor (Alec was a choir boy during his Commonwealth Secondary School days before joining the Singapore Youth Choir in the 80s). No wonder Alec was crowned champion in the 1996 Pioneer Karaoke Competition.

But his ultimate hobby, not surprisingly, is still munching. “I’m a

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chef what, that’s why my size is like that,” he says with a laugh. The only sport he’d consider is joining“eating competitions”.

May fortune smile on youAlec’s yearly appearances at the River Hongbao since 2003 means sacrifi cing

private time during the Lunar period. Reunion dinners are always eaten two days before the actual night. The next 17 days will be spent zipping between home, temples, and the many places that request his godly presence.

“What’s there not to like about this?” Alec asks. “Isn’t it nice to have a horde of people bai nian (pay New Year visits) with me? Plus, my family is with me the whole time so we do get to spend time together”.

Alec relates an incident that happened a few years ago. A 40-something-year-old man, who had asked for 4D numbers from him, returned to the River Hongbao three nights later. “He actually knelt before me and presented me with a thick red packet containing $888,” he says, widening his eyes for dramatic effect.

Erm, so how much do you make every year, I ask, hoping not to sound kaypoh.

“Enough to make me very happy, lah” he replies.

Next stop?Although Alec considers playing God

of Fortune a “bonus job”, he hopes to do it for as long as he can. And after that ....

He pauses, and says, “I might go into monk hood.” I wait to see if he’ll burst out laughing “gotcha!”. Nope.

It’s quite funny to imagine Alec in monk garb sweeping the pathways of a monastery. The grand red robes suit him so well that we hope he’ll continue making people happy as God of Fortune for a very long time.

Huayi:Chinese Festival of Arts – 2007

Advertorial

From Feb 23 to Mar 4, Esplanade brings you 10 days of exciting programmes for the young and old.

Huayi 2007 showcases outstanding works of Chinese artists through theatre, music, dance and visual

arts, so get ready to feast your senses.One of the festival’s main highlights is the much talked

about Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, the original play from which An Lian Tao Hua Yuan, the 1991 Golden Horse Award-winning fi lm, was adapted.

Other highlights to look out for include Shaolin kungfu and drums spectacle - A Touch of Zen; local arts group The ETCeteras’ Game Play, a Singapore Dramatist Award-winning play; as well as the concert by household name, Wa Wa Jin Zhi Juan, one of Taiwan’s most popular balladeers.

With talented artists and performaning companies from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, Huayi 2007 looks set to entertain one and all in the family. Just make sure you’ve set enough time to catch them all.

For full list and details of the Huayi performances, log on to www.huayifestival.com

Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land A Touch of Zen Sa Chen Piano Recital

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