Hayley Woo is mad about meat

A meat lover, she could not pass on the chance to indulge in barbecued meat even though she is trying to cut down on it.

We sat down with Hayley Woo at Mookata in Bugis Junction for dinner on Monday and were immediately surrounded by the sound of sizzling meat.

The local actress, 25, ordered a set for two, which included Mookata's best items, such as pork, chicken and seafood, and a cup of Thai milk tea.

As soon as the order arrived, Woo placed some vegetables and the glass noodles into the moat full of pork soup.

"I love soup, especially clear ones. Whenever I see clear soup, I feel happy. It is weird," she said, laughing.

"I am trying to lose weight for my roles, but I think it is quite tough for me to completely stop eating meat. Instead, I opt for chicken breast."

Woo sampled the soup and meat that she had cooked and said: "It so tender and well-marinated, and the soup is so sweet. I guess the juices from the meat flowing into the soup make it tastier."

She is currently filming the second season of Channel 8's long-running drama, 118, playing a new character called Isabella after her old character, Vivien, died in the first season.

"Compared to Vivien, who is positive, Isabella is louder, and she is going through relationship problems and always playing mind games with others."

Woo shared how playing the characters has taught her more about life.

She said: "Vivien was such a bright and happy character, and I realised that while being positive is important, it is difficult.

"I tend to be quite naive, and being in this industry makes me feel a little jaded at times because of the things people say. But I try not to think about it, especially since I have people around me who care."

Last month, Woo visited lesser-known areas in South Korea with her twin sister and fellow actress, Jayley, to film a Channel 8 travel show called Take A Break. Her part airs today at 8pm.

"For a week, we got to explore places outside Seoul to introduce new and photo-worthy places to the audience," she said.

It started snowing when they were there and the twins found it hard to delivertheir lines because of the cold.

How do you maintain such a slim figure?

I drink a glass of water every morning to fill me up, and I eat more vegetables.

I try to dance for an hour every day if time permits. I do not like going to the gym as I hate running and doing boring stuff.

But the most important thing for me about losing weight is to watch what I eat.

Do you cook at home?

Yes, I can cook instant noodles (laughs). I do more baking than cooking, such as cheese and lava cakes and cookies.

I used to love desserts, but after I started baking, knowing how much sugar and butter goes into one dessert made me stopped eating too much of it.

Who is the better cook, you or Jayley?

I think it's me, because I have never seen Jayley cook.

I have asked her to bake with me a few times, but she always says no. I do want to see her cook some day, though.

My mother is the best cook and her standards are way too high.