00:00 I always tell myself, don't focus on what is lost.
00:04 Focus on what is still left.
00:06 My health is already gone.
00:08 If I still dwell on my health,
00:10 why I got this sickness, why I got this contact,
00:13 I will be very sad and pity myself.
00:16 So I just move on.
00:18 Take every day as a blessing and keep doing whatever I can.
00:23 Pursue your dreams.
00:24 Even while he was a famous actor on TV,
00:27 Joo Chor Meng loved the world of F&B.
00:30 In the late 1990s, he opened a stall selling noodles
00:34 and has since gone into food ventures
00:36 including satay steamboat, porridge and Thai barbecue.
00:40 In July, the Mediacorp actor teamed up with three friends
00:43 to open the Tam Chap Kopitiam at Hougang.
00:47 The Kopitiam is different from traditional coffee shops.
00:50 There are trendy neon signboards
00:52 and the stalls serve millennial-friendly dishes
00:54 like Korean fried chicken, scrambled egg rice bowls and pastries.
00:59 I'm Sumi Goh Tan, Executive Editor of The Straits Times.
01:03 I'm having lunch with Mr Joo at his Kopitiam
01:06 where he tells me why he loves the food business.
01:09 He also gives me an update about living with Kennedy's disease.
01:14 In 2008, he was diagnosed with the untreatable motor disorder
01:19 that affects his mobility, speech and swallowing.
01:23 [Music]
01:34 Can you share with us why you're so into F&B?
01:37 I love food.
01:38 I like to eat, but I don't know how to cook.
01:40 Yeah, I enjoy food.
01:42 Food can really make me happy.
01:44 When I see food, I'm happy.
01:46 When I eat, I enjoy.
01:47 How did you come up with the name?
01:49 The name means 'tam chap'.
01:51 So you go to Tam Chap Kopitiam, it's very country.
01:53 They call it 88 Kopitiam.
01:56 Sounds funny, right?
01:57 Tam Chap Kopitiam is good, right?
01:59 Yeah, if you're a tam chap, you want to eat more.
02:01 So come and eat.
02:02 And the choice of the stalls, how did you decide?
02:05 Mostly from Maureen.
02:07 Because her nose food is her favourite.
02:11 And she knows them.
02:12 She told them to come here.
02:15 Of course, some of them, they lose their manpower.
02:17 They cannot accept.
02:19 But most of them, they want to play.
02:22 So we started this thing.
02:24 So how many F&B businesses do you have right now?
02:27 Only Mukata, and this coffee shop.
02:30 Mukata has a few branches.
02:31 Mukata? No, I started Mukata six years ago.
02:34 So what's your dreams in terms of F&B?
02:36 I never thought of it so far.
02:38 I just try our best, do our best.
02:41 And hopefully, this can be a success.
02:43 I go day by day, then we'll see how.
02:46 What was your first reaction when you found out that you had this condition?
02:51 I was stunned.
02:53 Shocked.
02:54 Because before that, I knew something was wrong with me.
02:57 But I didn't know what it was.
02:59 So the doctor examined me and said, "Not good."
03:04 Normally, when people have these symptoms, they will die very fast.
03:08 Fifteen, maybe two years down.
03:10 I was like, "Wow, what is this?"
03:12 I didn't cry.
03:13 I still said, "Okay, God, I depend on you."
03:16 During the night, when I looked at my two daughters,
03:21 it was the time that I felt so hopeless.
03:23 If I really go away, how to protect me?
03:27 Four and six are so young.
03:30 Then my wife told me, "Never mind.
03:33 Whatever happens, we'll continue to walk through the journey."
03:37 Then I said, "Thank God.
03:39 Please have mercy on me."
03:41 I wish to see my daughter grow.
03:45 It's impossible.
03:46 Let me see them get married.
03:48 It's impossible.
03:49 I have the chance to carry my grandchild.
03:53 So, in this survival, I really let go.
03:58 Because I can't accept it.
04:01 I think I'm still young, 40 years old.
04:04 Do you think the diagnosis was harder because you were a big star?
04:08 Me? I'm not a star at all.
04:10 I'm just an actor.
04:11 Regardless of whether I'm famous or not,
04:13 I think everyone that got this kind of signals
04:16 is very difficult to face.
04:19 Myself, family.
04:21 I should say it's a public figure.
04:23 I remember when I just diagnosed,
04:25 I dared not to go out.
04:26 I was scared people would look at me.
04:28 When they looked at me,
04:29 they looked at my leg, my limb, how I walked.
04:32 Or sometimes they are curious, they will ask you,
04:35 "Why do you walk like that?"
04:36 I'm like, "I really don't know how to say that."
04:40 Sometimes I don't want to repeat again.
04:41 I'm very tired of repeating.
04:43 So, people's curiosity is very normal.
04:48 Anything that cannot be changed,
04:50 then you have to choose yourself.
04:52 So, never mind, just smile.
04:54 And sometimes, I don't want to answer them.
04:56 You can send me a prop or whatever, but
04:58 I don't want to repeat my sickness again and again.
05:03 I'm very tired.
05:04 Do you sometimes think that if you didn't have the condition,
05:06 you would still be acting like a lot more?
05:08 Although I got this medical condition,
05:11 I still love acting.
05:12 The fire is still burning in my heart.
05:15 I love it, but I have to understand
05:18 those things that I can't do.
05:19 Like, my physical, a lot of constraints.
05:23 Can't move, can't really walk,
05:26 upstairs, downstairs.
05:27 But I tell myself,
05:29 don't let this limit your thing.
05:31 So, just face it.
05:33 Whatever thing you can do,
05:35 if they give you the opportunity to act,
05:37 I just do my best.
05:38 But I think many people regard you as very inspiring
05:41 because you're still doing so many things.
05:45 What are the sorts of encouragement you can give others?
05:48 I always tell myself,
05:50 don't focus on what is lost.
05:52 Focus on what is still left.
05:54 My health is already gone.
05:56 If I still dwell on my health,
05:58 why I got this sickness, why I got this condition.
06:01 I will be very sad and pity myself.
06:04 So, I just move on.
06:06 I think every day is a blessing.
06:09 Keep doing whatever I can
06:11 and pursue your dreams.
06:14 Thanks very much for your time
06:16 and the wonderful food just now.
06:19 Thanks for coming.
06:20 I caught a chance upon the opportunity to study overseas.
06:26 I took up the lessons fellowship
06:28 and then off I go to London.
06:30 I had the privilege of having to follow
06:32 escrowing buses to location homes.
06:34 (upbeat music)
06:37 you
