Fan Chih-Wei quit hotpot restaurant job to care for father

Taipei — Physical stores in Taiwan have been going through a difficult time ever since the government implemented tighter regulations following a  resurgence of Covid-19. Restaurants have been especially affected with many closing down temporarily. However, apparently. that’s not why ex-Taiwanese idol Fan Chih-Wei quit his job as a waiter.

Fan, 41, who was once nicknamed “Little Tony Leung”, used to date Cyndi Wang and Jesseca Liu. He was seen serving dishes and clearing tables at a hotpot restaurant earlier this year. This led to speculation that Fan was going through another rough patch. Nevertheless, Fan said that he was still receiving acting offers and that he chose to work at the restaurant to “experience life” and reach his goal of saving at least NT$6 million (S$288,000) to launch his own F&B biz.

Fan shared that he actually left his job at the hotpot restaurant in late April, when contacted by Apple Daily recently. It was not because Fan had some prophetic vision of the pandemic getting worse, but because his father had a stroke and he needed more time to deal with family matters, reported  8days.sg.

“The working hours at the hotpot restaurant were too long, so I was unable to coordinate [my schedule],” he explained. Now Fan is working part-time at a convenience store. The convenience store pays less than the hotpot restaurant, but the hours are shorter, so Fan can spend more time with his father and concentrate on his writing hobby.

Apple Daily reported that Fan spends five hours a day reading and another five hours writing. The former Taiwanese idol shares his creations on online platforms sometimes and hopes that one day, he will be able to come up with movie scripts. His F&B boss dreams are not forgotten, of course, and he plans to open a restaurant that is based on his love of literature, once he is able to find the right investors.

Meanwhile, Fan will continue to work hard at the convenience store twice a week. He told the media that he is not bothered by the low income and that his expenses were never very high to start with anyway.

“There is no need to be overly concerned about my life,” he said with a laugh. “Everything is going normally. I’ve been sharing my works and will keep on creating!”/TISG