Ex Taiwanese Idol Fan Chih-Wei Quit Hotpot Restaurant Job To Care For Father; Now Works Part-Time At Convenience Store

Brick-and-mortar businesses in Taiwan have been going through a tough time ever since the government announced tighter restrictions as a response to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country. Eateries have been hit particularly hard, with many opting to close down temporarily.

However, that apparently has nothing to do with why ex-Taiwanese idol Fan Chih-Wei left his job as a waiter.

The 41-year-old former heartthrob, who was once nicknamed “Little Tony Leung” and who used to date Cyndi Wang and Jesseca Liu, was spotted serving dishes and clearing tables at a hotpot restaurant earlier this year.

Naturally, this led to speculation that he was going through another rough patch. However, Chih-Wei clarified 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$6mil (S$288,000) to launch his own F&B biz.

When contacted by Apple Daily recently, Chih-Wei revealed that he actually quit his job at the hotpot restaurant in late April, not ‘cos he had some prophetic vision of the pandemic worsening, but ‘cos his father had a stroke and Chih-Wei needed more time to deal with family matters.

“The working hours at the hotpot restaurant were too long, so I was unable to coordinate [my schedule],” he explained.

Instead, Chih-Wei now works part-time job at a convenience store.

Although he earns less money than he did at the hotpot restaurant, the hours are also shorter, allowing him more time to care for his dad and concentrate on his writing hobby.

According to Apple Daily, Chih-Wei spends five hours a day reading and another five hours writing. He sometimes shares his creations on online platforms and hopes that one day, he’ll be able to come up with movie scripts.

He hasn’t given up on his F&B boss dreams, of course, and wants to open a restaurant that’s based on his love of literature… once he is able to find the right shareholders, that is.

In the meantime, Chih-Wei will continue working hard at his convenience store side gig twice a week. He assured journos that he isn’t bothered by the low income, saying that his expenses were never very high to begin 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!”

Photos: Apple Daily, Fan Chih-Wei/Weibo