As a child, Denise Keller spent her holidays in Germany.

She has modelled in Hong Kong and worked all over Asia when she was an MTV Asia VJ.

Now, she produces and presents awardwinning travel series Passage To Malaysia.

As such, the 31-year-old is quite used to people mistaking her for a non-Singaporean.

And when that happens, Keller, who is of German and Singaporean Chinese descent, is happy to show her pink identity card, which uniquely states her race as "German".

"It's often the opening line when I meet someone," said Keller, who speaks English, German and French.

"They would ask 'Are you Singaporean?' and when I say yes, they would tell me 'You don't look Singaporean!'"

In 2010, she started No Quarter TV, which produces documentaries.

She presents many of the shows she produces and she co-hosted the National Day Parade in 2010 and 2011.

She is perhaps best known as an MTV Asia presenter, a job she held for seven years.

"It was a very special time. I felt like a teenager although I was well in my 20s," she said.

Her German father met her English teacher mother when he came to Singapore in the 1970s to work as an engineer for camera maker Rollei.

As a child, she was often confused by her identity. She attended the German School and was cared for by her maternal grandmother, who spoke mainly Cantonese and just a little English.

She said: "It was really a juxtaposition of cultures. In school, the Western culture meant that everyone was outspoken. But at home, it was about being reserved and obedient instead."

But there is one thing that Keller has never doubted: That Singapore is home.

She said: "I've always felt accepted here, no one has judged me based on how I look."

When she has guests from overseas, she would take them on an architectural tour to show them how Singapore has managed to conserve many iconic buildings - such as shophouses at Spottiswoode Park and Fullerton Hotel - amid the modern skyline.

She describes Singapore as a "weird and wonderful playground" and that it is an incredibly unique and special country.

Of Singaporeans, she said: "We're kind of funky!"

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