[Photo: Joanne Ang's (right) grandmother told her parents to accept Ramesg Nad (left) before she died.]

The two met in 1997 when Ang was working part-time as a KJ (karaoke jockey) in Fishermen's Rendezvous, a bar Nad owned in Katong.

Ang, then a polytechnic student, was stressed by schoolwork and working part-time, and found a confidant in the older Nad. The two often stayed back to chat and drink.

She felt comfortable with him and asked him out for a drink. Things grew from there.

It was the first time either of them dated outside their race but they were not concerned.

Food and beverage manager Nad, the youngest of six children, had cousins who had married Westerners and moved overseas, so his family was open-minded and he faced no objections.

But Ang, who is self-employed, faced resistance from her conservative parents. They tried to discourage her and wanted her to keep her options open.

'My mum said that there are 1,001 Chinese men, why must I pick an Indian. But I knew it was actually my dad complaining to her,' she says.

But she was adamant. 'I was persistent and stubborn, and told them that if they loved me, they should let me choose my own partner.'

Things started to change a year later on the death of her grandmother, Madam Ong Huay Lian, 80. Before she died, she told Ang's parents to accept Nad.

Unknown to him, Nad had impressed her during the wedding dinner of Ang's sister, Annie, 38. He had offered a seat to an elderly woman, not knowing she was Ang's grandmother.

That dinner was the first time Nad met Ang's parents and relatives. She also has an elder brother, Jacob, 36.

That wedding was in 2000. Four years later, the couple got married too.

Today, a role reversal of sorts is seen as Nad, who is a Buddhist, is the one who takes pains over Chinese New Year decorations, visits the temple with his mother- in-law and pays attention to the feng shui of their five-room HDB flat in Punggol.

The couple, who are planning to have their first child, sometimes get stared at in the street by older folk but they have grown used to this and even joke about their differences.

'People call us zebra because I'm so fair and he's so dark,' Ang jokes.

What others say

Singaporeans seem to be colourblind when it comes to dating other races, according to a poll of 100 people done by LifeStyle.

Slightly less than 80 per cent of those polled – consisting of an equal number of both sexes from different races – said they do not mind dating outside their race, while 19 per cent said no, and 2 per cent said maybe.

Citing compatibility rather than culture or race as the most important factor in a relationship, many were open to dating other races.

But some voiced concerns about religion and language differences.