The most beautiful obasan (auntie) in Taiwan certainly lives up to her reputation.

TV actress and compere Chen Mei-feng is 53 but in person she could easily pass for someone in her 40s.

“I’m actually not that conscientious when it comes to taking care of my body. I would use coarse salt or mung bean powder to wash the body and as little cleaning agent as possible. I only wash my face with warm water. The best moisturiser is the body’s own natural oils,” she says in Mandarin.

Chen is speaking to the media at Swissotel The Stamford. She will be performing here on Jan 1 next year with the other cast members from the popular Hokkien mega-dramas The Unforgettable Memory (Yi Nan Wang), with 526 episodes, and the 360-episode Paladins In Troubled Times (Ai, which means Love).

What is even more impressive is that she betrays no sign of fatigue despite not sleeping the night before due to her hectic work schedule. Instead, she sits ramrod straight on the sofa, dispensing beauty tips.

The chatty entertainer says: “I don’t have enough sleep so I definitely need to eat and I always bring my own food instead of eating packed lunches.”

She certainly needs the energy.

The longest stretch she has gone without sleep is four days. Once, she took a nap and dreamt that the shoot was cancelled – “I was so happy” – only to be woken up and told that it was time to start work.

Not that she is complaining. “It’s my interest. It’s just like the fact that I still love noodles even though my mother used to sell them. I could eat seven bowls in one meal. It’s just the things that I like.”

She has never really put on weight as she has always been an avid sportswoman. In school, she ran in relay races and played volleyball, basketball and handball.

Nowadays, she hikes and golfs. That probably accounts for her trim figure, which she is not afraid to flaunt.

“I’m very daring when it comes to that but it depends on the occasion. I’m comfortable with dresses cut low in front and at the back. The most important thing is that it has to be appropriate. At my age, I can’t be wearing hot pants and mini-skirts,” she says.

Chen has been known to shop up a storm, reportedly splurging as much as NT$5 million (S$216,000) on a bag.

She prefers to think of it as stimulating the economy.

She defends herself: “Well, it’s better than gambling it away. I’m not encouraging everyone to buy branded goods but as long as you can afford it, it can also be a motivating force for you.”

She is no mere material girl, however, and love is also important to her, though marriage is getting less so.

“The chances of having children are increasingly slim so I’ve not really thought about marriage.”

She has been in a nine-year relationship with a man named David, who has a son and a daughter.

Still, asked to choose between $100 million and marriage, she replies without hesitation: “Oh, the money. If I have money, I don’t need to bother others and can even take care of others. That would be great.”

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This article was first published in The Straits Times.