It was Mr George Quek's long eyelashes that caught Mrs Katherine Quek's attention.

She was working at the Plaza Singapura branch of a handicraft company. He was her supervisor.

She says: 'I saw his eyelashes and thought, oh, they are very pretty. He was also very personable and patient when teaching me how to improve my engraving skills.'

For him, it was her charming naivete that left an impression on him.

He adds: 'She was a quick learner and she was not afraid to try new engraving techniques. Plus, she had a cute smile.'

But he was shy to ask her out, so he would find an excuse to stop by the store on evenings when she worked there and offer her a lift home as they both lived in Hougang.

They started dating in 1983 after having known each other for a year.

She recalls: 'He would carve my name on plaques and give them to me as gifts.'

In 1985, he decided to go to Taipei to study at an art institute, so they wrote each other letters and spoke over the phone every few days.

On a visit home in 1986, he popped the question of marriage.

She says: 'It wasn't particularly memorable. I just remember him asking me to marry him over a casual meal and I agreed.

'We had been together for a while and marriage felt like a natural progression.'

But he had no money to hold a wedding dinner so they just registered their marriage.

Were her parents disappointed that she did not marry someone who could afford at least a banquet? 'No. My mother said his parents were good people and she believed he had a good character too.'

Indeed, he proved his worth with the success of the dragon beard candy stall he opened in Taipei and he saved enough to hold a wedding dinner at the now-defunct Mayflower Restaurant in Shenton Way in 1988.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.