Brewing up the perfect blend for a hit comedy

They popularised the now-viral question that will confound baristas and thirsty customers alike: “Do you want your iced yuan yang hot or cold?”

Cheng Kiah Lim, 64, and Teo Hong Liang, 39, are Uncle and Hong Liang, the lovable father-and-son duo on Hard Mode (很难).

The local Chinese web series, which began in 2023, has gained popularity among audiences in Singapore, Malaysia and China for its hilarious dialogue and relatable snapshots of Singapore life.

In January this year, the series marked a major milestone when its channel reached 500,000 followers on social media platform Douyin.

The brains behind the show is writer and director Corporal (CPL) (NS) Tay Li Guo, 31, who also runs TSQfilms.

Uncle Kiah Lim, you play a kiam siap (miserly) father who’s always yelling at his son. We need to know – how similar are you to Uncle?

Kiah Lim: My character would never invite his friends over to his house! They (the Hard Mode team) often come to my place for makan (food) and drinks, but with Uncle, you slowly wait ah! (laughs)

Hong Liang: Uncle would wait to be invited, then bring his entire family!

Kiah Lim: I admit there’s a little bit of me in Uncle. For instance, I can be impatient, but I won’t use vulgarities on my children. In fact, I’m more likely to get scolded by them!

Hong Liang, people are usually shocked to learn you’re a lawyer IRL. Are you as dimwitted as your fictional namesake?

Hong Liang: I like to think that I'm not as “blur” as Hong Liang. But I’m always telling lame jokes that make people groan and want to shout “Hongliaaaaaaang!”

CPL (NS) Tay: (deadpan) I based Hong Liang (the character) on the actor.

Hong Liang: (melodramatically) Am I really like that?!

CPL (NS) Tay: Just not as dumb.

CPL (NS) Tay, how did this series come about?

CPL (NS) Tay: I find that Singaporeans like to complain a lot, so I started writing down what I think they think about every day.

Hong Liang: It started out as slice-of-life stories, but Li Guo decided on comedy.

CPL (NS) Tay: Cos (you don’t need complicated props for a comedy so) it’s cheaper to make!

Kiah Lim: That’s life – you may not be able to get all the things that you love, so you have to love all the things that you have! (laughs)

Hard Mode was nominated twice for The Pinwheels, Mediacorp’s content creator awards. How did you feel when the videos went viral?

CPL (NS) Tay: I was very happy.

Kiah Lim: It was encouraging to know the show’s going in the right direction (after all the effort we’ve put in)!

And how have you been dealing with the sudden fame?

Hong Liang: I was doing my makeup for (my costume for) the Lady Gaga concert in a shopping mall toilet. When I came out, someone asked me for a photo! I was surprised that he recognised me with the makeup on, and he said he saw me in the toilet and waited for me – for more than 10 minutes!

Kiah Lim: I had a fan who was about to give up on a restaurant queue after waiting a long time to get in. But he saw me inside and, before leaving, asked the manager, “Can I come in and take a photo with one of your customers?”

Oh my god, I could never summon the courage to do that! (laughs) Maybe if it’s for Lady Gaga, but not actors on a web series lah!

Tell us about your NS days!

CPL (NS) Tay: I’m currently a combat engineer in the 2nd People’s Defence Force, where we are responsible for island defence. I enlisted in March 2014 and served my NS in 30th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers.

Kiah Lim: I enlisted in 1980 and was a storeman for a vehicle ordnance store in Seletar Camp. We were part of the Motor Transport Line and supported military cars, land rovers, 3-tonners and V200 armoured vehicles, supplying mechanics with vehicle parts like spark plugs and air filters.

Hong Liang: I enlisted in 2006 and was a combat medic in Headquarters 6th Singapore Division. I was the first person you’d see when you entered the medical centre – I saw to the medical centre’s documentation and administrative matters.

What are your best NS memories?

Hong Liang: I was part of the advance party to set up the medical centre for an overseas division exercise in 2007.

This was the era before smartphones, so we were cooped up for two whole months with only each other for company!

Running a medical centre together in a foreign land brought the three of us medics (in the advance party) close. We remain good friends to this day!

What did you learn from your time in NS?

Kiah Lim: Sometimes I had to step up as Motor Transport Sergeant and command the men, and it wasn’t always easy. I had to learn how to stand in front of people and lead them.

That’s why I encourage guys to go to command school – it helps develop your leadership qualities, public speaking skills and self-confidence.

CPL (NS) Tay: Leadership, punctuality and adaptability are important values I picked up in NS.

Hong Liang: NS is a time when you get to interact with large groups of people from different backgrounds, all working together for a common goal.

As an NSman medic in 755 SIR (755th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment), I’d share the bunk with people from different vocations. You learn to be more understanding and accommodating of people in different roles and their schedules.

Since Hard Mode was born from the complaints of Singaporeans, what’s your number one complaint about Singapore life? (Unserious answers only!)

Kiah Lim: Singapore life is so efficient and practical – there isn’t a tinge of chaos to make it interesting!

CPL (NS) Tay: Things here are too expensive!

Hong Liang: Ordering drinks, especially for other people, is too difficult! There are so many combinations – you have kopi, teh, gah c or siew c, gah dai or siew dai, and then iced or hot.

But that’s the beauty of Singapore, because it’s just two drinks but countless customisations – you don’t see that anywhere else.