Japanese pop icon Seiko Matsuda’s recipe for success

In the film 'Ramen Teh', Seiko Matsuda (left) plays a single mother and food blogger who develops a bond with a young ramen chef played by Takumi Saitoh. Photo: Zhao Wei Films

It was a sweltering July afternoon in Singapore, with the mercury surging past 32°C. Sweat glistened on the brows and faces of Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo and his technical crew at a Chinatown tea merchant’s shop as they prepared to shoot a scene for his latest film Ramen Teh, a Singapore-Japanese-French co-production about food, family and forgiveness.

The heat and humidity bothered Seiko Matsuda not one bit. Although a recent back injury was giving her some grief, the Japanese pop icon – who plays a single mother and food blogger in the movie – looked cool as a cucumber, smiling and patiently waiting for the cameras to roll.