Former Mediacorp star Zhang Yaodong recently made headlines after being spotted manning a zi char stall at a Tampines industrial park coffee shop.

Snaps of the 47-year-old Malaysian-born actor taking orders and serving customers sparked a flurry of discussion online.

Rather than shy away from the attention, Yaodong, who admitted to have been reluctant to jump on the TikTok bandwagon for years, joined the platform on June 11 and thanked netizens for their unexpected support in his first video.

He shared that he was surprised by the outpouring of support and encouragement, and explained that he hasn’t publicised about his zi char business as they are still working on improving the dishes.

“Your kindness gave me the strength to reflect and figure out my next steps,” he wrote in the caption.

He also promised to share his journey, hinting at more behind-the-scenes content to come as he embarks on this new chapter.

The video clearly struck a chord, racking up over 204K views in just a day. At the time of writing, he has more than 4K followers.

Once a regular fixture on local screens, Yaodong stepped out of the spotlight in July 2024 after a netizen accused him of being a serial cheater.

Yaodong, who has long claimed he is single, later admitted to having two daughters.

In February this year, Mediacorp's talent management arm The Celebrity Agency revealed that he was no longer one of their contracted artistes.

Photos: Zhang Yaodong/TikTok, 夏天的鱼儿/Xiaohongshu