Remembering Singaporean comedian and food critic Moses Lim

Moses Lim was a Singaporean celebrity and one of the country’s most recognizable personalities. His passing on 11 February was mourned by many big names in the Singaporean entertainment scene, such as the movie director Jack Neo.
This is the story of the iconic actor who broke boundaries and became not just one of Singapore, but also C-entertainment’s most iconic stars.

All images in this gallery are from Moses Lim 林益民 / Facebook unless otherwise stated.

Moses Lim was a Singaporean actor, TV host, comedian, and food critic. He first rose to fame in 1995 when he was cast in the Singaporean sitcom ‘Under One Roof’, and became one of the country’s most recognisable household names ever since.

Moses Lim was regarded as a trailblazer in the Singaporean entertainment world, as he was the first star who has successfully transitioned from chinese-language media, to the english-langauge one in Singapore, reports The New Paper. It was unprecedented.

Did you know?: Moses Lim’s career beginnings was one that was culturally influential? AsiaOne reports that he was one of the few entertainers in the Singaporean media industry who was capable of performing ‘crosstalk’, a uniquely chinese-language comedic performance art.

In his early years, Moses Lim was inseparable from what we know today, Singapore’s biggest director, Jack Neo. The two were a comedy duo and were a permanent fixture on many of Singapore’s early comedy shows, along with other comedians such as Marcus Chin and Hua Liang, reports The Straits Times.

Image: Jack Neo CK / Facebook

Another interesting fact on Moses Lim’s career was that the star had been blacklisted twice by media companies in Singapore! AsiaOne reports that the first instance was during when he was active as a comedy duo with Jack Neo, and then later when he disagreed with management and contractual terms of his agreement with Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS), now known as Mediacorp.

Image: Jack Neo CK / Facebook

Despite the ban from TCS, Moses Lim was offered a job opportunity with China Entertainment Television (CETV), a Hong Kong based TV media company, and it was through that, that he started his foray into being a star associated with food on television, as he was given a cookery program with the opportunity in 1994, reports The Straits Times.

According to his official website, Moses Lim’s journey with food started earlier in 1993, when he was asked to host a food tour, which later caused him to found the ‘Moses Lim Gourmet Club’, where he hosts eating tours bi-annually.

His official website also notes that Moses Lim’s passion for food earned him many gourmet ambassadorships internationally, which includes countries outside of Singapore like South Korea, and Australia! We can consider him truly one of Singapore’s most internationally recognised foodies.

According to The Straits Times, we can say that it was through the opportunity with CETV that Moses Lim first became an international star! He was starring alongside big name stars in Hong Kong like Lydia Sum and Lo Hoi-Pang, who were his co-hosts on the show. His show was aired across Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

Despite his prolific background in not just Singapore, but abroad, what was truly the most memorable role of Moses Lim especially was his role as Tan Ah Teck in ‘Under One Roof’ and his role was very fondly remembered amongst millennial Singaporeans, explains Channel News Asia, as the sitcom was aired on Singaporean television for eight years.

Image: Mediacorp

‘Under One Roof’ served as Moses Lim’s hallmark transition from being a Chinese-language star, into an English-language one in the country! And the role in ‘Under One Roof’ was not just one loved by Singaporeans, but also one that earned Moses Lim the award for Best Male Actor in a Comedy for the 1996 Asian Television Awards, notes The New Paper.

Image: Mediacorp

Despite his illustrious career, 8days reports that Moses Lim decided to retire from the entertainment industry in 2012. Despite being retired, the star had made some occasional appearances in later shows but never made a full-comeback to the industry.

The last of Moses Lim on-screen was in 2015 when he played the role of Mr. Wong in ‘Our Sister Mambo’. Occasionally, there was news reported in Singapore on the star, and he was more known for his declining health in his later years, especially for his heart issues, reports 8days.

Moses Lim’s heart issues did catch up with him as he passed on February 11, 2025 due to complications related to his heart, which The Straits Times reports as due to "ischaemic heart disease", where his arteries had hardened and narrowed.

The Straits Times reports that several celebrities had attended Moses Lim’s wake, most prominently those he had worked with, like Jack Neo, Vernetta Lopez, Henry Thia, and Mark Lee. All of them were still shocked by his sudden passing, and remembered him very fondly.

Image: Mediacorp