Oh my god, I’m so nervous!
Dating is so hard.
Over the past seven years, I've been on all the dating apps:
Bumble, Tinder, Coffee Meets Bagel, OkCupid,
You name it, I've tried it, but yet nothing seems to stick.
Am I the drama?
I’m... sad... matchmake... me... please...
I've tried the free and paid versions of these apps before.
You still have to go through that mind- numbing process of talking to everyone.
filtering out the legit people from the scammers, weirdos and clowns myself.
After a bit of research, I settled on trying out
professional matchmaking service Lunch Actually.
19 years of experience, 150,000 dates arranged,
87% satisfaction rate.
What happened to the last 13% ?
I'll try anything at this point.
So let's sign up and see how it goes.
First, you go for
consultation where your matchmaker will ask you questions
about your background, dating history, and what you're looking for in a partner.
Then, the agency will look through their database to find you a match.
Once the match is found, both singles will go on a date.
There are 3 buckets that I'm going to give you now.
your must-have criteria, good-to- have criteria, and your deal breakers.
Cannot ask for too much, right?
(flustered) Okay.... I–
for me, must-haves are open mindedness, must be ambitious,
not necessarily just at work, but have a big zest for life,
Do you want someone with a more global background?
Actually yes.
if a person has a very traditional set of “this is what a woman must be like”
or “this is what I expect from”,
you know, like “must stay at home”
I think that would be a bit difficult for me
because I would say I'm fairly global and also independent.
I think my physical must-have is uh...
...Height.
my minimum is like maybe 180cm or 178cm.
first thing that I’m attracted to in a person is height.
Uh, yeah - right...
I would like a tall guy.
Let's move to the deal breakers.
Somebody who is disrespectful to others, like a man
who is able to respect his family, will then respect yours.
And my family is very important to me.
actually your preferences are still okay.
OK!
I would say it's not something that is sky high.
If there’s just one thing that perhaps I can negotiate with you...
It would be the height...
-No...
So do you prefer 180cm tall
which is a scumbag or like someone is 178cm tall
but he is really sweet to you.
honestly, at first I would probably go for the scumbag,
but then...
I mean, yeah, y-you're right lah.
I mean...
Maybe park it in the good-to-have (bucket).
I’m actually very very hopeful.
I don't really know what to expect.
But if she really find somebody with all the traits that she analyzed me for,
I think that we should be like a pretty good match?
Yeah, I will... work on the height thing
So we have found you a match!
- oh my gosh! - are you excited to hear about it?
this gentleman, he preferred to be known
as WJ for now, which are his initials.
So will you show me a picture or like-
No. It’s to actually protect the privacy of our client.
So basically, I will share about his personality, that kind of thing.
so I don't know what he looks like until the date.
-Yes.
...
that's like a blind date.
...Okay. Not completely blind!
He articulates himself very well, very well-spoken,
very friendly,
very intellectual,
so he's doing very well.
His career is very stable
and someone with a growth mindset,
so he likes to learn things outside of his expertise.
He's also quite a spontaneous person.
So he did share with us sometimes when he hears a particular song,
he will just bring to a dance or just hum to the music.
So he's quite uh.. quirky?
he likes to change his hair color.
every now and then - oh...
so now he is in his...
ash-grey hair era.
-uh.. um...
Okay...
His height,
is... - duh da dum...
unfortunately, he's not 180cm tall.
so he's 173cm in terms of height.
And his build is more of a medium build.
All the arrangements will be done by our agency,
so we will just check in with both of you If you have a preferred place
or restaurant to go to then we make the reservation on.
behalf and in the name of the couple.
...
...As she was describing him,
I...
didn't really feel like
he would be somebody that I would typically be interested in?
you know, if nothing else, I think if I go in with an open mind,
you know, something might come of it. It's very hard to say.
So we're just go and date and see how it goes.
.....
But the thing that he breaks out in song, I CANNOT.
I just hope he's nice.
...yeah.
you'd be surprised at the number
of very strange guys I've met during this journey.
I mean, at least for our generation, we've been exposed to like the dating apps
and all that for such a long time
that you just meet so many random people,
and over time you’re just kind of I wouldn’t say jaded?
But you just,
you kind of think you know the pattern of what people are going to be like,
whether that's true or not.
most of my friends around me are attached or, you know, I attended
three weddings in the past month.
I don't think it's peer pressure, but I think when you see other people
sort of settling into a routine with somebody that they chose,
it makes me wonder like...
is there something wrong with me?
I'm increasingly conscious or maybe afraid of the fact
that maybe I will just have a life where I have to fend for myself.
And yeah, I mean-I mean, sorry that’s very heavy right?
it’s just a date, but I think it's a lot of the things
I've been thinking about and also where I'm at in life.
🎵 hums the Mulan matchmaker song 🎵
🎵 you’ll bring honour to us all 🎵
Oh my god, I’m so nervous!
happen
is that.
Yeah. Hi.
*deep breath*
Eh, hi! - Hi!
Nice to meet you, hi! I’m Sue-Ann - Hello. Hi. Hi.
I am WJ.
Nice to meet you.
I was told that you had ash-blond hair, but-
so that’s the biggest difference - ohh, ok
the thing is, it grew.
And then-
So how often do you change your hair colour?
uhhh....
Actually that was the first time I changed my hair color...
I'm curious.
Why do you think that Andrea chose me for you?
what did they tell you?
what did they tell me...
ok,
because I'm looking for someone that is.. like, more,
intellec-
intellectually curious.
That is like my main...
...so I- I actually worked on, like, my own AI generative project.
So then what do you do for fun?
Huh?
Oh, or is this what you do for work?
that is what I do for fun and I go gym too.
And then...
I also have a recent fascination for philosophy.
Oh really! Interesting.
Who are your favorites?
I’m very into existentialism.
Okay...
Interesting, yes. What aspects? - Do- do you... do you-
- Do- do you... - Who do you read?
Currently reading Nietszche.
Ok, wow, very depressing reading.
Do you talk to your friends
and family about like, the matchmaking service?
No.
Really?? - heh.
Why not why not?
because - okay but my parents... they- they don't really...
-they’re like “do whatever”
Yeah, “do whatever you want”, that kind of thing.
As long as you don’t bring loansharks to the door... hahaha
Oh no.. that’s very low bar, babes.
- like what do you think
the moral of the story of this is? (FYI: the story is of the blind men and an elephant, google it)
I think it means that we are all limited by what we know.
...Yeah.
And that the truth is always often...
bigger than the sum of what we think we know.
Yes, yes, yes. You got it correctly.
One person can only meet a limited amount of people.
-unless you are on Tinder.
Thank you for agreeing to do this. - Yes.
I find you really interesting.
Aw, thank you!
Thank you I appreciate it.
- and a... fascinating person. - I’m trying.
Yeah.
To be honest like I could see myself hanging out with
WJ again...
...like as friends.
He’s an interesting person,
there’s decent conversation,
there might not be an immediate attraction or like an immediate chemistry,
but I mean, I definitely think that there’s... because your friends..
and I think that's a good sign
it goes to show that these are people that I might not pick for myself.
But the fact that the service pushes me to meet people outside
of my usual circles, I think that in itself is very valuable.
And...
yeah,
I actually might really like be interested
to meet more people down the line,
just because clearly swiping for myself hasn't really been the solution either.
Yeah...
Anyway I asked for nice and I got nice so...!
The service was, um... interesting?
It definitely forced me out of my comfort zone.
All in all, I found the consultation bit to be really good.
It helped me think about what I want and put things in perspective.
This part I would still use in the future.
But the downside is that there is no way to filter out people I already know
I would not be interested in.
There’s just things I can’t describe, right?
Especially about personality.
So here's the tea:
for upwards of $2,000
I don't know if this is something I'll go for again.
With that said, it was really quite an eye-opening experience
and I'm very glad that I gave it a shot.
When it comes to dating,
would you be willing to spend this much money in order to save time?
Tell us what you think in the comments below.
What do you think?
Do you think that the guy should always pay?
let's say now we go out on a date and you think that the date is trash.
We go dutch, you are going to tell your friends
“Wah... he still make me pay leh!”
A hundred to save my reputation. It's okay.
It's okay.
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