This is the 78th instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades.At a press conference on April 20 at Hong Kong’s MacPherson Stadium, the warm, easy banter onstage between veteran Hong Kong actors Michelle Yim Wai-ling and Ricky Lau Wai-man was the kind that can only be produced by decades of shared history.Yim ­– better known by her stage name, Mai Suet, which phonetically inspired her English moniker – was there to announce her two June music concerts, titled “Friends, You Have Rice 55 Party”, marking a steady 55 years in the entertainment industry.Meanwhile, fellow former Commercial Television (CTV) star Lau, who has acted together with Yim in several drama series, had the room laughing as he joked about their early days.“If we had been lucky 55 years ago, today would be our 55th wedding anniversary, but Mai Suet ignored me back then,” he teased.It was a grounded, lighthearted moment that perfectly captured Yim today, who, at 70, remains a highly active presence in Hong Kong showbiz.Michelle Yim attends a police recruitment campaign in a traditional costume in 1977. Photo: Chan Kiu