By Chang May ChoonJackie gives birthday girl Deborah a hug. His appearance was one of the night's highlights.
ONCE the showbiz dai-gor (big brother in Cantonese), always the dai-gor.
That's Jackie Chan for you.
The Hong Kong superstar was in town last Friday to open his first cafe, Jackie Chan's Cafe, Coffee and Tea, and was busy with a full day of promotions.
But once he heard from friends that his old pal Deborah Li - Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse's mum - was celebrating her birthday here on the same day, he decided to pop by and convey his good wishes.
First, he made it to a dinner that the former actress was having with some 30 friends at a Chinese restaurant in Great World City.
Former deejay Bernard Lim who was there told The New Paper that Jackie 'surprised everyone by showing up' at about 8pm, because they thought he would be busy with the opening of his cafe.
Jackie, 53, stayed with the group when they adjourned to Lunar: Asia Fusion Bar at Clarke Quay for drinks at around 11pm.
VIP AREA
They were seated at the VIP area on the second floor with four security staff keeping other club patrons at bay.
When the band started playing a birthday song just before midnight, Jackie took it upon himself to be the dai-gor who led a crowd of 1,000 to sing for the birthday girl.
With a touch of drama, that is.
Mr Lim, who is now executive vice-president of the LifeBrandz group that manages Lunar, recalled: 'Jackie was very nice. He stood on the couch where everybody could see him and started conducting the birthday song.
'His presence added to the sparkle of the night.'
Then came the birthday cake. There was only one candle on it, although Deborah is believed to be in her mid-50s.
Mr Lim said Jackie left soon after the cake was cut, as he and his entourage were driving to Kuala Lumpur. He was headed there to open another branch of his cafe chain.
But the celebrations went on.
So what if Deborah's son, Nicholas, was nowhere to be seen? Or her daughter-in-law, actress Cecilia Cheung and grandson Lucas were absent too?
A visibly elated Deborah still had a fabulous time with her Singaporean husband Kong Yew Seng, whom she married in 2000, and other Singaporean friends.
GRAND FINALE
The finale came when Hong Kong balladeer William So took to the stage and serenaded Deborah.
He was invited to perform a one-night-only showcase as part of the club's opening celebrations.
When it came to the encore segment, William opened with a birthday song and thanked Lai-gu (Deborah's nickname) for taking such good care of him.
He had told The New Paper earlier that 'Lai-gu saw me grow up' and they remain close even today.
Then, he dedicated Teresa Teng's evergreen hit I Only Care About You to both Deborah and her husband.
When the couple went on stage to thank William, the latter even managed to convince the hubby to sing a few lines for his wife.
Lunar's marketing executive Gavin Choo recalled: 'Uncle Kong sang quite badly though, with a lot of prompting from William. It was quite funny and yet touching.'
Did Deborah cry?
Mr Choo said she did not, but 'she was evidently very happy and touched by what William sang and said to her'.
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