PUBLISHED ONNovember 07, 2022 10:31 AMByDrima ChakrabortyAs kids, a themed birthday party — centred around our favourite cartoons, perhaps — was pretty much the gold standard of birthday celebrations.
It seems that very little changes in adulthood if you have the right friends.
On Saturday (Nov 5), local actor Li Nanxing headed to a Japanese restaurant for what he thought was a work meeting. Instead, he arrived at a surprise birthday party thrown by his celebrity pals themed around his 1993 hit TV series The Unbeatables.
The actor, who turned 58 today, wrote through his agency’s Instagram: “Thank you everyone for surprising me and coming out to celebrate my birthday! I received all the blessings of my overseas friends as well.”
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CknPXq-uY3M/[/embed]
He also thanked his agency for organising the party and “trying to catch me off guard” but revealed that he had spotted a camera in front of him, giving away the secret.
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/Ckp0yS1OHf2/[/embed]
Originally thinking he was going for a meeting with actress Vivian Lai, Nanxing told Shin Min Daily News that he had to be “coaxed” by his manager to attend.
Even then, he wanted to finish up the meeting quickly and “go to [his family’s] dessert shop to help out” afterwards.
It’s safe to say that there was no quick escape for Nanxing, because the star-studded guest list of about 50 included Fann Wong, Christopher Lee, Zheng Geping, Hong Huifang, Pan Lingling, Huang Shinan, Chen Xiuhuan and Huang Biren, among others.
Overseas friends of Nanxing, like former Mediacorp actor Chunyu Shanshan and Taiwanese actors Chen Meifeng and Alex Ko, sent in video messages to wish him a happy birthday.
[[nid:519271]]
Vivian was present, of course, as one of the hosts of the party, alongside radio DJ Kemin.
The Unbeatables, starring Nanxing and Zoe Tay, was renowned for being the only Singaporean drama of the era which discussed gambling and vice, spawning two sequel seasons in 1996 and 2002.
Considering the theme of the party, the obvious choice for Nanxing’s birthday cake had to be a two-tiered cake decorated with gambling paraphernalia — cards, mahjong chips and dice — and gold bullions. Topping the birthday cake was a cute figure of Nanxing as the ‘king of gambling’.
Partygoers also kept with the theme by writing their well-wishes on giant cards shaped like poker chips, while huge playing cards adorned the walls of the venue.
ALSO READ: No joke: Li Nanxing still uses Nokia 3310
drimac@asiaone.com
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
