TVB's Heart Of Greed / Moonlight Resonance cast - Dinner @ Noble Banquet, Bukit Bintang

I had been following Astro's Wah Lai Toi "Heart Of Greed" TVB series when I sighted a contest being held to meet with the cast of the series over dinner in Kuala Lumpur. Checking out Astro's website, I clicked on AstroLife and entered the contest. Couple of days later, I told Mom about the contest and she was skeptical that I would be able to win her the chance to meet with the cast. I like the drama but I entered the contest more for my mother as I know she would be thrilled to meet them up close and personal.

I had forgotten about the contest till I received an email from Astro...

" Thank you for participating in the recent "Heart Of Greed" Contest organized by AstroLife and TVB. We are pleased to inform you that you have won 2 invitations to the溏心夜宴Heart of Greed Dinner with the invited 溏心风暴Heart of Greed stars (Ms Louise Lee (李司棋), Mr Ha Yu (夏雨), Ms Michelle Yim (米雪), Mr Moses Chan (陈豪), Mr Raymond Lam (林峰), Ms Tavia Yeung (杨怡) and Mr Louis Yuen Siu-Cheung (阮兆祥) at this event.

Please find below for the details of the event:

Date : 16^th August 2008 (Saturday)
Time : 7.00pm – 10.30pm
Attire : Smart casual
Venue : Noble Banquet 阳城宴会厅, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur"

(L-R) Raymond Lam Fung, Tavia Yeung, Louise Lee, Har Yu, Michelle Yim, Moses Chan Ho, Louise Yuen

I was excited for my mom but couldn't let her know till the next morning as she had already turned in for the night when I read that email. I was wide awake that night and had trouble falling asleep and was already up at 7 am. When I finally got hold of my mom on the phone and told her the good news, she didn't seem to believe me! It took me a couple more minutes to go over the news before it jolted her senses and she was indeed happy!

So, came August 16 (we had to "abandon" my sis and Aly, who were here in Malaysia visiting) and made our way to Noble Banquet. We were speculating how many people will be attending and thought maybe there will be about 7 tables and hopefully one TVB star will sit at one table each. Well, that was wishful thinking...

When we reached there we found out there were 50 tables of invited guests (500 people in attendance!!!) and my hopes were dashed to take photos of them, let alone WITH them. Security was rather tight and I managed to shove my camera in an opening along with many others to just click away at whatever was there! They were sitting in enclosed section with some VIPs and media folks, taking photos with the VIPs and signing autographs away.

Hahaha...Moses Chan saw me at one point and he decided to smile and pose for me, so sweet of him. With that, he won me over and I'm now a fan of his! Here's a collage of Moses Chan's pics (the ones with the vertical strips in the background were the ones taken through a small gap, the other two from the stage).

A shot of Moses Chan having a chat with Louise Lee through the opening too!

Here's part of the cast of Heart Of Greed / Moonlight Resonance. Of course if you had VIP access, one would have been able to take a proper shot like this! Hahaha...

We were then told to take our seat as dinner would be served shortly. At the same time, Episode 39 and 40 (the finale) of Heart Of Greed would be telecast on the big screen and LCD TVs for all to see (a couple of hours earlier than the actual screening time for Astro subscribers that night). The 7 cast members then made their way to stage and I decided to take a chance and rush towards the front and had the opportunity to stand on the first row! Here are some of the photos I took...Precious Pea, there's Moses and Tavia for you ;o)

Raymong Lam Fung & Moses Chan Ho

Tavia Yeung & Michelle Yim

Three Men & A Baby - Louis Yuen, Raymond Lam Fung & Moses Chan Ho. Seconds after this shot was taken, the baby was crying for his mother! I'm sure most of us won't cry if we were in Raymond Lam Fung's arms! Hehehe...

The photographers asked Tavia Yeung, Michelle Yim and Louise Lee to give the thumbs up and say something good for one of the sponsors, Wong Lo Kat (the herbal drink)!

Tavia Yeung kinda reminds me of a younger version of our Malaysian Michelle Yeoh.

Tavia Yeung, Michelle Yim, Louise Lee & Har Yu

Raymond Lam Fung - who sang a song for us during dinner

The food at Noble Banquet was good! Here's some shots of the food
From 12 o'clock (anti clockwise)
Individually foil wrapped Abalone with mushroom and wheat gluten resting on a bed of stones set on fire with alcohol (pic right below); Deep Fried Fish Fillet drizzled with Wasabi Mayonnaise served with diced Honey Dew Salad; Pumpkin Ball with sweet peas, celery and carrots; Individually wrapped Lotus leaf rice; Salt Baked Chicken and for dessert, Chinese Pancake and Custard Sponge cakes.

At this point, I was just happy that I got the opportunity to take photos of the TVB cast on stage. Astro had a photographer going round taking photos of the guests from each table. It was nice of Astro to take note and send the photos to us via email after the event. Here we are, Table 40.

Towards the end of the dinner, the emcee made an announcement that there will be a lucky draw to pick three table numbers and the winners will be able to take a group photo with the cast. I encouraged the rest of the guests on Table 40 to chant our number...The emcee called out, "9". Our heart sank a little. Then he said "9+1, 10!", our heart sank further. We kept chanting, "40, 40, 40, 40, 40...till he called out, "Lastly 20"! We were disappointed and I was telling myself that we should not have been deprived of taking a pic with the cast. Then suddenly, the emcee announced, "We still have a bit more time left and have decided to draw another number to take a group photo with the cast". Our faces lit up and we started chanting again...till the emcee said "40!!!!". Everyone at Table 40 squealed in excitement and couldn't believe our luck!

All the guest at Table 40 went home happy that night. So, I manage to take photos of the TVB cast and also take a photo with them. Albeit not alone, it was still a privilege as not many had a chance to. Mom even manage to shake hands with Moses, Tavia, Michelle and Louise! We left Noble Banquet happily and I was happy that Mom was happy. Like my brother said, "You made Mom's day, no...you made Mom's year!". Hahaha....and Astrolife helped me ;o) Now, I'm looking forward to seeing the TVB cast again in Moonlight Resonance.

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy. ~Gretta Brooker Palmer