haha. what a misleading title!
ok, let me start with : 10 fun facts on my awesome day with ANUAR ZAIN during the secretaries week show 2012 at KL convention center on the 10th of april.
# 1 : ANUAR ZAIN sat next to me on the stairs of the stage!
but really, i was just sitting at the foot of the stairs of the stage trying to take a picture of myself with anuar zain in the background. anuar zain was about to sing at the time, i think it was ‘ku berjanji kerna cinta’. all i wanted was background of anuar zain. SUDDENLY, anuar zain himself came down and sat next to me! on the stairs. right next to me! while still singing! hihi. *hati berbunga-bunga dan berpopcorn garrett*
he was absolutely charming!
ok, you can’t actually see ME in this youtube video, but at the beginning of the clip, right before he sang, he can be seen creeping down the stage to sit on the stairs – that was ME next to him! hihi. lepas tu barulah berduyun anuar zain fans nak bergambar dengan dia! opps! siap ade yang kiss lagi. oh, no. please don’t violate my darling anuar zain!
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ok, lemme rewind for a moment.
# 2 : my husband mr. khairul surprised me with a ticket. i didn’t even ask to go to this show!
it was 10th april, and my mr. khairul (LOVE YOU!!!!) surprised me with a ticket to see anuar zain at the secretaries week 2012 show at KL convention center. mr. khairul was still in dubai at the time, and he would only arrive in malaysia a day before my sister’s wedding.
mr. k : u akan stay ipoh je ke nanti?
me : yup. nak prepare for wedding suma. hantaran pun belum gubah lagi.
mr. k : no, you KENA pegi KL.
me : apsal?
mr. k : tuesday. anuar zain.
me : WHAT??!!
i was completely overwhelmed by the surprise, because i know mr. khairul mmg boring dgn anuar zain ni (coz the wife is such a hopelessly devoted fan! hihi) but still managed to grab me a ticket! he only bought ONE ticket, though coz the tickets are so expensive. so i was about to go alone on this show.
this was the perfect stranger who sat next to me during the whole of anuar zain secretaries week show at KLCC – mazlina, or just maz.
# 3 : alone at a concert. lucky to sat next to a great gal, and one sombong makcik.
alone at a concert? that’s gonna be weird. i gotta make friends at my table to better enjoy the show! when i first sat down, the table of 10 was nearly full. i tried to start a conversation with the girl sitting next to me.
ok, aku tanya korang lah kan, kalau aku duk sblah korang senyum-senyum, then tanya elok2, korang sudi tak nak sembang dgn aku? i did the same to this pretty girl sitting next to me, “korang ni keja tempat yg sama ke?” referring to the group at the table. i expected the ball to get rolling and we’d be talking about working place. but the girl simply said a short, “tak.” and then she looked away. amboi, sombong nye cik kak! paling2 koman pun tanya la balik aku keja kat mana. oh, mentang-mentang aku dtg sorang, ko bawak geng ko malas nk layan ye. kesian kat aku tau.
and that’s when another girl came and sat next to me. her name is maz, and she turned out to be the coolest person i ever wanted to meet at an anuar zain’s concert.
i thought i’d be all alone during the show with noone to cheer with, but she was very friendly and we clicked right away. THANKS MAZ! thanks so much for being *crazy* with me during the show – changing tables closer to the stage (nasib aku blah dari cik kak nyombong tu), going up front to the stage to get closer to anuar zain, clapping and cheering aloud, and of course, for taking the lovely picture of me with anuar zain! i hope this friendship continues until the next anuar zain secretaries week 2013? haha. (*hint* to mr. khairul!)
also stumbled upon my aunt cik’s niece (on her husband’s side) farra. what an absolutely endearing person, so soft-spoken and feminine. she was so lucky – she won two tickets to anuar zain’s show! just like that!
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# 4 : opening act by comedian ‘sepahtu’. aku serius tak pernah tengok these guys in action, but not-bad lah!
the show started with an opening by stand-up comedian sepahtu. ok, i haven’t been watching ANY of their maharaja lawak gig or whatever lawak show they have on astro, so believe it or not, i’ve NEVER seen these guys in action, so i really didn’t know what to expect.
when they came up, i thought shuib was really funny, and even has a nice voice singing anuar zain’s song (i hope i got the name right, the one married to that singer right?) but his partner was using insult joke all the time. asyik nak mengutuk shuib je. itu je ke material dia? i think a little insult is funny, but A LOT was beginning to sound degrading. kesian si shuib. not so funny after that.
# 5 : yasmin hani was the MC – sweet!
and then little miss yasmin hani went up to MC the event. she was a darling. so sweet and beautiful and funny too. she lightened up the mood even as the crowd began to get restless waiting for dear anuar zain to appear.
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# 6 : food was delicious, but could be better! and bigger portion!
to be honest, food was ok. delicious but aku memang tak tahan dish yang pinggan besa tapi makanannye setoet je. haha. i’m really not into ultra-fine cuisine where the plate is so big with the teeny tiny food sitting in the middle with a swoosh of this cream and a pinch of that powder and few dots of this sauce – voila! how can enjoy food like that!
(mr. khairul once brought me on one of our anniversaries to the posh frangipani, and that was the first time i ate food like that – big plate, micro-mini food. na-ah. big portion for me. always big portion!)
nways the appetizer was already there on our table when i arrived. people are still arriving, saying hi and sitting down, making themselves comfortable. anuar zain is nowhere to be seen so all we could do was enjoy this first meal. it is ‘house-smoked trio-peppered lamb loin served with semi-dried tomato and asian greens drizzled with calamata olive and lemon thyme vinaigrette’. try saying that in one breath huh?
i love lamb, and this one LOOKED uncooked, but it was really tasty. i savoured each bite, chewing slowly like a cow chewing grass – because i know how little the portion is! kesian kan, lagipun kalau makanan ni dah habis, anuar zain tak keluar-keluar lagi nanti takde ape nak buat kan, termenung-termenung je. haha.
the next meal was ‘lavender honey glazed chicken roulade served on herbs potato puree with charred seasonal vegetables – roasted garlic olive sauce.’ it’s boneless chicken, tasting really good. better than i expected. this meal was quite filling, but i think they’re being so kedekut on the veggies. hello, we pay so much, you know! baby carrot pun nak kena potong dua ke?
for dessert it’s ‘white chocolate mango tiramisu accompanied with wildberry compote’. what the heck is a ‘compote’? nways, i don’t like tiramisu (don’t like anything remotely related to coffee) but i HAD to finish this. it was too cute! with AZ choc on top! again, i was eating it one bite at a time – pausing so very often so that i still have some cake left while i enjoy anuar zain singing!
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handsomenya!
# 7 : ANUAR ZAIN was sick and had a sore throat that day. nevertheless, he performed effortlessly!
i can’t even begin to describe his performance. fantastic. and to think that anuar zain was sick that day. you can see him pinching his throat at one point or another. kesiannya! he also kept drinking from a bottled water at the side of the stage.
however, he performed like a true entertainer. with that mesmerizing soaring voice, that undeniable charm he wooed the crowd like he always does. going to his show again after all these years (masa zaman uni, aku selalu jgk pegi gig anuar zain hihi) reminds me that i’m still very much in love! (mr. k no worries, you’re still numero uno, honey!)
my table was quite a distance from the stage, but it was so worth it. seeing him LIVE was a real treat. besides, anuar zain always find time to walk down the stage and walk to the back row and meet his fans. he was such a sweetheart. he mingled with everyone with the same charm.
and of course, sometimes maz and i would creep up to the front to take a closer shot at anuar zain. enjoy my youtube clip of anuar zain singing ‘cinta harus memiliki’!
and he. is. so. CUTE!!! i LOVE that suit too! can you believe that he’s already 40?
lovely adibah noor & darling anuar zain. (taken from blog azzamoro. thanks!)
# 8 : BONUS! adibah noor was one of anuar zain’s back-up singers!
it was a wonderful surprise. i would pay to watch adibah noor sing, and now i got it at anuar zain’s show. she was just unbelievably good. i love her voice. it came out so effortlessly and still able to sound so incredible. they both did a duet on whitney houston’s ‘saving all my love’ which is my fav whitney houston’s song!
adibah noor was also the sweetest and didn’t mind the fans who wanted to take pictures with her. one cool chick! watch the youtube clip to enjoy the wonderful performance of two master vocals! LOVE IT!
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# 9 : doorgifts – chocolates in anuar zain box and an awesome picture book of anuar zain
i did expect more from the doorgift goodie bag – a cd at least, or a t-shirt. or even a tumbler or a notepad (secretaries week show kan, kasi la something yang bole guna kat office!)
but the hard-cover picture book is still a wonderful gift – a compilation of anuar zain’s pictures – from his early days of ‘anuar dan elina’ to the present. some of the pictures are rare shots of anuar zain as a teen, and it was such an enjoyable time flipping through the pages!
# 10 : the last time i met ANUAR ZAIN was more than 10 years ago!
i remember he was singing with camelia, somewhere in bukit bintang. he was charming then, and still charming now. he really knows how to treat a fan – no matter where he is, no matter how crazy a fan gets!
and he’s not just all looks and gaya. he’s an incredible singer who is second to none. a class of his own. to me, one of the best male voices around!
a young me, and a young anuar zain! hihi
