It was bound to be a flashy affair. But 'No more bling bling! The new buzz word is dance hall' - as stipulated on the invite.

The birthday party was thrown for chef extraordinaire Duyen Hackett, who is consulting for the revamp of the yet-to-be-named Alibi upstairs and Grain, a new restaurant in Causeway Bay. The menu this night was refined Asian - 'not to be confused with fusion', says Duyen. The food was served on metre-long pieces of perspex.

The dance hall vibe proved to be a hit for the 70-plus guests who were 'ghetto fabulous'. Playing host were glam girls Nichole Garnaut and Jeanette Skelton, Duyen and her husband Anthony Hackett, Anil Melwani, Deborah Mei, Monica Marazzi, Raju Harilela, Egon Schnyder and Marina Bullivant. And the couples were out in full force. Entertainment lawyer John McLellan and girlfriend Catrina Lam made an appearance, as did Stacey and Bob Hall.