Sunday came a-calling, and what better way to spend the last day of the weekend than to unwind with some delicious bites in the neighbourhood?

Not too long ago, I received an invitation for a food tasting/review session at Nooks by Baker Dave, a cosy restaurant tucked at a delightful corner in Plaza Damas 3, Hartamas.

Naturally, I brought along my better half to experience the afternoon with me.

Arrived at Nooks in less than 10 minutes; locating it wasn’t a problem at all! 

I was half prepared to get lost in the carpark or run into difficulty searching for Nooks.

But the moment I exited the carpark, it was Nook’s right in front of me!

Strategic spot, may I add? 🙂

Love how they used crates as a table and exposed planks for its façade.

The exterior already gave me a warm and inviting feeling. 

 Saw this signage at the door. What a way to be prepared and make us feel welcome! 🙂

The moment you enter, you will definitely not miss a display of cupcakes greeting you at the front door. They’re all so beautifully and creatively decorated! 

Adorable, no?

Baker Dave himself, as the name suggests, is a baker by profession.

He specializes in customized 3D cakes for birthdays, weddings or any special occasions. I am definitely going to order my birthday cake from him this year – you will see why at the end of this post! 😛

The interior by Nooks by Baker Dave was filled with colour, quirkiness and bright hues!

I immediately felt comfortable as I took my seat, as there were many different kinds of seating to fit the varied preferences of their patrons.

 Can’t say how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE their simple, colourful decor  & shelves!

 If I wasn’t conducting a food review of the entire menu,

this comfy armchair will definitely be my spot!

We were first served with a cold glass of Honey Lime Juice.

This reminds me of the ones my family used to make for me back home.

Nostalgia, nostalgia…

Honey Lime Juice

Their homemade drink also includes he use of rock sugar & sliced lime.

Good for sore throats & relieves headaches, that’s for sure!

Next, we were served an appetizer that I recognize, from being served all the canapés whilst at events. It’s not in the menu, mind you!

Maybe Baker Dave was in a good mood that afternoon. 😛

Carrot & Cucumber sticks dipped in honey mustard!

 Served in a wine glass, interesting concept!

My kind of a healthy snack – aka yummy rabbit food LOL

Once we were done with the appetizers and got more or less settled in, Baker Dave made his appearance and welcomed us with a little opening speech. 

Nooks by Baker Dave features a full menu of moderately priced comfort food of breakfast, sandwiches, pasta, rice, and brewed coffee, along with cakes and buns that are baked from scratch.

 Baker Dave thanking us for making our way here and

explained a little about the concept behind the food & pastries they serve.

He also shared that all items are prepared, baked and cooked at the premise itself.

The fusion food here are all inspired by travel and mom’s home-cooked food, with his own very special twist. 

The fact that we were going to review the full menu, made Baker Dave thought of serving us a smaller portion of every meal first, and then flashing out all the meals in its actual size when we were done with it.

I found this to be a fantastic idea, with a foresight that we would be full to the brim and unable to finish our meals, had he give us the full size instead.

 First, we reviewed the Nooks Breakfast.

Nooks Breakfast (actual size)

This had two Eggrolls with Turkey Ham, Cheese, Chicken Sausage + a slice of toasted bread of the day with butter & jam.

All breads and buns are baked in the kitchen and alternated between wholemeal, black sesame, wholemeal flaxseed and multigrain and contain wholesome wholemeal flour without additives and preservatives.

Being a very breakfast person, I enjoyed this simple yet hearty breakfast meal a lot!

Next was also a breakfast meal. Two adorable ‘burger’ buns!

It was the Nooks Duo!

Tuna Mayo & Scrambled Egg on two soft buns with cucumber & tomato

Soft fluffy buns with sesame seeds on top – who could resist? 😀

The stuffing was so tasty – when asked which was my favourite, I couldn’t choose!

We’re done with the breakfast meals!

That’s buddies Jen & Max with the boyfie and I, along with Baker Dave himself.

It’s time for our lunch meals. Prepare your stomachs! 

 This isn’t any ordinary carbonara…

Nooks Spicy Carbonara!

I’m glad the level of spiciness wasn’t too extreme for me. 

This is perfect for anyone who fancies a little extra ‘boomz’ in their meals.

Deliciously rich like Carbonaras should be, this dish has its own spicy cream sauce paired with chicken ham & shitake mushroom, cheese and oh that yummy egg yolk. Sure to perk you up.

If you thought that was unique, our next lunch meal was a rarer find!

Nooks Sesame Vegetarian Chicken Pasta

Vegetarian Chicken, Carrot, Shitake Mushroom, Sweet Pease in Roasted Sesame Sauce

For my vegetarian readers, you’re in luck! 

Nooks also features a vegetarian pasta meal with soy/tofu made to look like chicken slices.

Despite not being vegetarian, I truly enjoyed this dish. The roasted sesame sauce paired perfectly with sliced carrots, shitake mushrooms and sweet peas was so fragrant – definitely giving this meal a good bang for your buck.

 The next meal serves to appease local Malaysian palates.

Nooks Rendang Chicken with Rice

This meals takes the cake, with its freshly prepared homemade spices blended to make the perfect chicken rendang with rice served with sunny side up egg.

It was certainly spicy for me, looks like i have to level up! 😛

Needless to say, it wasn’t spicy for him at all!

Speaking of unique dishes, check this one out.

Ever heard of pumpkin cooked in chicken curry? 

 Nooks Pumpkin Chicken Curry with Hardboiled Eggs & Rice

I’ve never tasted something quite like that before.

Their golden pumpkin was gloriously simmered with homemade Belacan curry and tender chicken breast. One of my faves right here!

Our final meal was a huge burger. 

By then, moo and I were already so satiated with the rest of their mouthwatering bites that we were BOTH unable to finish ONE burger!

 Nooks Signature Burger

Being all for non-processed food, I’m so glad that everything is homemade/prepared in-house!  Even their burger’s chicken patty was!

Drizzled with barbeque sauce, with a slice of cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo sandwiched with two wholemeal buns, this burger was, safe to say one of the ‘healthier’ versions of burgers. (Fries? What fries?) 😛

Check out the burgers I had a while back in SS15 here if you are interested in more burgers.

Baker Dave had me a cup of flat white too. Yay!

How could I ever say no to my fave cuppa? 

Their cuppa was roasted by Lighthouse coffee roasters, and boasts a medium bodied blend of Central American & African coffees.

Def loving its caramel-like sweetness with a hint of nutty attributes!

 We were ushered to the alfresco area for some mingling and

chit-chatting with Baker Dave and the rest of his guests.

 The team prepared some cute props too! We had fun with that, haha!

Just when we thought that concludes our afternoon soiree, Baker Dave placed two notoriously sinful looking desserts.

My, my… would you take a look at those goodies! 

Left: Ultimate Chocolate | Right: Mango Cheesecake

Triple layers of dark chocolate mousse, chocolate fudge & chocolate cake

Creamy cheese with Belgium mango puree

I cannot express how smitten I am with both these delicacies. They were to die for!

The Ultimate Chocolate consisted of triple layers of dark chocolate mousse, chocolate fudge and chocolate cake. It was so soft and rich, and every bite melted in my mouth.

Now… this was the cake that I was referring to, in the beginning of this review that I wanted for my birthday! 😉

 The Mango Cheesecake was so soft and creamy, with strong hints of its Belgium mango puree. The mango tasted so rich and moderately sweet, almost reminding me of durian!

 Just as our wonderful gastronomic arvo came to an end,

Baker Dave again, surprised us with two gift-wrapped presents!

Inside, were bumblebee cupcakes, a ceramic speaker-mug which amplifies music playing from your phone, and almond biscotties.

Looks like Santa came early, disguised as a baker this year! 😀

 Thank you, Baker Dave, your team of chefs and PR/Events rep buddy Jen,

who made our afternoon a fun one to remember.

We definitely had a ball of a time!

Can’t wait to be back real soon. 🙂

————————————————————

For more information or book a seat/order a cake by Nooks by Baker Dave:

LIKE them on Facebook: Nooks byBakerDave

FOLLOW them on Instagram: @NooksbyBakerDave

Contact them on the phone: +603-62117686

Drop by their address: Plaza Damas 3, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

(Opening hours: 8am – 7pm)

It was a rainy Thursday night when I adjourned to a gorgeous enclave in Ara Damansara, aptly called Oasis. The occasion was… Secret Recipe’s Sweet 16th X WeChat party!

Ready for some delectable treats?

Like my new moustache? 😀

The party was an excellent kick-start for its latest promotion!

See the glorious cakes beckoning you? You know you want them.

Now, you can get two for the price of one! 😀

The view from Secret Recipe, Oasis’s top floor balcony.

How gorgeous is the vicinity?! I could get used to this. 

Another scene of the water feature and surroundings.

A very pretty place for a date with your perfect one, overlooking an even more perfect view.

My seat on the upper deck throughout the night.

I didn’t want to budge from as I was enjoying the breeze and the buzzing outdoors from way up here!

Okay, enough gushing over the view at Oasis’ Secret Recipe. So let’s begin the night, yes? 

Arriving punctually at 8PM – the traffic was surprisingly smooth!

In fact, I arrived at 7.45PM. Woots!

Walked up the staircase of the pretty garden-themed restaurant

Upstairs!

It took a while for the rest of the guests to come, but I was well entertaining myself with the galore of WeChat plushes strewn everywhere around Secret Recipe, snapping selfies with my bloggerbuddies and catching up.

So, it’s all good! I didn’t mind waiting. Traffic jams from different parts of the city can be tiresome. Tell me about it! 

Mini WeChat plushies! I even brought them home for myself.

But what really caught my eye were these enormous WeChat plushies.

I already have the medium sized one in my car; can’t possibly bring this home too!

Selfietime with buddy Yeeing.

Group photo with fellow blogger girlfriends.

Selfietime (and a photobomb by Ryan) with buddyAshley

There was so much merriment and mingling in the building!

Before we knew it, it was time to be treated with Secret Recipe’s mouthwatering delicacies. Brownies for me, please?

I think they heard me – Chocolate Brownies with Cheese!

Time to dig in. This is my favorite out of the rest of the cakes! Muahaha.

Always loved Secret Recipe cakes; I even grew up with one directly opposite my house!

I remember whenever it was mom or dad’s birthday, I’d sneak to Secret Recipe and buy them their favorite slice when I was in high school. I do have a few personal favorites, being the White Dark Chocolate Cheesecake (I can’t repeat this enough!)

Bought an entire whole cake of that for my previous birthday celebrations. 

Another one I absolutely cannot resist is their Espresso Cheesecake.

So you can probably imagine what music this brought to my ears upon hearing that all

WeChat users get a second slice for free upon buying the first slice of cake.

Which one would you pick? Too spoiled for choice, eh? 

With the bosses of WeChat and Secret Recipe – flanked by models of the day!

So what’s the fine print, you ask?

Just be a WeChat user (duh!) and follow Secret Recipe at – SecretRecipeMY – on WeChat to receive your ‘BUY 1 GET 1 FREE’ coupon.

Promo ends this 30th November. Final chance to go get your cakes before the end of this week!

Feel free to check out my review of a cafe called Nooks that serves delicious cakes and meals, right here.

Ever thought you'll be sick of partying after attending a back-to-back rave?

Nope, not in a million years. I live and breathe electronic music and raving with the community of like-minded music revellers around me is my euphoria.

Guess where I am this time?

It was the We Love Asia rave party held in Sepang International Circuit last Sunday! 

After the Swedish House Mafia : One Last Tour was over and done with (blog post – here!) I recharged for a day and accelerated with full force the very next day.

Decked in neon yellow for the party!

My partycrew and I sped down to the F1 race circuit at 8PM 

Arrived! We're all set and ready to rumble 

(I honestly don't know how Amelia & Victoria can rave in high heels wow!)

The first whom we watched was electro-house DJ Joachim Garraud who hails from France.

Joachim Garraud brought his space invaders to terrorize the rave!
 

I've to be honest, I've never heard his music nor watched him ever before.

But when he performed, I jaw-dropped. 

He didn't only play on the DJ console…

He performed LIVE for us! 

And here, by LIVE, I don't mean only LIVE in concert.

Most DJ-Producers perform recorded tracks, whether or not it is an original track or a fellow DJ's track.

But for Joachim Garraud, he literally PLAYED THE MUSIC LIVE for us ravers!

It really was marvellous watching him perform with his incredible talents on the handheld guitar-looking electronic keyboard. The music that was playing from his system was amazing too! 

It's always great to watch DJs perform more than what they are expected to do – to DJ.

Three of us were wowed by the talented Joachim Garraud & his space invaders!

Apart from the fabulous performance, he also handed out several space invader alien masks out to us ravers.

BOOOOO! No surprises who caught one of them. Me!

His set wasn't just about done yet, as he ran back to the DJ console to continue playing.

The backdrop complemented his music perfectly and got us raving hard.

Needless to say, we screamed our hearts out

Among the tracks he performed apart from his original productions were Swedish House Mafia's 'Greyhound', Knife Party's 'Internet Friends', Hardwell's 'Spaceman', Bingo Player's 'Rattle', Axwell's 'In My Mind', Pitbull's 'Krazy' and heaps more others!

My buddies and I! Oh and yes, my alien mask too

When Joachim Garraud left the stage, I spotted him autographing some of the masks that he gave out.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a signature! But no matter, it's happily sitting in the dashboard of my car now.
 

Hello!!!! I'm a white alien for the night.

The next act of the night was one-half of electronic music duo LMFAO, Redfoo.

Yupyup, the boys who brought us Party Rock Anthem' and 'Sexy and I know It', among other addictive songs!

Their crew's DJ warmed up the crowd for Redfoo

One for Instagram, methinks!! (Or Twitter and Facebook, or all three haha)

We were waiting for Redfoo to come on stage quick so we could partyrock already!

We didn't have to wait long, as we were enjoying the music their DJ had put up for us.

Before we knew it, Redfoo popped on stage!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah baby!

Redfoo couldn't stop tickling our ribs with his insane humour!

Redfoo not only performed a splendid combo of dancing and singing..

He also insisted on "going back old skool' and began taking over the DJ console!

They performed an energy-driven performance, complete with props and a partyrock crew on stage!

Among the props were a life-sized blow-up zebra. beach balls and so much more

For some odd reason, I initially mistook this zebra as a giraffe LOL

Beach balls for us to throw and bounce within the crowd!
 

It was not long before the ever-popular track 'Party Rock Anthem' which shot them to fame in 2010 began blasting from the sound system. Finally! Let's put on our best partyrock gear and shuffle away, shall we?

That cardboard box-guy mascot from LMFAO's official 'Party Rock Anthem' was there too!

I actually saw a few cardboard box guys in the crowd as well. 

Looks like my fellow party people took the effort to dress up!

Hmmm.. maybe I should too, next time!

Confetti burst!

Among the songs they performed were 'Getting Over You', 'Reminds Me of You', 'Shots', 'Champagne Showers', 'Party Rock Anthem', 'Sorry For Party Rocking', 'Sexy and I Know It' as well as Chuckie's 'Who Is Ready To Jump?', Alesso's 'Everybody Raise Your Hands', David Guetta's 'I'm In Miami Bitch', Madagascar's theme song 'I Like To Move It' and more!

Wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah!

One of the most surprising and fascinating thing that happened during their performance was when the LMFAO party rock crew, including Redfoo himself, stripped down to their underwear and performed 'Sexy and I Know It' just like the official video! 

Wow. Did I just witness that in real life? Really? Coolbeans!

He pulled his black liquid leather pants back up and continued party rocking with more and more songs.

It was unstoppable! He was getting the crowd all pumped up even more and more! With Redfoo around, there was no sign of exhaustion from the crowd. 

Keep it going, Redfoo!

My very own party rock crew for the night!

The final, closing act to play for the night was none other than the legendary Asian-American electro-house DJ-producer and founder of electronic record label, Dim Mak Records.

I've always wanted to watch him perform! Been following his rave party videos on YouTube and I must say, those were really hardcore partying, I don't even! 

Was kinda wondering if he would shoot us partygoers to the skies with his mind-blowing performance?

I was right.

He was one of the MOST energetic DJs I've ever seen performing in my entire life!

Steve Aoki exceeded my expectations. He was jumping so hard, climbing on the DJ console, wildly waving his arms in the air, interacting with his fans and raving with us almost the entire night.

Hitting turbulence with Steve Aoki

Watching Steve Aoki LIVE in front of me was some sort of a dream come true. 

I've always been a fan of his music and his bassline always gets me going.

To party with the hardcore Steve Aoki for a non-stop two hour set? Priceless.

Steve Aoki preparing his float boat

He was also throwing his few signature rave party moves, such as caking the audience (yes, throwing massive birthday cakes on everybody's faces), splashing champagne showers on everybody (just popping open a bottle of champagne and spraying it on everyone), crowd surfing (with an actual float boat) and more. 

The crowd was exhilarated beyond measure and raised their hands in unison to float Steve Aoki's boat – literally!
While rocking in the boat, he also waved our Malaysian flag.

Why, thank you, Steve! 

Buddy Vincent was my only partyrocker left.

The rest couldn't stand the rowdy crowd and decided to take a rest somewhere!

Confetti burst into the sky again, leaving little tinsels of coloured paper filling the air!

One landed on my nose!

During Steve Aoki's set, he introduced Redfoo of LMFAO on stage again and guess what?

The two of them performed their new collaboration track, 'Livin' My Love'!

I honestly never expected to see the both of them on stage together!
 

Apparently they're buddies in real life (Steve Aoki caked Redfoo in Tokyo before LOL) and I found out through their Twitterfeed that they were already planning to perform their collabo track on stage for us tonight.

See this dude with the 'CAKE ME' signage?

Well, he got what he wanted. Steve Aoki took another enormous birthday cake and smashed it onto the fella!

Come to think about it, how often can you say "STEVE AOKI CAKED ME LAST NIGHT!" huh? 

We kinda avoided being caked and thank goodness

we were free from the rather pungent vanilla!

By the end of the night, I was running outta fuel and feeling so drained but still strangely energetic!

I had one of the best rave party night's ever.

WE LOVE ASIA!

Oh and, I'm actually preparing a video I made of tonight's We Love Asia rave.

Stay tuned! I'll embed it here once I'm done.

Till then, We Love Asia, I salute you partyfolks!

Thanks for giving us ravers a ball of a time

When mid-year comes around, it has been a yearly ritual for me to throw a birthday celebration and document it somewhere somehow on this blog.

Ushering in the 1st of July with the company of my friends and family serves as a reminder to me of how blessed I am to have these special bunch in my life.

Birthday eve 

Despite being occupied and busy with everyone's respective schedules, I made it a point to meet up with the ones dear to me (and the ones whom I've not seen for a long time!) on the eve of my birthday. 

What could be a better reason for catching up for a sit down gathering over yummy food & some drinks?   

BIRTHDAYS.   

For the ones reading TheJessicat.com for a long time now, you have seen me grow (or perhaps even grow with me!) from the birthdays I spent as an innocent high-school kid, to an angsty scene-punk teenager up until my party-hard days as a young adult. 

For the new readers out there, hiya! The archive of all the birthdays I've spent are here

A birthday kiss! One of the many birthday presents he showered me with this year 

That's another one 

They were lovely. Couldn't help it 😀

Despite being still baked from last night's waywardness, I made it to my birthday celebration at Antipodean Cafe @ Bangsar, albeit a tad late. 

It was great to see how all my (early) guests were already talking and made friends amongst each other!   

The 12 of us at dinner!

I called upon the waiter to bring out the food-for-sharing I ordered on top of our individual main meals at the table.  

Had chosen 2 bowls of Potato Salad, 2 bowls of Spinach & Mushroom Alfredo Pasta and 2 plates of Rendang Chicken Satay for all!

The thought of these delights makes me wanna go there again! 😀

Chit-chatting & catching up over dinner! 

So glad to see KK & Chia Li! 

Loads of laughter too! 

Current housemates X former housemates!

Neither of us could finish the food left on the table 

Finishing our individual portions was hard enough, let alone finishing the food-for-sharing.

I was really stuffed  Half of my Smoked Salmon Omelette had to go to waste argh.

But then again, all of us had space for the delicious Chocolate Indulgence birthday cake teehee!

Did someone say…. CAAAAAAAAAKE? 

Thank you so much, Antipodean Cafe for a good night!  Also, much love to all my wonderful guests who turned up & spent time with me on my birthday eve dinner 

It meant a lot to me to see all of you tonight despite my last minute invitation. I've been enduring lots of trouble recently; handling depression as a victim of an in-house theft and busy shifting into my new apartment.

Thank you so much for all your presents too! 

Sorry, some of the presents were somewhere else at the time I snapped this photo! T_T

More piccies of the night :

The other half Konzycakes and I 

My gurlies, Pamela & Venessa

Going all the way back since high school – Kok Kwan & Chia Li 

My beautiful buddy Anis who's always there for me 

Daaaaaaazzzaaa Darryl! My kittyboy Chivas' guardian angel 

The last few that stayed till the end!

Enroute to Zouk in Sam's car!

Just before midnight, we adjourned to the after-party! I was given a guestlist for my birthday thanks to Zouk 

Being the EDM-kaki I am, I decided to hold it in Zouk Mainroom in conjunction with LOUD's Blink & Goldfish's 2nd Year Anniversary. Wootwoot! 

Music was fabulous

My guests & I got into Zouk Mainroom and I popped open a Johnnie Walker Black Label for the night.

Let's fire away! 

Tonight's beats consisted of lots of electronica big room, trance, house, dubstep & mixed turntablism

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSa1sM_nwiI

Thanks to theboyf, he recorded some footage of the night.

(Watch it for the audio & only some bits of us dancing – the lighting was inadequate duh!) 🙂

The DJs went on mercilessly with their epic drops & beats

Here are some of the photos from the after-party.

Bombs away!

My EDM music kakis – in trance we believe!

And one metalhead in the background photobombing us LOL

Wootwoot!

My babe Evelyn and I! 

How time flies! We celebrated a joint birthday together right here in Zouk in 2009!

Spent the rest of the night headbanging & popping

Although not a fan of EDM music, Anis was such a great sport too!

Pammy & I in our element 

Finally Edwin appeared! We thought he dropped dead after last night's shenanigans :O

But so glad to see you are fine & ACTUALLY turned up to my party!

Joanne & I!

I think this is our 1st time partying together… for ONCE & not seeing each other in classrooms!

Drop it like it's hot!

We go a looooong way back, ey? 😀

So have Sam & I 😀 😀

A "childhood friends" photo! My Penang-kiaaaaaaas!

My couzzies Shaun & Meng dropped by too!

Ohhh hello Yong Sern! 😀 😀

I love my friends.

Moar people!

Throughout the night, my phone has been buzzing non-stop

& each birthday wish made me smile! Thank you to all of you! 

Just like every year, none of of my guests allowed the birthday girl to go home sober. 

Who made this rule anyway? You must be a sadistic prick or an alcoholic! 🙁

My 1st Flaming Lamborghini thanks to Pammy! 

My 2nd Flaming Lamborghini thanks to Venessa 

And all the other glasses of whiskey I had to skull 

I reckon I was pretty wasted, according to the stories that the rest recounted to me the next morning.

Apparently they mentioned I landed in a mamak and ordered Neslo. No memory found whatsoever 

Don't remember this photo at all. Geez!

Every birthday turned out a memorable one to me; this is no exception. 

However, I found my 23rd to be a "transition" from my usual party-rocking ones to a slightly more mature, chilled & relaxed one. 

Chilled? Relaxed? Really? 

My dishevelled & intoxicated self begs to differ.

Obviously, I'm referring to the birthday dinner I held at Antipodean 😀 

That one was a very relaxed, mellowed & "old woman" one, methinks. How unbecoming of me!

But then.. there's always the after-party.

Don't think I'll ever get tired of it! 😛   

Happy Birthday to me! Till next year 😀