Fresh off from Episode 1 of my birthday celebrations, I’m leaving no delay before writing Episode 2.

If you’ve read it, you would know that the first part was spent with my family and workmates. The second part, as you will see, is spent with a small group of buddies doing what we love most.

So what do we love most?

On the night of my birthday, I roped in bestiePam for a night out of food, relaxing and…

SHISHA OF COURSE! 

On huge, comfy couches, no less! 

It wasn’t just the both of us tonight, as we gathered a few more people to join as well.

Cue the boys! Drumroll please?

Tonight’s company and I. With all the food, drinks and shisha in tow!

Shot some photos of the beautifully decorated interior. Take a look:

What do you think? Marvellous, isn’t it? Very, very Middle Eastern yet extremely contemporary.

I loved the play of lights, perfect usage of wide spaces and their stained glass decor!

Us again chilling all laidback on a breezy Monday night 

Apart from the two shisha bongs we had (thanks so much Eshan!) we ordered a great deal of food too.

Ready for them? 

Iranian Tea

This was Pam’s. I never really favoured the taste of Iranian Tea but she loved it. 

Greek Salad. It had a generous helping of tomato, cucumber, capsicum, olives and creamy feta cheese.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Chilli Potato. Fried Potato Cubes with Coriander, Tomato and Garlic. Very flavourful and mildly spicy! 

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Baba Ganoush. Eggplant Dip with tomato, onion and olive oil served with bread.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

 I wanted to try this non-creamy and coarse version but I didn’t exactly like the

texture of this although I enjoyed its smokiness and flavour!

Opt for the creamy version if you can! It’ll be heaps more delicious. 

Hummus. It was topped with Sauteed Sliced Lamb.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This one takes the cake! Perfect consistency and the lamb slices made it all the more tastier! 

Shish Kebab

★★★★★

Shish Tawook and Lamb Cubes with Saffron Rice

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Shish Tawook

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The food wouldn’t stop coming. We ate so much and took a much deserved break in between!

We like to hog the camera. That’s an understatement but check out our goofiness and vanity anyway. 

I think we were tuning out of the conversation when the boys began to immerse deeper in their discussion.

I don’t quite recall what it was. To my best memory, revolved around war, refugees and philosophies, I think.

The boys.

Eshan, Pam and I

Konzy and I

Eshan, Pam and Fadzly. Hi!

After lots of catching up, chit-chatting and talking about almost everything under the sun, we felt like having a sweet accompaniment to our otherwise savoury dinner. Yup, you can probably see where this is going.

THIS CALLS FOR DESSERT! 

Caramel Cream. It wasn’t at all cloyingly sweet but more of a mildy sweet, creamy touch!

I could have plates and plates of it and still yearn for more.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Baklava. This is a traditional middle eastern finger pastry filled with nuts.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

My buddies seemed to like it, but I was yet to acquire its sweet, sticky, chewy texture.

After some four hours of hanging out, the night was exactly what I had in mind, to say the least. 

We had shortlisted a few places to check out but I was glad we chose this one instead. 

I was aiming for something casual; a night of relaxation, wonderful conversations, comfy seats, good company, delicious food and bountiful shisha flavour and In House, Publika befitted my night perfectly.

The waiters were relatively friendly and our shisha charcoals were changed regularly too. Entertainment-wise, the television channels projected onto the big screen was good enough. Why need any more entertainment when you’re with good company, eh? 

Thanks for a great Monday night out, pals! 

I know this was supposed to be a birthday post but I guess it’s only natural of me to review the restaurant at the same time as well. Couldn’t help it, sorry! 

Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoyed yourself as much as I did! 

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For more information on Restaurant In House, you can:

Visit them at this address

Restaurant In House,

Block A, Ground Floor (facing the main road! Will update with the exact lot number soon!)

Publika, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 

50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This week marks my first week as a 24 year old! Boy, oh boy, do I feel old.

Exactly a decade ago, to sum it up, I was an acne-ridden, hip-hop lovin' streetkid, a high school nerd and an angsty teenager still trying to find herself.

Not that I'm any much closer to finding myself just yet anyway. *shrugs* The journey of self-discovery, to me, is always a perpetual one. 

Guess I'll never ever discover who I really am yet. Well that keeps things interesting, doesn't it? 

The month of July will be a month full of birthday celebrations for me.

Full blog post on my birthday celebrations will be up at the end of this month!

Oh and, to publicly answer the one question I've been getting over and over again this year –

Why are you not throwing a big birthday party like all your previous years, Jess? 

I have my personal reasons for this. I guess I can only reveal the answer two years later – no, I'm not joking. It's a legit reason. So far, only a small circle of family and close friends know why, and I plan to keep it that way.

Ianya akan disimpan sebagai rahsia buat masa ini!

Posted my last video as a 23 year old, just before I turned 24:

Jun 30, 2013 | Goodbye dear 23 year old girl! Looking forward to a brand new year for me! 😀 by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Anyway, let's get on with the weekly wrap-up, shall we? 

I went hiking up my usual BJ Hill @ Bukit Jambul

Next stop – Penang Hill! 

Couldn't resist taking this photo of buddyAdrian and a dog in the woods.

He's such a dog whisperer – I don't even!  Dogs are really a man's best friend.

'

Being back in Penang drove me to Milkshake Factory @ Gurney Plaza again.

No thanks to bestieVince as I was trying to resist it!  *dagger stares* I gave in, eventually.

Mungkin ko nih nak berat badanku bertambah? Entahlah.

Okay, fine. You know I love it, don't you? Thanks for the awesome milkshake  xo ​

Back in KL, I was booked for a food review session at The Steakhouse KL @ Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Jul 2, 2013 | At The Steakhouse KL about to taste their amazing dinner menu. Can't wait to share the best of what they have! by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Thank you, Mr. Werner Kuhn and team for having me at your luxurious restaurant tonight.

Full blog feature up next!

Silly convex mirror times with the buddies  Photobomb level: honking car LOLOL

We had a small cosy dinner gathering at In-House @ Publika

More of what happened and a short feature in another post!

Okay time for some kittyphotos of the week.  Mew!

Plotting his diabolical plan to take over the world.

"I hate mommy's cuddles."

"On second thought, maybe it's not that bad after all."

"But what did I do wrong this time, mommy? I swear it wasn't me!"

"I haz no legs. I'm just a black furry blob with a tail."

Okay that's all for now LOL.

Mid-week, I checked out Tony Roma's Steakhouse Restaurant to taste their "Tony's World Famous Ribs."

Combo of their Bountiful Beef Ribs and Grilled Salmon with a serving of fresh vegetables.

Rating: ★★★★★

The taste of rich beef complemented with Tony Roma's own original barbeque sauce did the trick.

The  meat was just right too. It was tender and fell off the bone with the merest, gentle slice of my knife.

I would say I prefer these ribs to the ones served at TGI Friday's. Then again, it is a close fight though.

The salmon was nothing short of perfection too.

With a hint of dill and lemon enhanced by the open fire grill, this one's a winner.

Their only fallback is probably the house bread that came as a starter.

It tasted fine, but the texture was slightly on the chewy side.

On Saturday my fave partycrew and I were on our way to somewhere… secret.

Yup, it's the annual Carlsberg's 'Where's the Party?'

The location isn't so secret anymore by now; it was held in MAEPS @ Serdang.

Full blog feature up soon. A very honest account. Wait for it.

We had our own little afterparty/late dinner at The Castle Restaurant, KL

Rating: ★★★☆☆

It served a standard fare of Middle Eastern food; though I must recommend the Spicy Shish Tawook and the Lamb Mandy. The latter was served with long-grain kabssa rice. Shisha there was fine with an equally good variety of flavours. 

The Chicken Kebab though, left a little to be desired. It was too bland and the texture was somehow a little soluble and for some reason, disintergrated too quickly. It was oddly, really wet with hardly any meat that I could chew on. The service was a little slow, but the waiters were amazingly friendly.

After a late night, I don't know how I managed to drag myself out of bed the next morning

for my session with the Bosu. It was akin to dragging a full-grown water buffalo out of a mudhole.  

Thursday night's TRX + back and bicep day was fine. Until the next morning, that is.

Good lord. I could hardly raise my arm to switch on the lights in the bathroom as I woke up.

Chilling with my favorite barbell after an intense leg day workout.

And of course, the usual eats. My post workout-meals:

Wheat bran, cornflakes and blueberries in milk!

Chicken breast slices, carrots, spinach,

aubergine and onions stir-fried with olive oil and chia seeds.

Snacking on a fruit platter of oranges, green apples, red grapes and organic pumpkin kernels.

Eggs – in three different variants.

Which do you prefer? Hardboiled, scrambled or as a omelette? 

Clean eating is the way to go! Have you had your greens today? 

Before I knew it, Sunday came knocking on my door! 

Pardon me, as I groove to some 70's disco music.

I know, how very unbecoming. But sometimes, the weekend does this to me.

Jul 7, 2013 | Nothing like a #weekend fix of #70s #music. Anyone remembers KC and the Sunshine Band? That's the way, baby 😉 by imthejessicat on Keek.com

Parked myself at Milk and Butter @ Bangsar and hung out with my boy Chivas before the girls arrived.

When they did, we all had an amazing afternoon over equally amazing food 

Can't wait to review this restaurant – blog feature up soon!

Sunday evenings were spent in the sun curling up with my favorite book by the poolside.

You can see how worn out the novel looks already! Sorry for the candid shot, I wasn't ready for the photo.

At night, was Bob and Gouya's pool party!

It was fun skewering the kebabs, chicken thighs, onions, tomatoes, capsicums and more. 

Helped the boys out in preparing their Middle Eastern food and firing the grill!

I had a great weekend but I was a tad upset about not being able to watch Tydi back in Penang tonight.

He's performing as we speak!  Right now, at QEII On the Sea, Church Street Pier, Penang in celebration with the Georgetown World Heritage Site Celebration.

What's the significance of the day, you ask? 

Tomorrow marks the 5th anniversary of Georgetown being enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Penang, my love, you truly deserve it.  

Tomorrow will also be a Public Holiday in Penang too. Enjoy your day off, fellow Penangites! 
 

What a fantastic start of a new week no? By sleeping in and spending an extra day of leisure.

Remind me why I moved away to the city, Kuala Lumpur, again?  Hahaha.

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a weekly series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to briefly highlight my recommendations for to-go and to-eat places!

Some photos were posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & my LIVE Blog. 

Do follow to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around me!