Despite not being Indian nor practicing Hinduism, I am Malaysian.

And being Malaysian means having ONE Malaysian culture, Deepavali is part of it. It is not surprising how we have fond memories of Deepavali too!

My interracial childhood involved playing, interacting, learning, hanging out & growing up with my pre-school, primary school, high school, college mates & uni mates of Indian descent  felt like it was only yesterday 

When I was a child of five, my next-door neighbour was a jolly Indian boy, whom I called, "thambi". 

I would watch with great interest, when his father decorated their door with garlands of flowers & colourful LED lights as Deepavali approaches.

In high school, several of my closest friends were Indian too.

I remember celebrating this festival of lights with them when they welcomed me into their homes during Deepavali. The food & spices were simply mouthwatering! 

I still enthuse over the kaleidoscope of Kolams beautifully designed on the floor! 

Those brightly coloured rice in distinct, geometrical Rangoli patterns never failed to fascinate me 

Here's to hoping I get to celebrate Deepavali with my Indian friends again this year.

httpv://youtu.be/E9v9ZIIRxw8

A clip on the Classical Indian Dance which I found really interesting! 

For Petronas, it has always been their intention to help promote and inculcate underlying values from the diverse heritage, tradition and cultures that brings all Malaysians together, for all their festive campaigns.

The rest of their festive campaign's key driver 'Be the Light – A Celebration of Culture and Tradition' will feature exhibitions and series of greetings.

The said Deepavali exhibition which will take place at GALERI PETRONAS, inclues a series of cultural activities such as Henna drawings, Classical Indian dances, the Art of Kollam, Indian traditional costumes and more.

If you're up for it, you can see the full list & schedule –  here

httpv://youtu.be/ylIgbqB_WYE

That being said, have a wonderful Deepavali celebration, my Hindu friends & readers! 

தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துக்க  

May you enjoy this year's festival of lights!

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon while I made my way downtown for a delightful afternoon tea-party in the city.

When I received the invitation to attend this cosy afternoon, I was looking forward to it all week as it was an Appreciation Party hosted by PETRONAS to thank its VIPs, media buddies, sponsors, contest winners and other valued guests.

And everybody knows how the chain of Delicious restaurants lives up to its name in serving absolutely delicious food!

Excited for the afternoon celebration of food and fun! 

The girls and I with our goodie bags 

As I was one of the few early ones to arrive, I had the chance to take a quick tour around the vicinity of the restaurant, located at Dua Residency in KL City. 

It was my first time there! 

Delicious restaurant had a distinctively British and garden-like touch to it 

It was well-lit as the large floor-to-ceiling glass windows allowed plenty of sunshine into every corner of the room. The interior boasted several tree branches and incandescent lamps locked inside birdcages, which hung from the ceiling. 

I was glad PETRONAS chose this venue to throw its Appreciation Party! 

Had always been a fan of this white, pristine treasure house of well-made simple to elaborate dishes.

The stage set-up!

A warm and charismatic opening speech from one of the bigbosses of PETRONAS

He then officiated the event and beckoned us to enjoy our afternoon tea with everyone in the room 

I gleefully hopped over to the long marble counter and joined the rest of the guests checking out the buffet of assorted pies, quiches, pasta, meatballs, salad and desserts. 

Guess what I brought back to my table?

Here's my selection!

Ready for some of the mouthwatering delights up close? 

I managed to snap a few quick photographs of some of my favorite dishes that were served.

Beef meatballs!

Some pastries

Smoked salmon salad served in a spoon!

Desserts for the sweet tooths out there! 

Soon after our hearty meal, the emcee of the afternoon (with a brilliant American accent and a good sense of humour, no less!) interacted with the crowd and explained what else we were going to be expecting from the day's events.

He then introduced a special appearance of the celebrity contestants of the PETRONAS Switch for XTRA Road Challenge, their team members and a prize-giving session to the winners for the online contest.

Papi Zak warming up the crowd

For those not in the know, the PETRONAS Switch for XTRA Road Challenge is a series of challenges featuring 4 teams led by celebrities Awal Ashaari, Scha Alyahya, Faizal Ismail & popular blogger Hanis Zalikha. 

Each of them will be accompanied two team-mates and they will have to travel across Malaysia & compete in fun challenges which sees fans voting for their favorite contestants – based on the popularity of their web-episodes.

Here are the teams! 

Actress, model & TV host Scha Alyahya & her team

Actor & TV host Awal Ashaari & his team

Popular blogger Hanis Zalikha & her team

Host & HOTfm radio announcer Faizal Ismail & his team

If you are interested in following their adventures on the road and challenges, you can watch their webisodes on the Switch for XTRA Road Challenge at the Petronasbrands official Facebook Page *click*

The prize giving ceremony soon ensued, and lots of lucky winners went onstage to collect their cash prize. There were 15 of them altogether.

Papi Zak calling out the names of zealous fans 

Oh wow. Lucky, lucky winners bagging themselves hefty cash prizes

just by being die-hard supporters & casting their votes! 

Photo opportunity with all the race participants!

(Am I the only one looking at the camera?)

Just as the day ended, I got to take a photo with both of my favorite celebrity contestants – Scha and Awal  If you didn't know, they are husband and wife but they will be competing against each other LOL

Good luck to the both of you!

I love their bubbly and jovial persona… both on-screen and off-screen! Too cute 

Thank you PETRONAS, for a fun afternoon tea party 

I had a good time, a good laugh and especially over good food. An afternoon well-spent indeed!

Ohai lovelies! It's Sunday again.

Feeling a little sleepy now but here's my weekly edition of The Sunday Times, as promised!

Apart from cooking & eating (LOL I sound like sucha fatty!), studying & working, I didn't do much fun this week except…

THE FREAKIN' WEEKEND! Friday night let's geddit on!

DOUBLE outfit shot! Guess where we're all dressed up to go?

Future Sound Asia presents David Guetta LIVE in Malaysia!

Our World #1 DJ made his 4th stop right here in Sepang International Circuit during his Asia Tour 2012 with special guest DJs Alesso & Kaz James. I had my mind completely blown away that night. 

We went with boyfieKon & two of my buddies, Larry & Sabrina. Major thanks for the carpool too! 

We truly enjoyed ourselves raving away like no one's watching!

*Full blogpost coming soon*

Dinner date with boyfieKon at a Manhattan-townhouse inspired restaurant : Ben's KLCC

Food was terrific! We had Mum's Cottage Pie, Wild Mushroom Quiche & the Roasted Tomato Soup.

I would fully-recommend the ones we had! Food & ambience deserved a 5/5 rating from me 

However, the service was deplorable (Foursquare was right!) The waiter & waitresses (except one) were hardly attentive towards their customers and even forgot to serve us our Chargrilled Rack of Lamb which we ordered along with our other meals – to which he gave 101 excuses as to why it wasn't jot down. 

Moving on…

Had my first ever swimming lesson thanks to Swimin12! Check 'em out 

I am now actually able to swim properly/correctly instead of paddling like a drowning puppy

Corporate outfit again. This time, to attend a rather corporate/business/formal event in KL city!

Congratulations PETRONAS on the successful launch of your

first solar photovoltaic installation system! *Full blogpost coming soon*

Having many massive solar panels – largest in the region, mind you! – on the rooftop of our iconic mall KLCC Petronas Twin-Towers allows electricity to be utilized from the sun's natural solar energy to power up the building 

So proud of my country & its efforts of going green with effective sustainable development!

On a random note…

GOSSIP GIRL SEASON 6 IS *FINALLY* OUT THIS WEEK.

Had been waiting for months on end for the season finale to premier.

Outfit of the day! Donned a smart-casual yet edgy wear tonight for…

The official launch of Samsung's latest tablet-smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note II

I was impressed by the really cool features & user-friendliness! *Full blogpost coming soon!*

This week, as usual, spells being domesticated & self-sufficient again. 

Yup, cooking healthy, low-calorie food strikes again!

Fluffy Omelette with Old El Paso salsa, tomato ketchup & lotsa ground black pepper!

Black Peppered scrambled eggs with Tuna Chunks, Baby Romaine Lettuce & Oregano!

Oh and yes, I discovered a new-found love for beans in my cooking escapades. 

Yup, lentils are the way to go! Full of protein & fibre 

Haricot Beans baked in tomato paste & rock salt, Romaine Lettuce, 

Omega Eggs, Oatmeal flakes with lots of Thyme & Oregano!

Stir-fry garlic Iceberg Lettuce & Moroccan Chickpeas 

on buttered Wholegrain Toast + Roast Carrots glazed in Raw Maple Syrup

Middle-Eastern style Chickpea Stew with Spinach, 

Carrots, Basil & a Sunny Side Up Omega egg!

Combo Salad of Iceberg Lettuce, hard-boiled Omega Eggs, Steamed Chickpeas, 

Onions, Mashed Tuna & Ranch with Tomato ketchup & Parsley!

Sounds good? I had so much fun in my kitchen cooking all those delightful, healthy bites 

Speaking of which, I just returned from doing some grocery-shopping at Jaya Grocer

Some of the foodstuff that will keep me going throughout next week!

My apologies for the delay in certain overdue blogposts, will have them up throughout this week & the next!

I have an exam tomorrow & during the little time I was ever at home, been trying my best to slot in the most study-time I could. Can't believe I had to forgo my gym trainings all week too. Bummer!

Pretty short edition tonight, I've really gotta go! Imma burn the midnight oil tonight to make sure I'm well-prepared for tomorrow's exam.

Have a superb seven days ahead, dear readers! 

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a new once-a-week series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to share recommendations for to-go places and to-eats throughout the week.

Check out the entire series here : The Sunday Times edition.

Some of the photos are posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook on the go.

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