That blessed day of the year has come again!

Wow, looking back… how I spent this last year’s as well as this year’s birthday has been a vast difference from my insane party-hard birthdays of my much younger days.

I guess when we grow up, we tend to want to spend our special day in the comfort of our loved ones and enjoying quality conversations… instead of banging it out hard at the clubs/raves. (Save that for the weekends instead! 😛 )

This year, I’m lucky enough to spend it with the love of my life again – for the second time!

Last year, he surprised me to our city’s Helipad to enjoy the wondrous sky-high view and the delicious meal at Heli Lounge Bar.

Just a little throwback before we start with this year’s birthday celebration.

(Terrible low-light photo quality – forgot to bring my camera!)

Moo brought me to enjoy a rather different cuisine for our dinner date this time round.

As we’re so used to the likes of Italian, Arabic, North Indian, American and local food already, we decided to check out what Spanish cuisine has in store for us.

(Do I hear a hola!?) So off we adjourned to Estilo in Publika KL. 

Beautiful, authentic setting.

The view from our seat

The interior decor was a pretty interesting one – it had wooden arches partitioning different sections of the restaurant, with standard dining tables and seats, with the option of sofa seating (like ours!) and a bar-top area with high chairs. 

There’s also the alfresco area – but we’ll get to that later. 

Handpainted Spanish crockery

The waiter who attended to us was anything we’d want a waiter to be: knowledgeable, friendly and polite.

To manage expectations, he explained what the dishes were, its main ingredients and how it will look like – trust me, reading the menu in Spanish proves to be an arduous task!

We appreciated the gesture and placed our orders.

His and hers (for sharing): Chocolate Milkshake & Freshly Squeezed Watermelon Juice.

Yeah, yeah… kids’ drinks. Don’t chide us! We would’ve gotten wine but it was a weekday and since our weekends are usually full of that, we’d thought we’d play it down a little.

Plus, my guilty pleasure has always been fruit juices and anything chocolate/milk based 😀

While waiting for our sumptuous feast to arrive.

We were half worried that we wouldn’t be able to finish all the dishes we ordered. We hear they come in huge portions! 

Table talks. Let the quality conversations ensue!

We were served fluffy house bread and butter as we await our entrées & main course

Berenjenas 

This tapas appetizer had aubergine crisps, chickpea mash and mostillo reduction. We loved how crispy and tasty this was. I’m a huge fan of aubergine so I was naturally thrilled!

Costillas de Cordero

This dish of whole rack baby lamb ribs was flavourful, and very well-done! 

You know how fat lambs usually are, right? But this one was hardly considered fat, in comparison. It was also served with baked potatoes in their skins, homemade french fries and a delicious triple delight of Estilo signature sauces – Mojo Green, Peri Peri & Piquillo.

Go taste them for yourself and find out what they are made of!

We couldn’t decide which was our fave as all three complemented the ribs perfectly. 

We made sure to make space in our stomachs for the main event… *drumroll*

It’s finally here! The glorious, glorious Paella Estilo 

Strictly for sharing! Unless well, you have an appetite of an entire starving population.

I’ve only eaten Paella once in my life – at a Carlsberg event 2 years ago in La Bodega, Pavilion KL. It was seafood paella and to my best memory, I distinctly remember how delicious and hearty it was.

Moo giving it a good mix before we dug in!

This one surpassed expectations too. With chicken chorizo, chicken & green beans in rich chicken stock, this giant hotplate was certainly a reason to revel in delight.

Largely filling, bursting with flavour and yummy to every bite, I’m glad moo’s first time with Paella was a good experience!

Don’t forget a selfie with the Paella!

 As expected, we weren’t able to finish the entire portion.

We ended up packing the remaining away for brunch the next day. Moo excused himself to wash his hands – at this point, I was thinking to myself, “Wash hands? For? We didn’t even eat with our hands – full on cutlery till the end!”

But as he returned with a smirk on his face, I knew he was up to something. 

Thanks dearest!!

You never cease to surprise me!

Right from the lovely bouquet of pink roses delivered to my office desk this morning to this enjoyable birthday dinner date.

Thank you for the tiramisu birthday cake surprise. Time to make a wish!

Here’s to many more birthdays with you.

We decided to catch a breather and headed to the alfresco area for some fresh air – also to finish up our drinks and dessert.

So full to the brim! 

T’was a lovely end to an awesome dinner date

Our view of Estilo, from the alfresco area.

For the awesome dinner, surprise bouquet at my office this morning and for making my birthday a memorable one yet again, I owe it to you.

Thanks a bunch, moo!

Now, just wait and see what I have up my sleeve for your birthday this time round.

 Also, thumbs up to Estilo for making our night and my birthday one to remember.

Viva la Espana! 

——————————————————————————

For reservations and more details on this restaurant:

Check out their website at: www.estilo.com.my

LIKE them on Facebook at: fb.com/estilo.my

Call them at their contact number: +603-62039883

Drop by this address: 

Estilo Tapas Bar & Charcoal Grill
No 34, Level G2 Block C5,
Publika Solaris Dutamas,
Jln Dutamas 1,
50480, Kuala Lumpur

Opening hours: Monday – Sunday (11am – 1am)

With the walls of this brand new tavern plastered with interesting beer-oriented decor and teeming with all things Guinness, it is no wonder why Phat Barrels KL is heralded the ‘House of Guinness’.

This latest addition to Publika’s line-up of watering holes had a seemingly cosy your-local-neighbourhood-pub setting to it, with dark wooden furnishings, exposed brickwork, bare granite walls, tall beer barrel-shaped tables and olden-day, monochrome artwork illuminated by dim spotlighting.

By the bar of Phat Barrels! 

Yes, you peeps totally should. Why? Read on. 😀

Last Thursday, I was invited to the soft launch of Phat Barrels for a night of live music, delicious pub grub, imported/micro-brews/hand-crafted beers and an engaging atmosphere.

New kid on the block is looking packed on the first day!

Let’s give this new watering hole a little tour, shall we? 

 Celebrations always seem synonymous with balloons, streamers and bright colours!

(( Outfit of the day)) Jessicat wears:

Dress by Miss Selfridge |Black pumps a gift from dearest Uncle Mike

| Accessories by Diva | Bag from a bazaar in Singapore

 Gorgeous usherettes serving us canapes!

 The overall look and feel of Phat Barrels KL

Patrons enjoying their beer towers and munchies!

Sephia Guinness-themed artwork framed on the walls.

Here’s my favorite! Cheers, Obama! 😀 Drink up!

The barrel-like tables of Phat Barrels.

The popcorn machine  piqued my interest!

And we only know good things can pop out of that machine!

 A night’s treat of Guinness-flavoured popcorn.

 Most people flock to Phat Barrels for three main things – to dine, tap and chill!

 And that’s exactly what we did all night.

On to the first – DINING!

Here are some of the European pub grub we had for dinner, courtesy of Phat Barrels.

 Lamb Shank

The portion was of a sizable wonder! This was tender, delicious and definitely marinaded very well too.

 Spaghetti Aglio Olio

I didn’t taste it but my buddies who did had no complaints!

 The Bavarian Platter

Strictly for sharing unless you have a the appetite of the whole African continent

It probably doesn’t look huge from the photo but trust me, it is! Several of us shared this with delight.

It consisted of chicken fillets, beef back ribs, beef short ribs,

two different kinds of sausages, and a serving of fries.

Beef Sirloin Steak

This was done medium. Loved how juicy this was! The sauce complimented the meat superbly.

Second – TAPPING!

We had free-flow of Guinness towers and other beers by the Guinness-Anchor group.

What I’m sipping on is a tall glass of Tiger Radler!

Check out what Guinness did later in the year at their AMPLIFY Live Tour here if you’re into soulful music and good beer!

On to the third – CHILLING.

Cue the party pictures for the night with some of my fave girls and boys. Enjoy!

We dined, tapped and chilled the night away over live entertainment by local band 9 Lives.

I had fun singing along to their crooning of popular R&B, soothing Blues and contemporary Pop Rock numbers!

Band set up by the raised platform of Phat Barrels.

Picture credits to Kee

Lead singer Joy’s melodic voice and the band’s instrumental skills

was the perfect musical accompaniment of our evening.

Thank you Phat Barrels, for having me on a fantastic night of celebration and weekday evening escape!

Now do you know why you totally should’ve been here?

Like violinists and quartets? Check out String Musicians.

———————————————————————————————-

For more information on Phat Barrels KL, you can:

LIKE them on Facebook at: Phat Barrels KL

Drop them an e-mail at: phatbarrelsKL@gmail.com

Visit them at this address:

No. A1-G2-06 & 07 Solaris Dutamas, No 1, Jalan Dutamas 1
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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! 

—————————————————————————————–

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.

Hi loves!

This week was filled with friends, love and celebrations. Oh and, a lot of food as usual haha!

So let's see… what made my week this time round?

My seven days began at work (where else?) on a Monday. And as we were chilling outside our office porch, my colleague took this candid shot of me.

Deep in conversation with another colleague LOL.

So I suppose this is my serious face when I pay attention to someone talking.

(Actually I don't even remember what we were talking about anymore)

He took another photo, which I had some fun editing.

Tuesday night went great as bestieJoyce asked me out to celebrate my belated birthday!

She was away on my actual birthday, so I guess this makes up for it. I was thrilled 

Dressed up really casually tonight; I didn't feel dressy for some reason.

The birthday dinner at Picknik,Publika was great! Wonderful conversations my loves over great food

Full blog post soon!

The rest of the week was all about my daily grind at gym and post-workout meals as usual:

Lower back and leg day. Hi!

Blueberry proats with banana and almonds

Organic wholewheat fusili tossed in extra virgin olive oil with

chicken mince, baby asparagus, kidney beans and chia seeds! 

 Experimented with something new on Thursday.
Raw honey baked stuffed capsicums with lean, ground beef, minced chicken breast and vegetable fillings! 

I don’t usually praise my own cookbook creations but this was delicious and tastes just like pie!

Will refine my recipe and hopefully post it up ok! 

Lunch with the colleagues at IKEA Restaurant & Cafe

No prizes in guessing which is mine! 

When we arrived today, I was almost overcome with shock when there were hardly anyone eating at a restaurant which was, more often than not, always 100% full and even people lining up in long queues!

Then I realized it was Ramadan month where the Muslims fast all day. Right, no wonder. 

The next night, Kon and I decided to storm Jalan Alor for some local streetfood.

Actually, he was craving for hot and spicy clams since our last visit. So we caved in.

Yun Lai Restaurant along the buzzing food haunt in Jalan Alor.

We didn't remember which was the store we patronized on our last visit, so we gave this one a try.

Amongst the hoardes of stores lining the main street, one could easily be spoilt for choice.

Here's what we ordered:

Chicken Satay

Black Pepper Baked Prawns

Barbequed Stingray

Sauteed Asparagus

Hot & Spicy Lala (clams)

Grilled Mushrooms

The food was great! We had an enjoyable evening there, despite the presence of aggressive waitresses trying to solicit customers to dine in their stores. She literally yanked my sleeved in a relatively rough manner towards her store LOL. 

Didn't quite appreciate that.  But the food certainly made up for her lack of mannerism!

Come Saturday, I threw a small birthday party with my closest buddies.

Many thanks to The Pool KL for sponsoring my night and Smirnoff Vodka!  Thank youuuuu so much.

Sorry for the bad quality! It happens when the image is sent directly from Instagram 

We also spent the afterparty in Zouk Club KL. That was one hectic night, alright. 

Will be blogging about the night a.s.a.p  promise! x

Just a few things I've pondered about and held for a long time, but only decided to execute now.

When you ask yourself whether or not you are truly happy with the way things are working for you now, what would your answer be?

Are you happy with where you are, what you are doing, how you look, who you are with, and your life in general at this present time? If you're not, or have mixed feelings about your answer, then you probably lack the happiness you have in mind. 

Do something different, for once. Only you can dictate where your life is headed to.

Do something to break free from your current shackles and give yourself the time to re-evaluate.

A re-route. A different path in life. A new direction. 

Sure, you may not be sure if this is really what you want and risk emotional withdrawals but hey, it's only normal. Don't be afraid to embark on something new or shuffle your priorities. It's just the beginning.

Go where you are celebrated; not tolerated!

So if you think you are strong enough to shut your eyes, put your barricades behind you, and dive into the deep for a new adventure, by all means, go for it. I did, with absolutely no regrets.

Much love,

Jessicat

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

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!

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

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

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!