Writing this from my lovely lil Penang island as we speak.

The past week has been almost entirely focused on family, friends and almost all my loved ones!

Let's take a ride in the car 

This week saw an emotional roadtrip for me as it marked the last time I'll ever drive my good ol' faithful white Perodua Kelisa which ferried me everywhere throughout all my years as a college kid & a university undergraduate.

Yup, six years with my lil one. 

It's now time for a change to something more powerful, stylish & cutting edge… one that befits me better

I present to you, my new precious, big baby, the Ford Fiesta Hatchback Sports Edition in Red.

Full story up soon! A shoot is in progress

What else is new? My hair.

Thanks to the amazing team at A Cut Above, I had another unique technology done to my hair – called the relaxer rebonding process. It's not straightening, nor relaxing, nor rebonding. It's.. a combination of all three!

Winnie dearest and I catching up over some snipsnips! 

Before and after! I'm loving the results! Professional & well-done

*full story soon!

While I was getting my hair done, Konzy bought some cakes from Just Heavenly for us to share

(Honestly I think he hates me and has evil intentions to fatten me up LOL!) I kid. 

Left: Cappucino Cupcake | Right: Death by Chocolate

I personally didn't like the Cappucino Cupcake, especially hated the icing on top.

But for people who love eating cream or icing, that's your treat right there 

Death by Chocolate, on the other hand, was more my cup of tea.

It was rich with dark chocolate mousse with a velvety layer of melted chocolate engulfing it whole

Oh geez, I wouldn't mind having ten more of this!  FULLY RECOMMENDED 

Triple Expresso Brownie

It had the perfect texture, chunky and fudgy but it wasn't as moist or as warm as I had expected it to be.

The taste, on the other hand, was great – coffee and the walnuts were a good combo! 

Lunch at La Bodega @ Bangsar Shopping Centre :

Smoked Salmon with Baba Ghanouj sandwich for me & Chicken Bocadillo sandwich for him

I loved mine. Healthy meals are always my first option, and this proved to be quite a good choice!

His was a little to bland and dry. Only tasted a lot better after layers of tabasco sauce 

Random photo in my new, sweet, sweet ride 

A world phenomenon of an American TV series – Gossip Girl – has finally come to an end.

Initially I was totally against watching something that was titled 'Gossip Girl', thinking that it would be some pretentious girly girl drama show. But I was wrong. Watching it got me hooked since 2010!

After six years/seasons of this, fans never wished this day would come. 

SPOILER ALERT : IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE CONCLUSION – FINAL EPISODE YET,

SCROLL SWIFTLY PAST THIS SECTION OF THE POST

I was so happy that my favorite on-screen couple, Chuck Bass & Blair Waldorf got married! 

All's well, ends well.

When I got back to Penang, my weekends included spending time with old friends, new friends and more friends, left, right, and center.

First up, my high school Class of 2006 reunion gathering at Suffolk House.

We all had to wear 'name tags' lest we forget how each other used to look like. Who is this girl? 

I haven't heard this name in a long, long, time. 

I'll be dedicating a full blog post special for this! A major 'then VS now' photos 

You'd be amazed what six years can do to a girl. We all looked somewhat different than we were since the moment we took our final walk out of the iron gates of our high school premises.

Off to Golden Screen Cinemas @ Gurney Plaza to watch The Hobbit

Overall, I thought it was a good movie, despite falling asleep in the first quarter LOL.

It had many witty punchlines and good ol' humour. Plus, having watched all the Lord of the Rings movies as a kid, I would certainly not give the prequel of it all a miss! 

I also had a dose of my usual Milkshake Factory obsession.

Tried the new Rio Coconut Shake for the first time with Ferrero Rocher in it.

It was absolutely delightful! The shaker recommended this to me and since I was a fan of coconut drinks, I thought, "Hey, why not?" Glad I decided upon it.

The chunky chocolate bits from the Ferrero Rocher blended in fresh, pure coconut water was a sip of heaven.

FULLY RECOMMENDED!! 

When dusk descended, it was time to let our hair down and party like the rockstar Penang-ites we are.

Buddy Minny introduced SOHO Gastro Pub @ Precinct 10 to me!

I'm still a loyal & a frequent at MOIS No 1 Upper Penang Road – my pick amongst the pool of Penang clubs!

But since SOHO was quite a new one and a fairly crazy place to party at, I thought I'd join in 

Ready for some party photos? I always look forward to my Penang homecoming! 

Don't mind us, we were semi bonkers by the end of the night. 

Lin Chong aka crazy dragon, Minny & I

 My babe Minny and I

All of us! We go a long way back… think, 2008? 

Flanked by Jon & Kon

Drunk-selcas with my childhood pal, Jon! 

With Thean Sim  It's been too long, girl!

And Lionel.. again! 

Theresa from our college days 

More of us at the table! 

My date for the night  Konzy & I

After the night was over, we trudged out into the patio to take a breather or two before finally deciding to go straight on to breakfast at 4AM. Why so late, you ask?

Well, it is morning after all. Very, very early in the morning 

This was the only photo I took during breakfast. Was I really that smashed? 

Breakfast was Chiow Lin Steamboat Restaurant at Abu Siti Lane, Georgetown.

We had a private room to ourselves (with the Empire State building framed up LOL) and the steamboat was served with an authentic Zhong Qing soup, which, to me, was unsurpassable by any other steamboat outlets I've dined in. 

Being out of touch from Penang for several years, I can only trust my Penang buddies to bring me to the best places nowadays! Thanks ya'll! xoxo

Massive seafood by the seaside dinner with the family at Hai Boey Seafood Restaurant @ Gertak Sanggul

Amongst the hoards of flags, I caught sight of something fairly interesting.

HAHAHAHAH. Smart.

The flag of Germany & the flag of Japan hung next to each other on the ceiling?

Now everybody knows your political stance! I see what you did there… but don't worry. People who don't know their world history will Nazi it. (Get it? Get it?)

Mom & I. One of the few photos I have of the night. Thanks for the photo, dad! 

Caught Life of Pi in cinemas with the family!

I loved every bit of the movie. It was so personal, eye-opening, reflective and deep! I felt very inspired and had a better perspective at life and its many meanings upon leaving the cinema.

If you're tired of the same ol' Hollywood drama, this movie offers a good alternative.

It made me appreciate the gift of life so much better. Go watch it! 

Decorated the interior of my new car a lil bit.

Recognize this lil red octopus? Once upon a time, it meant the world to me.

And it still does. Some things never change. I guess I'm just sentimental like that 

Thanks for the gift Glad you recognized it on my Instagram haha!

Life is always full of surprises. Isn't it always?

But never run away from your past, it made you who you are today. In some strange way or another, all the memories of my past were beautiful, and I've never regretted a single thing I've done.. ever.

Neither should you. 

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 of the photos in this edition are posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook

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

Woots! Today is the 3rd day of Chinese New Year.

Have you guys had your umpteenth CNY reunion dinner yet?

If your family is anything like mine, I can bet you've probably have sat to a few (if not many) dinner get-togethers thus far.

There are altogether 15 days of Chinese New Year according to the Lunar calendar so get your chopsticks and ricebowls ready, for it's dinner lou-sang sessions with the family, friends, workmates, ex-schoolmates, blogmates, campusmates and so many different groups of people!

i was at Tong Yuen in Hilton Hotel last week to taste their auspicious set menus and CNY delicacies

Right after work, I thought it would be wise to head straight to Hilton to skip the impending traffic gridlock. Typical evenings in PJ *rolls eyes*

But strangely I was wrong. The roads were traffic-free and I arrived Hilton almost 2 hours before dinner time! 🙁

I know I was too early. But hellooo hellooo anybody home!?

*sniff*

Thankfully, someone was inside and the gates were opened for me! 😀

First thing I saw as I stepped in:

Mandarin ducks, money frogs and china teapots

The hostess was kind enough to offer me some warm Chinese tea to accompany my wait.

It's gonna be a long wait, that's for sure

But I hope it's worth it 😀

I soon got bored and I had about 1 hour left to kill.

So I got up and started taking pictures of this very impressive, spacious and lavish Chinese restaurant.

I know right. It had so many sections and areas to dine!

Oh and I also learned that Toh Yuen is adjoined to the al-fresco and swimming pool area

Pretty good idea for weddings to be held! Nice place to entertain guests and throw the after-party too!

Separated only by a huge glass door 🙂

I then took my time to walk back to my table. But still, not a single soul to be seen yet.

So I made use of the glass mirrors they had all over the walls for some self-absorbed entertainment

ohai. Gong Xi Fa Chai!

Alright, time to go back to that private section 🙂

It was almost 7.30pm by then. Perfect! Looks like time flies when you're actually occupied.
 

See those 2 circular entrances?

That's where our tables are

This is how it looks at our table… before everybody fills it in 🙂

Yay! Finally I have some company. Elaine from Marketing & Communications took the seat beside mine and gradually, the other guests began to arrive one by one 🙂 Ivy from FOOD and her colleague came pretty soon too.

Eelaine and I

Kelly (my plus one for the evening) and I sipping on some Chinese Tea

After catching up and chit chatting, it was time to bring out the food

Toh Yuen's Yee Sang specials was the highlight of their Fatt Choy (fortune and prosperity) menu selections

Crackers represents happiness, peanut and sesame symbolizes harvest, oil represents wealth,

pomelo means good luck, raw seafood symbolizes life and longevity.

Yee Sang comprises of assorted condiments, which differ in their auspicious meanings as illustrated above

After the warzone of tossing and mixing the ingredients and

dressing with chopsticks, it was time for the feast to begin.

I especially loved their Sliced Abalone yee sang. It was fresh, tasty and had that tinge of sweet-sourness in it. The abalone came in abundance and it was very delicious and chewy too (I initially thought it looked like chicken slices before I had a bite of it! LOL)

The 2nd course that arrived was Braised Shark Fin Soup with Crab Meat and Roe.

Trust me, I've eaten this since my childhood days and there isn't really a complete Chinese dinner without it.

Served hot right outta the pot, it was just as good as what my tastebuds imagined it to be. You can never go wrong!

3rd Course : Deep Fried Chicken in 2 Flavours

Now this one was rather outta the ordinary 🙂

This poultry dish came with chicken – cooked in 2 different styles – encircled around each other. Yup, it was plated in a very pleasant way! The chicken with the darker sauce stayed in the middle while the whiter chicken surrounded it.

I loved the darker chicken while some of the others preferred the whiter one. Ohwell, looks like both of it were popular among us anyway; seeing that this dish was finished in such a jiffy!

After chicken, came the fish

4th course : Steamed Fish Pomfret with Soy Sauce

This fish fanatic is at it again. White pomfrets are one of my favorite types of fish, apart from Salmon and Snowfish. It was so fresh that I reckon it was just caught right off the sea yesterday! 😛 None of that stinky stale stench that some fishes tend to have.

The flesh was tender and was made right for our palate.

5th course : Stir Fried King Prawns in Pineapple Sauce

Now if the fish dish didn't exist, this one would most definitely fall in line being my favorite of the lot!

The prawns were really soft and succulent to the last bite! Kinda the type that melts in your mouth 😀 The tangy natural flavour of the pineapple complemented this dish very well too.

More tea anyone? 😀

The next course was something less meaty. Think veggies!

Just for the record, my favorite green vegetable of all is broccoli. And wa-hey! Look what's on our plates:

It IS broccoli! 😀 😀 😀 Do you spot lotsa mushrooms too?

A very happy me + Kelly

I like how most Chinese chefs cut up lotsa random things that their instincts tell them *might* just make the perfect dish and voila! It DID end up perfect after all.

The broccoli came cooked with so many other ingredients and condiments that it was bursting with flavour 🙂

6th Course: Stewed Sea Cucumber, Mushroom and Broccoli

7th Course: Sauteed Seafood Fried Rice with X.O Sauce

When I had a spoonful of the fried rice, I reckon it tasted kinda different though.

How come it didn't taste as usual or bland as the common Chinese Fried Rice?

Struggling to eat rice with chopsticks from a bowl

(I eventually requested for a spoon instead)

Since my younger days, I was never good at 'em two sticks. I don't know how you people do it. Hat's off to you!

Anyway, so why did my fried rice taste so unique? When I looked up the menu, I found my answer "... with X.O Sauce"! 😀 😀 Woots! Now, how's that for a twist? No wonder it was delish

While waiting for dessert!

Was told that the dessert was gonna be unexpected.

But then again, I thought how UNEXPECTED could a course of dessert be?

So I excused myself to the ladies' for a short while and when I returned, I saw a huge bowl of thick, white substance – of which I assumed to be some creamy delicacy 🙂 Looks yummy to me!

Since I was away when the discussion was made, I had no clue what this dish was

Tasted it and loved it! The honeydew was responsible for the sweet, fruity flavour. It also had this very mild, ice-cream taste and the texture was very gentle to the tastebuds... except for a very, very slight bitter aftertaste once you've swallowed it.

I honestly wondered what it was!

Must be some form of ice-cream or some form of creamy extracts, I pondered to myself.

The Head Chef came out of the kitchen to have a chat with us

That's Shian seated, also from Marcomm

And it was then I found out that the dessert, our final course for the evening, was none other than Hasma!! *gasp* Alright I bet you don't know what Hasma is. Neither did I, initially… before I had it down my throat, of course.

Hasma is a Chinese dessert ingredient  made from the dried fallopian tubes of frogs,
typically the Asiatic Grass Frog. The Western pharmaceutical term is Oviductus Ranae.

How's that for an exotic meal?

Hey don't freak out just because it's made of an odd anatomy of an amphibian. Admittedly, I did too at first but it tasted exquisite. Really! It was once served as royal food to the Chinese Emperors okay! 😀
 

This Chinese New Year, I am proud to say that I have ate animal organs! (something that I've avoided like the plague all these years for no explicable reason)

So, thank you Hilton for giving us this new and rather surprising experience at the end of our meal!

But if you want out on eating this exotic dish, you can always opt for the 'Happiness Set' where Chilled Sea Coconut with Ginseng and the 'Fortune Set' that satisfies your sweet tooth with Braised Red Bean and Glutinous Dumpling.

Our set for the day was 'Longevity Set' FYI 😀

So go have your next CNY meal here or even your company's 'sau kung' dinners or lunches! Their CNY set menus and festive a la carte Chinese delights promo will run until 28th Febuary 2011. 🙂

GONG XI FA CHAI!