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

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

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!

Hello hello! It's Sunday again & I'm feeling so energized!

All pumped up from today's gym session but my legs feel like complete jelly at the moment. 

I'm a work in progress. 

Well I guess that's whatchu get from insane, merciless core trainings & floor workouts of crunches burpees, front planks, leg-lifts, push-ups, lunges, sit-ups, squats yesterday and straight on to today's high-intensity Body Combat session as well as more crunches & planking. 

I think I over-exert myself sometimes 

Which is why I only drink Horley's Sculpt protein shakes to restore the protein I need from all those mad workouts

Today's choice of gym shoes: Adidas Adipure 360 for Body Combat & floor workouts! Thanks Adidas Malaysia 

I need a massage to relieve my tired muscles. Pronto! 

Oh and I think I've said this before, I eat like a pig but I train like a hunting dog.

I can never say no to mamak food. Oh the delicious curry, tandoori chicken, spices & thosai

We all gotta reward ourselves sometimes. Heh. heh. heh.

My treats include chocolate, milkshakes & cheese cakes. 

So if you're feeling kind or want to fatten me up with anything like how the 'Hansel & Gretel' witch tried to do to Hansel, you can make me a happy girl 

Which was exactly what the wonderful peeps at Pizza Hut Malaysia did last Tuesday.

I was invited to the Pizza Hut Cheesy 7 Red Carpet party!

They blindfolded me while I sampled the Cheesy 7 pizza – which was a much-speculated comeback.

(Full blogpost coming soon!)

What I wore for the night! 

After sinfully good food, I always I burn off what I eat – if not at least half of the consumed calories.

Let's kick some arse.

And the gym has always my second home since 2007 

Yes, I'm emphasizing the year I became a gym rat, because lately, I've had many people asking me "So what made you so into fitness & gym all of a sudden?"

  You asked the question five years too late, baby. 

My answer would be – NOTHING. Because I've always been into health & fitness.

Throughout all these years as a fitness junkie, I've never shared my routines nor workout photos before. (I think the most obvious is my constant tweeting and Foursquare check-ins into various gyms and parks).

So, I hope you guys don't ask me the same question anymore pretty please T__T

Here's a Thai restaurant I'd like to recommend – Restoran Aroma Thai @ Damansara Perdana

Tom Yam Seafood soup, Pineapple Rice, Thai-style Curry Beef, Pandan Chicken & Cashewnut Prawns

They all tasted authentic and each were reasonably priced around the range of RM8 – RM20

Attended the Topshop Members Day party on a Thursday night

Major love for polaroids! Always wanted a polaroid camera 

My Thursday was quite eventful. It was spent undergoing a very special procedure for my hair.

It is the Brazilian Keratin Treatment  This is only available at A Cut Above hair salons!

I daresay it was the best & most professionally done treatment for my recently-damaged hair

(Full blogpost coming soon!)

The gorgeous & talented Winnie Loo also gave my hair a magical touch with her expertise at haircuts

She gave me a very bold & edgy new asymmetrical hairstyle – just the way I like it

Can't wait to blog about the entire experience at A Cut Above!

I had so much fun with dearest Winnie experimenting new & unconventional looks for me.

Dinner Thursdate with boyfieKon at Chilis Bar & Grill @ Mid Valley Megamall right after

He had the Jalapeno Steak Quesadillas while I had the Chicken Club Tacos 

More healthy homemade goodness when I stormed my kitchen as usual.

Take a look!

Fresh garden salad & Thousand Island dressing

Fluffy omelette with Old El Paso salsa & lots of ground pepper!

Friday's breakfast!

Cornflakes with fat-free yoghurt & apple slices

It's Friday night! Off to shimmey down & usher in the weekend with some electronic music at Zouk Club KL!

Feeling a lil punkass tonight 

KLCC hey hey!

I don't know about my fellow Malaysians but even after living in this country all my life, I never fail to be amazed at our very own iconic KLCC Petronas Twin-Towers, which was once the world's tallest building! 

Partied my Friday night away at Sidney Samson LIVE in Malaysia at Mainroom, Zouk Club KL

RIVER! RIVER! RIVERSIDE… *bleeeeeep*!

Had so much fun with the buddies 

Sidney Samson dropped beats from Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, David Guetta, Zedd, Steve Aoki apart from his very own original tracks. Heck, he even surprised us with several old skool, hip-hop/rap music!

On second thought, it's pretty obvious that he's a fan. He even had a Snoop Dogg T-Shirt on 

Oh did you know (or even bother to know) that every Saturday is NO PLASTIC BAG DAY at Tesco?

Well, now you do… and you better be prepared!

The last thing you'd wanna do is to lug all your groceries by hand, all the way to your car LOL. For the first time, I actually remembered and brought along two large non-woven environmental friendly bags with me 

Spent my Saturday night being Bob the Builder with bestiePam

Was busy fixing a new shoe rack for our my collection of shoes!

Hey, they need a nice pedestal to sit prettily too 

Let me introduce to you my (now) neatly displayed, happy family of 55 pairs of my favorite footwear!

High-heels, wedges, stilettos, flats, peep-toes, slingbacks, boots,

sneakers, high-tops, runners, gym shoes & flip-flops! 

Will be sharing a panorama photo of both mine and bestiePam's shoe collection soon!

I know, don't freak out.

Some girls collect handbags, make up, perfume, stuffed animals, soap bars… and the list goes on.

I told you I'm a caterpillar. I have too many feet & all of them want a pair of shoes to wear 

httpv://youtu.be/zXspm7k7juE

Song of the week that came just in time! That's some epic dubstep right there

BoyfieKon is blasting it in our living room right this very moment & totally got me hooked 

Another thing I did this week that I just have to share is…

HAHA! I TRAILED A SPEEDING AMBULANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME!!

You know how people follow/tailgate ambulances because every vehicle will make way for them?

Well, I've seen lotsa motorists do it, and since I've always wanted to take advantage of the ambulance's emergency lane, I did. It was cool how everyone gave way to me too  (It works. I arrived my destination in half the usual time)

That's all for this week. G'night, dearies. Dream of unicorns and rainbows tonight, aight? 

Make sure you're well-rested to tackle your next seven days with gusto!

Much love,

Jessicat

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

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!

I know I skipped last weekend's edition of The Sunday Times!

Actually, don't ask me why. I don't know either.

I shall mull two weeks motherload of photos/updates for you, aight?

Better late than never teehee!

Spent some lonely cuddletimes with my favourite boy 

Gave in to the Instagram craze!

Several people have been bugging me to get on Instagram for a while now… and I thought, hey why not?

Follow me on Instagram at – thejessicat

Stormed my kitchen up to make dinner again! 

Butter-Cereal Prawn & Black Pepper Scrambled Eggs with Tofu & Spinach on a Saturday night

Celebrated my country's Independence Day on the 31st August!

Full blogpost – here *click*

Got a tad nerdy & intellectual for several days

Been preparing for an article about contemporary Malaysian culture!

Off on an airplane to Penang Island courtesy of Heineken!

An epic mini-rave is underway 

Touched down in Penang to attend the Heineken Progressive Tour at 32 Mansion @ Penang

Full blogpost soon! 

I just had to justify myself LOL

Had English breakfast with mom in Dome Cafe @ Gurney Plaza, Penang!

I'd recommend the Eggs Benedict 

Day out in the city : Pavilion KL with buddies Jean-Baptiste & Nestor!

Took the cable car up to Genting Highlands with 'em magician boys after that!

J'ai passé un très bon moment  

Outfit of the day in Genting Highlands!

Watched Superstars of Magic 2 four times! Yup, FOUR TIMES.

Too good to only catch it once  Made wonderful friends there, the cast & crew were an amazing bunch!

Learnt some magic under the tutorledge of two fabulous cardicians

You know who you both are. Much love & gratitude! 

Made a snack at home  Do I smell something healthy?

Fresh lettuce, red corals, wild rocket leaves, butter hearts, radicchio,

red oakleaves with watermelon chunks, oregano & thousand island!

Hit the gym again! Did my usual routine and a 5KM track-run 

Had a bout of a rather dreadful emotional turmoil & lost my appetite for 4 days.

Stayed in bed. Refused to get out. Wallowed in depression. But yeah, tried to smile for the camera anyhow LOL

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx6deVzKeKQ&feature=player_detailpage

Song of the week 

Picked up the pieces, put on a smile and buried my misery six feet under

Question is : How can you forget someone who gave you so much to remember?

Just got back from a satisfying dinner! I recommend the Chicken & Lamb Mixed Royal Kebab with Saffron Rice

A cosy & VERY reasonably priced Middle Eastern place : Saffron Cafe & Restaurant in Damansara Perdana! 

Well, that's what's I've buzzing with during past fortnight, apart from the emotional rollercoaster ride.

It's rather personal, don't ask  But what didn't kill me, made me stronger!

… overcome the tears & attempt the next stride with a smile 

This week, I am thankful for :

1) The immediate people around me 

2) The lessons in life which I learnt the hard way. 

Have a great seven days ahead dear readers 

Much love,

Jessicat 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————

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

Some of the photos in this edition are posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook as it happens.

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

Okay I know I owe you guys loads and loads of my cooking escapades!

If you are following me on Twitter, you would know that I've been cooking up heaps of stuff for lunches and dinner – often experimental and adventurous.

Cheesy Penne Pasta Potato Bake with Roast Chicken! 😀

Oh and, just so you know, I never follow recipes. So I have no idea how the "recipe" just popped up in my head!

Hmmm… perhaps all these years of eating or numerous food review sessions has subconsciously taught me a thing or two and honed my long-time repressed culinary instincts.

Anyway, that's what I made for dinner for my family in Sydney!

Feast up! Also, I will also show you a brief step-by-step on how to recreate the dishes.

Everything I cook is pretty damn easy, to me. If I can make them,  I don't see why you can't as well!

Ingredients used – potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, capsicums.

Chop 'em up, dice 'em well, slice 'em well!

Before you cut up your veggies, you might want to pre-heat your oven first to prepare for roasting.

Set it to about 180 degrees Celcius.

Marinade a whole raw chicken with salt, black pepper and barbeque/mushroom sauce.

Stuff the chopped vegetables into various parts of the poor thing.

Yes. That's my hand inside its asshole.

Sprinkle more condiments and your favorite herbs. I used basil and rosemary.

Remember to line your roasting tray with aluminium foil or butter it!

Take it out of the oven after about 45 minutes or how well-cooked your chicken is INSIDE.

Lay it to cool and carve it to shreds.

Boil potatoes and mash them with salt, pepper, milk and butter

Boil the pasta of your choice. I chose curls and penne.

Stir fry onions, garlic, spring onions, mushrooms, veggies and that shredded roast chicken

with your fave pasta sauce

Put everything together in a casserole dish layer by layer.

Mix the pasta evenly with the sauce mixed with everything you've fried earlier, and layer with mashed potatoes and grated cheese. Then pop it in the oven again to bake for about 30 minutes on 150 degrees celcius.

You want your cheese to melt into the potatoes and the layers below it.

Yadda yadda yadda preparation time in total would be about 2 hours +

Okay, everyone is hungry… let's eat!

Salad for appetizers!

Mix cherry tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, avocados and lettuce with mayonnaise or mustard.

Have a good balanced diet!

Eat them together with the main meal. Are you hungry yet? 😀 😀

Ta-da! Portion for one.

We ended up getting 2nd, 3rd and 4th helpings!

I'm glad they loved it. Ahem. They better do 😛 😛

For it is cooked with love, by me

Whee I love to see a happy family enjoying my home-cooked dinner!

There was plenty to go around!

Not bad,. All gone! I've made another extra casserole dish… waiting for tomorrow though

Here's to hoping it will suffice for lunch tomorrow! 😀

Oh and, this also marks Episode One of my lil cookbook of homemade nomsters by me.

If you haven't tried making this, you probably should. Serves 5 and above 🙂 All the best!

This just in!

So glad I found a total gem in Damansara 😀
 

Being a Japanese food freak with perennial love for all things sushi, yakimono, soba, maki, teppanyaki, unagi and the like, I was overjoyed when all I wanted and loved could be found in Hokano.
 

Before I entered. This is the storefront! 🙂
 

Menu placed outside so you can ogle over their epicurean Japanese dishes even before you enter

I sure did
 

Are we ready?
 

Tucked along the row of shophouses, this cosy restaurant might be small in size but packed with people.

It's time to put these Japanese bites to test

It's Hokano crunchtime!

I brought along my posse of foodies too. First things first, we were all served with warm ocha (Japanese for Green Tea) just before Restaurant Co-Owner Mrs. Ho came to our table to give her recommendations of their house specialties!

The place was patronized by young and old alike
 

We gathered at 7.30pm but I spotted lotsa people still streaming in by the waves even way past dinnertime.

Although it was almost full-house, our meals came pretty damn quickly. Thumbs up for efficiency!

First dish of the night served. Our appetizers!

Japanese potato salad

The plus point here is that this dish is home-made!

Once upon a time during a cookout back in my younger days (not that I'm old now) I was taught to make Japanese potato salad.

Obviously not as good as the one I just tasted here! 🙂
 

The 2nd appetizer which was served was the Spicy Ika

It's a stir-fried spicy squid chopped into thick and soft-chewy rings. Delicious Oh and for your kind information, this succulent baby isn't available on the menu (yet?) but it's certainly a must-order!
 

And you heard it first right here from me 😀

Next up, another appetizer we had was Smoked Salmon Salad
 

This fish lover approves! 🙂 Their salmon was fresh and tender with each bite complemented with chilled lettuce, avocados, onions and cherry tomatoes. A healthy option, that's for sure!

And that's not the best part of it yet….

For the special sauce that comes with it is also a homemade house specialty

I don't know what its made of (I suppose it's a best-kept trade secret hehe!) it had this sweet yet tangy citrus taste to it. We drizzled it all over our salad and into our mouths it disappeared! 😛
 

Another fabulous appetizer I do recommend is the Kaki Fry!
 

I did not know what it was initially by the looks of it. Figuring it was some kind of breadcrumbed potato, I took a bite and no.. I was so so wrong! 😀 It was warm and bursting with flavour from the inside.

Lo and behold, for it was actually huge, juicy oysters!
 

Do you guys want me to go past the appetizers and dive straight into the Mains already? 😀

Hold your horses! Here's the final appetizer – Soft Shell Crab Schimi Age!

Soft Shell Crab is granny's fave btw – and also mine!

She'll never fail to order that at any Japanese food joints thefockers and I go to. This one is one that I will certainly bring her to on her next visit downtown.
 

Alright alright. Appetizers are officially done with.

On to the Main Dishes!

Served with a bowl of rice and Miso soup, this is the Chicken Teriyaki set!
 

As I'm very fond of teriyaki, this one I just tasted right here does not disappoint at all 🙂

It sure lived up to its standards!

Another chicken dish worthy of highlight was Chicken Katsu, also served with rice and Miso soup
 

I don't usually order set meals when I patronize restaurants (always prefer the a-la-carte for some inexplicable reason) but this one, might just be an exception I loved this bowl of delightful goodness!

 

Whoops I didn't realize there was rice sticking at the sides.

Must be from passing the bowl around to everyone to try! 😛
 

Chicken Katsu? I'll definitely come back for you. It's awesome, you bet

Tempura Soba came next in line

Eat it with the tempura, it goes really well together!
 

Oooh looks like another fish dish arrived on our table. Jump for joy!

Aiyah, I don't need to repeat as most of you will know by now that I'm a fish adherent anytime anywhere!

My fellow foodies Ken and Tocky enjoyed the Salmon Teriyaki just as much as I did too 🙂

It was warm and tasty.. not to mention also healthy in some ways!
 

The next 2 dishes that plopped on our table were somewhat similar but it's the sauce, condiments and style of cooking that makes it a world of a difference 🙂 It's called the Rib Eye Steak and Moromiso Steak respectively.

Take a look –

Can't say which one tastes better because all 6 of us debated and it was an equal vote.

MeiYee, Lionel and Ken were pro-Rib Eye Steak while Tocky, Sidney and I were pro-Moromiso Steak! 🙂

Looks like its up to you to decide when you taste it for yourself!
 

Rib Eye Steak 3 – 3 Moromiso Steak

Both are tender and lean slices of beef interlaced with asparagus, all stacked up neatly in a pile

The Rib Eye above is made with Teriyaki sauce while the Moromiso below boasts a strong miso taste 🙂

Fabulous, I must say.
Next up – or should I say my favorite part? – is Sushi time! 😀
 

Oh yesss. Temaki, Sushi, Makizushi, Nori and Wasabi galore! We were served many different kinds of sushi but here are the ones that won my recommendation, hands down!

Here's the Alaska Roll!

Loved it. Crabstick, cucumbers and avocado topped off with roe, salmon sashimi and even more avocado.

Quite a common dish in most Sushi joints but you know you can never go wrong with this. It's yum!
 

Alaska Roll goodness in your face again

And in mine! Slurps.
 

Here's the Kano Roll all cute and pretty in red!

Can't help that I like it even before eating it already, it's while black and red! My kind of sushi color 😛

Cucumber, Tamago (Japanese for egg omelette), Unagi (Japanese for eel) and Avocado

Thumbs up!
 

Spider Roll! Very crunchy till the last bite

This one has a slight spicy aftertaste because apart from Soft Shell Crab and cucumber, lies Spicy Salmon!
 

Finally, the creme de la creme of the crop is here. Yes, I saved the best for last.

Let me introduce to you my favorite dish of all time in this restaurant, the Hokano Roll!

It's the signature of Hokano Japanese Restaurant itself, chef's specialty

and my recommendation all in 1 fine hand rolled sushi

Mouth-watering without a doubt 🙂 Try beating that.

Word of advice? Don't ever leave this restaurant without ordering this dish

It's just everything delicious all packed into one satisfying bite. A stellar combination indeed, if I do say so myself!

All in all, this place definitely gets good ratings from me.

My verdict? A hidden gem offering awesome food (pretty affordable too!) along Uptown Damansara facing the LDP highway.
 

With Mrs. Ho, the co-owner of Hokano. Husband and son (both chefs) were still busy inside the kitchen

Oh and yes if you're wondering, it's a family-owned business for 6 years to date 
 

Such a waste how I never noticed this Japanese food treasure trove before, as its not the typical commercial (and overrated) Sushi chains you would usually see in malls.

For the lack of a better expression, Hokano beats Sushi King and Sakae Sushi anytime in my books.
 

Till then, I'll be back