So this is it, eh? The final week of the year 2012.

The beginning of the week was a rather quiet one. 

Spent the time alternating back and forth with my family in Ipoh and Penang!

Did some hiking up Bukit Bangkong in Tanah Hitam

Nature at its best 

As Christmas eve & Christmas day has always been a family affair, I spent it with my family! 

Christmas 2012 blog post – here

The Christmas cake that mom decorated 

Played host again. Took my Aussiemate, Shane, around Georgetown, Penang!

Since he was craving to try some of Penang's best Nasi Kandar, where else would I take him but Nasi Kandar Line Clear along Penang Road? 

Shane & I at Nasi Kandar Line Clear (with the mamak guy)

They had Nasi Briyani! I was over the moon.

Usually, I wouldn't eat Nasi Kandar because I don't eat white rice. But since Nasi Briyani was an alternative, I jumped straight for a nice steamy hot plate of Nasi Kandar with some chicken 

As Konzy and Shane included 2 Giant Tiger Prawns (a specialty of the store!) each, as well as chicken & vegetables in their Nasi Kandar, their bill came up to almost RM30! Mine was only RM8 LOL

My night was spent at Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine, a lavish, posh fine-dining restaurant above the sea at QE II (Queen Elizabeth II) 

Lovely! It was splashed with several, varied influences from around the world! 

Chin's serves authentic Sze Chuan, Hunan, Mongolian and Northern Beijing cuisine, but it is certainly not your typical Chinese restaurant, as you can probably tell by the ambience and modern interior design

I'm can't wait to share this place with you, (especially my Chinese readers!) as I will be reviewing Chin's CNY menu, perfect for reunion dinners.

Amazing hand-painted ceramic plates on all the dining tables of Chin's! 

I caught up with some friends over a delightful herbal tea – Fairy Blossom – to be exact. 

It was smoky and had a light floral taste to it. 

Perfect alternative to some of the more commercial types of tea that we see almost everywhere.

After a wonderful week in Penang & Ipoh, it was time to head back to the big city.

I invited mom & kakak to stay with me in KL for the weekend 

As mom has always wanted to visit the i-City in Shah Alam for herself and kakak had always dreamed of sight-seeing KL city, especially the Petronas Twin Towers + KL Tower, I decided that I was going to make it happen for them 

Kakak & I were overlooking the entire KL city + its suburbs on the observation deck of KL Tower 

She was thrilled, completely dumbfounded and left in awe by how KL city looks from up above

No words could describe the joy on my face, upon seeing her euphoric gestures and expressions.

A lil selca-time while she enthuses over the sights of KL with the built-in binoculars

Clearly, I love her very much. My Indonesian maid who has been with me for 20 years.

Over two decades, she has become like another mother of mine and she deserved this weekend among everything else in my capacity to make her happy.

My actual mother, on the other hand, has often expressed her fascination of i-City and how she would love to be there in person to admire the wondrous lights with her very own eyes.

And her wish was my command 

She was mesmerized by the ethereal neon, laser and LED lights surrounding i-City

A full day was spent with them, bringing them around like tourists haha!

The very next day, I took them to the PETRONAS Twin Towers for lunch and some more sight-seeing.

KLCC bracing the storm clouds looming around the city

We decided to eat at the Signature Food Court at Suria KLCC as it had heaps more choices!

It was my first time dining there.

I had the Smoked Norweigian Salmon sandwich with alfafa sprouts and hardboiled egg

and a marble cheesecake.

The former was delicious and hearty but the latter was rather dry and had an unpleasant crumbly texture.

Photo-taking of the twin-towers soon ensured & they went back to Penang soon after.

Today was a rather relaxed Sunday with Konzy!

Dinner at Sakae Sushi

We spent the afternoon running some errands, shopping, reading, eating kebabs, doing groceries, getting a massage, listening to live band/live vocal music, sipping on chocolate drinks at The Obroma Lounge & lots of talking 

Sounds like a typical lazy Sunday, ain't it?

(Photo taken whilst at i-City Shah Alam btw)

Oh and.. my seven days included my latest craze over the adorable Mon Shu girl by Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura's Holiday 2012 collection.

Amazing how two giants in the fashion & beauty world collaborate to produce this dark, iconic, illustrated girl

Mon Shu and I. 

2012's coming to an end. Have you done up your new year resolutions yet?

I've already started on some of them!  

Don't need to wait for a new year to embark on personal goals & reforming habits!

Have a great end to 2012 and welcome 2013 with open arms! 

I'd like to share an original quote of mine which goes, "Don't fret the future, live for the moment and never look back". How true is that?

I've lived by this principle ever since I've got it inscribed onto my body. It made me a more carefree person in life.

Maybe it will help you too?

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!

Despite rocking up at countless parties, attending events after events in the city, there's always a part of me that's gleefully hoping one of them would be an epic, massive beach party.

Previously, as it has always been, I've been making my way down south to our neighbour across the causeway for their annual beach party at the end of every year.

Yes, that's the one – ZoukOut at Siloso Beach in Sentosa Island, Singapore.

But last Saturday night proved that we Malaysians won't need to leave

the country anymore to partyrock on a beach 

When I received the really creative event invitation by Carlsberg to party with them at their annual 'Where's The Party?' event, I knew for a fact that it was going to be held by the sea – on the beachside!

The invitation was in the form of a 'message in a bottle'. So creative!

Leading up to the party, I received a guide on what to bring.

Yup! That confirmed my speculations of a beach party! 

I woke up as early as 6 o' clock to pack for the weekend trip as we had to gather at the Carlsberg Brewery in Shah Alam at 8.30am, where several designated coaches would be chartering us to the mystery partyzone.

Breakfast was served at the brewery – Nasi Lemak & Teh Tarik!

Yum. Your typical Malaysian breakfast, I know 

We adjourned a little after 9 o' clock!

The bus ride was a lengthy one but we guests were well entertained by our bus emcee, Carl.

He made us laugh with his humour, snide jokes and sarcasm! 

I was in my own world curled up with a good novel & my favorite playlist

while theboyf played Angry Birds throughout the ride

The secret destination felt like a faraway distance and the journey, a never-ending one.

We were on the road for 5 hours now. The surroundings were beginning to be a wee bit familiar to me. 

We were given a bento box for lunch on the go!

A delicious hotdog, sausages, fruits, smoked salmon, veggies, potatoes and… CHOCOLATE 

At one point, I could see the Penang Bridge in the distance. That's it! 

This year's Carlsberg 'Where's The Party' is going to be held in Penang Island… but the question is, where exactly?

We alighted at Queensbay seaside to sign our names on the guestlist

Initially, I thought we were going to be partying at this beach but there was no stage set-up in sight.

"Scratch that, it can't be here then!", I said to myself with much perplexity.

Before I knew it, we were on the move again.

Being a Penangite, I thought I knew where we were going and smugly told theboyf that the party would most probably be held in Batu Fehringgi's long stretch of beaches.

But as soon as the coach took a different route, my totally lost my bearings. We were taken on a long, winding ride on a new highway on a hilly area I've never driven on before.

Escorted by the police force and road marshalls en route to the secret partyzone. Coolbeans! 

Looking out the window, all I could see was cliffs, narrow bridges, the Indian Ocean, plunging ravines, the sun setting in the horizon, lush greenery, mountainous terrains, jungles, waterfalls, rural villages… you get the picture.

This puzzled me even further.

Dear Carlsberg, Where's the Party?

No, really… WHERE'S THE PARTY???? 

I soon realized that it was all part of the plan. Their plot to confuse us, get us racking our brains thinking, giving us so much suspense and anticipation living up to its theme – 'Where's The Party?'. 

Good job! That calls for a Carlsberg *clink*

In the end, I was right. We were going to Batu Fehringgi after all but via a road not taken by many LOL. 

We *finally* arrived Bayview Beach Resort Penang

This was taken in the transparent, bubble elevator going up to my room 

As soon as I stepped in, I felt right at home.

My Deluxe Side Seaview room was spacious, comfy, had an enormous King-sized bed, a balcony, a giant bathroom (with a bath!), comfy couches, a flat-screen television, high-speed internet and so much more!

To sum it all up, it was beautiful had everything I needed. Thanks, Carlsberg! 

Here are some photos of my room before I made a mess of it LOL

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#4

I soon noticed a little something lying in my room. 

It bore the words – 

"Dear Bold One,

You've made it to Carlsberg Where's The Party. 

Gear yourself up with the items in this party pack

and rock on to Asia's most epic party!"

I opened it with much enthusiasm (Come on, who doesn't like surprise presents?) and I found many party essentials which could come in handy during the beachparty! 

If my memory hasn't failed me, it had a map/layout sheet of the partyzone, a Pestle and Mortar 'Where's the Party?' t-shirt, funky hipster glasses and a pair of flip-flops.

Yay! This made me a very happy girl 

I've always wanted a pair of Fipper flip-flops but never got round to buying one

Time to get ready and hit the beach for Carlsberg's 'Where's the Party?'

Whoops. I think I over-packed. Heh.

We put our beachparty gear on and left the hotel with the Carlsberg shuttle-van

The party was held at Hard Rock Hotel's beachside.

Finally, after an entire day's worth of travelling (almost!) it was now time to muster what's left of our energy and turn up our party dial for Malaysia's most epic tri-nation beachparty by Carlsberg!

Watch this space for Part 2 *wink*

Stay tuned!