The Return to Markets and Burgerlab~!

Almost like we were attempting a sequel or a remake, this Saturday was spent almost exactly like our last Markets-and-myBurgerLab-later outing~ :)

Not that that's a bad idea -- nothing like a day of productive shopping, topped off with an extremely satisfying dinner. I finally got to taste myBurgerLab's Kajuu burger, after months of craving it! And I got some pretty decent loot at the Markets@JayaOne, too~

~The KL Depressed Cake Shop 2013~

Sunday, September 15th found us at Madisons Jalan Bangkung, at the invitation of my friend and colleague Alia to support The KL Depressed Cake Shop. :)

The KL Depressed Cake Shop is a 2-day charity bake sale held from Sept 15-16 this year as part of the Malaysiaku50 Festival, to help raise awareness for mental illnesses and depression in Malaysia. All proceeds from the bake sale would be donated to the Malaysian Mental Health Association.

The featured cakes and baked goods fit the theme, with grey icing and morose motifs. It's kind of an avant-garde idea, considering that the traditional image of cakes are almost always cheerful and colourful and meant to celebrate some happy occasion. It's also almost ironic, since dessert is usually the first thing people would go for to cope with not-too-happy feelings ...

This was also the KL chapter of the global Depressed Cake Shop movement, founded in the UK. There are over 30 Depressed Cake Shop chapters around the world, dedicated to the same cause of raising awareness towards mental health issues.

EDIT: I was told that the bake sale managed to raise RM 15,000 for the cause, hurrah~! :D Congrats to the great people and amazing crew behind the effort~!

~J-Rock no Tamashii IV: The Soul of J-Rock~

There is still a faint ringing in my left ear, where I have gone temporarily deaf (kinda like Katniss), due to a whole Saturday evening of blaring speakers and furious guitar-riffs and J-Rock music at the recent J-Rock no Tamashii.

Papillon: An Exhibition By A Dreamer by xBellanotte Photography

On Monday August 5th, my dear friend Isabella Tan invited a bunch of friends and I to the private preview opening of her photography exhibition, 'Papillon' at Publika, Solaris Dutamas~

  

Bella is the photographic talent behind xBellanotte Photography, and has an extremely impressive portfolio, despite only actively practicing photography for 2 years, and also despite her age (the girl is only 19~!). I greatly admire her works, so when I got the invite to the opening night I knew I just had to make it. :)

~Trip to Ye Olde Smokehouse Fraser Hill~ "Far Over The Misty Mountain Cold ..."

It all began when Kids and I saw this Groupon for a 2D1N stay at Ye Ole Smokehouse, Fraser Hill:

The minute I saw the deal go up, there was no question that we were going. >< We've been wanting to go to Smokehouse for ages now, and personally experience the quaint, 1900s British surroundings and atmosphere instead of just looking at beautiful photographs online and wishing we were there ... but the expensive prices turned us off. :( Groupon was our only hope!

With almost no hesitation, and with the punching-in of a few credit card details later, we had two coupons for a 2-night stay. We we were on our way for an adventure! :)

~Fantasy Night: A Night for Final Fantasy Fans!~

What started out as a late-night mamak catch-up session with high-school mates led up to an honestly enjoyable night of great music, creative people and great friends. :)

Let's rewind to the night of November 22nd, a much looked-forward to Pondok Gang high-school reunion dinner. In attendance were Justin, Praveen, Alyaa and me, with honourary members Xin Xin and Kat.

The reunion dinner that started it all ...

After a marvelous burger dinner at The Burger Lab, we hung out for after-dinner drinks at a nearby mamak, where Kat and I started talking about her freelance mobile hairdressing service.

I wanted to improve my portrait photography, and I saw the opportunity in contributing to Kat's hairstyling portfolio. I would supply her with the photos to impress clients, while I would get much-needed practise for portrait photography. Seemed like a good trade-off. :D

So on the evening of 6th December, I found myself at The Venue, Pavilion KL, armed with my trusty camera and overwhelmed by the fact I had no idea what I was getting into ... Kat's sister Mariam would be playing in a Final Fantasy tribute concert, that much I knew ...

~Sights & Sounds of Urbanscapes 2012~

I have a confession: I'm a sucker for all things hipster. I love the vintage retro things and fashions, the pretentiously healthy fusion food, the strange music, the rebellious zeal to protect the environment like it's a life's calling, and all the colourful, artsy things that hipsters love.

So it was no surprise that Alyaa and myself found ourselves making our annual pilgrimage to Urbanscapes, this year at Padang Astaka, to enjoy the shopping, the food, and the music. For the first time, Urbanscapes were featuring an international act, Sigur Ros, and Hijabster Princess Yuna, and tickets were selling out months before the event.

In Which Also Involves Potatoes And Beef

Almost as a continuation of our previous Epic Adventure Mealtime episode (where we boldly attempted croquettes), Kids, Sky and I this time joined forces to cook a dinner that involves potatoes, onions and more potatoes. :D

After many hours of surfing Pinterest, I decided our next culinary experiment would be: Potato Gratin~!

Epic Meal Adventure Time: How to Make Croquette

One of the many merry misadventures Kids and I get ourselves into is completely ignoring the risk of ruined kitchens and ruined appetites, and attempting to cook. Yesterday, we tried to make our mark on the culinary world by making croquettes. :D

~An Ode to Upstairs Cafe~

While the cast of Friends are busy hanging out on their favourite orange couch at the Central Perk, Ted and company are always at MacLaren's on How I Met Your Mother, and if you're a Malaysian from my generation, you'll probably remember Ipoh old-town Kopitiam gang from Kopitiam.

Seriously, does anyone remember this awesome series?

If my friends and I were cool, fascinating and popular enough to have our own TV sitcom, we would have ... Upstairs Cafe. OwO

Artsy Weekends and Burger Nights

So let me tell you about my best weekend ever. :)

If I could sum up all the best parts of life into one neat little package, it would be this weekend right here. ^^ I feel as if I had filled up at least a month's worth of activity into these two short days -- I've been to new places, met fantastic new people, learned new things about life and the universe and all things happy.

~Bijou Bazaar, August 4, 2012~

Heard from Alyaa earlier in the week that there was going to be a day-long flea-market/craft bazaar thing at Publika over the weekend, so being the hijabster, bargain-hunting, clothes-and-shoes junkies that we are, we decided to check it out. :D