The Chief Fairy summoned us all for a team lunch a couple of days before I left for my month-long soul searching journey. Okay, she didn’t summon us… She gladly invited all of us to come along for lunch.
When I received the message about lunch at a curry house, I thought about the dishes I could possibly eat… because I don’t take well to spicy food. What more Indian curry? I have to admit I’m a disgrace as a Malaysian. All our lives we’re exposed to different spices because we were brought up in a diversified society. I can’t say I didn’t get enough practice since I was a kid because my whole family loves putting extra chilli and spice in every meal. I think I’m an outcast within my own family (I tell this story to everyone).
Fiercer in Publika is a more swanky restaurant-bar setting compared to its sister restaurant, Fierce Curry House in Bangsar.
I can’t seem to navigate my way around Publika despite being there for the umpteenth time. How I would remember Fierce for my future visits; it’s located en route route to Black/White Box. (It’s at Block D1, on floor G3.)
Fierce’s simple white exterior.
Herukh, the man behind Fiercer. Omg he was such a comical guy!! The whole team was roaring with laughter throughout lunch while he entertained us with stories from his week-long wedding. Well, only the bits and pieces that he could remember.
Andrew had a strawberry lassi (RM12) while I had a mango (RM 10) one. It was sooooo refreshing for a scorching hot day!
Mixed Vegetable Pakora (RM12). This was my favourite! I think this would make such a healthy snack alternative when you feel like munching on something! Ugh, thinking about it makes me want to cry because it left me fond scrumptious memories while it lasted. :'(
Butter Chicken (RM 25); chicken tikka in tomato, cream and butter gravy flavoured with dry and fenugreek leaves. This was Joyce’s favourite dish!
Guess what was in the giant silver pot??
We all stood surrounding it with our phones ready to Snapchat. Gasps of approval could be heard as the unraveling of the King Lobster was revealed hiding in the sea of biryani. Does it sound dramatic? Because it was dramatic indeed. The only thing missing was a climatic theme song playing in the background while this happened.
A month ago, KBF was hired to engage some influencers and bloggers for NUXE, a French skincare brand that is sold in SaSa. I first used NUXE when I was one of the judges for the Harper’s BAZAAR Beauty Awards a few years ago, and gave it high marks for its gentle efficacy on my skin. It is most pleasant to use, and a brand i’d return to for its reasonable price point.
Founded by Parisian mother, wife and entrepreneur Aliza Jabès based on her passion on the infinite power of plants; NUXE started off as a small, natural R&D skincare laboratory based in the City of Light in the early 90s.
When Aliza was a child, she was fascinated by the endless bounty and inspiration of Nature, and was further convinced at a young age by her research pharmacist father on the major therapeutic discoveries that originate from the world of plants.
She decided to create a brand of natural cosmetics that combined the unique concept of Nature and Luxury – fundamentals that have guided, inspired and nurtured the brand’s philosophy through the years. Aliza’s urban roots mirrored her own desire in having products that do that they promise to without an endless skincare routine, and having textures and fragrances that appeal to the senses without compromising on results. The outcome is a range of essential must-haves with a touch of glamour.
In 2002, she opened her first NUXE spa, 32 rue Montorgueil, in the historical centre of Paris to give the brand a place in which Beauty and Well-being, Emotions and Sensations are expressed.
Today, the NUXE R&D lab is the biggest independent natural cosmetics laboratory in the heart of Paris. Each day, dozens of researchers apply cutting edge technologies to uncover the timeless secrets of plants sourced all over the world. The expertise of Nuxe laboratory is recognized for its innovation while keeping to Aliza’s philosophy to provide ultra-feminine skincare inspired by nature and based on fundamental truths born from pharmaceutical approach and adapted to cosmetic requirements.
Belinda Chee emceed the event that afternoon.
She told me that she knew Jun from their competitive swimming days in high school, tho they were representing different states.
NUXE arranged a creative activity for all guests that day. Due to the concept of how all their products are based on plants and nature, they prepared personalized sheets for us to put together our own petal art, complete with frames after.
Kittie Yiyi getting her creative on. I think hers is always on. Never off.
During high school, I yearned for a driver’s license and to be able to have a car on my own. It felt very troublesome to have my parents sending me to places. There were also numerous occasions when they forgot to pick me up. My teenage self was not happy about it.
My parents got me my very first car, which I named Pancake, as soon as I entered college. That was when I started to dread driving and finally understood what my parents had to go through. The traffic jam to get out of Puchong and back is just… horrendous. It’s always bumper to bumper no matter what time of the day. I’m so used to getting stuck in the jam that something doesn’t feel right when traffic is smooth.
I really miss getting picked up/dropped off ? and bet thousands of people who get stuck in the traffic with me every morning and evening do as well.
Residing in Puchong makes it pretty inconvenient to carpool with friends because most of them stay in more centralized areas like PJ, Subang and KL. I also don’t really like the idea of troubling someone to go out of their way to come get me when I have a car of my own.
Nowadays, I am a frequent user of private transportation services because it’s so affordable and it saves me the hassle of finding a place to legally park. If you’re like me, you would be interested in this new service Grab has to offer.
Grab (formerly known as MyTeksi) introduced GrabHitch; an affordable door-to-door service picking up passengers who are going the same way. The essence of this service is basically to encourage carpooling.
Yes, you read that right. Carpooling.
I know it sounds really bizarre to carpool with a bunch of strangers but remember the time when online dating first came about and everyone was so skeptical about it? Well, it has now evolved into an app where one merely swipes left and right to find potential dates, which is what most of us secretly do when we’re alone.
GrabHitch is a service that allows you to make a couple of friends who are heading to the same destination or the same route as you are. For instance, someone within your proximity will be heading to the same gym as you. The driver will come pick you up along the way and the cost of the journey will be shared among the both of you. Yay to a new gym buddy!
To help in ensuring the safety of both driver and passenger, GrabHitch users are required to log in using their Facebook accounts to be able to use this service. This allows the passengers and drivers to preview one another and have a glimpse of their profiles to check out who they are sharing a ride with and to see if you have any mutual friends. You even have the option to only ride with people of the same gender if you wish to do so.
This carpooling service that GrabHitch offers is an environmental-friendly initiative as it will play a part to minimize air pollution in the long run. According to the Nielsen Global Service of Automotive Demand, Malaysia is ranked 3rd for the highest car ownership globally. 93% of Malaysian households own at least one car and 54% own more than one vehicle. [source]
I can attest to this as I live with my family of 8 and 6 of us have our own cars. I think our neighbours secretly hate us for taking up so many parking spots.
Passengers are to pre-book a ride as early as 7 days in advance, or up to 2 hours before pick-up. You just need to key in your destination from point A to point B, and wait to be matched with a driver who will be going on the same route. You will be notified when a successful match is made. The fare of the ride will be shown before confirming the booking so that you know exactly how much it will cost. You can either opt to pay via cash or GrabPay; a cashless debit/credit card payment system available on the app.
GrabHitch is also looking for drivers to sign up! You’ll need to be above 18 and have at least a year of driving experience. Simply download the Grab app on Google Play or the Apple store, select the ‘Drive’ button and follow the instructions. Further verification and background checks will be conducted upon approval as a driver.
Grab will even be topping up RM20 FREE credit to GrabHitch drivers for every completed ride between 15 – 22 May 2016. Terms apply, find out more *HERE*
For RM30 free credit, use referral code at end of post >
It’s me again! I’m back after a month of self-discovery and catching up with some ME time!
Rewind back to my last week as an intern at KBF [Joyce: Rachel has just joined us as a full-time writer for four months], the team was invited for a sneak peek of Marini Ramlan a.k.a. Nini Marini’s exhibition titled “Reflections of a Peacock Butterfly“.
Upon seeing the invitation, I told my mom about it as she’s an art enthusiast. My mom was an art major so she loved exposing my sister and I to anything artsy fartsy back when we were kids. Once, she signed us up for a colouring competition where all the other kids had really canggih tools that included all the colour pencil shades you could ever imagine AND a foldable art table (so kiasu right). My sister and I only went with a box of Luna colour pencils each. While all the other kids were frantically filling up their masterpieces to the brim with colours, the hidden artist in me happily left the backdrop blank.
Guess what? I won a prize for my masterpiece! *throws confetti*
See, sometimes it’s good being different.
Nini’s art, is a beautiful example of being different with grace.
Iceland Part 2 – Weaving Iceland, 2015
Sonya, 2013
Nini has been obsessed with drawing female faces ever since she was young. Sonya was one of the few women portraits that she created to “loosen up” and practice her drawing as painting.
