#47 : Lunch with Amber Chia

Yeah, how often we get to have lunch with schedule-packed models, but thanks to InPublisher Magazine, we were given a chance to have lunch with Ms. Amber Chia.


We were introduced to her by the hot editor, Ms. Luna Skye, and Amber brought a little guest along with her, son baby Ashton.

Baby Ashton

I would say, the kid is pretty active, and knows how to get his food. Woot!

The venue, Gardens Lifestyle Cafe in 1 Utama was a perfect location, it's more tranquil and not too obvious to the crowd, perfect for a less hectic lunch ambiance. The food itself, not bad I would say.

Had the Teriyaki Chicken set lunch.

Amber is definitely down to earth, and I felt less intimidated talking to her actually than I expected. She also gave us copies of her biography and took a few pictures with us :)


Not a bad way to have lunch eh? :)

#48 : Kronenbourg L'Aperitif

Thanks to JunFook.com , myself and my date Crystal got ourselves to Kronenbourg 1664's L'Aperitif Fashion Launch, at The View, G Tower. Among the notable guests that showed up that day were big names in Malaysia's fashion industry were the renowned Malaysian for his sought after shoes, Dato' Professor Jimmy Choo, Amber Chia, Gilian Hung and Keith Kee.

The view from The View

Kronenbourg Blanc

The theme of the night was fashionably chic, which I guess it's pretty synonymous with the branding image Kronenbourg was going for.


Aside from the free flow of Kronenbourg beer (my personal favorite would be Blanc, the blue bottle), we were exclusively treated with a fashion runway show for Gallo by Thian's Concept, Teresa Thian. Come to think of it, this is my first time attending a fashion event. LOL.

Gillian Hung and Amber Chia spotted.

The famous Jimmy Choo

Teresa Thien, Gallo by Thien

The Kronen girls? A little bit Rio ruffles, I must say

Enjoying the beer....

...and the food!

Teresa Thian and her models.

We managed to catch Amber Chia during her belated birthday celebration. It's nice that she still recognizes Crystal and I from the lunch appointment we had with her few months ago. Managed to ask about her baby as well, baby Ashton is apparently quite well and naughty (says his mother, lol).

And right before leaving, we so called 'checked in' in the event, with the assistance of some chicks. This is where suddenly, I am incapable of using the computer and needed help :D


Check out the cool displays of Kronenbourg bottles taken around G Tower. Pretty chic stuff I must say.


And this is what was found in the goodie bag! :)


All in all, great event by Kronenbourg, a night of exclusive French beer, the Kronenbourg 1664 and the L'Aperitif Fashion debut was an indulgent combination.

For more info of Kronenbourg and L'Aperitif, do log in their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KronenbourgMY

Check out Isaac Tan's and Jun Fook's coverage as well on the event. :)

#49 : Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve with Jesse Marco

Thanks to Rave, we got ourselves invites to Johnnie Walker's Gold Label Reserve party, featuring Jesse Marco at Zouk Underground, KL. The theme was "gold" though majority of the guests did not adhere to the dressing theme. Oh well.

Gold label chick on duty :)

The party was hosted by Hannah Tan, and it took quite some time before le DJ of the night (Jesse Marco) made his appearance in the KL stage. It didn't take long before the guests got loosen up with common club tracks like Rihanna's We Found Love, Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People and more. Nice tracks, but a bit tad common. Gahh.

Jesse taking control of the music

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We downed quite a number of cocktails for the night, and munched on finger foods and the girls went dancing in the club. A sight to watch. Also, the dancers hired for the event did a good job too. LOL

Drinks up! :)

Gold labels, but not at our table T_T

Overall, it's another one of those club/drinking party with local names gracing the guest list, guess I'm pretty lucky after all to snag my way to the event :)

Lady in Gold, working the dance floor

With legendary Johnnie Walker event goer, Ms. Yee Pee

Keep Walking!

PS: Among the other spotted guests includes Fay Hokulani, Miss Universe Malaysia finalists, and Henry Golding. Yup, no pictures with them unfortunately. LOL

#50 : Maliq & D'Essentials Live in KL Live

I have to admit, I was not very familiar with Maliq & D’Essentials, but after hearing some of their famous hits, I was looking forward to their showcase instead.

Live in KL Live (pardon the pun), the show started with a very unfamiliar opening act, Ahmad and Ahmad (not too sure if spelled correctly), a two piece act who sang through their songs like they’ve had a few downers. They’ve shouted through the song with not much of an impressive vocal to back their songs up, gosh the horror.

Then there’s a second opening act, Tilu, was chosen by Maliq & D’Essentials from an online contest, which relatively did better than Ahmad and Ahmad (thankfully). The compendium of a saxophone, flugelhorn, bass and a very cute lead singer, this act brought the jazz back to its place for the night.

Thankfully, Maliq & D’Essentials took the stage around 10pm –ish (we were thinking they were a no show, they sure take a long time before they came up, and we were slightly tortured by the less than impressive DJ from Suria FM hosting the event).

Retro was the keyword to describe Maliq & D’Essentials. They also have ample up-tempo numbers during the night and I must say, Maliq really know how to move the stage (and the crowd). Yeah, so he may not be that fluent in English, but who cares, as long he worked the crowd, it’s not much of a judging factor there.

Along with the fan’s favorites hit, Terdiam, Coba Katakan and Terlalu, it was an hour and 15 worth of good Indonesian jazz music enjoyment. The sky’s the limit for Maliq & D’Essentials and I think we’ll be seeing much of them soon. :)

#52 : Penang Jazz Festival

Thanks to NTV7, Penang Jazz Festival was made possible on a weekend for me. My trusty R & R friends & I took the Aeroline tickets, and it took us approximately 5 hours to reach Sg.Nibong, Penang from 1 Utama. And it took us another RM50 from Nibong to Batu Feringgi, where the venue of the event, Bayview Hotel is.

Aeroline Me Gusta! From 1U to Sg.Nibong

Compliments from NTV7

Our accommodation (not Bayview Hotel as we were almost dead broke), was KK Budget Hotel, around 10 minutes walk to Bayview. After bunking in and rested for a while, we then headed to the Jazz Festival. On the way, we made a detour to Hard Rock Hotels Penang. Camwhore camwhore camwhore and yeah, continued the journey to Bayview.

Bayview's bay view is absolutely breathtaking, the green grass and breezy air with the sounds of waves, you might not wanna leave this place for a while :)

Mr.R, Me, and Ms.R

We arrived in the nick of time for the show opening, Fred Cheah & The JazzHats. Penang born Fred Cheah reminded me of some uncle singing in wedding dinners, but in a jazzy platform. The weren't much crowd yet at this time but it built up pretty decently along the night.


The next act, Espen Eriksen Trio did only instrumental, a trio of piano, cello and guitar. Their music was mood lifting and certainly brought the jazz in the house. In between each acts, there were toilet breaks and the audience are allowed to meet the performers. Also, the host tried to be entertaining, but all he came out with was jokes comparing men and women. On a jazz festival. Right.


Michaela Rabitsch & Robert Pawlik Trio is another three piece band, the Indian guy on the drum seems a little bit neglected in the naming convention but never the less, when they are put together, they bring harmony with their unique talents. Michaela on trumpets is really a sight to watch, empowering I must say.

Jiyoung Lee Quartet is led by Korean Jiyoung Lee put together the tunes that can send the crowd on their feet. Accompanied by a cello and a saxophone player, the act is also another jazz favorite of the night.

Though there were two more acts lined up, we took an early leave since we have not had dinner and we were dead hungry. As they say when you're in Penang, EAT! Which we did. Sinful dinner/supper.

FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!

Guesses of what's in the 100 Plus bottle which we mixed with the Pepsi? :)

The Penang Jazz Festival may be held in a grand location, but in terms of music festival of epic proportion, one should never compare it with the Rainforest World Music Festival held in Sarawak every year. It was an enjoyable experience non the less. :)

Photo credits to Richard Teo.