Kai Zen Japanese Restaurant @ Bandar Puteri.

Ahh, Jappie food. I love Jappie food.

Read on to find out what Kai Zen has to offer!

First of all, I'd like to remind everyone that looks can be deceiving. Prior to entering Kai Zen, I was a little sceptical bout the restaurant, since the sign board umm.. Has room to improve. It doesn't do Kai Zen justice.

Anyway, the moment I walked in, I went all @@
What sorcery. The interior does not match the signage at all.

The Ground Floor. 

I personally prefer the First Floor as they've recently renovated it. Very comfy and spacious, with huge mirrors to take #ootds!

First Floor: The interior is not your typical Japanesy bamboo decor. 

Kai Zen has a large menu. I do not know how well do they cope with that, but should be alright since they've been in business for 6 years.

Ocha! 'Coz that's what I always drink at Jap restaurants.

Their wasabi's shaped like a ball. Reminds me of green tangyuan haha. Quite unique.

Here's a display of the different types of sashimi you'd usually get:

I have no idea what's what except for 5 of them.

Thanks to the Head Chef, Danny Chua, I had the opportunity to sample a few of Kai Zen's bestsellers :D

How can one have a Jap meal without ordering sashimi?

The sashimi platter consisted of Shima Aji, Tai (seasonal), Toro Tataki, Salmon Belly, Bottan Ebi and Kapachi.
For those of you who would like to try, but are afraid of weeping upon seeing the bill, I'd suggest you try at least these two: Salmon Belly & Toro Tataki.

I guess it's an acquired taste to fully enjoy the rest of the platter. Especially the Bottan Ebi (fresh prawns). Don't get me wrong, everything's super fresh, but just not my cup of tea.

This isn't in the menu. You'll have to order it separately.

So fascinating how you can see the layers :O :O :O

This is the Toro Tataki I liked a lot!
They didn't serve it raw like they did the rest. For this, the Toro fish was briefly seared over a hot flame so as to enhance the natural flavours. Super juicy and yummy :D
Highly recommend!

I was extremely amazed by how fresh everything was. Heck, Kai Zen actually has a huge aquarium where they keep live oysters. 

These were DELICIOUS. The texture was soft and fleshy, yet crisp to taste. The lemon complemented the oysters perfectly. I cannot emphasise enough how fresh they were!


While we're on the topic of shellfish, here's another dish that made it onto my favourites list.

Huge scallops, prepared Teppanyaki-style, drizzled with Hollandaise sauce. At RM20 for 2, it may seem a bit overpriced at first, but trust me, these were so so so good! I loved how the meat was tender and succulent. The sauce paired so well with the scallops. FYI, I finished the remaining sauce. #noshame


On to sushi!

I suppose most of you are familiar with Dragon Rolls. They're everywhere O.O
This was okay. Nothing to shout about. Oh, and the cut pieces prepared were impossible to consume in one mouthful. Had to split into 2 servings. This proves that the portion is quite reasonable, yes? So you know you're getting your money's worth :P

Another roll! Man, aren't we on a roll?! (I think I'm so punny sorry)

This was more manageable than the previous one in terms of size. I like bite-sized stuff. At least you don't have to worry about the mess. But again, taste-wise, pretty ordinary. The homemade sauce was fairly pleasant though. 

For those of you on a diet or just want something light:

Fresh prawn salad. I enjoyed the homemade miso dressing. It was sweet and slightly savoury, with a hint of crunchiness thanks to the fish roe. There was a generous amount of prawn bits as well. 

  

Priced at RM26 for one prawn, this Ebi Mentaiko dish smelled heavenly upon serving. Unfortunately, I was busy snapping photos/camwhoring and the dish became cold. -.- So wasn't as yummy as it could have been.

Also, the prawns were slightly overcooked by a new chef, so the meat had stuck to the shell and it was a pain to remove.

If you're a fan of BBQ, you might want to try the Kobe Beef. Priced at a whopping RM50 for just 3 pieces, they were well-marinated and juicy. 

As for the pork, they were alright.

According to the staff at Kai Zen, customers tend to order the Shoyu Ramen. Picture above is just a mini version as the chef knew I couldn't eat anymore :P

The broth was tangy, savoury yet fairly light on the palate. The noodles could have been springier, in my opinion. 

At last. Dessert! 

This mango pudding was prepared by the Head Chef himself! 

It wasn't smooth like the more commercialised ones you'd normally find. This had more of a pulpy texture, as Danny blended pure mango. I found it refreshing and not cloying at all. The sweetness was just nice. Plus, I think the pulp managed to trick me into thinking it's a lot healthier haha! Human nature.

Okay, done with food!

Now on to other things I'd like to point out.

• THEY HAVE FREE WIFI.
• The toilets are REALLY clean!

It's awesome how they pay attention to stuff like that. Having clean toilets and free wifi makes a huge difference.

Taadaa! A picture with the Head Chef! He's got over 20 years of experience preparing yummy Japanese dishes :O 

30, Jalan Puteri 2/4,
Bandar Puteri,
47100 Puchong,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

603-8063 5118

Business hours:
11.30am - 2.30pm
6.00pm - 10pm


This is a sponsored food review, but all my opinions are honest. The Teppanyaki Hotate was very good okay!!

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Quick update: Cutting my hair!

Hello hello! 

As this is a lifestyle blog (and I treat it as a public diary), I think it is extremely important I update you all on my recent haircut. Hah.

If you're a long-time follower of sabbyloh.blogspot.com, you've probably already read THIS post. It's mainly about why I've not had a haircut since.. Forever?!

Quite a sad reason. Sad as in tear-jerking, heart-breaking sad. Not the pathetic sort of sad.

Anyway, basically I had to hunt for a new hairstylist. I've been going to the same stylist for over 6 years, so it goes without saying that I am very very afraid of letting anyone else touch my hair. 

Fortunately, my brother's piano teacher recommended her stylist (Melcoln Lau) and managed to convince me to give him a go. After all, I can't possibly live with an unruly head of hair -.- 

Here's my ridiculously long mane before Melcoln worked his magic:

SO DAMN LONG :O

 And here's the after:

B&W because the salon lighting was too yellow.

 And here's more:

Overly exposed cause iPhone's front camera does not work well in cars during daytime.

So far I'm quite pleased with the outcome! Very affordable, friendly staff, good service, FREE WIFI (super essential!!) :D
The salon's called All Moda.




No.17,Ground Floor,Jalan 26A/70A,
Prisma Ville Business Centre,
50480 Desa Sri Hartamas, 
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Loving my new haircut woohoo!
*flips hair*

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"I hate my parents."

I'm turning 19 this April. Yes, my last year as a teen, but honestly, I feel I'm still this young and rebellious 14y/o at heart. I often get pissed at my parents and end up sulking in my room for the rest of the day after an argument. The reasons as to why we even argue in the first place can range from understandable to downright ridiculous.

That being said, I don't say "I hate my parents," no matter how upset I feel.

Sure, I get it, you're annoyed at them for not getting you that much coveted RM10k limited edition bag. Or perhaps you're mad at them for forbidding you to go out with that tatted up guy.
Whatever the reason, I'm sure it's a valid one for you to feel angry.

But that's not hate.

That strong feeling of rage is not hatred. It is possible to hate someone else, like a sworn nemesis or a backstabbing friend, but it is almost impossible to actually hate your parents. (Unless they've done something really bad and unforgivable. If that's the case, stop reading because what you're facing is beyond the scope of this entry, and go seek professional advice.)



So why am I writing this?

Because I've noticed a lot of ungrateful kids posting whack-shit about their parents recently, and I've had enough of it.

Look at this:

How can you not feel like slapping the person who tweeted those out?!
Super bratty. I feel so sorry for the parents. Work so hard but the kid ends up being so unappreciative.
"Feel like running away" some more wtf?! Just 'coz the parents didn't buy a car. OMG BRATTY BRATTY BRATTY.

The above example is just one of the many ungrateful incidents I've witnessed.


I understand that most of us don't necessarily mean what we say, but bear in mind that what's said cannot be unsaid. It's hurtful.

My parents aren't perfect. I can find many faults and flaws in them, and at times I get fuming mad when I find them to be overly superstitious or protective. But at the end of the day, they're still my parents. They've put in so much effort raising me up and I simply cannot bring myself to say something as hurtful as that.

Maybe when I was a lot younger I did go "I HATE YOU" to my parents, but since then I've made it a point never to repeat the same mistake again.


I'm not saying you can't rant, but you might want to word your sentences correctly as you rant.
If you doubt your ability to omit the word "hate" when complaining about your parents, stay far far away from me. I am unwilling to lend an ear. Go find other spoiled/ungrateful brats like yourself to talk to.


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Olay Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Gel Moisturiser Review & Giveaway!

UPDATE: GIVEAWAY OVER!

To be honest, I’ve always viewed Olay as a more "mature" brand. When I received the moisturizers in the mail the other day, even my grandmother and mother both went “Huh? Girl ah, since when you young people used Olay?!”

But I've recently discovered that Olay is really keeping up with trends. They even have this super cool face brush cleanser thingy similar to the famed (and exorbitantly priced) Clarisonic!

Did YOU know this?!

Was pleasantly surprised when I opened the parcel! As you can see, the Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Gel comes in a modern-looking jar.

Reusing icecream scoops!

I’m not a huge fan of such packaging as you’ll have to dip your fingers into the tub, but just get one of those plastic icecream spoons and you’re all set! So much more hygienic :D

The consistency is pretty darn awesome. It’s not just a gel moisturizer; it’s a very lightweight gel moisturizer! Perfect for those of you out there whose faces, like mine, tend to turn into a greaseball by midday. My skin is so oily I can probably fry an egg -.-
This can be used under makeup as well, but I’d suggest waiting for a couple of minutes for the product to sink in completely first. Foundations tend to slip n’ slide if your moisturizer is not fully absorbed by the skin.

If you’re into beauty and all that jazz, you’re probably gonna want to know the ingredients, so here you go:

There is, I think, a common misconception about the use of Silicones and Alcohol in skincare. A lot of people think that:

• Silicones  are pore-clogging bastards
• Alcohol is drying and will leave your face feeling like the Sahara Desert

Do not be misinformed.

There are NO studies/reports to prove that silicones are comedogenic. From a chemistry viewpoint, most of the commonly-used silicones (in skincare) are volatile. Meaning to say they evaporate even before  getting the chance to clog pores. 

Alcohol is NOT drying if used in moderation. One of the reasons as to why it’s used in many skincare products is that it’s a good penetration enhancer, allowing active ingredients to be better absorbed. The second usage of alcohol is to thin out heavier creams and emollients, therefore making it easy to spread out on the skin.  

A thing to note about the Long Lasting Hydration Gel is that it has a rather strong scent. You might want to give this a miss if you’re not into heavily-fragranced stuff, or if you have extremely sensitive skin.
I personally enjoy the scent. It’s a bit florally, and reminds me of a shampoo I used to use in highschool.

Overall, this moisturizer is definitely more geared towards teens/young adults with oiler skin types. I’ve been using this for the past week, and have found that it really does provide good hydration sans the sticky feeling! And the scent is soooo good I tend to sniff my hands after applying :P

Thanks to Olay, 3 lucky readers will be winning a jar of Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Gel each!
Fill up the Rafflecopter form below!
GIVEAWAY STARTS ON: 12th January 2014
GIVEAWAY ENDS ON: 18th January 2014 (12AM)
a Rafflecopter giveaway Winners will be contacted via email on 18th January 2014.
This giveaway is only open to those with valid Malaysian addresses.

Olay Aquaction Long Lasting Hydration Gel is available at leading pharmacies. RM60/jar (50ml).

Prizes sponsored by Olay. I am not paid to write this review or host this giveaway. All my opinions are honest.

Recapping 2013.

Since everyone is doing it, might as well jump on the bandwagon. It's high time anyway.

The first half of 2013 was very different compared to the second half. When 2013 started, all I remember was being super paranoid about my GCE AS results. My grades were announced some time around CNY, and although they could have been better (I assumed ALevel was a piece of cake back in 2012 - biggest mistake in my life so far), I was fairly happy. 

On the 9th day of CNY, my grandma passed away. At that point, I felt like giving up for A2, cause it kind of seemed to me that no matter how hard I try, fate has its own way of working. No matter how hard I try, things get snatched from me in the end. I had to skip many lessons due to my late grandma's burial ceremony. By the time I got back to college, I was waaaaay behind. 

Catching up on the syllabus was hands down the worst part of my entire ALevel experience. Lecturers were too busy to tutor me privately as mocks were just around the corner, and coursemates had their own workload to handle. I recall spending sleepless nights flipping through heavily vandalised library reference books while downing cans of RedBull trying to stay awake. Nightmare. Ugh. (I foresee 2014 to be like that as well since friends are telling me how tough uni life is. But let's wait for my 2014 recap in 2015, shall we?)

Anyway, I got shit grades for my mocks. I think everyone did. Maybe that was what shook me and woke me up? Not too sure, but after that I stopped reading reference books and started to spam past year questions. Honestly, I should have done that earlier. PYQs helped so much more than dusty library books. 

May & June 2013 flew by so quickly. After weeks of camping in campus and probably few hundred bucks wasted on 4-shot Starbucks coffee, I finally graduated from college. 

After that, things got SO different. I felt so free! Life became colourful again hahahah.

Here are some pictures of the more memorable post-ALevel events:

Prom!

Left: Prom after-party @ Vertigo Club
Mid & Right: My first time at a rave! Dash Berlin.

Have since then discovered that raves are totally NOT my thing. I'd choose clubs over raves anytime.

I was also somewhat a frequent flyer back then! 4 places in 4 weeks, FUIYOH. Though they're not long-haul flights la. But still! 

I can proudly say that in 2013, I've learnt to pack for vacations like a pro. 

2013 was also the year I travelled to a different country alone. (Okay, just our neighbouring country Singapore.. But I was nervous, k! I had to travel around Singapore alone via public transport too!)

Universal Studios Singapore!

Also went to HongKong & Macau..

.. and Bangkok..

.. and Penang with my college classmates!

Super colourful life!!

But then September came, and most of my friends left to UK for university. And my Pinoy maid ran away. 

I was bored and very often got upset about the +8 timezone difference. Plus, I had housechores to do!

My highschool gang, randomly named "WeeWangWang".
2 of them have left to UK and 1 to USA :(

The boredom lasted for a while, before I discovered this awesome blogging community. Ever since then, I've been busy attending events, food tasting sessions and meeting new people. Thanks to ButterflyProject, I even got contacted by PR agencies :D :D :D

Meeting new people!
And you see the bottom right picture?
SO MANY CAMERAS ATTACKING A PIZZA. #bloggers

Oh, and two days before Christmas, my brother contracted dengue virus and was down for a couple of days. Because of that, that I've learnt how to handle and treat (not professionally) an 8y/o kid with dangerously high fever. 

So.. Yeah. That was pretty much 2013 for me. 

Random pictures from 2013.

Now that it's 2014, it's almost time to start a new chapter - University :O

And this year's my final year as a teen! :O
Turning 20 next year, omg. Highschool seemed like such a blur.

Still remember the day when I turned 15. I was singing TaylorSwift's Fifteen at the top of my lungs hahahha.

(':

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ServerFreak Easy Setup & High Tea.

I've never been a very tech-inclined person. My knowledge of HTML/JavaScript/CSS is extremely pathetic, and if it wasn't for the plethora of YouTube screencasts available, my blog would probably be long abandoned in the vast spaces of the Internet.

I spent days learning how to slice images on Photoshop and hours browsing through sites like DaFont and DeviantArt. Not saying what I've come up with is good or whatever (graphic design students, don't judge), but I'm happy with how everything looks at the moment.

Gibberish.

Fortunately for you lazy bums or busy bumblebees out there who, like me, do not speak in angle brackets and forward slashes, ServerFreak has come to the rescue!

As you can see below, they have many things to offer:

This post is mainly going to be about ServerFreak's WordPress Easy Setup. 

If you're looking to start a blog, keep reading! 

If you're not, still keep reading as there'll be many photos of the event as you scroll on!

WordPress Easy Setup

Let's see. You've always wanted to blog, but every time you think of the process of setting it up, choosing suitable widgets and getting them to work the way you want them to, you just give up entirely. 

Sounds familiar?

The Easy Setup package handles all that AND MORE for you!

Here's a rough idea of what you'll get:

• A free domain (.com/ .net/ .org/ .info/ .biz only)
• A free professional Wordpress template with basic widgets and ad space
• Unlimited email accounts (yourname@yourblogname.com)
• Email forwarding and auto-responders
• 12000MB disk space
• 24/7 tech support
• And a whole bunch of other stuff! (visit their site for more info)

And it's just priced at RM280 first year + FREE DOMAIN! Renewal at only RM198 per year!
Quite awesome la (:

*   *   *

That aside, ButterflyProject and ServerFreak were so sweet to organise a high tea session for us bloggers :3

Since I'll be leaving to Australia instead of UK for university, guess the closest I can get to acting posh and English would be to drink tea and eat scones. *sob*

Lovely dessert table display by AskJoey.

She's so talented at party planning, and has experience handling many different themes! 

View her portfolio here.

Since this high tea session's catered to us girls, Joey took the effort to make everything look extra pink and sweet!

Pink lemonade! Looks quite delish, correct?

But it's actually just water+foodcolouring hahhah. The other stuff  is edible though..

... like these macarons, scones and jam!

The overall display looks like something you'd find in Alice in Wonderland! Vintage and all.

More food we helped ourselves to :D

These were prepared by Teaffani, a company that specialises in finger food catering around KL.

123Cheese also set up a photobooth at the event that day, entitling all bloggers present to unlimited instant photos! Girls being girls, we maxed out the photographer's booking time. One thing I love about 123Cheese is that they upload the softcopy onto their Facebook account!

More photos!

Left: Doorgifts! A story book and a mystery girft from EtudeHouse.
Middle: Mamasan Tammy giving a speech!
Right: Songbird Edazz giving a soulful rendition of Whitney Houston's The Greatest Love of All.

One of the many reasons why I love attending events is that I get to meet so many new people! They're all so super nice and friendly :D

You can visit ServerFreak for more info at their:

• Website
• Facebook page
• Twitter
• Blog

Stay tuned for more posts! Will be doing a giveaway real soon (;


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