GAB Oktoberfest Malaysia 2013

In October, there a few big things reasons to celebrate. One of it is of course my birthday where Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB), the leading beer and stout company in Malaysia will be celebrating the iconic German Oktoberfest with an exciting consumer promotion that provides discerning beer drinkers with a special edition 1 liter Ceramic Oktoberfest Mug when they enjoy GAB’s iconic brews! You just got another reason to drink more with Oktoberfest!

Throughout the month of October, drinkers can celebrate Oktoberfest with a series of themed parties across the country. Expect evenings of good food from around the world, great fun with exciting contests, promotions and activities and of course, GAB’s selection of award-winning beers including Tiger, Guinness, Heineken and the official Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, brewed exclusively for the Oktoberfest season. Not only that, as at these events, you will be able to get the special edition Oktoberfest Mug with a limited edition metal lid – if you want this, be sure to drop by early to reserve yours! 

Oktoberfest Facts & Figures (used this to impress your friends during Oktoberfest!)
1. All celebration initially started as wedding celebration in 1810 to commemorate the union between Crown Prince Ludwig (who later became King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen at Theresienwiese (translated as Therese's meadow / field) – it is for this reason that Oktoberfest is referred to by Germans as ‘die Wiesn’ or ‘the field’
2. Through the years, Oktoberfest celebrations have had a number of different elements and activities, including horse races, street parades (in traditional costumes), live music, dancing and of course the appreciation of authentic Munich-brewed beer.
3. Currently, Oktoberfest is a truly global celebration with almost 7 million visitors consuming over 7 million litres of beer and more than half a million chickens throughout the celebration (based on 2011 figures), which lasts between 16 – 18 days from the middle of September to the first Sunday of October.
4. For 2013, the Oktoberfest festival proper will run from 21 September 2013 to October 6 2013 – a total of 16 days of culture, cuisine and beers 

What Makes An Oktoberfest Beer?
1. All Oktoberfest beers must be brewed within the city limits of Munich and must also conform to the Reinheitsgebot or Bavarian Purity Law which strictly governs the production of beer in Germany by limiting the ingredients that can be used
2. All Oktoberfest beers are approximately 13% proof (about 6% alcohol), meaning they are a little bit stronger than their “non-Oktoberfest” variants 

An Introduction to Paulaner1. Paulaner was first brewed by monks from the Paulaner monastery in 1634 making it almost 380 years old – however it is still the “youngest” of the Oktoberfest Beers
2. Unlike the rest of the Paulaner range, Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier is not a wheat beer but instead a lager.
3. Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, like all Oktoberfest beers are approximately 13% proof (about 6% alcohol), meaning they are a little bit stronger than their “non-Oktoberfest” variants . (Note usually one only 5%  to5.5%)
4. At the Oktoberfest celebration, each Oktoberfest beer operates a number of tents which provide different drinking experiences. Paulaner is famous for three widely popular tents, namely: -
• Armbrustschützenzelt – ‘Armbrust’ means crossbow and this tent certainly lives up to its name with a crossbow shooting range available for more than 110 years
• Käfer's Wies'n-Schänke – this is a smaller tent that gets VIP visitors from all over the world and serves signature gourmet food such as “Käfer-Duck” and a roast saddle of venison.
 • Winzerer Fähndl – This tent is also popular amongst VIPs due to its attention to detail, celebrated oompah band called “Nockherberger” and iconic tower with a giant mug of Paulaner sitting atop it

For more info, check out Oktoberfest Malaysia Facebook Page to get updates on fun events and exciting promotions https://www.facebook.com/OktoberfestMY

Malaysia’s Largest Mobile Breast Cancer Campaign Coming To You with ‘Kiss Goodbye To Breast Cancer’ Bus!

The fight against the Number 1 women killer continues! In conjunction with the much-celebrated worldwide PINK October Month, AVON Malaysia is all geared with its Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer Campaign 2013.

This year around, the fight continues with a strategic collaboration with LPPKN and MYDIN as The Company For Women set to create a new record in the Malaysia Book of Records for The Largest Mobile Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.

The campaign’s key objectives are to empower women to improve their breast health while educating the importance of breast screening as part of a healthy lifestyle. The campaign also aims to create awareness among women, with emphasis that one third of breast cancers are preventable and that regular screening can save lives. 

Themed “Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer”, this fun road tour will be carried out simultaneously via different 6 buses in 6 zones nationwide; namely the north, central, south, east coast, Sabah and Sarawak. These unique buses are equipped with private rooms specially designed for clinical breast checks, educational corner and registration counter for mammogram subsidy.

Scheduled from 5th to 30th October 2013, these KGBC buses are slated to stop over at 48 locations nationwide from 10am – 5pm each weekend. Locations are selected for their hot spot awareness and reach-out potentials, with main locations being at Mydin Malls where the public is easily accessed. 

The key highlight of the tour is the free clinical breast health check by LPPKN’s professional medical teams, educating the masses that breast cancer screening should be made as a routine testing aims at detecting breast cancer at its earlier stages. Regular breast cancer screenings can detect early signs of breast cancer, including tumours that are too small to feel. 

To encourage participation, Avon will be giving away attractive goodies to the first 100 participants who get on board the bus for their breast screening. Also, 50 participants with pink outfits will win Best Dressed prizes. The public can also look forward to various exciting programs like charity makeovers, pink bazaar charity sales, lucky draws and free bra fitting education, among others. 

For more information, please contact the Avon toll-free hotline at 1800-22-AVON (2866) or visit www.facebook.com.AvonMy

Spa Review : St. Gregory Spa at Parkroyal Hotel Kuala Lumpur – World Luxury Spa Award Winner for 3 consecutive years

After my house was broken in last month I went into depression for some time because my laptop is gone! Not only I could not sleep well every night but now with the house is going through renovations (omg dust is everywhere!!) my stress level has shoot up. So I think a visit to the one of the Best Luxury Hotel Spa is something which I really need!

St. Gregory which was opened since April 2008 is located in 6th floor of PARKROYAL Hotel in the golden triangle of Kuala Lumpur, well are located just next to Lot 10 shopping mall and few minutes walking distance from the Bukit Bintang KL monorail which is really convenient.

St. Gregory Established first in Singapore in 1997 and now they are also in Japan, China & Vietnam. They offers specialised and traditional healing therapies ranging from Chinese Tui Na to Javanese massages and Ayurveda treatments, combined with advanced technologies and techniques from US and Europe.

The reception areas for St.Gregory is not very huge or fancy; but it is cosy & away from the noise of the city even though it is located in Jln Bukit Bintang which is one of the busiest road in Malaysia!

I saw that St. Gregory KL has bagged a number of awards and there is one I must mentioned which is they are the Country Winner (Malaysia) in the category of ‘Best Luxury Hotel Spa’ by the prestigious World Luxury Spa Awards 2013 for the third year running. Well I have to admit that I have high expectation of them when I see that they have been awarded like that!

Once I arrived, I welcomed with a warm smile and greeted by name, first impression checked! After that I wasgiven a registration form to fill up & tea menu to select my choice of tea which consists of (Eight Treasure Tea, Ginger Tea, Chrysanthemum, Mint and Jasmine Tea) I was told I could either have it before or after the massage and since I was quite thirsty & tired after a long day running around to do works I asked for a cup of Chrysanthemum to quench my thirst before I went for the pampering session.

My masseuse showed me the way to my pampering room and I realised is quite large and actually bigger than reception area...nice one!

The bed comes with a heating pad function which I really like (I want to install this at home too!). I'm someone who cannot stand cold and shiver when I got to strip naked for the massage and sometimes with centralized air-condition system makes it worst. So this heating bed is really awesome and I don't feel like waking up once I sleep on it.

Just before my masseuse started to work with her hands, she checked with me to make sure the air-condition temperature and music was okay for me. I opted for Aromatic Ginger Scrub and Aromatic Body Bliss Massage treatments.

I am a big of ginger scent and this Aromatic Ginger Salt Body Scrub which consists a blend of ginger aroma oil + fine sea salt not only gently exfoliates my dead skin cell leaving my skin smooth & renewed for the massage session. The scent of ginger stimulates & rejuvenate my senses!

While Aromatic Body Bliss Massage treatments consists of combination of Thai, Ayurvedic, Javanese, Swedish and Shiatsu massage techniques that will affects many of the body’s system including the lymphatic and venous circulation. The beauty of Aromatic Body Bliss Massage is that it works toward the heart, to aid the venous circulation. She used their special Peaceful Sleep oil blend which consists of Lavender, Orange, Sandalwood & Ylang Ylang which gives the benefit of promoting peaceful and relaxing sleep (helps insomnia). The oil blend scent is quite mild and it soothing & comforting!

I like how my masseuse took the effort to ask whether her her hands massaging pressure was okay before she works her massage treatment from bottom to upward by first warming my feet before she works her way up to my lower limbs, buttocks, then towards the lower back moving to the mid and upper back, then sideways towards the flank and abdomen and finally moving to the chest , upper limbs, shoulder and neck. And I had a head massage as the last step, and that left me feeling energized and revitalized .

Her hands pressure are firm but not strong and I can feel every stroke she made until I went to my dreamland. To be honest I am very picky with my massage and it's not easy for me to fall asleep during massage but here I actually went to my dreamland without me knowing it - I must be very tired and it's difficult not to felt asleep when the environment  & massage pressure was just right!

After 90 minutes of pampering session, I woke up like a new born baby!

Besides basin, cupboard (to store our bags & clothes) , a big mirror and basket of essential beauty stuffs (such as cotton bud & comb), each treatment room also comes with an attached shower room which I appreciate because do not feel comfortable to walking out of the room  to shower with my robe on.

I love when my therapy room comes with a burner and masseuse picked lavender oil for me ...perfect for me as I was quite stress that day.

There is one thing I would like to highlight is that each room comes with water feature and the soothing sounds of the water relaxes me....transporting my mind to another world - a paradise.

After I am done I picked ginger tea from the tea menu to be served on me. I love ginger tea because it has properties that helps to lower stress and tension. 

It is not difficult to understand why St. Gregory Kuala Lumpur is the award winner for the "Best Luxury Hotel Spa” Award (Malaysia) for 3 years running at the World Luxury Spa Awards 2013 because they pay attention to all the little details that a lot of did not take into account. Of course the masseuse's service is exceptionally good, very polite, attentive and she knows what she is doing. Though the price is on the high side but definitely it's worth the money paying for, knowing I would be well taken care the moment I stepped in the spa center.

My experience does not stop here as the best is yet to come.

In the past, I think a good massage is about the comfortability during the massage session but now I realised that a good massage is about comfortability during massage session & the after effect that it gives. And that actually sets a difference.

Honestly, I haven't been sleeping very well for very long time but that particular night after my Aromatic Body Bliss Massage at St. Gregory, PARKROYAL HOTEL..and the best part of my experience is that I slept so well that night  and woke up the next day easily, feeling refresh and energized! 

What clearly sets St. Gregory apart from the rest luxury spa center is that they are not just a spa center only but a wellness center that provides specialised & traditional healing therapies with an exceptional service level. 

My 90 minutes of pampering session at St. Gregory which consists Aromatic Ginger Salt Body Scrub (NP : RM140/30mins) + Aromatic Body Bliss Massage (NP : RM280/60mins) now comes with a special promotion of RM280 (worth RM420) where the Aromatic Ginger Salt Body Scrub is a FREE service if you buy the Aromatic Body Bliss Massage!

Definitely a really good deal for first timer who wanted to try a luxury spa treatment! Note that the promotion runs now till ends of November 2013. Honestly I'm missing the place and tempted to go back there again, if only I do not need to save up to buy furnitures for my room! For the rest of the spa menu, visit here

St. Gregory has a foot massage room and five treatment rooms where they do not only offer body treatment (using pure house blend essential oils) but also facial treatments using Thalgo products. And each comes with attached shower rooms. 

St. Gregory at PARKROYAL Kuala Lumpur opens daily from 10am to 10pm . One can either choose call or email to make appointment at 03-2782 8356 or enquiry.prkul@parkroyalhotels.com

For more information about St. Gregory visit www.stgregoryspa.com

Choose the Right Dress for Your Shape

I love dresses and I guess everyone who knows me know that! Dresses should be a staple of any woman’s wardrobe, but many shy away from wearing them, as they are not confident enough in a dress or do not know what suits them. A lot of women prefer to wear trousers the majority of the time, as they are familiar and easy to wear. By working out which dresses suit your frame and your style however, you can add a whole different dimension to your wardrobe and feel feminine every day. Dresses can be worn for work, out shopping, to an evening event, and many others. You can accessorise to make your dress smarter or more casual depending on the occasion, and there are many different styles of dress available to suit different functions.

Let me share how you measure up below and find your perfect match. 

Boyish

Ladies with a boyish frame often shy away from dresses, as they do not feel feminine enough to pull it off. Boyish frames are typically very straight with hardly any hips or bust meaning, in actual fact, that clothes hang beautifully, just as they would on a model. The best cuts of dress for athletic or boyish frames are long straight maxi dresses, or shorter dresses with ruching, frills or detailing to the bust and bum areas. You can find some amazing maxi dresses at George at Asda, so you can try dresses without spending a fortune on something you are not sure about wearing. 

 Pear 

Pear-shaped babes have an ample booty, but are usually lacking a little in the chest area. Choosing a dress is all about creating optical illusions and balancing the top and bottom halves. Pears should go for a dress that has embellishment on the upper half, either on the bust area or if it is higher cut, on the neckline. Choose a dress that nips in at the waist and kicks out over the hips skimming them and therefore making them appear smaller. Skater style dresses are good for this as are a-line cuts. Lighter colours on the top than the bottom also create the illusion of balance between the two halves. 

 Hourglass

An hourglass figure is the most enviable of all. Most women dream of having hips and a bust that are balanced, and a waist that nips in to give an effortlessly feminine silhouette. These women should live in dresses they are that suited to them, and most styles will look fantastic on this frame. One of the best for hourglass lovelies is a wrap dress. This pulls in even tighter at the waist emphasising this curve and draws attention to the hips and chest making even more of this already fabulous figure.

Dresses are fantastic, and if you find one you love you will strut with twice the attitude than you would in trousers. There are so many styles available that there is something for everyone. You can team a dress with whatever jewellery, shoes, boots or anything else you like to give a look that is unique to you. 

KL Restaurant Week: Opus Bistro @ Bangkung, Bangsar

Earlier this week I went to food tasting in Opus Bistro which is located in Bangsar, I was told this is one of the best Italian restaurant in town where spaghetti alla Opus, homemade ravioli and roasted cod are some of their best dishes. They are pork-free.

Was quite suprised to see it was quite crowded even on weekdays.

The place has simple decoration but yet cosy.

The reason we are here for food tasting is because Opus Bistro is one of the participating restaurants in Kuala Lumpur Restaurant Week.

The concept of Restaurant Week was first launch back in 1992, when the late restaurateur Joe Baum and Tim Zagat first dreamt up Restaurant Week in New York City, they had no idea that it would become a national and international success. The original four-day event was created as a goodwill gesture to the 15,000 reporters coming to cover that year's Democratic National Convention. Both creators had thought it would be a short-term money loser but with long-term PR benefit for New York and its restaurant industry. Today, almost 20 years later, restaurant weeks have become a tradition in city after city for their appeal to customers and restaurants. In short: they are a win-win.

In a nutshell, participating restaurants in Restaurant Week create a fixed menu at a special price to attract customers to come try the restaurant. Customers love the concept of Restaurant Week because they offer a chance to experience many of their city's best restaurants for a modest price. In exchange, the restaurants gain by attracting thousands of new diners who might hesitate to try such restaurants without the assurance of an affordable bill.

KL Restaurant Week will begin on 4th October 2013, armed with a bonanza of 45 participating restaurants from casual to fine-dining categories, that offer a plethora of exquisite cuisines set amidst dynamic dining scenes for patrons to experience at a modest price.Menu prices start from RM20 nett for lunch and RM50 nett for dinner. Participating restaurants will set aside limited seats offering the KL Restaurant Week menus. And reservation must be made online with a reservation fee of RM 2.00 per seat will be charged, strictly non-refundable.

Let's look what Opus Bistro has to offer for their 3 course meal  lunch set at RM38 nett person. Lunch hour are from 12pm to 3pm and Sunday is off for lunch.

As for starter, one can choose whether to have caesar salad or asparagus soup. And I highly recommended in having the later as the soup is really delicious. It's creamy but not overwhelming.

As for main course, you can see there are 3 types of dishes to pick. My favourite would be Linguine Zucchini Prawn; those prawns are really big and fresh... oh yummy!

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As for dinner set which is also a 3 course meal is offered at RM78 nett per person. Their dinner time starts from 6pm to 12am.

 As for dinner set, one can choose between Mushroom Soup and Salmon Roll with Rocket Salad (which setting looked like carrot like... so cute!)

As for the main course for dinner, I would prefer Grilled Seabass with salsa verde over the others as it was well seasoned and taste really nice.

Strawberry Pannacotta is arguably one of my favourite Italian dessert, yummy and sinful at the same time. The portion of the this dessert is suprisingly really big as it comes in a big glass but I like it... so its good la....ohlalala!

Oh notice the dessert that they are serving for lunch and dinner set is the same.

The man who made us all the delicious food that night! Chef Ariff bin Mohd Nor has more than 15 years of experience with cooking Italian food, and as one of the pioneers at Opus has been heading their kitchen for the past 10 years. 

Opus Bistro Bangsar is located at Jalan Bangkung, Bukit Bandaraya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Contact number : 03-2092 4288. Click here to check the menu pricing.

It’s not everyday that you can eat these awesome set lunches and dinners within the range of RM20 - RM98! So click here and read those reviews! 

 Book your restaurant now on http://klrestaurantweek.com/ ! Online reservation closes on 29th September  2013 and dining period start from 4 October 2013 onwards.

Let's ESCAPE together!

Well once a while it's good to escape from the city of jungles! And I escape for 10 days trips in Thailand recently! Back in Malaysia, I felt so stress with the work & trafic jam (horrible!!) ! All I want is to hide in my room to watch my favourite drama & movie all day long... and escape to their worlds! 

One of the best way to destress myself is always watching movie - especially comedy one!

 Recently Celcom introduced this FREE apps called ESCnow / ESCAPE (which is compatible with iOS, Android, MacOS and Windows user) where you can have your own world of entertainment wherever you go. It's an online movie library with a variety of Hollywood, Korean, Indonesian, Hindi and local movies. Also you can enjoy live events, live news, concerts and TV series on your mobile device. 

There are over 500 movies from only 80 sen per hour and maximum RM25/month service fee where you can enjoy all sorts of movie genres from Action, thriller, comedy, drama, horror & romance with a variety of Hollywood, Korean, Indonesian, Hindi and local movies. Also you can enjoy live events, live news, concerts and TV series on your mobile device. All these are Hi-resolution images which are delivered via adaptive streaming technology for excellent video quality across devices.

 Always wanted to watch this and finally I found George the Jungle! 

The best thing about ESCAPE is that, it allows you Pause & Play across devices anytime, anywhere. Most of us waste a lot of time on waiting,  be it waiting for meeting/events to start etc or waiting boyfriend to finish work. So with this, we can utilise our wasted waiting time into our own entertaiment time! 

There are also a contest "Who am I?" running at the moment - open for all Celcom subscribers! Simply just Guess who is this mystery person and win on ESCAPE!

Some tips for you to guess who is this person especially whis this obivious clues!

1. A guessing challenge by ESCAPE. - Simple challenge of guessing the mystery person. - Here are the clues: 

“I’ve been to Shanghai twice. In a rush hour, three times.”

 “I’ve been a panda. I’ve been a hyena.”

Very easy to guess lah! But if you still don't know, you should watch the video to know clues for more hintss entries as you like to increase winning chances!

This apps is exclusively for Celcom customers nationwide and oh don't forget to sign up at www.ESCnow.com to register!

Showcase your talent and stand a chance to be discovered via 2Crack

Recently I discovered 2Crank.com.my which is a music portal company that seeks for new talents like bands and independent musicians.

If today you are a local musicans or in a band that looking to be discovered, you should join 2Crack as they focus exclusively on music and the talents themselves by aggregating a full package of music video and album for the new talents.And just recently 2Crack organised Malaysia Day Band Fest 2013 which showcased local Malaysian bands in conjunction with 1Malaysia!

Oh did I mentioned that new talents have an opportunity to earn through their aggregations and ranking system through social media platforms. So do check out 2Crack as it updates you on new local talents but also on new gigs that features our local talent!

No more bill shock with DIGI unlimited data roaming when travel abroad!

Everyone who knows me, should know that I am a social media addicts!

Of course I could not live without my blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and GOOGLE of course!

Since I went to KL to study and work many many moons ago, the most cost efficient way for me to get connected with my famliies is through social media, that's why I have signed up Digi postpaid plan.. to enjoy the unlimited data plan!

And ever since I signed up to Instagram, I totally hook on it!!! Anyone who loves photography would agree that Instagram is the best place we could express our love on it! << So do follow me on my instagram www.instagram.com/jessyings >>

When I am in Malaysia, I abuse my Digi mobile plan but when I am in overseas, I do not activate my roaming data because afraid it would cost a bomb... And usually I can't wait to go back hotel to reply my emails, whatsapp and check my fb...and updates my photos!

And it is really important for me to connect to internet while I'm travelling because I want to use my google  to search for info and google maps to looks for directions and foursquare to look for recommended place to dine.

Now good news is DIGI allows subscribers to enjoy unlimited roaming via our mobile phone, laptop and even tablet with a daily max cap from as low as RM32/day. 

Data usage of 3MB and above will be charged at a flat rate (daily max cap) of RM32/RM36/RM56 per day.

Data usage less than 3MB will be charged at:

·         RM10.66/MB with 10kb charging block for RM32/day

·         RM12/MB with 10kb charging block for RM36/day

·         RM18.66/MB with 10kb charging block for RM56/day

So basically we pay as we use, for example I was in Thailand 2 months ago I could Instagram my pic immediately from as low as RM32/day! Not forgetting, emails, whatsapp, facebook & twitter!

Don't forget to √ Data Roaming in your mobile setting when you are in overseas to activate your data roaming!

No more bill shock when you travel and data roam overseas because now Digi postpaid subscibers can have unlimited roaming with a daily max cap from as low as RM32/day! Roam with 41 operators worldwide.

Log onto digi.com.my/roaming today to find out the rates for each country!