My favorite bakery in Japan-1

Posted July 29th, 2008 in Eat out in Japan | No Comments »
***Pommes De Terre***
Danishes with fruits

Danishes with fruits

Crusty Bread

Crusty Bread

Character face

Character face

Plain croissant & Anchovy croissant

Plain croissant & Anchovy croissant

This is one of my favorite bakery in Japan.  This shop is located in Shiga, my hometown, and I love their variety:)

In Japanese bakery, you usually pick up the bread you want to buy by yourself.  These good-looking yummy-smelling bread make you want to buy all!!  I always get trayful of bread, but can’t get enough:p

In this shop you can dine in as well, of course they serve nice drinks such as coffee/tea etc…  PLUS they do  “morning service” here: between 8am to 10am 2 buns and drink (coffee or tea, you can ask for refill as many times you want!) for 380 yen.  It’s very cheap, isn’t it??  The bread in the morning is very fresh, just came out from the oven and still warm (>v<).  I go there in the morning, and spend about 30min ~ 1hour there with few cups of coffee and 2 buns.  

Their variety is amazing, for instance…

The left is croque-monsieur, and the right is focaccia with burdock root!!  YES Japanese people eat burdock root, they are high in fiber and very healthy.  I love the texture too.

The left is croissant with Italian pasta chicken, and the right is croissant with vegetable curry.  The presentation is very cute:)

Croissant with hamburg and gravy!

And also!  As I mentioned before I love hard crusty bread, and this shop sells them!:)  Thin French stick is nicely baked, very crusty and chewy inside!  Sometimes it hurts my teeth but I still love it.  They have few variety in flavor as well; thin French stick with cheese, Mentaiko (fish roe), seaweed, chocolate etc…  I love the one with Mentaiko:)  Very nice!

French stick with Mentaiko

French stick with Mentaiko

If you have chance to come to Shiga….


Healthy Wonton

Posted July 29th, 2008 in Food | No Comments »

This is one of my healthy Chinese food recipe 🙂

<Juicy Cabbage Wontons>

  • 20~25 Wonton skin
  • 4~5    Cabbage leaves
  • 15     Prawns
  • 1tsp grated ginger
  • 1tsp chopped garlic
  • 1/2tbsp salt
  • 1pinch pepper
  • 1tbsp corn lour
  • 1stp sesame oil
  1. Chop up cabbage leaves and sprinkle salt.  Once it’s wilted, squeeze out the liquid and pat with paper towel.
  2. Chop the prawns roughly.  Place all the ingredient in a bowl (except for Wonton skins) and mix it together.
  3. Place 1 tsp of filling on Wonton skin,and wrap it up.  Make sure there is no hole or gap, otherwise all the juice will come out while cooking.
  4. Cook them as you like; you can steam, deep-fry or grill them!

Enjoy with some dipping 🙂

* Soy Sauce + Drops of Sesame Oil

* Mayonnaise + Paprica

* Worcester Sauce + Mayonnaise

* Cut Chili or Chili Powder + Soy Sauce

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Utopia Bakery

Posted July 26th, 2008 in Eat out in Perth | 4 Comments »
Sweet Buns
individual Cakes and Whole Cakes

This bakery sells Chinese style bread, both sweet and savory, and also few kinds of great cakes 🙂

The interesting thing about this bakery is that they actually use no animal meat on their products.  Yes, these are vegetalian bread.

Half of their bread is savory, and there are tuna buns, chicken buns, sausage buns etc… but none of them uses real tuna or chicken.  I think they use legume instead.  They tastes like real meat though 🙂

I think Asian people like these soft type bread.


Coconut Slice

Posted July 22nd, 2008 in Food | No Comments »
Coconut Slices

If you have a sweet tooth but feel guilty for eating high calorie sweets, this might be for you!  This coconut slice is low in fat, and you really can enjoy the texture of coconuts shred:)

When I found this recipe I was amazed how moist and tasty it can be with such little amount of butter.  I guess it’s because of the coconuts.

This slice is great when it’s warmed and served with vanilla ice cream ♪♪♪

*** Coconut Slice ***

  • 1/2cup icing sugar
  • 1cup self-raising flour
  • 50g butter, cold, chopped into chunks
  • 2eggs
  • 1stp vanilla extract
  • 2tbsp raspberry jam
  • 1cup desiccated coconut
  • 1/2cup caster sugar
  • 1tbsp lemon juice

* Heat oven to 180.

  1. Place the icing sugar, flour and chopped butter in a bowl.  Using the fingertips, mix them until it looks like breadcrums.  Whisk vanilla into one of the eggs, then add to the mixture.  Stir to combine.
  2. Press the mixture into a greased and lined slice tin, then spread the top with raspberry jam.
  3. Whisk together the other egg, caster sugar and lemon juice until pale, then add a cup of coconut.  Carefully spread the topping over the jam, then bake for about 30minutes, until the top is browned.
  4. When it’s cool, cut them into slices.

K.F.C

Posted July 15th, 2008 in Eat out in Jakarta | No Comments »

My partner looooves those chooks, but I am not a big fun of KFC…  Correction, I am not a big fun of Fast Food:p 

My destination in Japan when I have no much money to spend, however, was either a family restaurant (Dennies, Big Boy, Coco’s..) or Mcdonalds.  There are other fast food chain I go to sometimes, such as Mos Burger and Lotteria, but most of the time I go to Mcdonalds.  The reason is that they are cheap, and I just like their concept.  I don’t go to KFC even in Japan…  I feel they are quite expensive:p  And I prefer just eating delicious Karaage somewhere else rather than going to KFC.  

*****

I was surprised when I saw Indonesian people eating KFC chicken with steamed rice the first time…  It was shocking, actually.  KFC is, for me, one of the fast food (=junk food) and I never thought anyone would eat fast food with steamed rice.  Well, I’m used to it now and I sometimes eat those chicken with rice too :p   With lots and lots of Indonesia chili sauce, of course.

Is it only Indonesian people who eat KFC with steamed rice??

There are one more thing about KFC and Indonesia…  When I visited Jakarta, my partner and I went to KFC.  I was amazed by their menu; they had steamed rice, soup, and Bento Box on their menu board!!

Bento Box… it was just KFC chicken with some yakiniku sauce, packed into a bento container with steamed rice:p

Yakiniku usually means grilled beef (sliced meat), but they just used KFC chicken!!

It was so funny 🙂

KFC Soup

KFC Soup

Ume in Jakarta KFC

Ume in Jakarta KFC

I tried the soup; it was ok … but few pieces of KFC chicken floating in the soup… ummm little weird to me:P  Fried chicken in a soup!

Anyway, it was a good experience:p


Another Fan of Indonesian Fried Chicken??

Posted July 13th, 2008 in Food | 2 Comments »
Today's Dinner

I keep cooking this Indonesian Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng) because they are very2 easy to make 🙂

What you need is: few pieces of Chicken and Ayam Goreng seasoning paste…

Ayam Goreng Seasoning

(Left:Sambal(Chili) / Right:Ayam Goreng Seasoning)

1) Marinade the chicken in Ayam Goreng paste (1 kg chicken = 2tbs )

2) Add 1 cup of water, and then boil until all the liquid is absorbed.

3) Just deep-fry the chicken ♪

4) Eat with Sambal chilli 🙂

Another dish…***Sang Choy Bow*****

Chop up carrot, celery, garlic, ginger and a handful of peeled prawn 🙂

Chop chop…..(^0^)

Then stir-fry with chicken mince, some soy sauce and oyster sauce!

How simple is that??

Eat with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves 🙂

Ayam Goreng with Sambal Terasi Chilli.

Ummmm… so full!! :p


Inari Sushi

Posted July 12th, 2008 in Food | 2 Comments »
Inari Sushi

Inari Sushi

Again, Japanese food…

You might have seen these golden sushi in Japanese restaurants or takeaway shops 🙂

***Inari Sushi***

Actually I don’t usually eat them in Japan because they are not my favourite ( I will go for Nigiri-sushi with some fresh seafood rather than Inari-sushi…), but here in Perth I seldom go to Japanese restaurant to eat sushi.  Besides, the sushi in Perth are much much different from those in Japan 😛

In some places, seafood is not fresh, too expensive, not so many variety, the rice is tasteless…and sometimes the person who makes sushi in the restaurant/takeaway shop doesn’t really know what the sushi is / how sushi should be made… ( I won’t tell the name of the shop, but the shop sells some sushi rolls made with JUST vinegared rice: he doesn’t put any other seasoning to the rice such as salt, sugar…of course it tastes VERY VERY vinegary)

Yap, so I don’t usually go out to eat Japanese food here, don’t wanna pay money for those food…

For some reasons my partner loves Inari sushi, and sometimes I make them up at home because it’s much cheaper to just make it rather than buying it from the shop.

Inari skin

Inari skin

You can buy these Inari skin (seasoned fried-beancurd) from any Asian shop around Perth.  It shapes like a pocket.

What you need to make Inari

What you need to make Inari

Cook Sushi rice (short grain rice), season it with vinegar, sugar and salt.

(Rice 3cups, Rice Vinegar 4tbs, Sugar 4tbs, Salt 2tsp)

OR you can just use this packet: Sushi no Ko (Sushi Powder)  Add this powder till the rice is tasty enough.

Sushi Rice Seasoning

Sushi Rice Seasoning

When the rice is cooled down, stuff the rice into pockets 🙂

It’s easy, cheap to make!

Sushi are always best to be eaten on the day they are made, and shouldn’t be kept in the fridge. (otherwise rice becomes hard)


Ummmm Sweeeeet

Posted July 11th, 2008 in Food | No Comments »

Is it only me, or do you feel like eating sweets when you are tired? … :p

I got some Japanese sweets from my work today, and it was a perfect timing: I NEED SWEETS☆☆☆ so I enjoyed them 🙂

*** KUSA DAIFUKU & KURI MANJU ***

Kusa Mochi & Kuri Manju

Kusa Mochi & Kuri Manju

Kusa Daifuku is Japanese Flour Cake: Japanese herbs are kneaded into the dough which makes the cake GREEN colour.  There is sweet red bean inside.  Ummm yum-yum…

Manju is Japanese style bun stuffed with some kinds of sweet paste, usually with red bean paste.

Kuri means chestnut, so this Manju’s shape looks like a chestnut, and taste like chestnut (marron).

The best accompaniment is, of course, Japanese green tea! 🙂


Chicken Porridge

Posted July 10th, 2008 in Food | No Comments »
porridge-w-condiments

A winter day like today makes me feel like eating something hot and soupy… :p

Soup?  Stew??

Ummm I want something non-instant food and easy to cook…

! (^o^) Chicken Porridge (^o^) !

This is a very simple recipe 🙂

What you have to do is just put all the ingredients in an electric cooker, and turn it on!

Then you can enjoy a bowl of nice hearty food 🙂

<Ingredients> for 3 litres cooker

Chicken mince … 100g

Rice … 1~1.5 cup

Water …to top up the cooker

Seasoning (salt&white pepper) …to taste

*** Just to make sure that you need to stir it every 30min so that it doesn’t get burn at the bottom.

Enjoy with Fried Onion, Chopped Spring Onion, and Yu Teow 🙂