Recipe for the essential item for Japanese cuisine – dashi stock.
<dashi> makes 3 cups
On the weekend I made a birthday cake for 10 years old girl!
As it’s for a girl, and she is turning 10, I made the cake into “10” shape and decorated with pink cream.
It’s a sponge cake layered with fresh fruits and whipped cream.
It was very rush, actually. I told the father to come to my house to pick it up around 11 am, but I woke up at 9 am! All the ingredients were ready – the sponge cake was baked, cream was whipped, and the fruits were washed and dried already – I just had to assemble all of them and create a “10” shaped cake.
When I was covering the sponge with cream, I realized I will need more cream- the amount I whipped last night wasn’t enough to cover this huge cake! I was panicking a little, but tried to calm myself down and whipped another pack of cream. Lucky I had bought 2 packs of cream!
I layered lots of fruits inside. I wanted to make the surface simple so I just decorated the side of “0” with sliced strawberries, and I decorated the top of cakes with pink cream flower.
Hope she had a wonderful 10th birthday 😀
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After week 20, my belly started to grow bigger and bigger very quickly. I’m at week 24 now and I can’t see my bikini line! People can notices that I am pregnant and I have to wear very big clothes or maternity clothes, otherwise it’s too tight and very uncomfortable.
I won’t be able to wear my normal clothes this summer, so I have packed all the summer clothes in the closet. Maternity clothes are quite pricy, so I’m wearing some of my wide clothes or D’s T shirts everyday… (π´®†¥¨ˆ∂ƒ©˙
As the belly grows, I can feel bub’s movement very strongly now and sometimes I have to support my belly with a maternity belt when I have to move around or keep standing up for a long period of time.
Especially while making bagels…
This week I had a special order for a baby girl’s 1 month birthday (?). It was my first time to make bagels with icing!
I wouldn’t think about putting icing on bagels, but it was the special order for a special girl…
White and pink icing 🙂
Ahhhh… my stomach is still full… In-laws and I went to Bamboo restaurant last night, and ordered quite a lot of dishes.
I really like the style of the restaurant, but the food is pretty average to me. I’ve been there only for dinner, but some food are nicer at South Ocean in Kardinya.
We ordered fried fish with crabmeat sauce, seafood and tofu claypot, and Thai style chicken.
The flaming Thai style chicken was quite entertaining, but we had to wait until the flame goes off… for about 3 minutes. The chicken was beautifully roasted, and the sauce was spicy – lemongrass, coconut and other spices and chili.
I felt all the dishes were quite salty. It helped me drinking lots of water though…
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Pumpkin…. It’s a vegetable with full of nutrition! It is used to make both savoury and sweet dishes, and the variety of the recipes are endless.
While I was little, I used to eat steamed rice mixed with this simmered pumpkin. I call it “pumpkin rice” (カボチャご飯) and it was one of my favourite snack back then. I remember bringing it to my friend’s house and eating, just like chocolate or lollies.
Making this dish is so simple – just place all the ingredient in a sauce pan, and simmer.
<Simmered Pumpkin>
My friend recently had eyelash extension and she kept saying that she now loves looking at her face (eyes) in the mirror. She had the extension by a Japanese lady – friend gave me the information about the lady but I’m not sure if I ever get eyelash extension. It sounds very interesting, but I’m not sure if it’s 100% safe, and it is also pricy and not permanent.
But, after hearing from the friend I looked at my eyelash and realized that my eyelash has been falling off quite a lot! I believe I had more eyelash when I was younger (>0<). I never cared (I should…) about these things, and now I think I should do something about it.
I bought L’Oreal Lash Boosting Serum to help my eyelash grow! L’Oreal brand seems to be quite popular among Japanese girls too. Let’s see how it goes…
I’ve been wearing the serum on my eyelash for 2 weeks now, twice a day. I haven’t worn mascara for the last two weeks, and I think that my eyelash has became stronger – less failing.
By the way, one of my friend in Japan is also pregnant (around 3 months) and they are having the wedding party on January next year. She is already married to her husband, but they didn’t do any party or ceremony. (which is quite common thing in Japan these days) They chose the following dress:
… yes, not white. Wine color! These days people in Japan don’t really care the color of the wedding dress much… I’ve seen many brides wearing pink, blur or red dress in their wedding, not white. I really like the dress and I think she will look great in this dress 🙂
These days my appetite has been strange. I feel hungry, but don’t know what I feel like eating. And, I get heartburn very often now. If I eat a lot in the morning, I can’t eat anything until late night. So, I just eat light food or snack little by little during the day.
But, yesterday I really really wanted to eat chicken rice! I couldn’t do anything but thinking about it. It was around 3 PM, and D and I headed to Ten Ten.
I ordered Hainanese chicken rice, and D ordered roasted chicken rice. We must have had looked like two starved little kids…. I ate it up all and so did he (^^). It was very satisfying afternoon!
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Having a baby in 2011? The Paid Parental Leave scheme starts 1 Jan 2011, which will provide eligible working parents with 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage, currently $570 a week before tax.
All the information is available from Family Assist website, but I want to list down the key factors for myself and also others who are interested in knowing this scheme.
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Baby Bonus
Check your eligibility for Baby Bonus → Eligibility
To claim a Baby Bonus: claim must be lodged within 52 weeks of the child’s birth (or in the case of adoption, within 52 weeks of the adopted child coming into the adopting parent’s care) Hospital will usually pass you the claim form at the time of birth, but you can also obtain the form through Family Assistance Office or lodge online at http://www.familyassist.gov.au.
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Paid Parental Leave
If your employer provides your Parental Leave Pay:
If Family Assistance Office provides your Parental Leave Pay:
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Baby Bonus or Paid Parental Leave?
First, you need to check if you are eligible for both payments.
Baby Bonus → Eligibility
Paid Parental Leave →Eligibility
If you are eligible for both payment, you can chose to receive either one of the payment.
Baby Bonus is $5,294, but it is considered to be not a taxable income. On the other hand, Paid Parental Leave gives you the total benefit before tax of $10,260. However, this money is considered to be taxable income and may affect your Family Tax Benefit as well as the followings:
To see which payment is best for your family, you should use the Paid Parental Leave Comparison Estimator.
The result may vary depending on the date you wish to start receiving Parental Leave Pay, therefore it is recommended that you try different dates to determine the best financial decision for your family.
After 34 weeks following the birth or adoption, the number of weeks you will be eligible to receive Parental Leave Pay for will reduce. (refer the table below)
Today’s recipe is oyako-donburi. (^0^) This dish has been one of my favorite food since I was a baby! I just love the sweet sauce and soft egg….
I don’t use shop-bought dashi powder anymore to make dashi stock. It may contain MSG and other things, and I thought it tastes better when I make my own dashi. I just need bonito flakes and it’s so easy to make. You can also use dashi-konbu (seaweed) or dried shiitake mushroom to make dashi, but I like the bonito-based dashi the best.
As you may know, “oyako” literally means “parent and child”. Oyako-donburi is a dish which a parent and a child are in a same bowl. So, chicken + egg is oyako, and salmon and salmon caviar can be oyako too.
Normally, chicken thigh is used for oyako-donburi in Japan. You can use chicken breast if you can’t eat chicken thigh or prefer lighter taste. (although I recommend using chicken thigh)
First, we make dashi stock. Although the recipe for oyako-donburi below is for 1 portion, it’s easier to make dashi stock in bigger portion. You can keep the reft over of dashi stock in the fridge for 1 week, and it can be used to make udon or soba later. If you are making oyako-donburi for 4~5 people, the amount of dashi stock may be just about right.
dashi
aAlthough it was very very hot during the week, the weather was pretty comfortable on the weekend. Cloudy and little shower, but it’s better than 40 degrees!
Parents-in-laws went to Bunker Bay from Saturday to stay over night with sister family, so it was only me and D at home – yey ♪
After making some bagels, we headed to Northbridge for lunch. I felt like something dry – something similar to gyoza. The thing I could think of was Yum Cha…
D ordered the usuals – chicken feet, pork spare ribs, fried squid and ginger tripes. GInger tripes are my favorite! I usually eat chicken feet and squid, but I couldn’t eat any fatty stuff (especially deep-fried food) so I ordered some steamed prawn dumplings and prawn rice paper rolls. I ate sooo much… as usual. I always overeat when I go for Yum Cha.
On Sunday, it was raining and there were many people at Borders in the city. You can get $20.00 voucher when you sign up for the Border V.I.P membership – so we both signed up online on Saturday and headed to Border on Sunday to browse what to buy.
I love the goods sold at Borders – not only the books, but also some gifts and zakka things. I saw some cool stuff, but I couldn’t decide what to buy in the end… We decided to come back next week, as I can’t stand walking around for too long now: my body gets really tired and I feel very sleepy afternoon.
I say this every year, but I really miss Christmas in winter! Next year…
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My in-law made ayam bakar (grilled chicken), sambal kan kun and stir-fried kairan with oyster sauce. Kan kun is my favourite Chinese vegetable! Every time I go to Hawker restaurant I order stir-fried kan kun. I just love the slimy and crunchy texture.
“Bakar” means, according to my husband, “burned”. I assume it’s a similar word to “kogeru” or “kogasu” (焦げる) in Japanese. The process of “bakar” enhances the flavour of the dish (meat/seafood).
The chicken was marinated in some kind of Indonesian spicy sauce, then grilled. It was so yummy that I ate 3 pieces!
Sambal (chili paste) kan kun (front) and stir-fried kairan with oyster sauce (back).
It was a hot day! Eating spicy food in such hot day is so perfect…
My husband’s friend from Malaysia had been here for few days, and he just left to the airport. They are such close friends… it made me jealous sometimes! (>0<)
He left a box of Corica apple struddle for us in the fridge.
The sweet custard cream and crispy pie sheet…. It was a perfect dessert after the spicy Indonesian dishes!
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It may be because of the weather, or it’s just that I’m tired… I’ve been feeling sick lately. No fever yet, but you know you can feel when your body is getting sick by having some symptoms such as running nose, sneezing, muscle aches, and headache.
I had these symptoms yesterday, and I knew I would have fever if I didn’t do anything. So, what I thought of doing were….
① Eat well, ② Take hot shower (bath would be much better…), ③ Sleep well.
As I mentioned before I’ve been eating Indonesian and Chinese food over the last couples of weeks, and my body can’t take any more oily food! And, my body needs more vegetables. I don’t feel good if I don’t eat vegetables. It’s not that I feel guilty, my body really feels weak – get tired easily, and I have to rush to the toilet many times.
So, when I’m feeling weak, the food I eat is always Japanese food!
＊ Spinach and Silver Fish Rice (あっさり☆ほうれん草と雑魚の混ぜご飯)
＊ Onion Soup (ネギ汁)
＊ Natto (納豆)
Maze-gohan (mixed rice) is such an easy dish to make, as you just need to mix the ingredients with steamed rice. (Spring) onion is one of miracle food that ease inflammation of sore throat – that’s what we say in Japan. There is an old saying that if you catch a cold, tie a spring onion around your neck overnight. Next morning your fever and symptoms of the cold/flu are gone. There is something to do with Allyl sulfide, apparently.
Before I proceed to the recipe, I just want to say that I felt much better this morning! I ate this one plate last night too, and I don’t have muscle aches and headache anymore. Thanks to the hot onion soup… and hot shower and a good sleep. This was my breakfast today as well.
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<Spinach and Silver Fish Rice> serves 1
sMushroom has always been one of my favorite food. Enoki, Shimeji, Maitake…. I just love them all! Love the flavor, texture and the fact that they are very healthy : low in calories (almost zero) and also helps reducing the cholesterol level in your body.
In Japan I used to enjoy variety of mushrooms, including cheap ones such as shiitake, shimeji, enoki, and the expensive one such as matsutake mushroom. Mushrooms go with any cooking method, either you are grilling, stir-frying, deep-frying, stewing, or steaming, mushrooms always turn out delicious.
I’ve been eating mushrooms quite often lately and I thought I’d post a list of major mushrooms eaten across the world 🙂
Shiitake:
Known as “king of mushroom”. They have brown slightly convex fleshy caps with tan gills. Rich and hearty flavor with a meaty texture, and distinctive aroma.
Oyster Mushroom:
The flavor is delicate and subtle, and the flesh is succulent. They rapidly absorb other flavors during cooking. Best to be cooked quickly.
Golden Oyster Mushroom:
Bright yellow to golden clusters. It has a strong nutty flavor, and is best when thoroughly cooked (though some color will be lost).
Enoki Mushroom:
They have a mild yet delightful flavor with a pleasantly crunchy texture. Traditionally, they are lightly cooked, and served in soups or in stir-fries.
King Oyster Mushroom:
It is the best tasting and textured of oyster mushrooms species. It has a thick, meaty white stem and a small cap. When cooked, it has typical mushroom umami flavors with a textures similar to that of abalone.
Black Fungus:
Also known as Wook Ear or Tree Ear, as a result of its appearance. It is an edible jelly fungus, which has a gelatinous, almost rubbery and crunchy texture. It can be added to salads, soups, or stir-fries.
Hon-Shimeji:
Also known as Beech Mushrooms, they grow in clusters and produce tender beige caps. Firm textured and having a delicate, mildly sweet nutty flavor, they can be incorporated into a wide range of recipes from soups, sauces to stir-fries.
Matsutake Mushroom:
Matsutake mushrooms are said to be the king of all because of the great aroma and flavor. Matsutake grow in red pine forests in the autumn, and theyare specialautumn delicacy in Japan. Fresh matsutake harvested in Japan are very pricey, so imported matsutake are commonly purchased.
(I wrote about Matsutake mushroom here)
Maitake Mushroom:
Maitake is an edible and medicinal mushroom grows in the northern part of the Temperate Zone in the Northern Hemisphere found in Japan, China, Europe and North America. One of the mushrooms often eaten in Japan, stir-fried, in soup or steamboat. Wild Maitake has a good taste, a crisp texture, and an excellent aroma. It is considered the first-rank edible mushroom.
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(^-^) Check out the recipes using mushrooms →
Salmon Zosui / Japanese Style Hamburg Steak / Yaki Udon /
Tofu Broth / Nabe / Tomato Curry
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Interesting sites related to mushrooms →
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I haven’t been cooking lately: just eating in-law’s food at home (^^) Eating Indonesian/Chinese food everyday does make my stomach upset sometimes. In that case I just make salad or eat fruits. I don’t have a big appetite at night anyway..
Last night was shumai – … well, it doesn’t look like the normal shumai we eat at dim sum restaurants, but it’s how they (my in-laws) call this dish. In Indonesia, shumai can be like this steamed meatballs with spicy peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce. In-law attaches the meatballs with boiled eggs, tofu and potatoes and steam together. The photo looks very messy, but that how you are supposed to eat (^^;). Pour sauce, and mix all together!
After a cot arrived, our “spare room” started to look more like a nursery room. I got this cot from an online shop on a 1-day-free-shipping-sale. This walnut coloured cot can adjust the height, and has hidden drop sides and is convertible to a toddler day-bed. The thing I appreciate the most is the removable casters. This cot is pretty heavy, but I can easily move it around thanks to the lockable wheels.
The mattress and IKEA changing table is from in-law. We’ve got some nappies, baby wipes, wraps, pacifiers, cot cover, sheet, clothes, etc etc, but need to buy more things – a cushion for the changing table, mattress protector (as this mattress is not mine), bottles, etc etc.
We bought some junks too.
This remote controlled Moon In My Room shows 12 lunar phases of the moon automatically/manually, lights up when it’s dark, and shuts off automatically. It certainly is not a toy for a baby, it’s just for us to enjoy..
(The actual colour is more whitish)
When I browse nursery rooms online, they look so cute and most of them have the theme – yellow, blue, princess, ocean, etc. Our room looks like just a room!
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Domino Pizza Japan is hiring a lucky person for an hourly wage of AUD$31K.
No, this is not a joke. It is REAL. Domino is celebrating its 25th birthday in Japan by offering ￥2500,000 (just under AUD$31,000.00) for 1 hour work at a Domino Pizza shop in Japan. Yes, the job is just for 1 hour (super short work), and the wage is $31K.
They haven’t revealed all the details in the public yet, but the person has to be over 18 years old who lives in Japan and can work in December 2010. No experience/education is needed.
The applicants have to apply by writing first: with the details of their profile, interests and the reason why they want to work at Domino Pizza. The successful applicants will receive further details about this job and then proceed to the interview with 4 judges.
The 4 judges are actually Japanese celebrities (2 of them are comedians) whom I often see on tv. So, the lucky person who is chosen will go on tv, magazine and newspaper (I assume).
The normal wage at Domino Pizza Japan is ￥950 ~ ￥1150, and this is just for 1 hour work! I’m sure many people is applying for the position right now.
The name of the department where you send an application to is “Please, Please Let Me Do The Casual Job”.
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2003年から付き合い始め、2004年から一緒に住んで、2009年に結婚、そしてそれから約1年後に妊娠した、私・umeの経験話です☆
今、ちょうど妊娠4ヶ月目に入ったところです。下の情報は、Private Hospital（私立病院）で出産する私の体験によるものです。：)
(Part 1 はコチラ)
<栄養>
妊娠初期の頃の血液検査で、血液内に蛋白や糖分が含まれていないか、また鉄分やビタミンのレベル等を調べます。妊娠後期にも一度調べます。
私はもともとかなりの低血圧で、毎回血圧検査をする度に「very good」とコメントされます。高血圧よりもずっと安心なんだそうです。でも、妊娠中は心拍が上がったりしてただでさえ疲れ易いのに、この低血圧のおかげでいつも以上に体がダルい毎日です。特に夜は何もする気が無く、ソファでグッタリしてすぐに眠くなります。
私の最初の血液検査では鉄分が少ないと出て、GPから鉄分のサプリを数週間摂る様言われました。それとプラスして、Blackmoresの Pregnancy & Breast-Feeding Gold Pregnancy Supplementを妊娠発覚時から飲んでます。もともとサプリに頼るタイプでは無いけど、やっぱり毎日の食事だけじゃ必要な栄養素が補えないと思います。特に初期の頃は赤ちゃんの体の重要な部分が形成される時期なので。
2度目の血液検査の後、GPから直接電話があって「血液検査の結果について話したい事があるから、明日来てくれる？」と言われました。「何ーーー！？」ととてもビクビクしながらGPを訪れると、どうも私のビタミンDレベルが低いとの事。何か変な病気が発覚されたのとかじゃなくて一安心でした。カルシウムの吸収に関係するビタミンDが少ないと、将来年を取ってから骨が折れ易くなったりするらしいので、そのサプリも飲み始めました。それ以外には、太陽の陽を浴びる、脂質を摂る（バターとか）が良いそうです。
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<超音波検査•一回目（11週目)>
obstetricianとの初診の際、初めて超音波で赤ちゃんを見ました。実際目で見るまでは、本当に存在するのか、もしかしたら子宮外妊娠かも、と怪しい想像が色々と頭の中をグルグルしてました。が、obstetricianが私のお腹を器具で当てると、画面には袋に入ってる赤ちゃんがハッキリと私にもわかりました。
「Everything looks normal」というobstetricianの言葉を聞いて、ホッと安心しました。
６cmくらいの赤ちゃんは子宮の中で仰向きに寝ていて、片足を上に向かって何度も蹴り上げてました。心臓の鼓動もちゃんと確認できました。obstetricianが私のお腹をググッと押すと、中の赤ちゃんが子宮の中でジャンプしたり…。すごい、動いてるんだー、とビックリ＆感動しました。
生命の神秘ってスゴいなあ、と、この時初めて思いました。この動いてる心臓も足も、私達が作り上げたんだと思うと、本当に不思議。
この次の週に、SKGという超音波検査をする施設にて二度目の超音波検査をしました。これは、ダウン症を調べるものです（nuchal scan）。
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<超音波検査•三回目（16週目)>
obstetricianとの二度目の診察時。この時に、nuchal scanと血液検査からの、ダウン症に対してのリスクがあるか無いかを知らされました。
行く前にはかなり緊張しました。まず、ダウン症だったらどうしよう、という不安。あと、一ヶ月前に見たあの赤ん坊がまだちゃんと生きてるのか、という不安です。なんせ、自分では何も感じないし姿形も見えないから。胎動を感じる事ができるまでは、超音波検査だけが赤ちゃんの存在を確認できる唯一の手段。最初の妊娠時みたいに出血は無かったので、頭では「大丈夫」って思ってても、やっぱり不安でした。
obstetricianの所に行くと、通常通り体重測定と血圧検査。私が待ちきれずに「nuchal scanと血液検査の結果はもう出ました？」と聞くと、「ああ、出たよ。Low Riskだよ」とあっさり。
その後ササッと超音波で赤ちゃんを確認。前回よりも確実に大きくなってる！綺麗な脊髄、両手足の骨、心臓の鼓動を確認。また、性別も教えてもらいました。
子宮から赤ちゃんが消えてたらどうしよう、とか、色々変な想像で勝手に不安になってたけど、先生は「ノーマルすぎて面白くないなぁ」というくらい順調だそう。診察も15分で終わり、あっけにとられながらもそのままお金を払って帰宅しました。
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<食欲、お腹>
食欲は確実に増えてます。例えば、夕飯にカレーを3杯もおかわりしたのに、夜11時頃にお腹が減って我慢できなくてチキンヌードルスープを食べたり…。お腹も出てきたけど、私が見る限りではただの脂肪のよう。。。
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After a little shopping and printing a photo of father-in-low with the Indonesian Comedy Singer at OfficeWorks, we took a dessert break at Icey Ice in Northbridge. It was a slightly hot day and I was little thirsty, and I was craving for the cold snow ice to chill my throat.
When D and I arrived the shop, the sweet delicious smell hit my nose and I wasn’t sure if I wanted snow ice or sweet crape anymore. In the end, we ordered 2 crapes and 1 bubble tea (there was a deal of “buy 1 Icey Ice crape and get 1 bubble tea with one filling for $2.00”)
Their crispy crape is pretty huge, and I realized that ordering bubble tea was a mistake!! Super sweet…. Besides, I was eating Icey Ice green tea crape, and D was eating condensed milk and white choco bits! The sweetest crape ever…
Their crape is different from normal soft crape and is certainly different from those you get in the crape shops or summer festival stalls in Japan. I’m not talking about only the crape skin, but also the contents. Banana & Peanut Butter, Nutella & Rainbow Sprinkle, Condensed Milk & Crushed Oreo… They might be a good snack for a sweet fix though.
I’m also curious about the eel crape, by the way. Has anyone tried the grilled eel crape?
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My craving for this week is laksa noodle! I had laksa last week, and I just can’t stop thinking about the creamy spicy soup… I think I will get takeaway tonight.
Most people (especially women) love getting massage, I think. I actually got two vouchers (one for me, one for husband) from my friend for a massage few months ago. Around that time I already knew I was pregnant, and I also knew I should avoid getting massage during the first trimester (just to be extra careful). So, I kept the vouchers until today.
Now, although I can’t lie face down on the massage table anymore, I can still get massage on my neck, shoulders and legs, I think. My body is really stiff now. I really need a massage.
I was about to make a booking for the massage. The massooth is Japanese who does mobile massage in Perth. When I was about to phone her, my friend told me that she is actually pregnant now! Oh no… then she can’t do the massage anymore?
I also recently had hair cut by a Japanese lady. She does mobile hair services in Perth, so I asked her to come over to my house to cut & color my hair. I could go to her house instead, but I thought it’s better to do it at my house so that I could do all the housework and start roasting the chicken in the oven before she comes. Then, the chicken would be done when my hair is done!
I cut my hair to medium length, and colored to light brownish color (not too light).
If you are interested in having hair cut by this lady ↓↓
Name: Nao san
Mobile: 0430 927 880
<Price List>
<<Other Areas>>
There are many Japanese restaurants/takeaway shops across Perth. Some of them are operated by Japanese, and some of them are not. I’m not saying that the Japanese restaurants owned by non-Japanese are not as good as the ones owned by Japanese. With my experience, however, I personally think that some Japanese restaurants with a Japanese chef serve genuine Japanese food here.
Here is the list of Japanese restaurants owned by Japanese and/or operated by Japanese chef in Perth:
<<Around Perth City>> (Perth, Northbridge, West Perth, Subiaco)
On the weekend I had lunch with my in-lows at Bintang Cafe in Victoria Park. (my previous post about Bintang Cafe is here) As we’re a group of 7 people, I didn’t think we could get a table easily (this place is pretty small) especially during lunch time on Saturday. As I thought there’re packed with people (mostly Asians) and we waited outside for few minutes.
I know their popular dish is Me Ayam Jamur (egg noodle with chicken and mushroom, soup served separately), but I didn’t fell like eating wet stuff. I ordered Kway Teow Goreng (fried kway teow noodle). Other people ordered Gado-Gado (Indonesian salad: blanched vegetables with peanut sauce), Me Ayam Jamur with extra wontons, Bihun Goren (fried bihun noodle), Ayam Kway Teow (kway teow noodle with chicken), and omelet-looking tofu dish (my husband doesn’t remember the name of the dish).
I actually wanted to order some Ais Kacang (Malaysian/Singapore/Indonesian dessert with shaved ice with syrup, beans, etc) but I didn’t. I didn’t really look through the menu, but I don’t think they have it on the menu. Sister-in-low ordered Soda Gembira – a drink with special syrup, condensed milk and soda water- and it looked nice (and very sweet). Brother-in-low ordered milk bubble tea with sago.
We ordered Tempe too. This is a deep-fried soy bean dish and is very good for pregnant women.
Pempek. Deep-fried fish cake with egg inside, covered with tamarind sauce. The sauce tastes spicy, sour and sweet. All these food remind me of Indonesia!
When we were about to finish our food, the outside started to be little noisy. I had no idea what people were talking about, as they were speaking Indonesian. Then my husband told me “hey! he is a famous comedian!!”
“Project Pop” is an Indonesian comedy singer group (apparently), and the gathering outside Bintang Cafe there’re one or two of Project Pop members. I didn’t know which one was which (as I’ve never watched Indonesian tv) but father-in-low took a photo with one of the member, Udjo.
Afterwards we found out that they came to Perth to join an event held at UWA. Hmm… I hope some Japanese comedians or celebrity come to Perth too…
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Yesterday was my sister-in-low’s birthday, and she requested a pavlova – one of her favourite sweet. Although meringue is not really my favourite food, I couldn’t eat it anyway because of the soft marshmallow-like centre. Parents -in-low are also not permitted to have lots of sugar (especially at night), so only her, another sister and my husband finished most of the cake!
here is the recipe of a pavlova I made last Christmas. When making meringue, some people wonder what they are going to use the yolks for. I normally add few yolks to the whole eggs when making omelet, or you can use them to make custard cream. If you are planning to bake some buns, you can use the egg yolk wash to create the intense shine on the bread. I’m actually going to use the egg yolks (not all of them) to make tsukune (Japanese chicken meat ball) 🙂
Marzipan is one of the option to decorate a cake. I made a pink flower using homemade marzipan. This is an instant recipe and there won’t be any left-over or waste when making little amount of marzipan. You can also make green leaves and some dolls to create a cake with personality!
<Marzipan> about 8cm 1 rose
I’m eating fried food too often these days….
Sometimes I feel like eating “meat”, and last night was the day! I had some Japanese mayonnaise left in the fridge, so I made karaage with buffalo wings. Meat with bone and skin on is much tastier and I often find cheaper.
You can put all ingredients in a plastig bag and marinate, which leaves your hands and chopping board clean. Toss the ingredients around inside the bag so that all the flavour goes to the meat evenly.
I served it with steamed rice, Japanese mayonnaise, and lots n lots of lettuce (or shredded cabbage)!
<Chicken Karaage (buffalo wings)>
* You can, of course, use chicken meat without skin/bones. Also try octopus, squid, fish and seafood!
Since I’ve been eating lots of fried food at the office and home, my face started to show some problems (>0<). When I woke up few days ago there was a red mark on my cheek : I don’t know if it’s related to the pregnancy, my diet, or maybe it’s just an insect bite, but my lips became very dry and I really felt I shouldn’t eat too much fried food anymore.
It’s not my choice eating the fried food so often. Someone else decides the lunch menu everyday at work, and when I’m hungry I just eat whatever is in front of me. And at home in-low cooks some Indonesian food and they are mostly deep-fried.
So, I decided to bring some vegetable-based side dish for lunch from today! Rice is cooked every day at work and it really helps me for saving money 🙂
Today I brought stir-fried vegetables and egg. It’s just a dish I made with whatever I had in the fridge, but it was pretty tasty. I added silver fish to it, and the saltiness of the fish gave a good seasoning.
<Tomato, Lettuce and Silver Fish Scramble>
Tomato doesn’t lose its vitamin even if it’s cooked in the heat. And, cold tomatoes make your body cool down, but cooked tomatoes actually help burning the fat on the body. (Lycopene) Eating nutrient, right kinds of calories is very important to keep bub fed and growing! 😀
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Again, about Mister Donut… Mos Burger. Mos + Misdo = Mosdo!
Their first collaborated item was sold in 2008 : Mos Burger sold “hot chicken burger” and Mister Donut sold “hot chicken pie”. In 2009, as their second collaborated items, “donut burger” donut patty and wasabi sauce, and “petit burger” the smallest burger in the world (possibly) were sold.
And, this year, they actually opened up a shop which sells both burgers and donuts!
You can actually purchase/dine-in Mos burgers and Mister Donut donuts in one shop.
Their set menu looks awesome! Mosdo Set comes with one choice of Mos burger (or soup or salad) and 1 choice of donut and one choice of drink. (￥580) Tea Time Set comes with a choice of donut parfait and a drink (￥390). I’m curious to try their “okonomiyaki-style salad”. Does it taste like okonomiyaki?
Ahhhh, I miss Mos Teriyaki Burger!!! (>口<)/
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Mister Donut is giving away 1 free NEW donut for the first 300 customers between 01 and 03/November at the shops across Japan!
The new flavor donut is made with rice flour (chewy texture mochi-mochi) coated with kinako, sweet soybean flour. This donut will be sold from 04/Nov at shops after the campaign.
Yoshinoya, the largest chain of beef bowl restaurants in Japan, is also giving away 1 free egg for the customer who orders the new menu kimuchi kuppa. (until 08/Nov) So cheap… 280 yen!
onaka suita~… (I’m hungry~)
This may sound like a joke, but it did happen.
I went to see my obstetrician the other day for a monthly check-up. I couldn’t see bub’s face last week at Fetal Anatomy Screening, so I was hoping to have a peek at his face this time.
But!!! As soon as the screening equipment touched my belly and the image showed up on the screen, he moved his hands toward his face again!
The image was taken above bub: the right side is the face covered with two hands, and the left side there’re two legs. (can you see?)
I was glad to see he was fine, (well, I feel his movement very often now and I knew he was ok though) but is he that shy? My friend actually told me that it happened to her as well. Is this action (a fetus covering the face with two hands) common?
Yeah, and I’ve been thinking that it may be about time to finally announce my pregnancy to other people at work. Yes, they don’t know yet. My belly is not showing up too much at the moment.
I need to ask some questions about Paid Parenting Leave to the manager in the Sydney office (my company’s head office is in Sydney). I need to confirm how many weeks of Paid Parenting Leave I can get (the maximum is 18 weeks), what the payment rate is (whether it’s same as the standard minimum wage that Centerlink pays), and ask her when I should (can) work until. I’d like to work as much as possible if there is no problem.
I need to know which one is the better option for me: Baby Bonus or Paid Parenting Leave. Although Paid Parenting Leave may seem to be higher amount than Baby Bonus, it is a taxable income so it will affect my tax and Family Tax Benefit later. Baby Bonus, on the other hand, is non taxable income.
I don’t really like getting attention from other people while I work there, but I guess it’s a good thing.
So far I’ve put on 4.4 kg total, and been eating boiled broccoli a lot for snack. The bub can now swallow the amniotic fluid to practice swallowing and digesting action (according to the baby book), and that’s why the baby tends to like the food that the mother was eating while pregnant. (the taste through the fluid) Which means, my bub may like broccoli and other vegetables when he is grown up!
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