Kids Cupcakes

Cupcakes with icing are not common sweet you can find in Japan. They are more like “foreign sweet” to us. Colorful green and purple icing used to freak me out. They looked so artificial, very sugary, and appetiting to me. But now, after living in Australia for over 8 years, I see this type of cupcakes everywhere and have started to think these are normal food we eat reguraly. I even get a craving for this sometimes.

Cupcake is easy to munch on, and looks cute with varieties of decorations. It’s a great item for parties and afternoon teas as well. I think cupcake is one of the most popular sweet for kids, as it’s colouful, sweet, and just right size for little ones to hold and eat.

I used to make this “face cupcake” when I was working at a bakery in Claremont. This sure looks cute, and loved watching kids picking the one with smarties and jelly beans in their favorite colors. Like, “can I please have the one with pink eyes and a green mouth?”.

Mini mrshmallows and 100′s & 1000′s are other typical toppings for cupcakes, especially for those who love sugary treats. Personally I wouldn’t want my kid to eat these sugary food often, but I’m sure most kids love them and eat them with smiles!

Morning Walk and Bacci Cake

I love the smell of cold morning….  Cold air with bright sunlight and birds singing are somehow different from what I remember of Japan’s winter morning, but they still reminds me of how I liked waking up early in winter while I was in Japan.

I took Hiro for a walk this morning, because I felt like going outside and also wanted him to wear a hat I found in the closet.  Looks like Mongolian baby … or a girl.

Ohhh my right wrist is so sore… It was ok until I visited Play Group on Friday though. I was holding Hiro for 2 hours there and after I got home it started to be really sore.  Now I need to wear tape around it so that I can do things like holding him, cutting vegetables, and even opening a lid of a jar.  Did I strain it?

This photo reminded me… In-laws came over to eat a cake together – a Bacci Cake from Cookie Barrel.  It was very rich chocolate and nut cake…

I mean, very rich.  I couldn’t finish one piece…  but I know this is how people in Australia like chocolate cake to be!  A very rich and sweet.  Hmmmmm, if there was less cream in the ganache and less liquor in the Bacci filling, I might be able to finish it.  Having it once in a while may be a good treat for myself?

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Taka’s Kitchen and San Churro

Sigh… I regret that we went to crowded Fremantle market area on busy Sunday. We didn’t do much – just had quick snack at Taka’s Kitchen then had churro and iced chocolate at San Churro. We walked around the busy cappuccino street and it just tired us out. We really shouldn’t go out to a busy place on weekend. We should go to a quiet park or beach instead and relax. It was Father’s Day but I don’t think D enjoyed the day. We were both tired from pushing a big stroller around and watching for cars, people, and trying not to get blight sun light on Hiro’s face. It’s not like we really wanted to eat Taka’s food and churro and chocolate. We simply just wanted to do something together. No more going out to busy places on weekends!

Miso-katsu-don and kaki-age-don.

I don’t know why D chose to go to Taka’s kitchen… It’s the worst place to go with a big stroller and a grizzly baby.

San Churro was also crowded as usual. It was much nicer when I came here with friends in early morning the other day. It was quiet, much less people, food and drink were perfect (because they weren’t busy and had time to prepare with care), and we could totally enjoy the moment. Yesterday was opposite. …Well, at least D enjoyed the churro and white chocolate..

Father’s Day and 6 Months and 2 Year

Today is not only D’s first Father’s Day, but also Hiro’s 6 months birthday…!  Plus, tomorrow is our 2nd wedding anniversary as well.  Hmmmm, 3 things came at once.

We didn’t really plan what to do though….  Both of us have been pretty busy and everyday passes very quickly.  I can’t believe it’s September already!

I baked cupcakes for D.  He loves sweets, and I haven’t made this for him for a long time, so I thought it’s about time to treat him with this sweet cake

He loves green colour, so I made icing green (with pink on top).  He likes eating cupcake slightly warm (warm up in microwave) then spread icing by himself, so I put icing on only 2 cakes.  They are almost gone…!  I should have made more?

Hiro has been eating carrot (2nd solid after rice cereal), and he loves it!  He opens his mouth very wide when I move a spoon to his mouth.  Very messy though….  rice cereal is white so it’s ok, but carrot….  lots and lots of washing!

Hmmm he is growing very fast.  He wears size zero now.  I bought some winter cloths for Japan and hope it will fit him when we are there!

Snow Ice, Crepe…. and Oden

I remembered I had a $10.00 worth voucher for use at Icey Ice Perth City that I bought from Scoopon long time ago, and it was nearly expired, so I took D and Hiro to the shop to get some sweets.

I’d never been to the city one (I’ve been to Northbridge shop before), and I found that it’s a pretty small shop.  There’re only 3 tables inside, and all of them were full.  We had a big stroller, so thought we’d better get take-away instead of eating there…. then, one group of customer left the table, so we decided to sit down.

I didn’t really feel like snow ice and was browsing the menu board…. then, noticed that they sell oden in the shop.  Not “oden-snow ice” or “oden crepe”, just oden.  … Oden?

I found it’s very funny as I’d never thought a shop selling snow ice and crepe would have oden on the menu.  It says “Japanese Hot Pot ~ Kansai-style Oden”, and the oden was being cooked next to the snow-ice machine.

I was very curious, but didn’t want to buy it.  Then, one lady started ordering oden next to me…  So, someone does buy oden at a sweet shop! :p

She asked for chilli sauce over oden…  Obviously she is not Japanese.  And I’m surprised that the shop had chilli sauce.

We ordered normall items – crepe and drink.  He ordered crispy crepe with condensed milk and oreo (sweet tooth…), and I ordered green tea chiller with sago.  Sago was extra charge, but I believe there was no sago in the drink – they forgot!  I realized it after we left the shop :p

I thought Icey Ice in Northbridge is much better… bigger space, many tables to sit down, and more variety of products.  I liked crepe in Northbridge shop better because they put more fillings (well, at least the last one we ate had lots of fillings).  At city shop, D had to eat almost half the crepe to reach condensed milk and oreo.

Hmmm anyway, I like this shop as being a snow ice/crepe shop selling oden. hehe

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