Bagel from Fremantle Bakehouse

When I was wondering around Cappuccino strip in Fremantle, I saw two huge bagels in a basket through the window at Fremantle Bakehouse.  They were really big, and I just had to try it out and see if they bake a good bagel.

Fremantle Bakehouse is a pretty popular bakery with dine-in section where you can enjoy the baked goods with freshly brewed coffees and teas.  I also like their bread – especially the ones with hard crust.  My husband liked ciabatta bread with olives the other day.

It was a plain bagel with poppy seeds on top.  When a staff passed me the bagel in a paper bag I realised the bagel was actually very light.  I squeezed it with my fingers, and the soft crust just broke and became flaky without any resistance, just like other normal white bread.  I was little disappointed, but took it home and toasted it to see if the texture was chewy.  It wasn’t!  It was just normal white bread in the shape of a bagel.

The bagel was just about the size of my hand, and weighed about 100g.  My bagels at Bagelier are around 10cm in diametre and weigh about 100g.  I know my bagels are quite heavy and dense, but I wondered if this bagel from Fremantle Bakehouse is what people in Perth think of a bagel.  I also tried a blueberry bagel from Lawleys Bakery before, and it wasn’t heavy and chewy either.  Maybe the bagels I make are too heavy and dense – should I rename it from “bagel” to something else?

In Japan, some bagels weigh around 100g ~ 160g!!  Some of them are very heavy and chewy, and some are soft and fluffy.  Which texture is good depends on people’s liking, really.  BAGEL&BAGEL is very popular in Japan, but some people say their bagels are too soft.  I personally like the one with tough crust and chewy interior.  Bagelier bagels are best to be eaten toasted.  I normally slice bagels in half before freezing, and toast them in a small oven toaster before eating.  When I’m making a sandwich, I toast it using a panini press.  Toasting it well-done and eating it while hot is my way of eating a bagel.  Some people like heating up my bagel in microwave.  The bagel becomes soft, but after awhile it tastes little dry, I think.

Christmas Shopping and Yum Cha

Although 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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Happy 55th Birthday!

This week I received an order for a big birthday cake.  I like decorating a cake, but it’s always gives me a stress…  I worry too many things – the fruits may become soggy (although I dry the fruits very well before arranging on the cake), I may fell down the stairs and the cake gets ruined, etc.  Yes, I had a nightmare the day before delivery date.  A dream about a ruined cake.

I set alarm at 6 am in the morning, even though the delivery time was around 12 pm.  I just didn’t want to oversleep because this cake was for someone’s birthday.  The person who placed the order was a Japanese lady, and she said she wanted to surprise her husband with a Japanese-style fruits cake and celebrate his 55th birthday at his office in the city.

I baked a sponge cake the day before, and decorated just before delivery.  I wanted to add some fresh blueberries too, but the shop I went to didn’t have blueberries.  I only had 1 day notice for this order, so it was quite a rush…

I used lots of strawberries, kiwis, oranges, peaches and cherries. There is a layer of fruits in the centre too, and the bottom of the cake is covered with roasted almonds.

In the end cake was delivered to the lady safely.  Thank god….!

Delivering a cake is such difficult job.  I just have to hold onto the box while driving.  I wonder how people deliver the huge wedding cake…

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Indirect Delivery

It’s been another cold week again.  How is everyone feeling?  I had sore throat the other day, but I’m feeling ok now.  (Thanks to my big appetite..)

I received an email from someone who lives in Geraltdon WA, asking if he could get bagels delivered to his home.  I told him I wouldn’t be able to deliver to his house, but I could post it via Aust Post.

In Japan, sending bagel orders (or any other food including cakes, fruits, raw fish/meat etc) via post service is normal.  (They normally send “chilled” or “frozen”)  Unfortunately post service in Perth doesn’t have any “chilled” or “frozen” options, so I will have to pack bagels in a tightly sealed bag so that they will keep as fresh as possible.

It’s actually the first time that someone ask me to post the bagels.  It’s new, and little exciting…

And, I appreciate people using the pick-up service at Wasabi & Green Tea in East Victoria Park.  There is no “minimum order” or “delivery fee” if you chose to pick-up the order by yourself.

I’ve been baking sweets a lot lately.  This apricot tartlet was a hit among my friends.

This cheese cake consists two layers: the bottom layer is New York style cheese cake which is creamy and heavy, and the top layer is light cheese sponge cake.

In winter I get a craving for sweets too.  Last night I had hot choco fudge with vanilla ice cream.  Yum! I can stop…. (><)

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One Third of 2010

I can’t believe it’s May already!  It means that 1/3 of 2010 is finished…

 Let’s look back what my 2010 New Year\’s resolution was …

• be nice to everyone !!
• don’t get angry, calm myself first before talking ( :p )
• visit at least one city in Australia (maybe Melbourne)

It got most of the famous Japanese kids stories!  Momo-tarou (A Peach Boy), Toothpick Warriors etc.  Reading it made me feel all warm inside.   I wanted to buy it for myself, but I thought it’d be nicer if I buy it for someone else as a gift.