I have heard madeleine for a long long time. It is a shame to tell you now... Actually, I have never had one before! Yes, please don't laugh at me... This little elegant looking cake is the best to have in any high tea gathering with friends.

I bought a madeleine tin for over a year, but I have yet to bake any until I saw this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. This is not difficult to make (only 4 steps!) and the smell of the orange is so attractive and addictive!

My first attempt was quite successful and I was surprised I got order straight away after I posted the pictures on my facebook page!

The pictures that shows in this post are the quantity for 4 batches of madeleines, but the measurement in the ingredient section is for 1 batch which is 12 madeleines. Therefore, please do not compare the amount in the pictures to the one that you make if you are using the quantity in the ingredient section.

The mornings are still freezing cold here in the sunshine Brissy. Sometimes, I wish I don't need to go to work and stay in bed for the whole morning. Having said that, if I have some fresh bread coming out from the oven and waiting for me every morning, I am sure before my alarm goes off I have already out of my bed :D

Egg salad bun is something that I don't mind having everyday. Egg salad itself is nice, bake together with some flour and yeast which makes it like food falling down from heaven! I want to have one nooooow!!!

Let's make some bread! 

Winter is finally here! This morning was freezing cold, a bowl of soup can surely warm me up! And this is the only thing that I like about winter... Talking about soup, it reminded me of  the soup I made the other night -- West Lake Beef Soup.

Why West Lake? To be honest, I have no idea. It could be because it is originated from the area around West Lake or this soup is made with the beef there. Whatever the reason is, doesn't really bother me. It is the taste that matters.

This is one easy recipe that everyone can make. Ingredients are also easy to get. If you want some soup to warm up your night, try this tonight :D 

I am pretty sure you won't disagree if I say sausage rolls are one of the most popular finger food in Australia. From what i observe, sausage rolls are always quick to run out if not the first.

What makes sausage rolls so popular? Umm... honestly, I have no idea... ha! I am not a big fan, but if I do like sausage rolls, I think I like the flakiness of the pastry, easy to eat and I can dip into a pool of tomato sauce (any kind actually... doesn't really matter to me).

This is a healthier version from Louise Fulton Keats featured in taste.com.au magazine. I promise you will enjoy this classic dish in a healthier way :D But I think I just make it not as healthy as it supposed to be... You will know when you read the ingredients I used.

Happy Easter!!! Long weekend just started. Have you got any plan? As for myself, Mr. Pear and I decided to have a quiet holiday. Staying home with our lovely Cindy who just dug her first hole in our garden...+o+  We may consider to see the royal tomorrow~ Or going to Gold Coast to soak up the sun sounds like a good plan too. :D

Anyway, if you don't have a plan like me, maybe this is a good time for you to try baking some fresh bread for your family! This is one of those yummy bread that you should never miss.

In Hong Kong, no matter who you ask, almost 9 out of 10 people will tell you their favourite bread from the bakery is sausage bun. Of course, I am not an exception. Why? As for me, it is easy to eat, especially you are in a hurry to go to work or school. Also, it is inexpensive and the smell and taste of the sausage is just so divine.

Since I am so into making bread and Mr. Pear loves his sausages, I combined our desire into this little gorgeous bun. Sure, we are the happy pair! :D

If you haven't tried, I highly recommend you to buy one from the nearest Asian bakery or simply follow the recipe and make one.

This recipe is again from Veronica's Recipes. Just love her work! 

Early this year, our dear friend Nadyne came back from her six months business trip, so we decided to have meet up before she went on her next trip. Since two in our group have got kids, I thought meeting outside would be hard and we possibly won't have much time to catch up. Therefore, I was so brave to put my hand up and suggested to meet up for brunch at my place!

I have never cooked for seven adults plus three kids before. However, I do love being around with people. Well, it turned out not bad. Actually, I would say it was good! Considering, I have no experience at all :D So, that was a big proud moment for me when I put up the food on the table.

I always want to cook a nice breakfast / brunch to Mr. Pear and friends. This was the perfect time! A week before the brunch I tried to think about the menu and thought about if I could have enough time to prepare all the these that I wanted to cook. I was stressed, but a good one! I love the challenge! So, these were the dishes on the menu (clockwise):

• Chorizo & broccoli quiche
• Egg salad buns
• Pancakes with blueberry compote
• Curry chicken salad sandwiches

This is my first ever quiche from scratch. My first batch of the pastry was a disaster. I did not know what went wrong but the tart came out was ugly (but it still tasted good). So, I quickly did another batch and put it in the fridge and finished the rest in the next morning.

 The second batch was not looking great but it was so much better. I love the tart pastry, very crunchy! I will definitely make it again for weeknight dinner!

Have you attempted to make bread? I have made it ten thousand times, but none of them was success! Yes, it is depressing to be honest. I have come to the point giving up, as I just don't know what went wrong. All the bread I made were so hard to eat. Very unpleasant! -__-

Until I "met" Veronica, my bread making teacher on her blog "Veronica's Recipes", I was very reluctant to try making bread again. I just simply cannot afford the attack from failure.

In her blog, there are so many Asian bread/ bun recipes and it also has the step by step pictures, so you can follow better and know how your dough should look like in each stage. It's so helpful especially for the new bee like me.

Most of her recipes are using basic method which is mixing, kneading, initial proofing, resting, shaping, final proofing and baking. Yes, it is basic method even it has so many steps, but I guess this is the most direct way to make your bread dough. One thing you have to bare in mind, before you start to make bread, make sure you have plenty of time because it takes a very long time. However, it is very rewarding when the bread comes out from the oven. You can definitely taste the sweetness and love from each bite of the bread.

Ever since I have made my very first edible bread, I start to love making bread. Til today, I have made: this sweet corn & tuna bun, sausage bun (2 times), egg salad bun, pineapple bun and seaweed & pork floss bun. Exciting right? I start using tang zhong method for the last two buns. However, the results were not up to standard. They still tasted very nice, but I think the texture of the bread can be improved.

This is the first time, I kneaded the dough by hand... so it was a very good experience, even it is very tiring... Stay tuned for my bread making adventure. 

Happy Chinese New Year!! Oops... I think it is over soon! :P Anyway, how's your CNY so far? Mine, was good. Got a reunion dinner at in-laws, a little bit of fishing and I finally made this Chinese Radish Cake. I remembered mum used to make this and the New Year Cake (Niangao 年糕) every Chinese New Year . 

I missed those days.

Anyway, have you tried the Chinese Radish Cake before? This is my all time favourite whenever I go yum cha. They normally served as a pan fried dim sum. But lately, they are also served as a steamed dish which I find more original and healthy. Mum used to fry radish cake with XO sauce and it is yummmm~

This batch I made it a bit lumpy but the taste was great. According to my father-in-law, he said next time I can put a little bit more water, then it should turn out smoother :D Thank God that I have a father-in-law who can really cook! 

There are many different recipes in the internet world, this time I picked the one from Day Day Cook 日日煮. Yes, it is a Chinese site, but you can choose to read in English. Awesome right? I know! So now you can cook Asian food without any trouble! :)

This actually happened in August last year. Yes, after that I was pretty occupied with different things and that is why I have been MIA… and I didn't think about this until now - making a good use of my commuting time on the bus. Do I get motion sickness? Not really, otherwise I will be really bored on the bus... haha.

Anyway, in early June (of course last year), a close friend of mine asked if I could bake some cupcakes for her wedding. She would like to have chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting and vanilla cupcake with strawberry buttercream. I know what you are thinking, you must think I must be very good at baking and friends keep asking me to bake for their special occasions.

I can honestly tell you that I am nowhere close to good, but I am persistent and determined. I like to challenge myself and try my best to achieve result. However, it only happens when I am interested. Heh~

I had not been baking back then as my oven was a bit old and the heat sneaks out from the oven. How can I bake a good cake with this oven? Plus, I have never decorated a cupcake! Can you believe it? So me being me, I was freaking out. Therefore, I started to practise with the RSPCA cupcake day and the result was amazingly good. 

This cupcake is rich like brownies together with the peanut butter frosting. Tell me, who can resist such a perfect combination? 

* Sorry, I was too concentrated to make this mini cupcakes, so I forgot to take the step by step photos. 

Ok, it might be new to you... something about me... I always have a thing for Japan. I love almost everything from Japan, be it animate, manga, craft, home decor, people, or the place itself.

However, among all, I love Japanese cuisine the most. Not hard to understand why. They are simple, fresh and delicious, plus most of the popular dishes are actually super easy to make than they look!

Remember the oyakodon? Cooking gyudon is just like cooking oyakodon. 5 main ingredients and ready in less than half an hour. It is definitely a weeknight winner, especially after a long day at work :))

Happy New Year everyone!!! How was your new year eve like? Mine was a quiet and relaxing one with Mr. Pear. He prepared a beautiful dinner and we shared a glass of champagne. It was wonderful :D

I am sorry for the lack of post for such a long time. I was meant to post this before Christmas. However, my computer was playing up, so I needed to get Mr. Pear to fix it... and now it is up and running again! Yay!

Not long ago Two months ago, my dear friend Jade referred her friend to me as her friend wanted to have some macarons for her wedding. To be honest, I was really happy on one hand, coz someone trusted me and recommended me to their friends. How cool is that~

But on the other hand, I was a bit freaking out, as I haven't baked macs since 2010 after Jade's wedding. A good three year without making any, and now I have to bake for someone's wedding again?! How can I not freak out?!

So, the macaron madness begins...

I know I may shock you a bit if I tell you I am actually not a macaron fan but what makes me so fascinated about macaron is the unlimited combinations you can have with the shell flavours and the fillings.

If you follow my facebook page, you sure know how often I bake macs for the past few a couple of weeks. It has been an ups-and-downs journey. And it was so good to see the macs getting beta each time.

Of cause, every now and then accident happened, especially when trying new stuff.... haha...Yes, please do not expect to get it right at the first time. This recipe is a guide line for you to practise and the key steps are mostly followed from Adriano Zumbo's book, Zumbo with a little modification according to my personal experience and preference. However, please be aware that the outcome may vary due to different circumstances which will also be shown as we go through the process. It is gonna be a long post, but it records all I have come across these few weeks, so you know what to expect and what may happen :)

Once you have got the idea of how to make it and it is just a matter of time before you nailed it :) So, "Never Give Up" is the first and the main ingredient that you must have.

So, are you ready?