I love hotcakes. Every now and then, I will crave for McDonald's hotcakes for breakfast. But do you know, it is actually very easy to make at home? I am not referring the premix one that you can get from the supermarket. What I mean is to make it at home from scratch! Yes, you can do it!!! Trust me, you do have most of the ingredients at home already, what you really need is your motivation!

The Japanese hotcakes gives you a thicker and fluffier hotcakes compares to the traditional one. Hope you enjoy! 

"It is this time of the year, everyone is craving for some kind of comfort food to keep them warm and cozy. While having a bowl of soup is definitely a must but sometimes another alternative can be quite appealing too."

This was written early June, I can't believe it took me almost four months to get to start write it again! Anyway, I have been quite busy the past few months. In early July, my precious little pear was born. Since then, I have been quite occupied with this little one. If you ask me how I feel to be a parent, I can honestly tell you, I enjoy more to be a mum now than the first three months. It was tough, but everything seems getting better and better. Little pear is now more fun to play with and she just melt my heart every single time she smile at me.

Back to the recipe, it might be a bit too warm to enjoy it now, but you can definitely keep this in mind for your next winter or a cool rainy day!

Egg is such an amazing ingredient. No matter how you cook it, it still tastes nice (unless you really screwed up). Egg drop soup, quiche, hard boiled egg, scrambled egg, the list is just never end. Among all the egg dishes, chawanmushi is the first come to my mind, if you ask me what my favourite egg dish is. It is silky smooth like tofu. It has plenty of variations. It goes perfectly with shiitake mushroom, enoki mushroom, crab sticks, ginko etc. A good chawanmushi will just melt when you put a spoonful in your mouth. Just by thinking of it makes me feel like to cook some tonight...

What is your favourite egg dish?

Summer is the mango season in the Aussie land. Mr. Pear and I found a cheap grocery place few months ago. Every time we go there, sure will find something fresh and cheap to create our meal.

Early January (yes, I know, I have been so slow in catching up with update), this grocery shop sold a box of mangoes (it was over 15 mangoes per box) for just $9. How can anyone resist not to buy? They were all big and juicy.

However, how can we finish the whole box for only two of us. We needed to use them before it got rotten. Here were the solutions that we had:

1. give away to friends
2. make the mango mousse ring
3. make mango sago in coconut milk

We made the mousse for one of our dinner gatherings with friends to complete our three courses meal the other night. The result was amazing especially for a hot summer night.

This is absolutely easy to make and you can simply substitute the mango with other fruits. The original recipe actually uses strawberry instead which I will definitely try in next strawberry season :D

This is a kids friendly version of black forest cake. I made it for our connect Christmas party last year (plus a surprise cake for my dear friend). Since there are few kids and two pregnant ladies in the party, I decided to make a non-alcohol version of this cake.

I don't usually make the same thing more than once, because I like to try different things. If I ever make it again, it is either I really really love it (mango sago, which I will post later) or I really really want to conquer it (e.g. macaron). Nothing in between.

Sometimes, I don't know where I got this braveness from, but I always try to make new thing if I am going to a bring-a-plate party. It is not because I am so confident in my skill, this is only simply because I have a reason to make new and more complicated things. It is more a motivation to challenge myself, as I know I will only have one chance, otherwise, I am totally screwed and got nothing to share on the day (my plan B is always take away pizza lol).

Before Christmas, I bought a box of nice cherries from Garden City. To be honest, I know I am not going to finish it before it got rotten. I had to think a way to finish it before it happened. Then, black forest cake came across my mind. I wanted to make this for a long time and I know Mr. Pear like to eat chocolate cake. So, it was a win-win situation.

As I said, I was brave enough to make the cake on the day right before the party for the very first time. I would not have the luxury to redo if it stuffed. Therefore, I paid extra attention to every single step of the recipe. After the cake was out from the oven, I was not very happy as it looked so dry.

However, I really did not have time to make another one, so I still put the cake together and bought it over to the party.

Surprisingly, the cake came out very moist and it tasted just as nice as the store bought cake! I seldom say my food is good, as I was taught from young that this is not humble. But, I just can't help myself after the first bite of the cake... "It is so yummy!!!" I said that with an unbelievable tone, as I knew how it looked like before it got assemble. The result was brilliant and most of my friends liked it! Success! Yes! :D 

This is one of the best fried chickens that I really don't mind to cook at home. Simple yet tasty! Mr. Pear and I like to order this when we eat out in the Japanese restaurant.

Chicken karaage is best serve with beer. I am not saying that I am an alcoholic or trying to promote alcohol, but deep fried chicken of course is nicer to eat with beer and friends, especially at a game night or party of some sort.

Forget about the alcohol. This is sure a big hit on the dinner table for most of the kids! Com'on, who doesn't like deep fried food! If deep fried Mars bar can be a hit, why can't chicken karaage? It is sure healthier than the Mars bar. At least, I think so. :P

I can confirm you that the taste is excellent. However, you may ask if it is hard to make. The answer is NO! Unless you truly hate deep frying at home, otherwise, there is no reason for you not to give it a go. Enjoy!