Japanese Wagashi - Ichigo Daifuku

Homemade Ichigo Daifuku

Daifuku is another type of Japanese sweet which is mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste (anko) or white bean paste (shiroan). Daifuku (大福餅 or Daifukumochi) means good luck, and can be given at special occasions. Ichigo means strawberry. Ichigo daifuku is usually eaten during spring but as there are a few strawberry-lovers at home, it shall be made in winter too. (*Smiles*)

Daifuku bought at department stores are usually too sweet and laden with colouring and preservatives. I decided to make them from scratch so that I can enjoy this confection without the excessive sugar content.

Before making the daifuku, I found a recipe from the website Apple Pie, Patis and Pate to make the red bean paste. I chose the chunky version for a fuller taste and put less sugar than recommended.

Home-made red bean paste (from azuki beans)

Next, I used the recipe from Obachan's Kitchen & Balcony Garden to make Ichigo Daifuku. I steamed the dough mixture for 10 minutes instead of using the microwave.

Strawberries covered with anko

Now comes the tricky part. Handling the cooked dough requires some skill. Katakuriko (corn starch) is dusted on the dough to keep them from sticky on the hands. Flatten the dough, place the tip of the strawberry in the centre, cover the rest of the strawberry with the dough, seal the edges and shape into a ball.

And finally,

Ichigo daifuku - my own unique style!! They turned out to be more cone-shaped than round.
Hee hee! I dusted the excess katakuriko from the daifuku and it was done.

Close up

Verdict: Room for improvement on the aesthetics, as can be seen from the pictures. Uneven red bean paste distribution and the use of a table knife to cut the ichigo daifuku. But everyone liked it! The sourness of the strawberry and the sweetness of the red bean paste makes it a delightful and refreshing combination.

Japanese Wagashi - Kushi Dango

I made Kushi Dango (skewered rice dumpling) for the kid's afternoon snack today. Dango is one of the many types of Japanese sweets, similar to Singapore's version of "muah chee". This is usually served with green tea.

There are many varieties of dango besides the 3 types that I made. Others are served with Anko (sweetened red bean paste), Bocchan Dango (tri-coloured), Chadango (green tea flavoured), etc. Stalls at tourist spots sell toasted dango with sweet sauce.

Justin loves it. A very easy recipe with nutritional tofu in it. (Note: Potential choking hazard for younger children as this is made from glutinous rice flour. )


Ingredients

100g of glutinous rice flour (shiratamako or mochiko)
100g of silken tofu

Kinako (toasted soy flour)
Black Sesame seed
Sugar
Soya Sauce
Mirin


Step 1
Mix the glutinous rice flour and tofu in a bowl. Add a little water and knead the dough till it is soft but firm. (If dough is too soft, add flour. If dough is too crumbly, add more water)

Step 2
Divide the dough into 3 big pieces, then each piece into 3 medium pieces, and further divide each medium pieces into 3 smaller pieces. (Confusing?). You will get a total of 27 pieces from the whole process. Shape the pieces into a ball.

Step 3
Put the dumplings into boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove dumplings when they float on the water and put them in a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Step 4
Skewer 3 dumplings into a bamboo stick. Coat with the flavour of your choice.

Kinako Dango

(a) Mix 2 tbsp of Kinako to 1 tbspn of sugar. Coat the tofu dango.

Goma Dango

(b) Add 2 tbsp of freshly ground sesame seed to 1 tbsp of sugar. Coat the tofu dango.

Mitarashi Dango

(c) Put 1 tbsp of soya sauce, 1 tbsp of mirin and 1 tbsp of sugar into a pot and bring to boil. Adjust the heat to prevent the syrup from burning. Coat the tofu dango with the sweet soya sauce.

Verdict: Justin loved the dango with sweet sauce, Jonathan liked the one with Kinako while Papa like the sesame flavoured dango. I liked the sesame flavoured one because it was very fragrant. (Sesame seeds are an excellent dietary source of calcium, manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, vitamin E, protein and fibre)

Venetian Glass Museum & Little Prince Museum

Twas a cold but sunny day when we visited Hakone Glass Forest and The Museum of the Little Prince at Hakone. We started our journey at 9:00am and arrived at our first destination at 11am.

Hakone Glass Forest

Carnevale Venezia

The museum is currently having a carnival between 28th December 2009 to 31 March 2010, where visitors can dress up in Venetian costume and Italian masquerade masks. Some of the costumes are simple but others are really elegant and elaborate. Kids costumes are also available. However, we didn't change because Jonathan seemed a little wary when he saw people wearing Renaissance costumes and feathered masks around him.

Upon entering, we were greeted by an opened landscaped area with a huge curtain of crystals hanging over a bridge (bottom left of the picture above). When the sun came out behind the clouds, the crystals shone brightly giving out colours of the rainbow. There were also crystal filled trees around the garden. A very pretty sight indeed.

Strolling garden with a canal running through


"Venetian"

The glass museum displays many pieces of Venetian glassware from the 15th Century to the 18th Century that are beautifully and intricately made. There is also the Venetian Glass Modern Museum which exhibits modern Venetian glass works in the 19th Century.

After the glass museum, I proceeded to the Museum shop while the kids and papa went to explore the garden. The shop was definitely not a place for them. They would have run like a bull in the china shop, knocking over crystals and glasses at some point in time. I enjoyed looking at the accessories and glass products in the shop. Glassware, jewellery, paintings, masks, glass thermometers just to name a few.

At the garden

Cafe Terrazza

At 12:30pm, our stomachs began to rumble so we went to Cafe Terrazza for lunch. We had pasta while enjoying live Canzoni (Italian ballads) performance by an Italian duo. Beautiful music, nice ambience with the sun streaming through the window. Very relaxing. It's nice to have a cup of coffee and the croissants are fabulous with a choice of strawberry, apricot, cream filling or just plain.

Live performance

Just outside the cafe was this beautiful tree adorned with crystals. The sun shone quite strongly and the crystals began to sparkle. I managed to get a shot before it was hidden by the clouds again.

Crystal tree sparkling in the sun

The Museum of the Little Prince

The museum was set up in memory of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of the famous novel The Little Prince. Letters and photos related to Saint-Exupéry are on display. I haven't read the book yet but after visiting the museum, I will definitely add this to the kids' reading list.

Entrance to Little Prince Museum

Theatre du Petit Prince

Jon with the Little Prince

A street of Provence

Librairie Frederic

The Geographer

Park near Saint-Exupéry Church

Restaurant Le Petit Prince

Asteroid B-612

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On the way back home, we stopped by a lookout point to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji from Hakone. Unfortunately, the clouds were covering Mount Fuji and we could not get a clear view of Japan's highest mountain.

Half-hidden Mount Fuji

Lookout point

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone

Merry Christmas ....

and a Happy New Year!

From home

Year End Christmas and 70s Disco Party

Justin had a Christmas cum 70s disco party at school today. Everyone contributed food for the party. Thereafter they went to the hall for their disco moves. The kids were dressed up in the 70s - bright coloured clothes with lots of accessories, bell bottoms, funky disco shirts, mini-dresses, headbands, afro wigs, etc. They danced to the music of the 70s including "Saturday Night Fever" by the Bee Gees.

Justin told me he had a wonderful day at school before he went to bed. Below the class photo taken by one of the moms.

Can you spot Justin?
[Click image to enlarge ]

Qurantined at home - Influenza A (H1N1)

Justin was diagnosed with influenza A on Monday after having fever during the weekend. The week before, Papa and Jonathan were down with a cold. Both tested negative for influenza virus. Symptoms for Justin were relatively mild, fever around 38 degrees for the first day to 39 degrees. He had a sore throat and cough. The doctor prescribed him tamiflu and fever medication.

According to school policy, students who had influenza A had to stay at home for 5 days. Jonathan had to be at home for 5 days as well, only to return to school if no fever arises during the quarantine.

Justin is feeling better now. His fever has subsided and he is very active at home. He had a great time blasting his Christmas carols the whole day, singing along and pretending to be a deejay. He read his books and did some drawings. We also played some alphabet games with Jonathan.

I had a chance to engage in some baking therapy today. With some ripe bananas at home, I decided to try out Banana Bread from allrecipes.com.

Fresh from oven

Packed into a container

I tweaked the recipe by adding walnuts and raisins with less sugar. Adding some spices like cinnamon and nutmeg enhances the flavour of the banana bread. Alternatively, put the batter in muffin trays and voilà!, you get lovely muffins too!

This settles breakfast for tomorrow!

Autumn School Excursion

Jonathan went on a school excursion to the park to collect autumn leaves and acorns last Wednesday. I love the change of season from hot summer to cool autumn, when the leaves start to turn red. It was really fun watching the kids collect the autumn leaves. An even prettier sight when the wind blew and swept the leaves away from the trees.

After the kids picked up the autumn leaves and put them into their zip-lock bags, we proceeded to the centre of the park to play with the parachute. The kids gathered around the colourful parachute, flung it into the air and watched it drift down. Next, the teachers piled up the leaves on the parachute, and everyone tossed them all over.

On our way back to school, we found acorns near the entrance to the park. The kids spent some time picking up the acorns under the tree. After that, we returned to school for lunch and circle time.

A wonderful day at the park with friends, teachers and moms.

Halloween 2009

Our neighbourhood organised a once-a-year Halloween trick-or-treating event. There were 55 houses participating in hosting the event by giving out candies. More than 300 children were expected to turn up for this event which took place from 4pm to 7pm, 31st October.

Justin was excited to wear his Peter Pan costume. Jonathan, on the other hand, didn't want to dress up. Even a bribe of candies or the idea of him having to stay at home didn't make him change into his Superman costume. Oh well, we have to be flexible at times. This was what transpired the day before.

Papa: Jon, look at this cool Superman costume. Come and change.
Jon: No, I don't want.
Papa: Common on, you will look very nice in it. Even Kor Kor has changed to his costume.
Jon: No.
Papa: Jon, wear the costume. Superman can fly.
Jon: No. I don't want to wear that. (*Almost in tears*)
Papa: Why?
Jon: Because I cannot fly!

After a (long) while, we managed to convince him to try. And he did for a few minutes before taking them off. Managed to get a picture of him. I doubt the costume will fit Jon next year because the pants were getting a tad too short.

Red Ninja & Superman

Anyway, back to the Halloween event. It was really fun for the kids. Even the adults joined in the fun. Most of them were witches and magicians but there were some interesting costumes, a big-bellied chef with a bag of bloody heads and the Joker. The kids wore different costumes, witches, fairies, ninjas, demons, pirates, Snow White, pumpkins, cheer-leader, skeletons, knights, etc. All of them were out on the streets trick-or-treating.

The houses were very well decorated too. Some houses had black & orange balloons, scary masks on the hedges, spiders on walls, skeletons, lovely pumpkins with lights. There was a house with a white ghost that made scary noises while moving from one end of the garage to the other.

We all had a pretty fun Halloween.

Pony Park

Justin went to the Pony Park with his friends during the school term break. They were at the park just in time for feeding. The kids fed the ponies carrot sticks. I used to think that a pony is a baby horse, but in fact, a pony is a grown-up horse with height under 147cm. Besides carrots, ponies also eat hay and apples.

Feeding carrots

Thereafter, the kids sat down to make a drawing of the ponies at the park.

Drawing Time

As the kids were interested in the pony rides in the afternoon, we decided to adjourn for lunch at a nearby organic restaurant.

Justin with Mayuki and Rui Le

After lunch we returned to the park. They had to wait in queue for their turns. Everyone was excited, patting the horse and running around the outer ring of the mini-course when the other was on the pony. Justin described the ride as "bumpy" and giggled all the way.

The kids had so much fun that they wanted to try it again. Unfortunately, the next pony ride was one and a half hours later. Being wonderful parents (*ahem*), we decided to go for tea and come back again so that the kids could have another go.

Heading for our tea break

We went back at 3:45pm. This time there were fewer children and the kids rode around the circuit twice. Justin was elated. And then on his second round, his pony stopped halfway on the tracks and pooed. "Hey, why are you stopping?" Justin exclaimed, only to turn his back around and hear the droppings go "thud, thud, thud" onto the ground. Everyone laughed. The girls shrieked.

Second time on the pony

The day ended well. Except for the sudden realisation only at 4:25pm that the park closes at 4:40pm. I had parked my car in the park, which was 15 minutes walk from the Pony Park. I quickly left the kids and ran all the way to my car. Managed to drive out of the park before the gates were closed. Well, at least the running accounted for my exercise for the day.

Disneyland, Here We Come!

This post is finally up!

Jonathan has been asking us to bring him to Disneyland since he saw photos of Justin with Mickey and Minniey at HK Disneyland. So we decided to bring him there to celebrate his third birthday. With tickets purchased the day before, we headed for Tokyo Disneyland at 7:45am. There was already a queue in front of the entrance when we arrived at 8:30am, even though the park opened at 9am.

TOMORROWLAND

Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters

Once we were in the park, Papa went to Monsters, Inc. to get the fast pass while we made our way to Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. Using the Astro Blaster guns to shoot the robots and target boards was really fun. I enjoyed the ride as much as the kids.


Grand Circuit Raceway

The kids were excited behind the wheels of the race car. Jonathan was at the driver's seat while I helped him to press the accelerator. There is a rail in the middle of the track so that the driver does not swerve to far out or leave the track.

StarJets
We went in pairs for this ride - Jonathan & I, Justin & Kakak Uci. The rocket ride was about 2 storeys above ground level and we could see a good view of the park from above.

Disney Halloween Parade

MicroAdventure

This is a 3D animated show about Professor Szalinski from "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" who won the "Inventor of the Year" award. I absolutely love the photo of Justin in the oversized yellow 3D glasses.

TOONTOWN

The kids spent some time exploring Toontown - climbing up Chip n Dale's Treehouse & Donald's boat. The kids also loved the Gadgets Go Coaster, a children's mini-roller coaster which Jonathan could ride. Justin said that everyone including Papa and Ah Mah screamed, except him.

ADVENTURELAND

Next stop - Adventureland to take their favourite train ride on the Western River Railroad around the wilderness. The Jungle Cruise was also enjoyable with wild animals looking very real, hostile tribes, people chased up a tree by rhinoceros, baby elephants playing with water, crocodiles and many more.

We took a break at the outdoor terrace of Cafe Orleans before our fastpass to Monsters, Inc.

At about 4:30pm, we headed towards Tomorrowland again for our fastpass to Monster, Inc. The waiting time for the people without the fastpass was about 1 hour 15 minutes. The ride wasn't as fun as Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster though.

Backdrop: Cinderella Castle

FANTASYLAND

We queued up for Peter Pan's Flight. The kids got pretty tired waiting in line for more than an hour. The ride was good, seemed like we were "flying" in the air amongst Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook. We went for our last fastpass for the day - Pooh's Honey Hunt.

And additional 2 more rides just for the kids: Dumbo the Flying Elephant & Castle Carousel.


Our stomachs were growling by 7pm. We had dinner at the Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall, finished dinner just in time to watch the night parade. A wonderful and magical finale for our day at Disneyland.

Looking forward to another trip to Disneyland with Wei Jie soon!