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Showing posts from May, 2010

Cycling Around Mount Fuji

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Note that this photo is a posed shot. You are supposed to cycling anti-clockwise around the lake! Haha If you are deciding between taking the train to Kawaguchiko or driving, you can check out the car rental prices at   https://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/english/user-guide/reservations.html   and train prices at   http://www.hyperdia.com/ It depends on whether you’re staying overnight at Kawaguchiko and the number of people travelling. Remember to add toll fees of about ¥4200 one way. We decided to rent a car but forgot about the toll fees so it ended up being more expensive. I’d say if you’re staying for one night and there are at least 3 of you, renting a car is a good option. If there are two of you and you want more freedom to move around (such as going to neighbouring places like Oshino Hakkai, Chureito Pagoda, Yamanakako etc) it is also better to rent a car. You should also be warned that traffic is congested upon leaving and arriving at Tokyo. We parked our car at our ryokan Kozan
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Ramen Egg (Improved)

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I blogged about ramen egg sometime ago and since then i have been trying to perfect it. i managed to get a very nice one today =) with almost runny yolk =) this time i used a cold egg from the fridge and followed the same instructions but seeped for 4 mins. i may try 3.5 mins next time. Ingredients: 1 Fresh Egg 1 tbsp each of shoyu, mirin, sake Heat the shoyu, mirin, sake in the microwave for 30 secs and 30 secs (total one min la but break it up so it won't boil over...) fill a pot with water and place it over the fire then carefully place a COLD (FROM THE FRIDGE) egg into the water. roll it around a little with a spoon while the water comes to a boil. this is to make sure that the yolk doesn't skew to one side. once the water boils, shut off the flame, cover and wait 4 mins (i used an hourglass) take out the egg, cool it in tap water and carefully peel it. place the egg and mixture into a plastic bag and fasten it (i recycled a bread clip ^^). Leave it for a few hours. I lef
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Adorable Ah Ma

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We had Mothers' Day dinner at T3's Imperial treasures so Ah ma had to miss her favourite taiwanese drama series with theme song that goes, "I ask sky! i ask sky!..." time: 6:53pm... ah ma sat quietly and looked a little uneasy... FIL: you can watch channel 8 on your phone right? me: ya... you want to watch? FIL: your grandmother wants to watch her "love"! me: oh, the i ask sky i ask sky show? ok... FIL: that's why she is not talking... she misses the show... so chris passes my phone to ah ma and once she got it, she was completely engrossed... nothing could tear ah ma away from the screen... not scallops, fish maw, sea cucumber. here, you see ah ma holding her peking duck wrap with one hand while devouring the plot... peking duck can wait... plot cannot LOL if you want to talk to her, sorry, wait for the commercials baby... and the plot thickens... ah ma needs close-up view... gwyneth: if my mum were here, she'd be sitting beside ah ma watching too..
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Ramen Eggs =D

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read the improved version here Don't you love those eggs in ramen with gooey yolks?? i tried making them and it turned out quite good! ^^ Ingredients: 1 Fresh Egg 1 tbsp each of shoyu, mirin, sake Heat the shoyu, mirin, sake in the microwave for 30 secs and 30 secs (total one min la but break it up so it won't boil over...) fill a pot with water and place it over the fire then carefully place a room-temperature egg into the water. roll it around a little with a spoon while the water comes to a boil. this is to make sure that the yolk doesn't skew to one side. once the water boils, shut off the flame, cover and wait 3 mins (i used an hourglass) take out the egg, cool it in tap water and carefully peel it. place the egg and mixture into a plastic bag and fasten it (i recycled a bread clip ^^). Leave it for a few hours. I left mine for about 4 hours in the fridge. I guess you can cut it with a thread but i just pried it open with my chopsticks ^^ i had it with some udon soup.
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Watercress Soup

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Here's another very comforting soup... i like to add conpoy because it makes the soup very flavourful =) Ingredients: Chicken - half, skinned, cut into pieces, scalded in boiling water watercress - half of the bunch you buy red dates - 2 bitter and sweet chinese almonds - very small handful each wolfberries - small handful conpoy - 3, soak in hot water until soft, pour away water water - 4 cups bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours *i use chicken because it's cheaper =P half a chicken costs $4+ if it's sakura, $3.50 if it's kampong but to get that same amount of loin ribs, it costs twice as much =( and we don't eat the meat one ma... only drink the soup so it's very wasteful. anyway, when i buy sakura chicken ($8.90 each) i need to buy ONE so i will separate the parts. breasts for soup, thighs and drums for cooking other dishes for eating.
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Stewed Chicken in Wine

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Very easy to make but tasty home-cooked fare =) learnt this while watching "3 dishes 1 soup" TV programme but modified it a little ingredients: chicken - half (the thighs and drums parts), skinned, cut into pieces sesame oil - 1 tbsp ginger - 6 to 8 slices black fungus - 4, soaked til expanded, cut coarsely into strips mushrooms - (shiitake, dried chinese, whatever), stalks removed, halved chinese rice wine - enough to cover chicken (not hua tiao, just regular transparent type chinese rice wine for cooking) marinate: light soy, dark soy - 1 tspn each garnish - sprigs of cilantro Marinate the chicken for at least 30 mins. scoop chicken meat out (i didn't use the remaining marinate in the bowl cos it might be too salty) heat sesame oil in a claypot and fry giner slices til fragrant. add chicken meat and stir around. add black fungus and mushrooms. pour in wine til covered. stir a little and push mushrooms and fungus into spaces. bring to boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour ga
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