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Showing posts from August, 2011

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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Old Yellow Gourd Soup

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My colleagues have been asking me about this so instead of repeating myself, I better write it here haha This is slightly modified from Sam Leong's cookbook e.g. his original recipe uses scallops and prawns but I used chicken. Ingredients: Old yellow gourd 老黄瓜 - 1 Conpoy - 2 Slice of ginger 2cm  piece of white part of spring onion Some chicken pieces Wolfberries - about 10 Chicken stock (Home-made or if lazy or no time, store-bought ones may be used) salt to taste Cilantro for garnish Method: Soak conpoy in water for 2 hours (if you're short of time, you can soak in hot water for 30 mins). Discard water. Lightly shred, removing rubbery part. Cover with chicken stock, add ginger, spring onion and pinch of salt and steam for 45 mins. Remove ginger and spring onion and keep this conpoy chicken stock for use. Meanwhile, prepare the gourd. using a sharp knife, carve a zig-zag pattern down the middle and open the gourd into two halves. cut off the ends slightly so that each half can
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Osmanthus Konnyaku Jelly

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Inspired by my friend Ling Ling, I tried making these and my colleagues love the refreshing and healthy dessert and have been asking me how to make them =) So here's the post =) Ingredients: Osmanthus flowers 1.5 - 2 metal rice spoons (about 3-4 g) available from Hock Hua 福华 for $6.50 per bottle  (There is one Hock Hua at Compasspoint, the rest of the outlets I'm not sure) Some sugar 冰糖 Konnyaku Powder I find Red Man brand Premix good. The premix is very slightly sweetened so you can adjust the sweetness yourself. Some other brands have no malic acid so you have to buy it separately which is very troublesome. For some, the powder tends to clump easily. Others are too sweet or make jelly that are too hard. So I go with Red Man Premix (available from some supermarts or Phoon Huat ). Note that red man also comes in a small packet but you have to buy the malic acid separately. I use half a packet of the premix and keep the rest in the fridge for another batch. Wolberries (about 3-4
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