Goodbye 2006

This will be my last post for year 2006.

Tommorrow, we will be heading to Takashi`s parents` house in Osaka for new year celebrations.

Looking back, year 2006 was an eventful one for us. We were blessed with good health, my family from Singapore came to visit us in April, my sister came again in October, went on many short trips with Takashi, started baking as a hobby, met new friends.....

I realize how lucky I am to be living the life I have always wanted.

Year 2007 is the `Year of the Golden Pig,' which comes every 600 years. I believe that it will be a great year for all of us.

Wishing all of you health and happiness in the new coming year.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day is not a public holiday in Japan. There are no religious undertones to this festival.It`s all about enjoying together with your loved ones.

As there are only 2 of us, we didn't want to prepare too much. We ordered the roast chicken from a nearby Chinese restaurant.I thought of roasting my own chicken but was a bit lazy to do it. Will give it a try next year.



I also baked some Christmas cookies and a simple log cake to celebrate this festive season.

Takashi did the chocolate cream for the cake. It was a smalll cake, just nice for two of us.

I thought my cookies look quite ugly because it was my first time dealing with icing sugar..


It did not snow at all which was quite disappointing. No White Christmas this year.

Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Ho Ho Ho...

First Snow !

I was blogging about the lack of snow yesterday.

But, this early morning we were greeted by a white scenery. It was snowing!

I am forever thrilled over seeing snow flakes falling.

Looks like we will have a white christmas this year!

Where is the snow ?

The weather in Nagano prefecture is weird.
We are already in the 3rd week of December but today`s temperature hit 11 degrees in Matsumoto.
Last year, we had snow in the first week of December but this year the weather is really unpredictbale.
The reports said that due to the lack of snow this year, more than half of the ski resorts have to delay their ski season opening.
My husband said that this might be a sign of global warming effect.
Oh no..Will we still have a white christmas this year?

Braised Chicken and Mushrooms

I happened to read this recipe from a fellow Singaporean blog. It looked so delicious and I thought I must try to make it myself. This dish reminds me of one of the braised dishes my mum used to cook often. Its a dish that reminds me of home.

Ingredients (for 2)

300g chicken
1pcs shredded dry cuttlefish
1 dried scallop
5 slices of fresh ginger
4 shitake mushrooms
100g button mushrooms
200ml water
200ml shitake mushroom water

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsps dark soya sauce
1/4 tsp pepper, sugar


1) Saute the ginger slices in 1 tbsp of sesame oil until slightly browned. Add in cuttlefish and scallops. Fry for one minute.
2) Add in chicken pieces, stir-fry for a few minutes or until well combined.
3) Pour in water and seasoning and add in all mushrooms, stir well.
4) Bring to boil, reduce to low heat. Cover and braise for 25 minutes .
5) Add in 1 tbsp of huatiao wine and stir well before serving.

Bread Making Session

I haven't been baking for quite some time. Since Takashi will be very late today, I decided to `surprise` him with some fresh bread when he comes home.

I was in an unusual adventurous mood and tried to make two kinds of bread with 200g of bread flour.


There was a packet of mini sausages in my fridge so I rolled the bread dough around the sausages and sprinkled parsley leaves on it.

I pleated the remaining bread dough and added some almond chips.

The sausage rolls tasted really great, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.

Very satisfied with today`s baking results.

The Persimmon Tree

Persimmons are the traditional autumn fruit in Japan.

As cold winter arrives,`naked` persimmon trees are everywhere in rural Matsumoto, with only their orange fruits dangling on the branches.

Unagi Lunch

On Saturday, I had a sudden craving for unagi (freshwater eels).

We went to our usual unagi restaurant, Kankoso in Okaya city. This restaurant serves only local Japanese unagi and is quite pricy due to the high quality.


Chinese eels are cheaper but recent reports show that it contains toxic from the nasty raising methods they use in the eel farms.

Takashi ordered the unagi set lunch which costed 2400yen (S$33). The unagi was grilled to perfection and ultimately delicious with the sweet sauce.

We also had some fried wakasagi and unagi bones. A very satisfying lunch.