Seafood & Tofu Soup (Quick Chinese Soup)

Being part of a luncheon is one of my favourite activities here. Not only am I able to taste different yummy foods cooked by my friends, but also can I be inspired by many new cooking ideas. Before going to Tokyo, I went to a luncheon. One of my best friends, Kitty cooked a big bowl of soup for us. We were so curious about what’s inside. She told us, in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, that’s seafoods and tofu soup. For us, it sounds amazing because many of us have seldom tried this soup before. When the soup was served, it’s topped with some Japanese weeds, that made the soup look more appealing to our appetite. The seafoods were really fresh, going so well with the silky tofu. Only one word did I find to describe the soup, it’s “incredible”.



Kitty told us the soup was very quick and easy to cook. The most important thing is that you have to use tasty chicken stock, not just water. Let it be cooked with some meat, like pork for some time beforehand. Now wonder the broth tasted heavenly. Whenever you want to serve this soup, you can add whatever seafoods you like, the soup can be done in 10 minutes.

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Tiramisu (Eggless version)

I wanted to learn and make Tiramisu, one of the most popular Italian cakes for a long time. Tiramisu means "pull-me-up”,“cheer me up”. Indeed, the strong coffee and wine inside can really boost up our minds. Its taste is addictive and its look is fabulous.



In a luncheon, a lady brought some Tiramisu to share. When she opened her Pyrex container, we were all amazed. The smell of her Tiramisu was so good and the taste like those bought from professional cake shops here. We begged for her recipe, of course.



The traditional recipe of Tiramisu is made of finger biscuits, dipped in strong coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, mascarpone and sugar, and topped with cocoa. Raw eggs seem to be a must to add. Yet, my friend experimented and created a new version of Tiramisu without using any raw eggs. It’s a good news to all of us who don’t quite have any confidence in eating raw eggs. The taste of this eggless version of Tiramisu remains as delicious as the traditional one. Best still, it’s pretty easy to make. My friend’s 13 years old girl can make one to surprise all people in a party.

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Homemade Banana Ice-cream (Easy and Quick)

Again, here’s my favourite dessert made by bananas! Yes, bananas are on sale right now. I’ve got heaps of ripe bananas at home. This recipe might sound a bit indifferent to your feelings if you live in Northern Hemisphere. Pardon me if so. The weather is too warm down under here. So I like to have something to make myself feel refreshing.



This banana ice-cream is pretty easy and quick to make. No need to cook any custard. And the texture of the ice-cream is really creamy and smooth. Best of all, it’s homemade, full of natural banana flavours. I think it could be a fantastic dessert after our Christmas dinner tomorrow.

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Banana Walnut Cake

Chinese people believe that walnuts are good for our brains, that can help and enhance our memory. For myself, I love eating walnuts simply because of its good taste when it’s used to bake banana cakes.

Banana contains much goodies, including Vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber, any cakes baked with bananas are my family’s favourite.



Now bananas are cheaper and on sale everywhere here, so I’ve got lots of ripe bananas for cooking. Excellent! The ingredients and method of baking this Banana Walnut Cake is quite similar to the banana butter cake I shared previously.

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Smoked Salmon Salad

Christmas is coming closer and closer. Would you go for any Christmas party or throw a party yourself? This Smoked Salmon Salad could be a good choice for party snack, or just have it as an ordinary day’s side dish. This salad went very well with the pan-fried lamb steak I cooked the other day. The choice of baby greens for this salad is quite flexible that you can use any veggies you like. The colours of this snack really caught my family’s eyes. Best of all, I could prepare this salad on the go, or make it in advance, pop it in the fridge, and grab it out to enjoy in the last minute. Keep me free enough to enjoy chatting with my family and friends.

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Osmanthus Jelly (桂花糕)

Ever heard of or tried Osmanthus to make any dessert? Osmanthus is a native plant in warm temperate zone, like Asia. The flower is very small, about 1 cm long with strong fragrance. Chinese people like to make tea and desserts with the tiny dried flowers.



When summers come, all kinds of chilled desserts with Osmanthus would come into place. As for this dessert, Osmanthus Jelly (桂花糕/桂花果凍) is quite popular in Hong Kong, not only because of its fragrance many people like, but also its simple cooking procedures. It is a jelly made from an infusion of dried sweet Osmanthus flowers. The sweet smell of Osmanthus brings up a refreshing feeling in hot weather. It’s quite a unique and charming dessert.



Dried Osmanthus flowers often come in a little bottle, usually available at Asian stores or Chinese herbal shops. This time I used the sugared osmanthus flowers, came in a small packet that can make a double size of the recipe below. In the picture, you’ll notice that I also added a bit of grass jelly, black in colour for garnish. I just felt the bitterness of grass jelly (涼粉/仙草) going so well with the sweet Osmanthus jelly.

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Pandan Panna Cotta with Mango and Passionfruit

As Christmas is coming around the corner, I know most of my friends are getting ready for celebration. How do you celebrate this year? Me, I might cook some special dishes or go for parties. I won’t feel a Christmas dinner be a fulfillment if without any dessert. I think this special dessert, pandan panna cotta will suit Australia’s hot Christmas. Yes, I know, panna cotta is a well-known Italian dessert, only cooked with milk and cream. I tried to add an exotic twist by infusing the custard with the delicate fragrance of the pandan leaf. By mixing the Australian mangoes in season with tropical passionfruit, the taste of the dessert turned out to be so unique and super delicious.

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Baked Turkey Leg with Mushroom Gravy

A whole baked turkey is one of the traditional Christmas dishes. What a sensational enjoyment it would be when tasting the tender turkey meat going with some favourite salad.



It’s quite challenging to bake a whole turkey evenly with moist meat inside without burnt outside anyway. So before gathering guts to bake a whole bird, I tried to experiment with a turkey leg. The dish turned out really wonderful and more delicious than I thought. The turkey meat was tender enough, going really well with the delicious mushroom gravy. Best of all, this dish costs a few dollars, guaranteed with 100% success rate.



I love eating turkey not only in festive seasons, but also at anytime I think of it. Here’s the dish that I used a turkey leg with thigh that weighted 1.6 kg, enough to feed my whole family of three. My daughter dressed up the salmon salad for us. Yum…. I guess I would bake it again when the warm Christmas comes down under in two weeks’ time as this dish would take shorter baking time without heating up my kitchen too much.

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Highlights in Tokyo Trip – Dining Out

I’ve been back to Australia from Tokyo for two days already, still feeling tired, yet really relaxed for the past week in Tokyo Japan. We stayed in a 4 stars hotel in Ikebukuro, a very convenient district to go for shopping and sightseeing. Needless to say, we enjoyed lots of yummy, authentic foods at different local restaurants. This was my first trip in Japan. Had we not guided by Leon, we couldn’t have enjoyed so much in this trip. Most importantly, the precious time being together with my family in this trip is what I treasured the most.



Tokyo is an amazing, busy and crowded city. Before traveling to Tokyo, some of my friends kept telling me that the cost of living in Tokyo is very expensive due to high living standard. After this trip, I found eating in Tokyo is not expensive after all. Not only Tokyo is a fantastic city where you can taste a variety of gourmet foods within a tight budget, but also a memorable place to indulge yourself at any expense if you like.



Just name a few as examples:



We tasted fresh salmon rice at this little shop, 若狭家 in Shinjuku that was packed with local customers.

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