[Recipes + Videos] Mother's Day Cake Ideas

Mother's Day is just a few days away and to avoid the festive crowds I am sure many of you have already celebrated it ahead. But if you are still planning to bake something for mum this coming Sunday, perhaps you might like to take a look at 3 of our feature recipes below.

To cater for different preference we have light and spongy Sakura Matcha Chiffon that filled with light floral scent. Or for a good after meal dessert go for 1-Pot Chocolate Cake which is rich and moist to serve with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

[4 Recipes] Overnight Oats (隔夜燕麦) - Part II

Like most people, I always thought that eating oatmeal is something boring and tasteless which often given to us when we are not feeling well. But recently after trying these "overnight oats" for two weeks it totally changed our perceptions about oats plus it definitely has transform our usual daily breakfast into something more appetizing and nutrition. 

And just to warn you these overnight oats are very addictive and you can hardly stop with just a bowl! Moreover they are also very versatile which you could create many different flavour out of it by adding a little bit of this and that. Below are three quick combination which we love and I hope they suits your taste buds too.

[KitchenAid Dough Recipe] Matcha Azuki Bun with Salted Cherry Blossom

Matcha Azuki Bun with Salted Cherry Blossom

Hi folks, it's Monday again and I hope you had a great rest over the weekend. Recently you might have realized that I am back into bread making from those Instagram posts which I have shared while testing out my new KitchenAid KSM150. And after trying a few bread recipes, I still think the best result achieved is from the “five thousand dollars starter dough” recipe which I shared last week.

So in this post, I will be using the same 5K starter dough recipe with a twist to turn it into our current favourite bread which is; Matcha Azuki Bun with Salted Cherry Blossom.

5 Assorted Chiffon Cakes Recipes - Part III

This is Part III (Part I and Part II) of my chiffon cake recipe posts and I hope you still managed to follow and not getting bored with it. Although there are still quite a few chiffon cake recipes which I would like to try and share with you but I think I will just stop at this post and experiment the rest perhaps in the next few months or so.

In this post, my favourite recipe is Matcha Azuki Chiffon Cake because it consists two of my favourite ingredients such as matcha and azuki bean. I love the unique matcha fragrance plus it blends well with the sweetness of the azuki bean. What about you? Any of your favourite is this post.

Baked Mini Matcha Donuts

Two weeks ago, I saw one of my blogging friend Nami (JustOneCookBook) she made some really  mouthwatering Green Tea Donuts that triggers my craving for baked donuts. So last week after getting a new bottle of Matcha (green tea) powder and digging out my mini donut tray which hidden somewhere in the storeroom. I made some matcha donuts too!

Assorted Mini Donuts (recipe) that I made 2 years ago using Blueberry Yogurt.

I still remembered a few years back when there was a donut craze in Singapore where you can find queues everywhere outside donut outlets like Donut Factory. And during that time I even followed the craze and baked donuts with assorted toppings like what shown above.

[Day 6] Shabu Shabu @ Shabujo, Shinjuku

Japan trip won't be satisfied if we did not try their sushi, sashimi, omurice, shabu shabu, takoyaki and etc. So on the last night of our trip, we decided to go for Shabu Shabu which was perfect for that  cold and wet evening when everyone needs some hot food to keep warm. So after searching around for a decent Shabu Shabu restaurant near our hotel at Shinjuku ( 新宿), we finally settled for Shabujo which is listed in their recommending food good guide. For your information, Shabujo is about 6 minutes walk from JR Shinjuku Station, East Exit.

Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon Plus Giveaways

I love Cherry Blossom (Sakura) and it is always my dream that one day I would be able to enjoy a family picnic under the full bloom cherry blossom trees like those Japanese family do during the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri). Although last year we went Tokyo during November (read more here) which it impossible to see any cherry blossom but we are bless to have Joyce who visited Osaka last week and shared her trip photos with us at Cuisine Paradise facebook page here.

Other than photos she also helps us to loop back some awesome cherry blossom products like Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms which are pickled in salt and umezu (ume vinegar), Sakura Leaf Powder and etc which I am going to share with TWO lucky readers as our blog 8th Anniversary Giveaway #1. (refer to the participating details at the end of the post)

Assorted Cakes For Tea

It is the month of April again, and by the end of this month Cuisine Paradise will be celebrating it's 8 years old Birthday. Day after days it's has being more than 2,800 days since our 1st post till now which shows how fast time past. From a blog that shares simple homecook dishes and parenting journey till what we had today, I sincerely appreciate each and everyone for your kind comments and support. Although I could not update the blog as often with a daily / weekly post like what most bloggers do but I hope to try my very best to maintain it as often as I could too.

Here I have 3 different Tea Cake recipes which I would like to share with you and I hope you would find them useful or even add them into your cake recipes collection.

Nana's Green Tea Cafe At Plaza Singapura

Nana’s Green Tea Cafe is well-known in Japan as the “Japanese Starbucks” amongst a new generation of tea drinkers who are looking for tasty and artistic matcha creations. And on 21st December 2012, the cafe opens it's flagship store at the newly renovated Plaza Singapura which is located near Dhoby Ghaut Mrt Station. For information, other than Green Tea (matcha) beverages, they also offering food items to compliment the beverages and desserts too.

All green tea leaves served in Nana's Green Tea Cafe are imported ONLY from Kyoto (most famous production center of 'Matcha') where the cafe aims at delivering genuine Japanese taste and health to modern consumers. Matcha is a finely ground and powdered green tea which has many health benefits such as controlling high blood pressure, cholesterol, reducing the risk of diabetes, improving mood and alertness, boosting immune system and metabolism, reducing strokes by 21% as well as supporting anti-aging and etc.

Matcha Latte (Hot/Cold) @ S$7.00

I always love the Matcha Latte from Starbucks but now after trying the above I knew I am going to switch my choice to Nana's since both are of similar pricing but taste wise Nana's has a more fragrance and smoothing aftertaste when compared with the rest I tried.

Locomoko Don @ S$15.80

During the tasting we had two rice don and and one cold noodle dish. The first dish that arrived was Locomoko Don which is beef patty (burger) served on warm Japanese rice together with lettuce, cherry tomato, broccoli and a sunny-side egg. The beef patty could be slightly more juicier but overall it still goes well with the warm premium Japanese rice and accompany tomato sauce.

Our tasting portions of the Mini Locomoko Don

Salmon Don @ S$14.80

Next we had Salmon Don which was my favourite among the three tasting dishes. The bowl of Japanese rice was topped with fresh Salmon Sashimi and garnished with Japanese pickled ginger, spring onion, Daikon Cress and a touch of mayonnaise sauce

There is also an accompany sauce which taste similar like a mixture of Japanese Soy Sauce and roasted sesame seeds which goes well with the Salmon Don.

Mushi-Dori Goma Dare Udon @ $13.80

Lastly we had this Mushi-Dori Goma Dare Udon which was one their cold noodle dish. The Udon noodles was topped with steamed chicken fillets and garnished with cucumber, cherry tomato and served in Nana’s special sesame sauce.

This is one type of my favourite Japanese cold noodles which soaked in light and fragrance Japanese sesame sauce. The crunchy cucumber strips and tender steamed chicken makes it a prefect dish for hot summer meals. But personally I felt the sesame sauce could have be slightly better if the taste is stronger.

Matcha Shiratama Parfait @ S$11.80

Their new menu also offers a range of delightful dessert creations that are artistic and healthy like the Soft Cream Anmitsu, a soft serve vanilla ice-cream with red bean paste, white mochi and ‘Kanaten’ (traditional Japanese herbal jelly).

As a matcha lover especially on desserts and ice-cream, the Matcha Shiratama Parfait above definitely captured my attention and I really love the texture and taste of their matcha ice cream as well as all the surprises that I could dig out from the parfait. I would re-visit the outlet soon to try out other items on the dessert menu!

NANA'S GREEN TEA CAFE
The Atrium @ Orchard
Plaza Singapura
60B, Orchard Road
#03-80/82
Singapore 238839
Telephone: (65)6684 4312
Site: http://www.facebook.com/NanasGreenTea


Lastly I would like to thank Nana's Green Tea Cafe and Alisa from Publicist PR Consultants for the invite tasting.

Chiso Zanmai Japanese Buffet Restaurant

During June School Holidays we have quiet a number of activities such as the Angry Birds Cable Car Ride (HERE), 6 Days Cruise Trip (HERE), exploring the new Ice Skating Rink at JCube (HERE) and etc. And just a week before the school holidays ends, my brother organized a buffet lunch meetup over at "Chiso Zanmai" since he knows our family loves Japanese cuisine.

Above shows my plating of "Kaiseki" which is a traditional multi-course Japanese cuisine where we just grab a big tray at the counter and pick-up our favourite Kaiseki dishes and enjoy our meal like what the Japanese Emperor did in the olden days. (All photos in this post are taken using iPhone since it is just our causal family gathering)

Chiso Zanmai is a Japanese Buffet Restaurant located at The Central, Clarke Quay which overtakes it's previous owner where Fisherman’s Market used to be. For the price of S$14.90++ to enjoy a Japanese style lunch buffet which serves up more than 80 varieties of food and desserts is definitely worth trying. And moreover Chiso Zanmai is originated from Osaka and this is their first branch outside of Japan.

Appetizers Counter

As usual to start off the buffet, I will pick up some cold dishes from the Appetizer Counter and enjoy it before heading for the hot dishes. For the appetizers, other than the above they also have cha soba, potato salad, mixed salad, deep-fried eggplant with bonito broth and etc. But my favourite choices are those shown above. 

These are my little boy's favourite and indeed they have quiet a good spread of Sushi upon selection too.

Hakkaido Ishikari Nabe is a common seafood and vegetables soup served in Hakkaido and most of us on our table loves this seafood pot with it's sweet and flavousome clear soup broth. As you can see from the photo above, there are prawn, flower crab, tofu, leek and etc in it which makes it prefer to go with steamed rice.

Ramen lover, you can choose between either Tonkotsu or Shoya soup base to go with your Ramen. For me, I will prefer the Tonkotsu which is pork base with a thicker and stronger taste compared to Shoya. Surprisingly the noodles are still quiet springy when bite so overall it still blends well with the broth.

Traditional Japanese Counter

There are basically two sections on the Hot Food Counter where you can grab some Traditional Japanese Cuisine or Teppan. Above shown a selection from Braised Squid with White Radish, Corn Cream Croquette, Stewed Pork And Potato, Crab Shao-mai and etc.

Hot Food

I did not snap much on the Teppan Counter as there are quiet a number of people around queuing for the food. But you can find yummy Takoyaki(octopus balls), Stir Fried Noodles, Tempura, Fried Pumpkin and etc. Above are some of the items from the Hot Food Counter that I love.

Mum loves these Deep Fried Yam which she mentioned is quiet similar taste to our Chinese Abacus Seeds.

Love this crispy and delicious Chicken Karaage that dipped in some Ponzu Sauce (citrus-based sauce) which gives it a similar taste like our Asian Lemon Chicken.

Dessert Counter

After a hearty meal, it's time to pamper yourself with some "sweet" dessert such as cake, tart, pastry or ice-cream. At their Dessert Counter, items are routine frequently through out the buffet and you can find some fresh fruits, cheesecake, mochi, eclair, jelly, ice cream or etc.

Since for the month of June they are having this "Matcha Fair", you could find most of their desserts are made with matcha theme. Out of those shown above, I love their matcha mochi, matcha tofu as well as the matcha tiramisu. Too bad I didn't get a chance to try their Matcha Panna Cotta which might be rotating in their dinner menu instead.

CHISO ZANMAI

6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-17
The Central @ Clarke Quay
Reservation: +65 6221 3177

PRICE:
Lunch (12.00pm - 3.00pm)
Monday - Friday
Adult: S$14.90++   Child(below 1m): S$9.90++   Senior (above 60): S$12.90++

Saturday, Sunday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$19.90++   Child(below 1m): S$9.90++   Senior (above 60): S$17.90++


Dinner (6.00 - 10.00pm) SASHIMI (DINNER ONLY)
Sunday - Thursday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$24.90++   Child(below 1m): S$14.90++   Senior (above 60): S$22.90++

Friday, Saturday, Sunday And Public Holidays
Adult: S$29.90++   Child(below 1m): S$14.90++   Senior (above 60): S$27.90++


Top-Up $1.99++ For Free Flow Of Drinks
Cold beverages such as green tea, iced lemon tea, root beer and etc
Hot beverage such as coffee (black, cappuccino, latte) and tea


So if you are looking for some Japanese Style Buffet at an affordable price, perhaps you would want to consider Chiso Zanmai which I personally think it worth what we pay for. Will check what's on their July / August dinner menu soon as I eying on their SASHIMI!!!

Matcha Madeleines with Azuki Bean

Madeleines are very small traditional sponge cakes with a distinctive shell-like shape which traditional recipes always include ground almonds and lemon zest. But for the Madeleines in this post, I did not included the the two ingredients mentioned by rather I add in some Matcha - 抹茶(Green Tea) powder and cooked Azuki Bean - 紅豆 for a Japanese snack fusion.