DIY: Kracie Popin' Cookin' Bento (SO FUN!)

One productive afternoon, my Panda and I bonded over making a complete bento box...in candy form! :D

Say hello to our Cooking 105 experiment that isn't actual cooking. Haha! This one was a gift from our friend Raymond who came back from Japan for vacation. He told me that in Tokyo, Kracie Popin' Cookin' sets were widely available even in the supermarkets. But in another district (which I forgot), this was less common, and he found this being sold inside the toy section. Each box costs around P100.

 

All instructions were in Japanese, so we had to watch videos on Youtube on how to make these candies.

Initially I was puzzled on how to fold the foil pack into a bento box, but my Panda figured it out. I liked how the foil pack itself is useful - you use it to measure the panda's head and ears (left), cut and fold the bento box (center), and cut the pieces of foil to decorate the broccoli and chicken nuggets with (right).

I am so amazed how these powders (almost all in white) change color upon contact with water, and have varied textures. Imagine - the red one was a jelly candy, while the white one resembled actual cooked rice grains!

You just pour the powder into the designated slot and add water (as indicated graphically at the back of the box).

Most of them have to be mixed and set for 3 minutes (or more, if you like) before you remove them from the tray. No need for refrigeration.

But don't be fooled...it really is small and terribly cute.

Finished product! Too cute!!! :o Each candy had a sweet and distinct flavor. The onigiri tasted like yogurt candy, the broccoli tasted like apple candy, the chicken nuggets and pasta tasted like orange candy (but with different textures), and the red gummy octopus/sausage (?) was our favorite since it tasted like strawberry jelly candy! :D There are a lot of other sets available, but I feel that this Bento variant is super sulit since there is a lot of variety going on. But if I were to go to Japan, I think I would hoard ALL variants and maybe even sell some to you. HOHO :D

Have you tried Kracie Popin' Cookin' DIY Candy sets yet? :D

Love,
Helen

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The Cutest Thing I Ever Ate: Panda Sushi ♥

Behold the cutest thing I ate this month ever! :D

I usually won't go anywhere far just for fancy or novel food, since we already have a whole lot of those in Quezon City (Hello, Banawe and Maginhawa Streets!). But when two of our friends messaged me and my Panda about a restaurant in Pasig which serves Panda Sushi...by all means, we went that weekend ASAP!

Takashi Japanese Cuisine is located in Pioneer Center in Pasig. It's owned by a young Japanese chef named Takashi, and not only does his restaurant serve authentic Japanese food, they also have a knack at presenting their dishes in a very creative way.

The set-up is simple, pleasant, and non-intimidating.

Panda Sushi (P280)*

salmon, tuna, kani

Say hello to these panda babies! They're sooo cute that even the lady who sat on the table beside us asked permission if she could take photos! In front, the pandas look cuddly, and at the back they're carrying their sashimi backpacks. OH MY! It was so difficult to start eating them, so we saved them for last. Haha!

My Panda and his pandas! :3

We both loved that the "backpacks" were thick and tasted fresh. We were expecting the rice to be plain, but it had flavor, even on its own. Price might seem steep considering it's just three pieces, but really, it's not everyday you see sushi as cute as this one so it's well worth it.

Karaage Curry (P220)*

My Panda ordered this dish since it looked really cute in the menu, but when our order arrived it had a weird mouth. XD It's supposed to look something like this:

As for the taste, the sauce was good, but we found the serving size of the meat a bit small.

Panda Sushi and Karaage Curry are part of their October specials.

Beef Yakisoba (P270)

with sizzling sauted noodles

Good for sharing. They didn't skimp on meat with this one, and my Panda loved the egg (from Japan!).

Salmon Teriyaki Maki Sushi (P240)

Fresh salmon drizzled with teriyaki sauce

This one's probably the most unique sushi we've tried so far. It had semi-cooked fatty salmon (love) on top, and raw salmon plus cream cheese inside (!!!). Unexpected combo, but it works!

If it were not for their October specials, we wouldn't have trekked all the way to Pasig just to eat. In the end, we're glad we did since we've discovered a new place to eat. There are a lot of affordable choices and this proves that you don't have to spend a lot to get authentic Japanese food. Next time we're around the area, we'd definitely revisit!

Takashi Japanese Cuisine

Pioneer Centre, Pioneer St. Brgy. Kapitolyo, 1600 Pasig, Philippines

Store hours: Monday-Sunday, 11:30-22:00

Phone: +63 905 510 9554

Email: takashirestaurant@gmail.com

FB: Takashi Japanese Restaurant

Love,

Helen

Cooking 104: Mint Chocolate Forest Cheesecake using Jell-O!

Last weekend, I miraculously has the luxury of time to bake (a no bake) cheesecake. Haha! I am a newbie inside the kitchen, so let's start with the easy one first.

 

To make a no bake cheesecake, you will need the following:

• 1 box of Jell-O No Bake Real Cheesecake Dessert
• For the crust:
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 stick butter
• For the filling:
• 1.5 cups cold milk

Instructions:

Warning: Don't believe in box as it said I needed a 9-inch pie plate. The mixture is not enough to cover 9-inches...and I ended up with a cheesecake that looked like a giant cookie. LOL! Make it 6-inches or less!

Ingredients:

Inside the box:

Never knew that these 2 pouches would turn to a decadent dessert. ♥ Just follow EASY the instructions in the box and you'll be fine. Trust me. I can't even cook to save my life.

Step 1: Crust Mix

- I combined this crust mix with 1/4 stick butter and 2 tbsp brown sugar inside the steel baking pan and pressed it at the base of the pan until it felt firm. It smells like butter cookies!

Step2: Filling Mix

- I combined 1.5 cups cold milk with this filling mix. Initially, the filling mix looks really white (which made me sad since it looked more like flour and confection sugar). When it comes contact with milk, it turns to a yellowish cheesecake shade like magic! Beat it based on the instructions on the box, 30 seconds low speed, then 3 minutes medium speed. The filling will be thick by then, and you'll spoon this on top of the crust.

DONE! Place in the fridge for 1 hour, and serve! :3

And because I wanted to improve the recipe and make it my own, I decided to shave Cadbury mint chocolate into the filling (before it went under the batter), and as topping. It's lovely!

The Jell-O had a softer texture compared to actual baked ones. The chocolate added a delicious minty touch to it!

This is our Cooking 104 session: Mint Chocolate Forest Cheesecake! Thanks for helping me prep the stuff I needed, Panda and Desi! :D

Love,

Helen

26th Birthday

My birthday was over a month ago, and I really meant to do this post earlier, but here goes! I just turned 26. Do I feel any different? Not really. Well, I do feel signs of aging like getting tired easily. LOL! But aside from that, I feel like I'm in the best time of my life. I'll just recount the blessings I've received, so many years from now, I can backread and remember what I did and what I had for my birthday. How OC of me to document it all! :D

My Panda and I share the same birth month, and since we're part of Yabu's VIP List, they treated us both to a free katsu sets to celebrate! We both love Japanese food. :3

Cream Dory Katsu Set

Rosu Katsu Set

That was an amazing start of the month! (Thanks, Yabu!)

On the day of my birthday, my Panda surprised me early in the morning with the loveliest, most precious cake ever. He has a shot me with a "just woke up, no kilay, no makeup at all, in all pambahay glory" look holding this cake, but that one is private. Haha!

It's the first time someone ever baked me a cake, so this one is very special. He made it from scratch - cake flour and all! :o In case you're wondering, the green ones are bamboo, and the brown ones are paw prints and stones.

My birthday felt a lot like Valentine's Day. The mums were unbelievable strong - they lasted over a week inside my room! Other flowers would wilt in 3 days tops. We share the same love for anything with peppermint in it, hence the chocolates. And the cylinder you see at the back is a pretty purple yoga mat, for my ab workout at home. (Yes, I'm getting fat.)

For lunch, we drove all the way to Vikings at MOA, even if there's one at SM North. Everyone was saying it's better there, and so we went. You get to eat for free if it's your birthday! :D Initially, we were seated on a dark corner, so a mosquito feasted on my legs minutes within getting seated, but the kind manager Allan made up for it by getting us a nicer spot, and went the extra mile serving us tea, asking us how the food was, and cleared our plates (even if he didn't have to). And I didn't get dengue so all is well. Haha! The food selection was good, and we'd go back for special occasions.

Rustic Chocolate Torte by Purple Oven

For dinner, my family had dinner at Nomnomnom Happy Food at Tomas Morato. I chose this restaurant since I wanted a healthier restaurant for my Dad who had food restrictions. Wrong move though; the food wasn't bad, it was just okay but kind of pricey. The dishes didn't blow us away, and the serving size for some were small. The final thing that ticked me off was when we asked them to bring out the cakes, and the waitress told me I'll be charged P80 for corkage - even if I spent over P3,000+ to treat my family, even if it was my birthday. (No photo because I was pissed and they totally killed the mood.)

Verdict: Never going back. Ever. The owner was nice enough to invite me to a free lunch or dinner, but I don't like special treatment just because I'm a blogger. I want to experience a restaurant for what it really is.

We went home instead to slice the cakes. This one is from my friend Tope of #TopeTravelandTours. (Purple Oven FTW!)

The next photos were the other gifts I received.

Meiji chocolates from my boss

Terranova Floral Clutch from my friend, Kyra

Landmark Linens from my sister, Cindy

This one has a deep purple color; my camera went loco hence this shade of bright purple. I have yet to wash this, but I've never been this excited to change my sheets. LOL

My birthday gift for myself is a Lenovo laptop. This one's a good investment; I bought it with the main purpose of blogging. You see, my posts decreased in quantity this year since I was dealing with a faulty computer at home which would turn off mid-upload or as I'm doing my posts, which made me lose motivation. Now, I don't have to settle for a bulok computer, since I have a sleek, sexy, and precious laptop! Unboxing post soon, yes? 

At church, my small group family Tuesday Diversity surprised the August celebrants with cake, too! :3

Last but not the least are these rainbows I saw just last Friday morning as I was going to work. The brighter one is the biggest and closest I've seen in my life. So beautiful! It's like God telling me, "Everything's gonna be alright." At this moment, I was thankful for my gift of sight.

So those basically sums up my day. I have yet to reply to the greetings on my FB timeline though. Help... Haha :D Thanks to all who remembered! :3

Love,

Helen

Sundate: Auction + Korean Village

Yesterday was a pretty interesting day for me. I got to experience an actual auction, and got myself a pretty little souvenir along the way.

Stamps from China

These ones were printed in Beijing way back 1985; I wasn't even born yet! Giant Pandas were considered as precious rare animals then. As of last year, there are only 1,864 giant pandas alive in the wild (plus my Panda, which makes it 1,865...LOL), so let's save them!

My Panda got me this set of stamps commemorating the Year of the Snake printed 1989, the year I was born. (Thank you!) :3

After the auction, we went to Robinsons Place Manila first to pass the time while waiting for Korean Village to open. I was finally able to buy the USB LED light I've been needing for so long. Yay! Now we don't have to Skype in darkness. Haha! I also liked the Daiso store there. It looks small, but the store is long in the sense that it's rectangular, but it seems bigger than their Shangri-La branch.

My Panda and I were craving for some salmon sashimi, and I remembered Korean Village instantly since I've been here once last year. I would've gone here more often if only it was near my place. The food is so good!

Appetizers (Free when you order a main dish)

I was about to order kimchi when the waiter told me that we could get it for free when we order a main dish. Okay! :D We loved everything (hello, tamago and dilis!) except the green veggie beside the kimchi.

Salmon Sashimi (P350)

So fresh! It didn't smell fishy at all, and the texture was just right. The truth is, I bet we both could have finished one plate each. Haha. Serving size is good also, since this price point could mean 5 measly slices in other restaurants.

Beef Rib Stew (P300)

The beef was soft, tender, and sweet. We'll order this again next time.

Bibimbap Stoneware (P250)

This one looks nice but for me it lacked meat and spicy kick. It's an okay dish, but it didn't blow me away. Bibimbap went well with the meat that we ordered.

Miso Soup (Free when you order a main dish)

Reminds me of Yabu! This one's saltiness is just right. It also has tofu chunks hidden inside.

Fresh Pineapple (Free)

I was supposed to order Korean ice cream, but the choices were a bit limited that day. Then the waiter served us this platter of fruit to cap off our meal. Definitely a healthier choice! :D

Next time we go anywhere near Taft or Roxas Boulevard, we'd definitely revisit this restaurant. ;)

Korean Village Restaurant Malate

566 Nakpil Street, Malate, Manila

Phone numbers: (02)5221902, (02)5244958

Store hours: 11AM to 2:30PM, 5:30PM to 10PM

Love,

Helen