happy.twenty.eleven

rediscover.dusseldorf

although we visit dusseldorf quite often (well, three times in 2010) but there are still enough new discoveries even in japanese town area. since we discovered the japanse town, our eats at dusseldorf always full of yummy japanese food. the german pork knuckle, roasted chicken, sauerkau sausage are no longer on the list!
the day starts with a bowl of hot ramen for lunch...

nothing else more japanese then sitting at the counter near to the kitchen while eating your ramen. i dislike the stench when i walk out from the restaurant after the meal, but i enjoyed the action packed kitchen and how systematically each chef performs their part of procedure in making a bowl of ramen. what a shop floor system...

the kimchi is delicious - not too salty, not too spicy but just full of flavors. my ramen is okay - no wow factor besides the soup base for me and his taste very differently even though both bowls are miso based ramen. i am not a big fan of this ramen restaurant anyway, i prefer the other restaurant more... it's very personal when comes to one's favorite ramen. for me, the other restaurant has a more authentic taste and better noodles.

soba (buckwheat) for dinner...
the restaurant is almost empty when we arrived. if not because i have got a recommendation from the japanese hair dresser about this restaurant, we properly won't step in at all. it's rather empty and quiet by the time we arrived.

when the last customers paid and stepped out, we have the restaurant all for ourselves. some deep fried buckwheat crackers on the house.

our starters come in giant size. my miso glazed grill aubergine and his supersize tamago-yaki (japenese rolled egg) both are delicious and filling...
pouring of warm sake.


warm sake is the jolly drink in the winter, we need the warmth to walk back to our hotel after dinner.
the tempura don is heavenly, those shrimps and vegs are just so tempting...

my warm soba with tempura. same tempura as his, super fresh, crunchy and light! a real delight!
on the next day, just before we leave for home, he is suddenly craving for cold sashimi....

so we didn't go for my favorite ramen store but opt for this. he has a kaisen-jyu, basically some rice top with assorted seafood sashimi. i ask for a simple down to earth tempura don but having tested the freshest tempura from soba-an a night before, these tempuras are great disappoint, they are not bad, but just not fresh due to the oil i guess... but despite of that we are full and are ready to braise the snow to go home for christmas.
another discovery which is not on the food, but on some interior decoratin. i saw this light display at one of the interior shop and fall in love with it...

i can already imagine how i want to use these lights at our home, but the reality is we didn't buy this, so some regrets on retail therapy has no harm. we will try to find this in lowland, if not perhaps just another trip back to dusseldorf...

if.you.build.MY.house

this is not suppose to be the title for this topic.  perhaps my chocolate house or my alternative gingerbread house would be more appropriate.  however, having read the bible this morning, the account between God and david seems to be rather appropriate too.  the story talks about God's covenant with david in 2 samuel 7:13 "he shall build a house for MY name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever". and certainly the house that is referred to in 2 samuel 7:13 is not build on chocolate or gingerbread.

but for now, i am going share with you on a fun project that i have recently embarked on...

  
i baked two loaves of chocolate cake using a well tried and faithful recipe for a black forest cake.  and cut them into blocks to construct the houses once the cakes are cooled.  i am not an architect, so both my alternative gingerbread houses are conventional and in fact these models would probably not passed the eyes of any trained architect.  but at least my model houses didn't collapse at all through the transportation.


crumb coat or cementing the houses using whipped cream...
the next day, i made my final compositions on both chocolate houses, first coated them with a layer of chocolate ganache.  then i let my creativity running wild a little by imagining how i want to decorate the house and its surroundings...
- a small slice of chocolate cake as chimney... of course, no gingerbread chocolate house without a chimney for santa to climb in and leave some gifts...
- some almond meringue round shape windows...
- some haribo soft candies to denote the glass stained windows...
- a chocolate bar door...
- hang a green marzipan christmas wreath on the door perhaps... yes, let's do it!
- some red and green m&m chrismas lights outdoor around the roof... look festive!
- some fondant snowmen... let's make it two, one big and one small...it's been cold and plenty of snow lately...
- some wild orange marzipan mushrooms popping out from the chocolate cake wooden bench... for a rustic feel
- a red marzipan angel with a halo like the account of the birth of Christ where an angel announcing the Son of God is born on this special day!!!
and what else....
- snow.. how could i forget the snow!!! a generous sprinkle of shredded coconut flakes on the entire house and ta..da..!!!

here, i present you my humble gingerbread chocolate house


and the front, top, side views of my humble creation....
we took this one to our friends who invited us for dinner on Christmas day.

and i crafted another little house, just a size smaller with the same concept but a little variation in compositions....

when i am done, he actually asked me if i have created a "do do train", a locomotive...
i almost fainted! perhaps the chimney and the round windows make this house a locomotive. whatever!!

this is a gift for our five years old nephew..
that's my fun crafting project and i guess i will give my edible arts a little break between now till the new year ...



my.christmas.bakes

something for ourselves.
a bundt cake aka pound cake aka tulband cake.
in this case is a cake with walnut and ample of fresh ginger and candied ginger.

before and after. a drizzle of royal icing sugar


a simple mistletoe marzipan decoration and it is a christmas bundt pound tulband cake. just for ourselves. over breakfast, over tea and everything in between. it goes down well with any black or milky drink like chai tea with a dash of milk or a cappuccino. it's just my personal liking as the cake is quite heavy,

i also churned some fondant and marzipan decorations ahead of time.
these are not for ourselves, but for others...
food, in this case christmas baking is a good entry point to our neighbour's home and to their hearts.


chocolate cupcakes, dress up with simple scented chantilly whipped cream. i am terrible with pipping. i can't even pipe the cream in any consistency. urrrrrrrrgh. may be i need a lesson, or some tips, or some advice of technique. anyone?


and top each cupcake with a fondant/marzipan miniature. cane. snowman. christmas tree, morning stars, santa hat, wreath, LOVE, JOY, PEACE...


as a plate is ready, off he goes and delivers them to our neighbours with a Christmas massage. after all, food is the best ice breaker or conversation to these families who are yet to know the true meaning of the season.
also some gingerbread cookies for friends...

and then some bakes for our guests...
who visited us during the festive season...

another rose chiffon cake. it is so easy and effortless to make. it's elegant and pretty. it's perfect for afternoon tea.

some chocolate cupcakes with just some free hand frosting of the extra chanitlly cream from rose chiffon cake and a quick drizzle of color sugar...
some indonesian style cheesecake
and
two little "fairies" for an almost 4 years old girl.

a fairy dressed in orange flower patels
another fairy dressed in green leaf...
fairy is a fantasy for little girls. after all don't we both have some fairy tales that we all once upon a time hold on to our heart so dearly...

i hope you enjoyed your christmas bakes too, i enjoy my baking and crafting fondant/marzipan to the fullest....

christmas.eats

o christmas tree o christmas tree...
have you ever eaten a christmas tree before?
well, this is my kind of christmas tree.

we had one for our christmas eve dinner.
since we just got back from dusseldorf, our christmas eve dinner is rather simple, well, at least not elaborate. it consists of an edible "christmas tree" made of broccoli, baby carrot and mashed potatoes. these are just the daily vegetables that we eat but arranging them in a slightly different ways reflect the festive season.

a pork rib casserole - a store bought pre-marinated pack, all we just need to do is to set it in the grill for 45 min and it is done.

so healthy "christmas tree" and a pork rib casserole and a christmas bundt made a simple christmas eve dinner.

on Christmas day, a perfect start with ...

a german bretzel with nutella as my breakfast, and some sharon fruits. i love german bread, in my view they have more varieties, more interesting breads and buns than the dutch. a good german bretzel is a rare find here in the lowland. so i imported one from dusseldorf.


our elder nephew invited us for a chinese dim sum lunch at the restaurant where he works. it is an untypical christmas lunch but the essence is the same - a family get together and around the food...

after the greasy dim sum lunch, back at home and before leaving for the Christmas service, we had this super thick and bitter japanese matcha green tea, to wash away the grease. i haven't had it for awhile, so i whisked ourselves matcha and had a japanese azuki mochi from dusseldorf to wash it down together...

in the evening, our friends - a couple from mainland china invited us to their place for dinner...

this is completely unplanned, our friend just called to wish us merry christmas and over a casual chat on when we should meet again and a dinner appointment was set. just like that. instant. impromptu. spontaneous. he cooked us some delicious chinese meal, again untypical but delicious home cooked meal with mainland twist...

second christmas day (as dutch called it) or boxing day to most of us. a day to take food slower and lighter. a day that starts with a power zumba session, light lunch and ...
a dinner with asparagus and carrot as vegetable bed...

rosti potatoes for carbohydrate and energy


home made turkey, bacon, mushroom and creme casserole


when you combine the three-in-one, the delicious dinner is right here... he was quite surprise that i manage to keep the turkey breast/filet so tender, succulent and still moist...

although some says Christmas lasts for twelve days... but i guess the festive season is over for us. at least for now after the second day of Christmas.

indescribable.gift

X'mas Christmas day!
we attended the Christmas celebration this evening at our church.


Today is all about Jesus!
That's what Christmas is all about, it's all about Jesus!
as i wish you a Merry X'mas Christmas, I also want to say Happy Birthday Jesus!
X'mas isn't Christmas until this very indescribable gift - from God to man is conceived in your very heart!

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15

::home.for.Christmas::

we made it! we made it to the Christmas market and we made it home for Christmas. we are home in time for silent night, holy night.

we are supposed to visit a Christmas market last weekend but the plan was put off by the bad weather. snow storm to be exact. yesterday seems to be a good day to venture east and safe enough to drive on the road and so we departed for dusseldorf, a city just two and half hours drive from where we are. we did many other things among them of course strolling the Christmas market. it's not the biggest one compare to many border german's cities but when you have more than one purpose for a trip, dusseldorf seems to check all the boxes.

scenes at the Christmas market. dusseldorf has three different locations set up for Christmas market and much to our surprise we visited all three of them under the snowy weather condition!!

and who visited a Christmas market without eating curry worst, gluhwein, creamy mushroom, roasted nuts and those many junks goodies that seem perfect for a outdoor weather condition. a mug of warm gluhwein saved our lives, it gave us the warmth and the boost to carry on walking...

and many little things or mechanised items that catch your attention or worth a touch but not enough to take out the money out from your pocket to take them home...

when we are done with all the three Christmas markets and a side track of gourmet shopping... we stopped by k� - k�nigsallee, the famous shopping streets of dusseldorf, to some extends it resembles the omotesando of tokyo.

we suddenly quite enjoy our evening walk despite of the freezing temperature and the snow. never ending snow. the lights at k�nigsallee and the snow actually make the moment very romantic. yes, romantic! it has been awhile since i feel romantic.

even this empty chair, the lamp post, the snow on the ground and the distant background light seems romantic. a moment that we both want to cherish. a moment that we both agreed - it's romantic!

and the reflection of the lights on the canal is quite enchanting and romantic too! by now, i guess romantic is a blessing too as those moments don't come by easily...

back to our hotel, the christmas decoration at the hotel lobby is quite reflective of the ownership of the management of this hotel, we stayed at hotel nikko this time, a japanese hotel just at the main street of the little tokyo.

and needless to say the snow didn't stop when we woke up this morning and here is my piece of super yummy japanese matcha torte as breakfast before we start our journey home.

::home for Christmas::

wherever you are, whatever you do, i wish you a peaceful silent night and a holy night. and with great expectation waiting to celebrate the birth of Jesus, despite of Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas markets or Christmas baking that i much talk about recently, deep in my heart, i know that the only and ultimate reason for this season is the birth of Christ, my Savior.

p/s: i spelled the city dusseldorf wrongly in my photo imprint :)

a.wish.from.me.to.you

before.and.after

this is how our new Christmas light looked like before.

a little barren and simple. but sometime simple is beautiful i guess.

and last saturday, we finally bought some ornaments. these ornaments are supposed to be on the Christmas tree but who cares, as far as i am concerned this is my Christmas tree!

how do you like my "tree"?

the tree is on our dining table, we sort of come to conclusion that we will keep the "tree" here for the rest of the year and not just use it for Christmas season. on some months, it could be just barren and on some occasions such as chinese new year, i could already envision myself hanging some red envelops on the "tree", or perhaps turn the "tree" into a cherry blossom bulbs...we'll see...

and a good comparison when i put them together.

it's four more days to Christmas. i first anticipate the workload at my project will ramp down a little bit as we are approaching the holiday season but on the contrary, i have a lot more to do.

adrassay.út.and.beyond

it's just too cold. -10 this morning when i arrived at my project office. i am NOT going to write about the snow and the weather, but something slightly different, to escape from the cold, slippery road and winter traffice. let's go back to summer, this is the second last posts i still have about my summer budapest trip. hmmm... summer.. think of the sun, extra day light, when it is as cold as this, i actually appreciate summer more.

sometime in august

after the opera house, you walk eastbound towards hero square. and you like what you see here. not gucci or prada but the sculptures and the architecture of the buildings, just so refine...

as you walk along andrassy út, you saw lukas (another famous café/pastries shop) and you say to yourself, no you should not go in, you already had new york café and muvesz today. after 200m, your inner self ask you to turn back, so you follow your heart, after all you are not sure if you will be back here again.

you are glad you pop in for a visit. although at this stage your eyes are bigger than your stomach. as dutch saying "my eyes are bigger than my stomach", you are full but you still want to eat but there is no more space in your stomach... so you look here and there....

lukas is more parisian and with a modern twists, not like the rustic hungarian and austrian galore that you have tasted so far and not impressed. you can even find macarons here, but you have no more room for cake, so here is the deal, two macarons to take away (lemon and triple sec) , and a two scoops sorbet (peach and apricot), both despite having similar orange colors, taste very differently, natural and good.

and you carry on with your walk along adrassay út and enjoying the sorbet and whatever scenes that arouse your interest along the way....

more shops and pretty doors and bronze statues...

a broad boulevard with a separate lane for pedestrians...

and boy! these long tall pink ice cream, seems interesting, you wonder if they taste good ... but nope, no more room for ice cream...

with the sugar rush, you decide to walk to hero square instead of taking the metro so that you can burn off the extra energy. you did the right thing! you love the architectures along the avenue, plenty of things to see and keep you busy, not a single sign of boredom!

house of terror, a neo renaissance block stands as a symbol of recent hungarian history as the most dreaded location.

the base for the political police engaged in tracking down opponents of communist regime.

isn't this heavy iron chain speaks for itself...

you wonder about what had once happened in the house of terror? no, this is too heavy to discover the answer, so you walk on further...

and you reach the embassy area...

to some impressive embassy buildings around kadaly izorond

and before you realize you already see hero square is greeting you just some distance away. adrassay út may seem long but the walk is such a pleasure and could take ages if you hop in to every shop and places of interest. for you, your end goal is hero square and the city park where you know szechenyi thermal is awaiting for you. and that's exactly what you wanted to conclude your last full day in budapest.