Thanksgiving in Japan

I celebrated Thanksgiving for the first in my life and was weirdly excited about it.

My friend made a huge lunch and invited us to her home (thanks Queen), and it was bliss. This is just the kind of thing that moves meA cosy home meal surrounded by friends and festivity. I’ve always read about Thanksgiving in America, but we don’t have that in Singapore…instead I have Chinese New Year with lots of mandarin oranges and red packets and noisy Chinese music

I’m not that familiar with Thanksgiving, but I like the simple purpose of giving thanks and having something or someone to be happy for.

I was also happy for dessert

Pumpkin pie has always been an object of the internet, and finally getting to see and eat one in real life was a surreal experience (do you use the word surreal when you eat food for the first time?). It was exactly how I imagined it to taste like, all soft and creamy with a flaky, chewy crustSomehow in my mind I’d made it out to be a symbol of Thanksgiving (followed by turkey and mashed potatoes).

By the way, I brought pineapple tarts from Singapore

Also shoutout to Manatsu and her oatmeal bars because they were great

The last couple of weeks have been rough, but having friends and occasions to look forward to every once in a while keeps me goingPlus, I just got my extra warm Heat Tech (shoutout to Uniqlo too) and I’m all ready for the cold too.

It’s going to be 2016 soon!

Back for Totoro Cream Puffs at Shiro-hige’s Cream Puff Factory

Guess where I went to this weekend?

Shiro-hige’s Cream Puff FactoryIt’s my second time going there, I blogged about it here when I visited earlier this year! I made the trek all the way to Setagaya-daita again in search for some Totoro cream puffs. After studying for midterms and an endless streak of presentations I needed to disappear from that world for a bit.

What better place to do it than a little bakery cafe hidden at the end of a street? I could already feel the peace and quiet just walking down here

This time I got something savoury before my cream puffThe main part of the cafe menu is pasta, and they all come with bread. I chose the lotus and mushroom pasta in tarako sauce, and it came in this nice big plate. It was nice to eat spaghetti for the first time in a while

And then finally came the Totoro cream puff! (To me desserts are more like the main course. They’re the whole reason why I even go out to eat.) Since I got original last time, I went with the strawberry cream seasonal flavourThis Totoro has a tiny straw hat on its left ear and it’s adorable.

As usual, Shiro-hige’s Cream Puff Factory is full of charm and Ghibli goodness

Birdwatching at Kotori Cafe

It’s still tolerably chilly in Tokyo, and only once in a while there’s a big rain and the temperature just nosedives. But sometimes a rainy day’s a good day too, when it’s just a drizzle and peaceful to walk around under the shelter of an umbrella.

On on such day my classmate and I went to the Kotori Cafe in Kichijoji to visit birds and eat some cakeThe thing about Kichijoji is that it’s a cosy, quirky neighbourhood that’s quieter than the usual Tokyo spots and being there makes you feel like you’re in a Ghibli movie. Which might have something to do with the fact that the Ghibli museum is in the area, but I’m seriously in love with how friendly the atmosphere in Kichijoji is.

There’s no other perfect place for a bird cafe

I don’t think I’ve ever seen cockatiels, and I never knew they could be this cute. I’ve never really been a big bird lover or anything, but once I saw these with their madly blushing cheeks I wanted to take them home right there and then. And okay they’re not really blushing, but it’s adorableIsn’t nature so great?

They were having a special curry set, but my friend and I were there for dessert so cake it wasIt’s a small cafe with a small menu of small cakes, but everything was bird-themed in some way and so very cute. I got the owl mont blanc because I love mont blanc and there was something about this bird’s funny expression that just really struck a chord with me.

Also, did you see the picture at the top of this post? They serve you the cakes in bird cages! And then when you’re done taking pictures they’ll pop back to your table to take it away so you can eat properly.

My friend went with the cheese mousse, which came in the form of a fat little white sparrow. This was cute too, and also made us a little sad to hack into it with a dessert fork

Not that we regretted it or anything. The inside was just as good as it looked outside; there were layers of sponge and strawberry mousse tucked under a coat of fluffy cream cheese. Plus white chocolate pieces on the side! Since they’d already fulfilled their purpose as bird wings, we ate them with the mousse and it was great.

(My owl cake, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well after I’d scooped out a chunk of cake so there are no pictures for display…but it was delicious)

You can get a drink with the cake as a set and they all come in a cup with a pretty bird designThat’s pretty much the main draw, because the drinks are all just your standard teas and coffees. Still, it’s nice to have something to go with your cake so you may as well make it a proper teatime

There were a lot of people who came in alone and just spent their time relaxing and taking pictures of birds. The tables in the cafe are surrounded by glass enclosures that house the birds, so  you just take your time to eat while watching the birds fly around and chirp at each other and have the occasional bath. I’d say it’s almost therapeutic

Like almost every other cafe I wrote about on this blog, they pay a lot of attention to detail and have a very lovingly done bird theme going on at Kotori Cafe. There are lots of bird paintings and decorations everywhere and you just start to feel yourself slowly converting into a bird lover.

And once that’s happened, the merchandise shelves are out and ready for you to fall in love with souvenirs that you just have to buy. Of all things I ended up buying a plush cockatiel that has a clip attached at the bottom so I can pin it onto my head. Yeah, I know…

But they do have lots of things you can actually use too! My friend made the more sensible choice and decided to get a calendar and mug to bring home.

Even if you don’t buy anything though, you can definitely have a good, easygoing time at Kotori CafeTo get there you just need to go out from the South exit at Kichijoji station. It’s worth the 15-20 minute walk through Kichijoji past Inokashira Park. Also, the Ghibli museum is right opposite the cafe

Taiyaki: Fish-shaped pancakes

When people ask me what my favourite Japanese food is, taiyaki is my stock answer and has been for as long as I remember.

It’s a fish-shaped pancake that has filling inside (typically red bean, as you might guess) and there’re lots of taiyaki shops all over Japan! Back in Singapore there were only ever a handful, so maybe that’s why I put them on such a high pedestal haha.

But they’re really that deliciousThey’re crispy outside and soft inside and the best ones are stuffed with filling from head to tail and served hot off the grill. I feel like I’ve been eating a lot of taiyaki since I came to Japan. Also because there’re so many different kinds!

Like the croissant taiyaki, which is a bit of a recent trend. Kind of like the Japanese version of the cronut. It’s still soft but has a flaky texture outside, and decked out with sugar crystals. Basically it’s a fancy version of the old school taiyaki.

Which is nice tooTaiyaki is fun because even they mostly taste the same and all look like fish, every shop can still make it a little differently.

Some of them just give it to you in a whole chunk like this without shaving off the batter around it. I guess you get more out of that way, plus the plain pancake part alone already tastes goodAlso somehow I get a lot of satisfaction from biting off everything to get to the fish.

It’s not all just golden brown taiyaki, sometimes there’re white ones tooThey have a different, more chewy texture, so you can eat them chilled like a dessert. It’s kind of like mochi in the shape of a fish this time. I’ve seen pink strawberry ones somewhere around too!

It’s best when the taiyaki is freshly made and steaming warm, but sometimes convenience stores have them too if you need a quick fixBut I’d still recommend the hot ones from a taiyaki shop so go treat yourself.

Teddy Bear Chigiri Bread!

Hello! How did it become the second last month of the year so fast? I’ve only just wrapped up a busy weekend and class starts in 9 hours, so I’m sorry today’s post will be a short one! I’m kind of half asleep now…

I made bear-shaped chigiri pan this weekendIt’s been a recent baking trend in Japan, where lots of people make these pull-apart buns and turn them into all kinds of characters. I’ve seen Totoro and Moomin ones and I just want to make them

They take a long time to prepare though…the bears are as basic as it can get and it already took me hours to pound away at the dough and wait for it to puff up.

But as time-consuming as it is, it’s actually easy to make! You can’t really go wrong with bread; once you’ve baked a tray of simple rolls like these you just need to draw on faces nextWith chigiri pan (ちぎりパン) you get to be creative.

If you need a recipe, Ochikeron has one that’s nice and easy to follow

Have a good week!