Baumkuchen vs Kueh Lapis

Baumkuchen is a layered cake with German origins but popularised lately in Singapore with more Japanese bakeries sprouting up in our sunny island. It is very similar to our local version known as KUEH LAPIS.

Check out this new bakery WHEATBAUMKUCHEN and the variety of flavors available. They have a variety pack which makes a good starter pack for those new to this sweet treat. http://www.wheatbaumkuchen.com/products_baumkuchen_01.htm

You can also get the the popular classi version from GLACE situated at Icon Village(behind Amara Hotel)

http://cakeglace.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=17&zenid=f8abc2d57a0be4cea5fd3056e26f2004

Try our local version from Bengawan Solo bakery outlets. A plain version and one with prunes are available.

http://www.bengawansolo.com.sg/prod_rolls.aspx?id=1 You can try out this KUEH LAPIS recipe if you are in the mood for baking. http://lovingbaking.blogspot.com/2009/01/kueh-lapis-aka-thousand-layered-cake.html

Happy sampling !!!

Veggie toons - Sachiko Suzuki

Have you ever noticed cute illustrations on your vegetable produce bought in Japanese supermarkets or on your Japan trips? I know I have but never really paid much attention to them until I spotted Sachiko Suzuki's work again in an ANA advertisement in the latest copy of WINGSPAN ( a complimentary inflight magazine of the ANA group - available at all JTB stands, eg. ION shopping mall basement or Mandarin Gallery Level 2) .

Pictures courtesy of :-

http://web-japan.org/trends/lifestyle/lif050106.html#

http://pingmag.jp/2007/10/22/vegetable-characters/

Miyako vs Momshoo

Stuffed toys are one of the most popular items sold on ETSY (the hottest online crafter's market) . These items are a great way to make use of fabric scraps. Japanese artisan - Miyako Kanamori makes these lovelies seen on her oh-so-cute website http://nuiguroom.bananawani.org/index.html. When made out of yarn via crochet and knitting techniques,they are generally referred to as "amigurumi". Personally I craft more generic items like handphone or camera pouches and wallets as I cannot make out the instructions for animal shapes.

By the way, you might like to check out this local crafter who sells her wares via the "momshoo" label in Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/momshoo/ and ETSY - http://www.etsy.com/shop/momshoo I came across her stall in the local arts bazaar held at Red Dot Museum's MAAD BAZAAR fair featuring locally handmade crafts and wares. Her hand stitched fabric badges are so soft and cute to add on to your clothing, hat, bag to suit your mood of day! SUPPORT HANDMADE !!! Go on and check out her creations here. Trust me you won't be able to stop at just one badge! Happy shopping everyone ...

Linen bird - fabulous fabrics galore

This fabulous picture caught my eye while link browsing on some of my favourite Japanese crafts websites. One might easily mistake this for a food or a photogrsphy website but turns out it is a haven that stocks and retails linen yarns and fabrics. Hmm.. this might just be next theme for my japan trip, i.e to find all the haberdashery shops in tokyo! The only shop I found in my tokyo trips so far was another fantastic button and yarn shop @ omotesando called "La Droguerie"( more about this button heaven in my next post). Meanwhile I shall think of how to avoid being overwhelmed by these luxurious linens. God knows how much fabric and balls of yarn a crafting wannabe like me will amass before the hour is up!

Look out for more posts on beautiful japanese websites and blogs I have stumbled during my late night surfin on the www.... http://www.linenbird.com/index.html

Kateigaho ho-ho-ho!

Bitten by the bookworm this month, I am somehow getting reacquainted with all my favourite books & mooks (i.e magazine books) about Japan. One of my favourites will have to be this really awesome bi-annual publication called KATEIGAHO (formely known as KIE) which has both a Japanese and International version (with English text). They also come in an eco-friendly online PDF version for digital buffs out there- http://int.kateigaho.com/index.html

The first time I laid my hands on their Spring/Summer 2009 issue, I was blown away by the exceptional photography and well researched content on the traditions and culture of Japan. The English text in the International Edition is an exceptional translation with its poetic flow and imagery captured to great effect! I can only imagine that the Japanese version would be even more beautiful in its original context.

This magazine sells out very fast at Kinokuniya Bookstores every Mar/April & Sep/Oct. Too bad they don't allow reservations for magazines that have not physically arrived in their bookstores. But fret not, you can still place a special order for the magazines if they run out. No additional admin fee nor deposit required but no cancellations also. Once your special order arrives, they will inform you via your mobile and hold the book for a month before they put it back on their shelves for sale since they can't return it to their suppliers. Each edition costs around S$25 but if you are lucky you might just catch one of their 20% member discount promotions and score yourself a rebate to get yourself a cuppa at your favourite cafe and devour the latest issue to your heart's content!

Happy reading fellow mookworms!!!