Gift from Japan =D

OMG!!! Boston's get'n sakura trees from Japan in March!!! i can't wait to pig out & get drunk with friends under the Cherry Blossom trees, or let me rephrase, I can't wait for hold an Ohanami blossoms-view'n party :)

SAKURA  FESTIVAL  in  BOSTON

Spring, 2012

2012 marks the 100th Anniversary of the original gift of cherry trees from Japan to the United States in 1912.  Planted at the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River in the nation's capital and supplemented with more cherry trees over the years, the blossoming cherry trees of Washington DC have become a national treasure and attract hundreds of thousands of viewers to the "Cherry Blossom Festival" along the Potomac each spring.  Japan will mark this Centennial with new gifts of cherry trees to Washington and to a number of other American cities, Boston among them.  The Consulate General of Japan in Boston will arrange ceremonial cherry tree plantings in many Boston parks and public places.  To accompany the new cherry trees, planning is now underway for a rich festival of Japanese cultural events in Boston, beginning in March 2012 and spanning more than three springtime months.   Highlights of this festival include the events listed below.  Many, many more festival events will be added during the coming weeks and months.  For detailed information, schedules, details, and ticketing, please keep checking this website:

www.japansocietyboston.org

MY DRINK! =D

May I please have an "Iced Grande No Syrup Soy Unshaken 8-Scoop Matcha Green Tea Latte?

sounds so snobby! HAHAHAHA! but it's the proper Starbucks way of order'n MY DRINK, per the cup-mark'n logistics that's stamp'd into every barista aka Starbucks customer service rep's head...or so that's what Starbucks expects...or what I'd expect since I work'd for Starbucks for 5 yrs & 11 months! i REALLY miss work'n there! i still dream about it!!! waking up during the wee hours to open the store. 6a-2:30p = my favorite shift! high school days - 3p-9:30p weekdays, 6:30a-3p weekends. college days - 6a-10a or later =D
in a less snobby way, i would instead order as an "Iced Grande Soy Green Tea Latte, unshaken, with no syrup & with extra matcha" it's basically just soymilk, ice & 8-scoops of matcha powder in a grande cup - SIMPLE! I most enjoy sip'n up the bitter chunks of matcha (& sugar).

but somehow it's always complicated...98% of the time, the cashier or barista would get it wrong :(

so...i stop'd order'n MY DRINK - my most enjoyable beverage that makes me smile with every sip...i now just order something else, anything else...*sad*
 My uber-delicious DIY Starbucks GRTL is made with real Tazo (Starbucks) Matcha powder that I buy off eBay (3rd bag!) & Silk Very Vanilla soymilk - SIMPLE & DELICIOUS~!!!!! I have no idea what's cheaper - buy'n it from Starbucks or making it myself since the Tazo Matcha costs up to $40/bag (S&H included), but I much prefer making it myself! 

 …Starbucks adds Classic Syrup (previously Melon) to the already sweet drink - the matcha powder is like 70% sugar! Plus the barista shakes the drink up so my precious matcha gets stuck to the sides of the shaker & the drink foams up giving you less for your $, and I don't get the sinking bitter chunks of surprise. it's just fabulous! add'd bonus: the cuppa ice from Au Bon Pain is FREE! LOL! but I do make a food purchase…=P

Happy Birthday Alicia!

my new friend Alicia's birthday falls on Christmas Day (every year!!!)! =D

hmmm...does she get one present or does she get two? idk...but she got 2 cakes :)

i made Alicia a red velvet cake (chocolate) with pink cream cheese buttercream roses. the roses were so easy to make & look'd so impressive!

i met Alicia less than a month ago, after Thanksgiving. my neighbors / new friends Eman & David invited me over for homemade sweet potato pie after work, the same day Alicia & i became friends on facebook. we each had a slice of warm fresh-outta-the-oven sweet potato custard pie along with a scoop of chocolate peppermint ice cream (Yay for Holiday flavors), then we split cos they were going to the mall & i home to tofu. a few weeks later, Eman, Alicia & i had a dinner date - we mesh'd so well! making friends = priceless! =D

on to the cake, first i crumb-coat'd it.

then with a large star tip, i just piped circles of buttercream all over the cake, then cover'd the cracks/gaps with small strokes & VOILA! DONE! what's better is that if i mess'd up, all i had to do was scrape off the buttercream & re-pipe =D

this cake was by far my nicest layer'd one EVER!!!!! looks like plain ol' chocolate, but IT'S NOT! IT'S RED VELVET!!! =P

Merry Christmas!!! =D

HO HO HO!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! it's Colinbaby's 1st Christmas! =D remember the Monkey Baby Shower for Baby Poon? this is Baby Colin Nicholas Poon! isn't he adorable? *cheek pinch!* =D

so happy that it's actually snow'n! it's a White Christmas afterall & here's my snow-cover'd Christmas Tree for 2011. =D

i made my first croquembouche ("crunch-in-the-mouth" tower of cream puffs held together w/ caramel) yesterday for an XMas Eve party. it was uber mini, but i was happy with how it turn'd out. 'twas my first @ craft'n w/ caramel & i only end'd up with one sesame-sized blister on my finger from the hot caramel. the base was 6" & the "tree" was about 10" high. the mini cream puffs were fill'd with ghirardelli chocolate custard. YUMMY!

the only thing i didn't like was the custard made with (cocoa and) Williams Sonoma "Crush" vanilla extract w/ seeds - it just tastes weird - too much liquer/liquor??? nobody noticed the odd taste, but Wilson & i both disliked it.

it was so fun & easy to make~! can't wait to make a grander one in the future for someone's special occasion =D

Homemade Christmas Goodies

i came in to work & saw this cute penguin ice-skating on my desk. Yippy! what could it have brought? :)

my co-worker Ryan sent the little penguin to me with lots of yummy Christmas treats made by his wife. They're SOOO SWEET (Ryan, his wife & of course all of the yummies!!!!! there's a pretzel stick, 3 cakepops, 2 fudge caramels & 2 chocolate-drench'd oreos. Lucky Me! =D

the cakepop was SOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!!! not overly sweet since the cake was actually baked as a ball, rather than crumb'd & mix'd with frosting to form the ball (gotta inquire about the baking pan for this =P).

to the oreo! OMG! even better: it's DOUBLE-STUF'd! =D

i wonder if the rest of the goodies will last me until lunch time. =D

spam buns anyone? =D

anyone who follows me on facebook gets freak'd out see'n how much luncheon meat aka "Spam" i eat. i can eat it 3 meals/day - with eggs & toast for breakfast, with macaroni for lunch, with spicy Korean stew for dinner, even with rice, or fried rice, or ramen. all that fat & sodium...terrible diet of mine! LOL! i don't think i'll ever get sick of it, still got lots of new ways to enjoy it like spam musubi - Hawaiian spam sushi! i just came across another new way: Luncheon Meat Buns! think i'll finally try my hand @ making bread, work'n with with yeast :)

don't these look yummy?

belated bday post

been too lazy to post pix of my Hello Kitty Birthday Bash. here are a few from my phone.

all the food - not much, ran outta time. clockwise: katsu sandwiches, salad with sesame ginger dressing, Japanese hamburg patties, my cake, vanilla cupcakes w/ strawberry swiss meringue buttercream made w/ powder'd dehydrated strawberries, tiramisu & giant sugar cookies of Hello Kitty's head, mini apple pies, miso soup with Hello Kitty shaped tofu, Korean curry with Hello Kitty die-cut carrots & potatoes, more katsu sandwiches, rare green tea yogurt cheesecake :)

my most interesting birthday cake ever!!! hehehe. Hello Kitty end'd up look'n funny & i almost gave up on her. LOL! good thing i didn't cos she sure was delicious - 3 layers of Ghirardelli chocolate cake sandwich'd with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, coat'd with made-by-me marshmallow fondant & decorated with CandyMelts. too bad i forgot to take a picture with her - we wore match'n dresses! :) and vanilla cupcakes with Hello Kitty rings

Japanese chicken katsu (fry'd cutlet) sandwiches with wasabi mayo & tonkatsu sauce (Japanese worchestershire sauce)

Rare Japanese matcha (powder'd green tea) yogurt cheesecake

Judy's mini apple pies - they have Hello Kitty imprint'd on them! :) and big BIG big naked sugar cookies, ran outta time to ice them & make them pretty :(

Phuong's uber-cute Hello Kitty macarons w/ raspberry jam

i gave Hello Kitty a bath! a Korean curry bath equip'd with potatoes & carrots cut-outs of herself.

the most amazing tiramisu i've ever made & ever eaten!!! i didn't use a recipe & pretty much wing'd it, but it's simple to make - egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, sugar, heavy cream, fresh-brew'd Starbucks espresso, fabulous melt-in-mouth French lady fingers from Trader Joe's & dust'd with Ghirardelli cocoa powder & powder'd sugar

everyone was full by the time i got around to cut'n the cake, so i end'd up taking 75% of the cake home - the head only. when i woke up the next morning, the day of my birthday, i lit a candle, made a wish & had yummy cake for breakfast. =D

alongside the cake, i had macarons too! lucky me!

breakfast for the birthday girl =D

after dessert, i had a Hello Kitty egg (& ketchup) sandwich

more pix to come!

and of course, more Hello Kitty parties!!! WOOT WOOT!!!