Birthday Cake and cupcakes

I have this passion for cooking and baking. I started cooking when I was just an elementary student (around 8yrs old). I had to learn to cook, since its a requirement in our family. My Mum is a good cook, and bakes as well. And my Pops, oh boy, he is one damn good cook! None of my parents taught me how to cook. I based everything on what I see every time I watch my parents cook.

And so, this gift grew into passion, and eventually I shared my gift with family, friends, and other people by making them my guinea pigs hahahahaha. It also helped me earn extra 🙂

A good friend and carpool mate of mine sent me a viber message and started throwing questions about my cupcakes and cakes. Her youngest son will be turning four on 28 August, and she wanted to order some cupcakes and a birthday cake. She wanted a spiderman themed cake.

Since her sons are not a big fan of chocolate (who on earth hates chocolate?! hahahahaha), she requested for a different flavor. I made vanilla cupcakes, with butter cream frosting in red and blue, to symbolize spidee’s face and leotards hehehe.

I am not a big fan of fondant frosting, since its uncooked sugar and it is kneaded with bare hands, so you can just imagine what goes in there hahahaha. But the design calls for fondant, so I made my own fondant, from scratch. And I think I developed some muscles in my arms 😀

For the cake, I made a lemon Chiffon cake, with White Chocolate Lemon Ganache as filling, topped with butter cream frosting.

The gremlins (my pet name for the little ones hahahaha) loved the cupcakes, that’s one of the cutees, feasting on her cupcake first rather than eating her breakfast first hahahahaha How cute is that! nom nom nom…I am drooling for that hotdog!

And the handsome birthday boy with his cake

And my next birthday cake will be in October when his Kuya celebrates his birthday. And I’m excited as well!

For now, I am preparing my price list and list of pastries for December. Yes, the Christmas season! Where everybody will be giving away food for gift, and no one will be thinking of the word “diet.”

Japan 2014 – Kyoto Day 1

And we are finally in Kyoto! Kyoto center is a very busy area, it is where you can find the train and bus station. Isetann department store is just beside it, Yodobashi department store is just across, and other department stores around the area. Not to mention, the famous Kyoto tower is just across as well. We have booked a room through airbnb. We chose to stay with one of the locals who is renting his extra room for tourists. It’s cheaper than booking a hotel room, plus the check in and check out time are more flexible compared to a hotel. The apartment is just a few minutes away from Kyoto central by feet.

Japan is all about walking, so make sure you wear your most comfortable pair of walking shoes. Though you may find a lot of Japanese women wearing heels, or wedges while trekking or walking, and it really amazes me how they do it. But hey, that’s them, and maybe they really are comfortable wearing heels.

And we finally got to our destination. Our host, Taka, was waiting for us, his apartment is small but comfortable. Just the right size actually. It was VERY clean. The shower and toilet was squeaky clean as well (toilets are my pet peeves, this one is for the books!). Our room was just enough for me and my husband (photo below). The room was really clean and the a/c is working perfectly. There is drinking water readily available for the guests. You can also do your laundry for no additional cost. And you can also cook your food, which can actually help you save money. There is also wifi, so you can post all the photos you have taken during your day tour. All the photos you see in airbnb are accurate. No hidden charges or surprises. Taka is a great host, if not the best. Taka will provide you with all the maps that you will need and will answer all your questions. He is indeed very helpful and accommodating. Just take note, he is a host, he is NOT a concierge or a personal assistant so don’t make him check your train schedules or ask him to look for hotels for you. You can ask him if you could use his laptop to do all these things and I’m sure he would gladly let you use it.

You can check out his place through this link:  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2825839?s=LsN5

Upon arrival, Taka gave us a quick orientation of Kyoto. We we’re suppose to see the Matsuri festival, where there will be a parade of beautiful, humongous floats. The parade was held on the morning of 17 July, but we arrived the evening of 17July due to the typhoon, and so we missed the parade 😦 

We went out for dinner and for an evening stroll around Kyoto. We were able to catch the last float and I was able to take some photos. The sidewalks were full of people, tourists and locals alike, enjoying the festivities during the Gion Matsuri Festival. In one of the photos below, you can see that one of the Matsuri men have raised his robe due to extreme heat, thus exposing his butt hahahahaha. But, the men were game about it and even waved at us after I took the photo. Afterwards, we went for dinner in one of the ramen shops in Gion and it was fabulous!!!! Eating authentic ramen is quite an experience, and Gion in the evening is lovely as well, with all those lights and Japanese lanterns lighted. You can see how clean Kyoto is, even in the evening.

After our fabulous dinner, we went to the Yasaka shrine which is open 24/7. Imagine a shrine in the middle of the red light city district of Kyoto, you would think that it would be noisy and full of garbage, but its not. It was peaceful, and it was clean.

  my husband, with his back on the camera, and our host, Taka.

It was tiring, but a very fun evening stroll. It was safe as well. We just had to maximize our first night in Kyoto, and we were successful. On our second day, we will be seeing more and will be going back to Gion to hunt for some Geishas! I just have to see a real life, authentic Geisha! They just amaze me.

And so, we walk back to Taka’s place (and yes, it was a loooooooong walk, but with beautiful scenery), with tired feet, and happy spirits 🙂

                            

Japan 2014 – Arrival

We finally landed! The flight arrived a few minutes earlier than expected. The sun was still up when we landed. But of course, with the immigration line and all, don’t expect to get out of the airport that fast.

Since we are touring Kyoto first, we will be going to Kyoto straight from Kansai airport in Osaka. And the fastest, no hassle way to go to Kyoto from Kansai is by the Haruka train. I advice that you print the train schedule which is available in the net, just google “Haruka train schedule,” so you will know what train to take.

Once you are done with immigration and customs, you will be lead to the main lobby of Kansai airport where you will find the Tourist assistance desk. To get to the trains, you need to take the escalator, or if you have more than 2 pieces of luggage or you have a humongous luggage, take the elevator to the second floor. On your left side, you will see a sliding glass door, go through it. Go straight ahead, until you see this: (photo credit math.kyoto-u.ac.jp) I am encountering errors in uploading my photo, so I have to borrow this.

This is how it looks like when there are no people. But, don’t expect it to be this peaceful when you arrive. If you look straight (the one with the green light), you will see a small office (picture below), that is where you buy your Haruka with ICOCA card ticket/s. Don’t forget to bring your passport/s. One person can line up and buy the ticket/s for the whole group, just bring all the passports. The Haruka plus ICOCA card (photos below) are meant for tourists only. The Haruka ticket route is KIX-Kyoto for one way, and KIX-KYOTO-KIX for the roundtrip. You can use your ICOCA card in any JR line train and top it up in any machine which carries the ICOCA sign or logo. You can even use it to purchase drinks from vendo machines! The ICOCA card is valid for 10yrs, so you can keep it and use it again when you go back.

You have the option to buy the one way or roundtrip Haruka ticket. The roundtrip Haruka ticket is valid for 14 days. If you only plan to tour Kyoto and not stay in Osaka or Tokyo, then its practical to buy the roundtrip Haruka ticket. But, if you will be going to Osaka and plan to stay there, or go to Tokyo, it will be better to get the one way Haruka ticket. As it will not make sense to get the roundtrip ticket.

You can read all about the Haruka + ICOCA in this link:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2359_icoca_haruka.html

Once you have your tickets you may now proceed and ride the Haruka train. Across the ticket office is the entrance to the Haruka train. You will see a big blue signage, and believe me you won’t miss it, that says JR Line (photo below). Just tap your ICOCA card and you can go in. Once past the gates, you will see elevators (photo below), you may use these going one floor down if you have large pieces of luggage. And proceed to platform 4. You may also use the escalator (photo below, photo credit goawaysam.blogspot, my photo will not upload),  across the elevators which will bring you directly on platform 4 (platform 4 will be on your right side).

Once you get down the elevator or escalator, you will see the Haruka train (photo below), that will take you straight to Kyoto. Keep your Haruka tickets as the train conductor will be going around to check tickets.

 This is inside the train (photo below). It is quite spacious, comfortable, and clean. They have a toilet and a place where you can put your luggage.

Sit back and relax, and listen to the PA system, as they will announce the next station or stop. You don’t need to change trains. again, this will go straight to Kyoto. enjoy the ride!

Japan 2014 – Here We Go!

Before you go to Japan, make sure you get a visa first. It is not true that we don’t need a Japan visa to get to Japan anymore. So people, secure a Japan visa first!

Welcome to Japan! Something I have included in my bucket list, and have ticked off recently! I recently underwent a major surgery and gone through treatment, quit my job, and rewarded myself with a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun! weeeeeeee!!!! And now I’m bankrupt hahahahahaha!

This is the immigration section. Taking of photos is not allowed in the airport. Yes, I just took a photo which is not allowed. I was too excited and did not see the signs. While I was taking this photo, I could hear a Japanese woman from afar shouting something in Japanese. Later on she realized that I can’t understand her, since i wasn’t paying attention and was busy taking this photo, she just had to carry the “No taking of photos” sign and place it in front of me….bwahahahahahahaha!

So, take note, NO TAKING OF PHOTOS IN THE AIRPORT.

Also, before reaching the immigration officer, make sure that your passport is out of its plastic cover or any case.

The Japan Embassy in the Philippines does not accept walk in applicants. You have to course through your visa application to their accredited travel agencies. You can see the list in their official website. Japan visa is gratis, but you have to pay the Travel Agency for the processing, which ranges from Php1,200-1,500.00. The processing of the visa is quite fast, ours only took one day. For first time applicants, they will give a 3 months, single entry visa, with maximum 15 days of stay. The maximum number of days of stay may vary, I am not sure if this is the maximum, or it can go higher. When submitting your passport for the visa, remove your passport from the plastic cover, or case.

Airfare to and from Japan may cost you an arm, so you may want to opt for the seat sales. Although, the infamous piso fare is very hard to get. They sell very fast! and I mean really fast. So, if you have the budget, seat sales costing 199, 349, 799, etc., is already acceptable. Plus, once you get to Japan, you will realize that it is worth all the money.

We were suppose to leave 16 July, but because Glenda couldn’t resist being a party pooper and raining on my parade, all flights were cancelled due to inclement weather. Sigh…..so we had to book another flight in another airline for 17 July, as our visa will expire on 22 July 2014.

Our itinerary consisted of touring Kyoto and Osaka. Since there are no airports in Kyoto, our flight is MNL to KIX, Kansai airport, Osaka. We chose to do Kyoto first since our return flight will be from Osaka, and we found it more practical to tour the farthest first, then Osaka.

Of course you may opt to do it the other way around.

Before jumping on the plane to Japan, do all of your research about the place you want to see. Since not everybody in Japan can converse in the English language, it will be kinda hard to communicate. They will do sign language, but there is no assurance that one would understand all those sign language. So do your research, check the train schedules, schedules of the temples and shrines, read! read! read! All these are available on the Japan guide website.

Take note, the Japanese are a very disciplined race. So follow their practice and you will go a long way. Remember, when in Rome, you do as the Romans would 🙂