Hello lovely people! Hope your Chinese New Year was fantabulous! I arrived back on the 3rd day just in time to enjoy a day with my extended family who came over to our house to enjoy my mum’s cooking. It was a really enjoyable day that made me think that sometimes, I actually do like the Lunar New Year.

Anyways, in line with the new year, my pancake obsession has returned! I had bought a pancake recipe book in Tokyo and whilst reading the Jamie Oliver magazine on the aeroplane, had spied a deliciously enticing recipe of pears + apples + nuts sauteed with honey…. which triggered a serious urge for me to combine the two together and make some glorious pancakes for the family!

This combination was divine and my dad enjoyed it so much, he had it for breakfast and lunch. And because it was so good and very easy to make, I really had to share it with everyone!
Serves up to 3-4 people.
Jamie Oliver Magazine Feb/Mar 2013
HONEY-FRIED APPLES & PEARS
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20g Unsalted Butter
2 Apples (Pink Lady), cored and cut into wedges
2 Pears, cored and cut into wedges
120g Honey
A Pinch of Ground Cardamom (I recplaced with 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder instead)
50g Toasted Hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Fat-free natural yoghurt, to serve

Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat, then add the apple and pear wedges. Cook for about 3 minutes, until starting to colour, then stir through the honey and continue to cook for 5-8 minutes, until the fruit is soft and honey is caramelized and coats the fruit. Mix in the cardamom and most of the hazelnuts (reserving some to garnish) then serve immediately with a blob of yoghurt, a drizzle of honey sauce and sprinkling of reserved hazelnuts. *I didn’t add the yoghurt to mine cause I like it sweet!

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This recipe has been adapted from Hanako PANCAKE BOOK. (sorry if maybe the directions aren’t very well-written. I translated it from Japanese and I’m sure you’re aware by now my writing skills are pretty bad… so I apologize. Hope it’s easy to understand though!)

CINNAMON PANCAKES
——————————
200g Plain Flour
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder
2g Baking Powder
2 Eggs
220ml Milk
15g Unsalted Butter (melted)
25g Caster Sugar

Sift the plain flour, cinnamon powder and baking powder into a bowl. Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into separate bowls. In the bowl with the egg yolks, add half the milk and mix well. Then mix in the flour mixture well, followed by the remaining half of the milk. Then mix in the melted butter and set aside.

Using a hand-mixer, whisk the egg whites gently for 1 minute until foamy then add all the caster sugar and whip until glossy and has stiff peaks. Scoop half of the whisked egg whites into the other bowl and fold it in. Once all well incorporated, fold in the remaining half. Your batter is now done!

I’m not too sure on how everyone cooks their pancakes, but I know there are just a few things to take note of… You should use a non-stick pan. You don’t need to grease the pan but if you’re worried, you can definitely use a little bit of butter. Don’t cook the pancake for too long cause it might turn rubbery. And make sure the heat is set to low-medium.

Stack those pancakes and add your apple+pear topping and you have yourself a lovely pancake meal! Enjoy! xx

I’m flying home tonight…
See you again soon Tokyo!
xx

Drinking a warm cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter’s day is an awesome feeling…  Drinking a good cup of coffee in a small garden in front of a little 60-year old traditional Japanese house whilst looking up at the clear blue sky… is even more amazing…

I’ve been to Omotesando Koffee 3 times in the past week alone. Kinda bummed out I didn’t feel the urge to drop by earlier during this trip until my friend Pok told me how good the coffee is. I want to drink as much of their coffee as physically possible until the day I leave, which unfortunately is just a few days from now.

The quaint little spot kind of reminds me of Nylon Coffee, with it’s coffee-only menu and very limited seating (aka two benches outside). Everything besides their espresso shots come in a takeaway cup. I’ve tried their iced cappuccino, cappuccino doppio (dble capp), Iced shakerato (dbl shot espresso shaken with ice). I highly recommend trying the Iced shakerato! I usually wince a little when I drink espresso, but this was really refreshing and there was none of that bitter aftertaste that would usually linger on my tongue. It was superb…!

Meet Miki – san! The coffee he makes is absolutely brilliant…definitely a very talented barista!

Minmalistic and slick packaging.

Ice cappuccino.

Try one of their Koffee Okashi. I’m not quite sure what it’s made of exactly, but I know there’s custard in it. A really tasty bite to go with your coffee.

Cappuccino.

Omotesando Koffee is located along a one of the many tiny lanes in the Omotesando area. It is quite easy to miss so make sure you print out the map and follow it exactly! It’s definitely worth a visit!

Omotesando Koffee
Tokyo Shibuya-ku Jingumae 4-15-3
Opens everyday 10:00 – 19:00
T: 03 5413 9422

Honestly speaking, I don’t read Monocle. I have tried, but the only pages that really interest me are the ones on gorgeous cafes all over the world. While the left side of my brain cannot comprehend the content of the magazine, the right side is definitely a fan of the creative/design aspect of the magazine.

So when they decided to open a cafe in Tokyo, it’s probably of no surprise that it’d have a similar vibe as the magazine.

The cafe is located in the basement of Hankyu Men with the nearest station being Yurakucho.

Monocle goodness for you to buy.

Haven’t had the chance to try their food items yet…. but am having classes this coming week in the same area so I’ll probably be heading down again in between classes for a meal/snack/both!

Loved the cappuccino I ordered. It’s great cups of coffee like these, that make me remember how much I really love coffee. (Had given it up for awhile and replaced all coffee intake with tea).

I love that quite a lot of cafes here provide power outlets! Great for me when I want to pass my time with some good eats and getting some work done.

MONOCLE CAFE
b1F Hankyu Men’s Tokyo.
Yurakucho
Website here.
Nearest Station: Yurakucho / Marunouchi / Hibiya / Ginza
(All four r very close to each other)

click the above image to head over to our new arrivals!

A belated Happy New Year to Sarah’s Loft’s readers! Above is just a snippet of our new arrivals, and we update the store every week or so. Like us on facebook to know when the latest additions are up on the site (+some other surprises)!

And for Sarah’s Loft readers, don’t forget to use code ‘SARAHSCODE’ for 10% off everything when checking out or quoting it to me when ordering via email at weiling@picnicsunday.com!

Hope everyone had a great festive season and new years! Till next time

Hello lovelies! Hope your week has been great! I’ve just returned from my few days out of Tokyo in Nagoya, Ise, Takayama and Shirakawa-go! Seeing all the snow has made me crave for  a snowboarding/skiing trip. Anyone interested in joining me? haha.

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I’m sure when you visit Shibuya, you will definitely stop by Tokyu Hands. I always start from the top floor and make my way down, scanning floor by floor for things I might like… so you can imagine, by the time I get to the ground floor, I’ve burnt a major hole in my pocket. I don’t think anyone can leave Tokyu Hands empty handed! And so from personal experience, it would be a good idea for you to grab a nice bite and enjoy some R&R before you do some serious shopping!

Located on the 7th floor, Hands Cafe is a cozy spot I love to hang out at everytime I’m in Tokyo.

Hands Cafe doesn’t have a lot of choices on the menu. Drinks: Coffee/Tea/Juices. Food: Sandwiches/soup/potatoes. I always enjoy their sandwiches greatly, especially the croquette one! This time round I had their special which was a chicken mushroom… yum yum!

Some winter special drinks : Hot Cinnamon Apple / Hot Ginger Lemonade

They also have outdoor seating!

Remember to clear your trays after eating!

They also provide free Wifi and iMacs for you to serve the internet! Awesome aye?

HANDS CAFE
7F Tokyu Hands Shibuya, Tokyo
10am – 8.30pm
Website here.

Hello my lovelies! Hope everyone’s had a great weekend! Mine was fantastic with cake class (apple tart was made) and a visit to a craft market and (by chance) a flea market! More on that in the next post for sure! Tomorrow my mum will be flying to Nagoya and I’ll be taking the shinkansen to meet her there. I’m uber excited ( this trip has been exciting every second I tell u!) cause I have never been Nagoya before. After two days there, we’re going to Takayama for more sightseeing. You know, my English has gotten a little weird of late… It’s got a strange Japanese accent to it and it’s gotten a little more broken than usual. hahaha.. I’m adapting pretty fast then, aint I?

So on to the main point of this post… when anyone visits Kyoto, they will most likely visit Kiyomizu Temple. The area has a main temple and shrines. It’s my second time there. At first I didn’t know if I had been there before, still we starting walking up all the stairs and slopes to get to it.

Small shops line the streets to the Shrine.

The main temple didn’t interest me much to be honest…whereas the part of the compound I hadn’t been to yet, where people went to pray for love or anything love related, was somewhere I was looking forward to the most! Who knows if such things really work… who knows if my love life will suddenly change and prince charming will ride up in his white Audi and propose marriage with one Louboutin shoe… but the “love shrine” ( I call it that cause that’s what it is, right?) was definitely very interesting!

So you walk from one stone to the other stone, or at least try to get there… and you’ll “achieve ur love”. Your friends can help you by telling you if you’re going in the right direction! I wanted to give it a shot, but somehow I felt that, even with Yuko’s help, I’d probably still end up somewhere very far off from the stone. haha.

Buy a charm to “bind your love tightly”! Sounds a little too much doesn’t it? haha They really need better translation!

What are you praying for… chasing away bad luck, good relations, love, luck?

A must visit when going to Kyoto! This is the first time I had so much fun at a shrine… but maybe I did because of Yuko and her mum? Thanks so much Yuko! I guess it’s the great company that counts the most! But seriously, the “love shrine” was so fun!

xx Sarah

I don’t think Laduree needs any formal introduction! While I heard that they will be opening a branch in Singapore, I can’t say I’m looking very forward to it because I’m very afraid I’ll be disappointed *thinks PAUL and Dean & Deluca*. Fortunately, I can always depend on Laduree in Tokyo to impress.

If you have a sweet tooth like me and would like to try as many as possible, do try their teatime set for 3800Yen per person and there must be a minimum of two people ordering the set each. It comes with a glass of juice, (orange/grapefruit)  a hot drink (coffee/tea/hot chocolate), two sandwiches (tuna/salmon/ham&cheese), two macaroons, two cookies and one choice of pastry. A must try in my opinion!

In Tokyo

Ladurée Ginza Mitsukoshi
Ginza Mitsukoshi 2F
4-6-16, Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8212

Ladurée Shinjuku
Shinjuku Lumine 2, 1F 
3-38-2 Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku, Tokyo 160-0022

Ladurée chez Nihombashi Mitsukoshi
Mitsukoshi Honten Honkan B1F
1-4-1, Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Sew Searching is an exhibition about rejecting mass production. It features handmade plush toys and lifestyle products by local crafter, Sandy Ng of ‘Cookie Cutter’, and is curated by Yanda of ‘Do Not Design’.

Outside Yuko’s house in Osaka

Greetings from Japan!

I arrived in Tokyo on Monday morning and since then have been having a blast meeting old acquaintances and meeting up with old friends in Osaka. I knew this trip was going to be great, but it’s really started off even better than expected. I also just found out that other Japanese friends whom I studied with in London are going to be in Tokyo end of this month. *squeals* 

Of course, I haven’t forgotten that the main reason I’m here is to attend more baking classes and am really excited about bread class tomorrow morning… although I am also a little worried because it’s been a long time since I have to force myself to listen attentively to people speaking Japanese really fast! When I was doing my beginner’s class, I could get away with not really speaking or focusing too much on what’s being said, but now that it’s an advanced class… I’m not too sure. Plus I’m attending class at a new branch, so I don’t know any of the teachers there. Ahhh I’m freaking myself out. haha…

Anyways, expect the next few posts to be all about my stay here! Will be sharing information of new places to go! I will also try to better organise my Tokyo/Japan travels category cause I realise it is such a mess!

Lots of loooove!
Sarah

p.s Pls do follow my instagram to see what I’m up to! I’m updating it so feverishly, I think my facebook friends might get sick of me soon. haha…