Outgoing mail october 19!

Sending or receiving a real handwritten letter makes me happy! Someone once said snail-mailing is a different way of traveling and every letter is like a souvenir! what do you think? :)

Stocking up some new international postage stamps! Very nice huh!

 My mail to the prettiest mama the lovely Diana who is currently resides in The Netherlands!

Sending some seeds i've collected from my garden to Hisako chan - a very creative lady who loves collecting seeds!

 For Claudia - a very dreamy lady who creates the most whimsical illustrations!

The best birthday parcel ever - part 2

Hello!
I am back with part 2 of the best birthday parcel ever!

Everything is beautifully wrapped and with great attention to detail, so pretty! *heart eyes*

Look how delicate these Wasanbons (和三盆) are, the most exquisitely made sweets!

Wasanbon is a type of Japanese sugar known for its unique taste, sweet aroma and fine powdery texture and is said to be one of the world's most subtle and delicate sugars.

Cutest Yuzu Shichimi (柚子七味粉) packaging ever!

Yuzu Shichimi - 7-spice blend (chili pepper blend) with a highlights on the aroma and taste of dried yuzu zest! Just a  sprinkle of this spice in the pot or in a bowl of miso soup brings out the delightful citrus aroma of yuzu.

This is Konpeitō (金平糖) - a type of Japanese crystal sugar. I googled about it and from the info, the word “konpeito” comes from the Portuguese word “confeito” meaning “confection” or “candy”. And did you know? These candies take 7-13 days to produce because they are made by repeatedly coating sugar syrup over a core consisting of a grain of coarse sugar.

*jaw-dropping*

These packaging are just too beautiful to be unpack. Awww~~~

Everyone who knows me,  knows I love cooking; and a cooking enthusiast has

an insane passion for collecting crockery! Nao chan sent me a little white flower shaped ceramic sauce dish made in Mino province, Japan. 

(美濃焼)

I used to served side dishes or jam/butter almost everyday!

 It's time for me to start preparing my return parcel to Nao Chan. I have already collected a few things for her, hopefully i can get a few more nice little things that suits her this coming weekends.

“I am blessed to have so many great things & opportunity to do what I love in my life."

Snail mailing is one of the greatest hobby i have, and cooking!

hehehe :)

The best birthday parcel ever - part 1

Hello!

I will have to say these pictures (things in the pictures) are just absolute eye candy! 

Last month, my long term penfriend Nao Chan messaged me saying that she will be sending off a parcel in few days, so that i know when to expect the parcel. Then about a week later, I received the parcel as expected, but what I didn't expect was the size of the parcel :) it was huge and with great surprise inside!

I literary unboxing the whole parcel with my jaw dropped in amazement! I was extremely happy, it's really hard to describe the joy & happiness at that special moment.

Let me show you all the happy things inside the parcel.

A book featuring essential items of Japanese food, introduction to everyday Japanese meals and customs, plus recipes.

Sweet anko bean paste + artisan stawberry jam + a mini measuring cup

She wanted me to try her favorite aburafu (made by frying gluten in vegetable oil), 

a little similar to Chinese youtiao 油条.

I will use them to cook Aburafu donburi, simply made by simmering the fried wheat gluten in a 

sweet-salty mixture of soy sauce and sugar and then placed upon a bowl of rice and beaten egg.

She is so thoughtful and considerate, even attached a step-by-step collage + guide with cute handwriting + drawing on how to cook aburafu donburi. 

♥ Isn't she so sweet ♥

A pack of pancake mix in a very simple yet cute packaging!

Here's another step-by-step collage with cute handwriting + drawing on how to make delicious fluffy pancakes!

Warabi mochi mix

Warabi mochi is a confection made from the starch of a type of edible fern, this chewy & jelly-like mochi typically eat with coated with kinako (roasted soy bean powder) & drizzle with kuromitsu (black sugar syrup).

 These 2 boxes are donburi seasoning mix, to make donburi rice bowl dishes such as Oyakodon (chicken & egg rice bowl) and Tamagodon (fluffy egg rice bowl).

 Super cute handwritten postcards & letters.

to be continued......

My homegrown organic custard apple!

Hello hello!

It has been so so long since my last post :) I decided to start writing & posting again! （希望不會只有三分鐘熱度。）
I like to read blogs, they give me inspirations, hopefully I can keep up the momentum of blog writing.  
Just little bits and pieces in my daily life!

The custard apple tree in my front porch start bearing fruits after a long wait, and we got a giant fruit this time, i weighed the fruit, 
it's 396g, 10g heavier than last year's fruit.

The silky soft flesh is fragrant and sweet, creamy white through light yellow, and resembles and tastes just like custard. 
There are few more little fruits still growing, hope that they can grow well & we get to enjoy a few more of these sweet treats!

They are also known as 'Buddha head fruits' (佛头果).

Strange yet beautiful fruits!

I can't help but smile big - incoming snailmail

Postman came by and dropped me some happy mail last couple of days.

I love sending & receiving mail and seeing them arrive to its happy recipients are probably the happiest thing ever!

Snail mail to me is -

• a handwritten letter
• it takes time 
• i can smell the ink & paper
• it sometime accompanying with little gifts
• it comes with great care 
• and lots of love ♥ attention

Snail mail ROCKS!

Cutest mail ever! I have always loved Cassandre's mail, 

she's so talented and her mails are always so vibrant & cheerful!

 Pop pink ribbon on letter - cuteness overload!

Oh, look at all the colors! *heart eyes*

Pretty mail came all the way from Hawaii from Merissa.

She decorated the mail with so much patient and love!

 All the pretty bits & bobs she put in the parcel.

 This lady has the most beautiful handwriting in the world!

Comfort food at home over the long weekend!

My weekend at home is pretty much just cooking & eating ^_^

 

Homemade kkakdugi (Cubed Radish Kimchi) + Pan-fried Zucchini Fritters (Hobak Jeon)

+ Jasmine Rice

Clean-Out-The-Fridge Veggie Fried Rice

 Stir fried Napa Cabbage with Dried Scallop + Steamed Fish with Lime & Garlic

+ Jasmine Rice

Quick & Easy Pizza Toast for Breakfast!

Ingredients

• bread
• spinach
• cherry tomatoes
• white shimeji mushrroms
• cheese sausage
• green onion (for garnish - optional)
• parmesan cheese (topping) 

Egg Bread Toast with Spinach

Hello 2018 & what's on my table lately!

Hello 2018, 

After a one year break, I finally felt like start blogging again!  

Sometime I am just too lazy to sit in front of the computer while I am at home, I would rather to be in the kitchen to make something / lying on sofa or flipping through a cookbook.

Not sure about you, but i really really love home cooked (mindful) meals. Simple & hearty! And I want to collect all the flat-lay on my dining table (where all the dishes randomly put together).

 Dinner : Crispy fried fish with garlic infused oil  + Stir fried sambal okra

+ Sweet leaf (sayur manis) egg soup & Rice

Dinner : Spicy soybean paste + Silky steamed tofu with dried scallops & Rice

big big love, part 2

hello, I'm back with 'part 2' - the pretty mail i received last couple of months!

 Azusa chan, a lovely friend who recently has been transferred working abroad, now living in Germany! How cool~ from the info, Germany has a very good work culture~ so i think she will be happy living over there! All the best Azusa chan, see you in my next letter!

 Take a closer look on the whole parcel, check on the details lovely people, each of every patch got decorated with
beautiful stamps, stickers, hand writing!

 Hehe, guess what's inside that 'for you' package! It was my belated birthday gift from Azusa.
Hehe... forgot to take picture of it, will repost later, but I can let you know that i love it to the moon and back.
I didn't exaggerated it, the item was amazingly beautiful~

I think no one can resist Japanese kawaii packaged snacks right?
I think i should make a post about 'Japanese snacks taste test' >_< Guess it will be fun right!

 This is temari fu 手まり麩, a type of Japanese croutons but a non-friend version, or i should said its a dried wheat gluten in ball shaped that is usually used in miso soup or any kind of soups! I think there are fresh & dried fu selling in Japan, but of course dried one has a longer shelf life. I can't wait to try it! Hopefully i get to share some picture here!

Look at the colorful fu, so beautiful! Still can't believe its edible! It look a little like our childhood toy marbles / glass ball guli

 Dreamy mail from Paris~

 Cassandre always make the mail look magical with a touch of glitter glue, sparkling sequins, translucent envelope, neon stickers, colorful doilies, seed packs...etc! How's your cotton tree growing there? Very inspiring, feel uplifted after reading her letter.

She sent me hollyhock seeds this time! Yays! I've never seen a hollyhock flower here yet, will sow the seeds real soon!

big big love, part 1

Hello, hello!

Back with my favorites post, don't worry guys I'm still writing! Sometimes, I will slowdown but never stop, simply because i love it! I love the connection that went into each hand-written word,  love sending tiny packages, surprise packages, little things that would make someone happy! ^_^ Come, let's peek into my mailbox.

Wonderful package from Aki chan, she always has this 'never-ending' creativity on how to decorate a cute parcel! ^_^
Isn't it kawaii? It just gets cuter and cuter, the postage stamps, the handwriting, the decorations!

 Look at all these beautiful treasures! Aki chan was so kind to send me that beautiful Hamamonyo tenugui japanese fabric, really love it! Tenugui can be used in various ways - as a handkerchief, as a headwrap, onsen towel, to wrap bento, gifts, or it can be a table runner, luncheon mat, as a cotton sieve in the kitchen and many other ways, almost everything you can think of, specially love the smooth texture of the cotton!

Arigatou Gozaimasu Aki chan!✿
 

Naoko chan, she is one of the most creative person I have ever met, a super sweet mama!
I am really inspired by her, from her daily life stories with 2 kids. She make the best decorated snail mail / mail art! ✿

 Now, who doesn't like Muji?
Naoko chan sent me a simple yet useful pocket notebook & an ink pen in that Muji package, i think i am going to use it to record down the yummy recipes that i come across on my daily life, so i won't forget to try and make all the delicious food! Plus some beautiful postcards, stickers & little dried acorns Naoko picked it for me while she was walking down the streets!

 😍 Look, look!!
Naoko chan also sent me this - Nakagawa Masashichi Sabo 中川政七商店 cotton kitchen towel ***screaming!!!***
I have been spoiled! I'm so lucky and blessed to have such amazing people in my life,
they know me so well even know we have never met before in real life!

✿Arigatou Gozaimasu Naoko chan!

Simple yet beautiful letter from Yen Fong, i've been fascinated with wax seals and letters that sealed with wax!

She'd recently opened a stationery store in her hometown Seremban, feel free to stop by anytime!

Here are the beautiful things she sent me, pretty paper stash, vintage ephemera & airmail labels (
which I'm currently collecting ❤)

 A belated birthday gift + souvenirs from my best friend! 

It was like all things i love falls on a kitchen towel >_< haha! I love hydrangea, and everything related to cooking~ so it's perfect she gave me this hydrangea embroidered linen kitchen towel, wohoo~ how cool!

谢谢你呀～大肥！

 A simple greeting from Nao chan, she's a cat lover, therefore she love everything with cat! Look at the 'cat' postage stamps, 'cat' washi stickers!

 A very beautiful hand-illustrated letter pressed postcard + so in love with the Lisa Larson red striped cat 'Mikey' filing folder!

LIFE IS GOOD!

Part 2 will be coming soon~