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I've always wanted to try making these on my own as I've loved cream puffs (of all kinds) since I was a kid. But I never had enough courage to do so after reading all the scary stories about the puffs deflating after removing them from the oven, or the insides being uncooked still even after the specified baking time, etc.

But just last week, I was at my grandma's place and my aunt bought a few packets of some not-so-tasty cream puffs for her to eat. I tried one too and my first reaction was urgh. My grandma is really liking these puffs these days, therefore, I decided to make them for her yesterday. And I'm so glad I did.

They turned out really well (I think), though I wasn't sure if I had achieved the right texture. Maybe someone can advise me a little. My puffs are firm to the touch but once bitten into it, there is no feeling of firmness at all, and instead, it's light and airy. I left just one puff out at room temperature and it is really soft to the touch today. But I kept the rest in an airtight container in the fridge and the texture of those were just like the texture I had yesterday (firm to the touch but light, airy and soft when bitten). Is this correct? Hmm.

Oh, and here's how the inside looks like (this was the best shot I could get):

Dressing them up with creme patisserie that was real smooth and it was not too eggy or sweet:

I just love how they looked:

My grandma really liked them and even had three in a row. I was feeling high because my grandma was actually feeling unwell these few months and she doesn't have the appetite for most foods, but I'm so glad she liked these. I'm so going to make them more often for her to eat. And my aunties gave very positive feedback too. :)

I'm going to try my hands on making Durian Puffs next Saturday and I hope those will turn out fantastic as well. *Crosses fingers.*

We were so excited as we had been looking forward to it for ages. Although it wasn't my virgin visit, I got high just thinking about the amount of Fried Hotate and Fried Tofu I could consume. So here's my favourite Fried Hotate: With a breaded crispy layer, topped with some mayonnnaise:

Fried Tofu: I love how thin the skin is, and I was surprised that it was slightly crispy as well. Upon biting into it, the super-soft tofu gushes out immediately and it melts in the mouth instantly.

The smooth Sakae Chawanmushi: Not the best Chawanmushi I've eaten, but it's passable though:

Fried Salmon slices: This was only okay. nothing spectacular at all and we had a hard time trying to finish this plate as there were many slices and we got a little sick of the taste:

Here's a beautiful shot of Daph with her Ebi Tempura Temaki:

Halfway through, but we still continued eating slowly, by ordering more side dishes.

The Okonomiyaki: The batter is made of flour, grated yam, water or dashi, eggs and shredded cabbage, and usually contains other ingredients such as green onion, meat (generally pork or bacon), octopus, squid, shrimp, vegetables, kimchi, mochi or cheese. To me, this tasted similar like the Tako Yaki Balls (see below). It has exactly that kind of chewy texture and I liked eating it warm.

And these are the Tako Yaki Balls with octopus, dabbed with mayonnaise:

Well, I had not managed to take every single shot of what we had consumed but you get the general idea! :) And at 6.00pm, we were shocked to find out that we had cleared 38 plates in total. Here's a peek:

Oh yes, I felt awfully fat and bloated after that but it was a really nice meal and it was a good time to catch up with my best friend. Therefore, we started to cam-whore to distract ourselves from feeling so stuffed up:

And we made a pact to visit Kuishin-Bo for their buffet together. I can't wait. Hehe.

I want to smile as happily as these Smiling Kuehs.

今天下了一整天的雨，心情有点闷闷的。希望自己能像这些糕点一样笑得非常灿烂。

I was so elated to see a box of Portugese Egg Tarts from 莉莲蛋挞饼屋 (Lillian Cake Shop) that flew all the way back to Singapore from Shanghai, all thanks to my sister's boyfriend who's currently a pilot.

As you can from the box, it actually says that these tarts originated from Macau. So my guess was that these tarts were so delish that Lillian managed to set up several branches overseas.

And so the tarts came back in really good shape:

Well, according to the instructions printed on the box, I was supposed to heat up the tarts in the oven for two minutes before consumption:

And so, I jolly well did. The egg tart tasted reaally good even though I had not consumed it on the day it was bought. After heating it up, the pastry went back to being flaky and slightly crispy, and it was a real sensation biting into the slightly-warmed egg custard filling.

I was never a fan of Portugese Egg Tarts to begin with. I couldn't appreciate the custardy taste the filling had. I think it was because the eggy smell was just way too strong for my liking. My opinion towards Portugese Egg Tarts changed only when Wenjing brought me to this shop in Chinatown to try their pretty famous Portugese Egg Tarts and the shop actually specialises in traditional pastries. I fell in love with it after the first bite. After that, I could not find another Portugese Egg Tart in Singapore that had tasted as delicious as that. But now I've found one from Shanghai that tasted even better! No wonder Lillian was so confident to imprint these Chinese characters on the box:

And look! They sell other yummy-looking cakes too, besides their famous Portugese Egg Tarts.