Ice Cream Gallery

Summer has not officially arrived yet; however, the tempeature keeps going up each day.  Ice cream is a great way to cure the hotness outside.  If you are an aventurer, the ice creams I am going to introduce to you today will be your "cup of ice cream"=)

I went to Las Vegas during the Memorial Day weekend, and saw a big banner of Lobster Ice Cream at Lobster Me, located inside the Planet Hollywood hotel.  It caught my eyes immediately; unfortunately, we were so stuffed from our very romantic anniversary dinner at Eiffel Tower restaurant at the Paris hotel, so we didn't get a chance to try it.  That even better for adding me an extra reason to go back to Vegas this year=).

The same night, I read an article about an ice cream shop in Hong Kong.  They even take your taste buds farther - Except for their signature French lobster ice cream, they also offer the following unique favors:

French bacon and egg, black/white truffle, foie gras, Japanese sake and black sesame...Check out what the locals said about this ice cream place here.  Since we are going to Macau and Hong Kong this November, even though it might be a little too cold to have ice cream; I still want to put this place on my TO-DO LIST while I am in Hong Kong this winter.

(all pictures are from Yelp.com and OpenRice.com)
 

Mario Brothers Cupcakes (Encore)

Last weekend, I made another set of Super Mario Brothers cupcakes for my friend's brother's birthday.  My friend saw the one I made for another client a month ago (check this out if you are interested in what I made the last time.).  She circled the ones she and her family liked the most.  At first, I was thinking just to focus on making the face and minus the body.  However, my friend and her family liked the whole body better.  Of course, I listened to my client and went for it.  This time I adjusted the scale a little bits to make all the characters a little bigger than the last time.  So people could see the details a little better.  They turned out so cute and I am so happy that my friend and her brother loved them.

Hello, Hello Kitty Cupcakes!

Few days ago, I made a half dozen order for my friend.  He specifically reqquested certain Japanese characters, which his girlfriend likes - a nerdy Hello Kitty, an army Hello Kitty, Rikkauma bear, Korilakkuma bear, and Astro boy and his girlfriend.  These characters are all from Japan, and they are very popular in most Asian countries.  Since I grown up with these characters (I used to obsessed with Astro boy when I was in high school.), I was beyond excited to make these cute little toppers for my friend and his girlfriend.


They came out so cute!  I didn't want to give my "babies" away.  LOL!  I am so glad that my friend and his girlfriend liked them so much.  


Just to remind you guys, our Etsy Shop is open for public.  And currently, you could buy the Hello Kitty toppers (cupcakes are not included) from our Etsy Shop.  We accept Paypal payment and ship within the States (sorry, no international shipping yet!).  Click here to check out our Etsy Shop.  I promise I am going to post more items on our Etsy Shop.  Holiday seasons are coming, I am sure you need some little decorative tags, cupcake holders, or cupcake picks and toppers to dress up your naked cupcakes soon, so stay tuned for more items.

PS.  Fore more pictures, please go to our gallery.

Halloween Cupcakes

America should make Halloween as a paid holiday for everyone since this is one of the favorite holidays for most Americans (kids and adults) in the States.  When Halloween is around the corner, I know a lot of bakers are going to create some amazing cakes/cupcakes inspired by this holiday within this month.  I watched a lot of baking and cake decorating books, most of the cakes/cupcakes are inspired by the traditional Halloween images, such as black cat, spider/spider web, pumpkins, vampires...I wanted to do something a little bits untraditional for my Halloween cupcakes.

Few of the main characters from Gegege No Kitaro

I got inspiration from this Japanese manga.  Japanese manga (comic in English) and cartoons have impacted my artworks and my visions about art in many ways.  These cupcakes are inspired by one of my favorite Japanese anime, Gegege No Kitaro.  Not too many cartoons (for kids) would talk about ghosts or evil spirits, this one does.  And somehow this cartoon has managed to have great balance of the scary scene and still remain kids friendly.  I loved this show when I was a little kid.

I remember one year my parents took us to New Zealand to visit my dad's sister and her family during summer.  We stayed at my auntie's house for few weeks.  My parents left my sister and I at my auntie's house for few days because they wanted to have a little honeymoon themselves in Australia.  My sister and I, plus my two younger cousins were watching this show for few days during my parents' "honeymoon".  We even had a role play at my auntie's front yard.  Of course, we didn't see any ghost, but this few day role play memory and the 24-hour Gegege No Kitaro scene stay with me forever.  When I thought about this cartoon, I thought about the time my sister, I and my cousins in New Zealand; it was a great summer.

Kitarō is a yōkai boy born in a cemetery and, aside from his mostly decayed father, the last living member of the Ghost Tribe(幽霊族 yūrei zoku).
He is missing his left eye, but his hair usually covers the empty socket.
He fights for peace between humans and yōkai, which generally involves protecting the former from the wiles of the latter. 

Ittan Momen is a flying yōkai resembling a strip of white cloth. Kitarō and friends often ride on him when traveling. The original ittan-momen is a spirit from Kagoshima Prefecture myth which wraps itself around the faces of humans in an attempt to smother them.

Nezumi Otoko is a rodent-like yōkai-human halfbreed. He has been alive for three hundred and sixty years, and in that time has almost never taken a bath, rendering him filthy, foul-smelling, and covered in welts and sores. While he is usually Kitarō's friend, Nezumi Otoko will waste no time cooking up vile schemes or betraying his companions if he thinks there's money to be had or a powerful enemy to side with. 

Neko Musume, a normally quiet yōkai girl, who transforms into a frightening cat monster with fangs and feline eyes when she is angry or hungry for fish.
Predictably, she does not get along well with Nezumi Otoko.
She seems to harbor a slight crush on Kitarō, who sees her only as a friend.  

Medama-oyaji is Kitarō's father. Once a fully formed adult ghost, he perished of a disease, only to be reborn out of his decayed body as an anthropomorphic version of his own eyeball.
He looks small and fragile, but has a strong spirit and a great love for his son. He is also extremely knowledgeable about ghosts and monsters.
He enjoys staying clean, and is often seen bathing in a small bowl. He has a great love for sake.  (That's why I put him in a bowl).

Kitaro with his eyeball dad

If you have never watched this cartoon, you missed out.  It's such a great cartoon!

There is a Gegege No Kitaro Theme Park in Japan.  Here are some pictures from the Hong Kong Yahoo.com.  It gives me one more reason to visit Japan *again* (yes, if I went to Japan again, it will be my third visit to Japan.)

Medama-oyaji at the theme park

Neko Musume  transforms into a frightening cat monster with fangs and feline eyes.

Kitaro train at the theme park

Kitaro with his dad (hey, he really likes to take a warm bath in a bowl.)

Cream Pan in Old Town Tustin, California

A year ago, I went to get my car fixed and randomly discovered this place in Old Town Tustin by accident.  Cream Pan, a Japanese bakery located in Old Town Tustin, California; if you are familiar with the area, this place is not too far away from the Japanese restaurant, Honda Ya (btw, they serve amazing Japanese food there). 

Thanks to technology!  I immediately went on my iPhone and see what those yelpers recommend to get at Cream Pan.  Everyone said their strawberry croissant is amazing!  And "yelp" (yup), they don't lie!  The custard fillings are so smooth, strawberry is so fresh and the croissant itself is crisply flaky on the outside, with clearly defined layers.  I surprised Mr. G by bringing him some strawberry croissants home, his picky mouth even praised how great they were and asked me to bring him some more the next time if I happen to be there again.

(*Note:  They also offer a big platter of their famous strawberry croissant [the size is a little smaller than the regular one]; that will be a good desert alternative to bring to a party if you want something different.)

Beside their strawberry croissant, I have also tried their banana chocolate croissant, a curry pan (this is kinda of like a round donut with curry potato filling) and a pork cutlet sandwich; they are all amazing.
 

They also have some other interesting Japanese influenced sandwiches and pastries.  So if you are in town, check them out! 

Cream Pan
602 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780-4310
(714) 665-8239
Open Tue-Sun 7am-4pm