I've been busy trotting around national parks across California this summer, although it all started with the ultimate backpacking trip to Yellow Stone.

We boarded a plane to Utah and drove 6 hours until we reached Yellow Stone. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our plan was derailed as we arrived too late to secure campsites. I believe I will always remember the harrowing experience of spending the night curled up in the rented minivan, all the while striving to fight off the chilly temperature.

The next day after a 4-mile hike, we started our journey of hiking another 4 miles into the wilderness, where we were to call home for the next 3 days. All of us were teetering at the precipice of surrendering under the weight of our heavy backpack.Although the journey was challenging both physcially and mentally, we appreciated our ability to finish the trip in one piece.


A month later, we found ourselves up in Mammoth mountains. I have only been here once for skiing over the Christmas holidays. Thus I was pretty excited to explore into the plethora of flora and fauna that Mammoth has to offer. Not to my disappointment, there were many breathtaking views all over mountains. We hiked and hiked for 2 days until my legs felt detached from my body.


This past weekend, we visited Channel Island. It is an unspoiled nature island where even one who is petrified of the ocean would jump straight into the water without uttering a word of protest.

The most exciting activity that we enjoyed was probably kayaking in the ocean. It was definitely another one of those lifetime experiences where you crash against the waves trying to hit land. Of course, the aftermath of kayaking was suffer from very sore shoulder muscles.

Camping in Yosemite during Labor Day weekend will mark the final camping excursion this summer. I must say I have almost forgotten the feeling of staying in a hotel and traveling in style!

Bread making!

Bread-making is a skill I never thought I would be able to master. And thus, I am very proud of myself. Not only for having the courage to dwelve into the sea of unknown territory, but also for producing such adorable little buns.


I have successfully churned out 2 batches of buns. The first batch, I filled them with leftover red bean paste. The second time around, I added green tea powder to for a zest of piquancy. I filled half with red bean paste, and the other half with tuna.


For the tuna filling, I combined chopped shallots, apple pieces, and a shot of lemon juice. Not forgetting to add in a reasonable amount of mayonaise dressing to bring out all the flavors.


The verdict: As good as store-bought breads! G especially liked the first bun he bit into. It was the one and only classic ham and cheese bun. I ran out of red bean paste filling and had to make do with whatever I had on hand. He almost couldn't believe I made those buns at home..haha ^__^ Mission accomplished!

Relax weekend

I've been wanting to bake a nice marble cake. I finally found a recipe that satisfies my palate. However, I must say that I gave the recipe a twist of my own idea.

The cake came out moist and not too sweet, all to my preference.

A new beginning

So here I am, starting a new blog trying to hold onto my hobby of writing.

However, this time will be a little different. I will be documenting our adventurous home cooking as well as some more luxurious weekend dining.

I figured since six of us live close together and we normally cook at home during the week, there must be a truckload of dishes that we whip up in merely a week.

We usually dine out during the weekends. I mean cum'on, sometimes we gotta indulge right? I like to think of it as us fulfilling our part in contributing towards the healthy growth of the local economy.


Sometimes we do experiment at home though, especially times we feel the pinch in our shrinking wallet. We try to reinvent dishes mainly from home-the sauce, taste and texture from the plethora of feasts that we used to consume.

So here is my story. Our story.