Pancakes At Gram

Day 2 in Osaka, our plan was to take a stroll along Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori and sample all the good food as much as our stomach can consume. We knew we were being ambitious, we knew we rather have small capacities but everyone is allowed to dream big. We arrived a little bit before a half past ten and passed the cafe that we wanted to go too. It opens at 11, but DH saw a line formed already. I actually, did not want to line up, 30 minutes is long, but I did anyway. The line grew longer as the time went by. This is a popular place.

It certainly was exciting to see the thick, fluffy pancakes that have been featured by many people online.  Whether they are something that you love or not, is a different story. Everyone has their own preference. I am alright with the flavor, I love the experience. I had the pancakes with a cup of mocha that to me, was way too sweet. Would I go back? I must say, likely not. I would, however, experiment on making something similar at home that are healthier and I enjoy better.

Breakfast At Bill's

For one of our breakfasts in London, we went to the nearest Bill's. It was cold and wet morning, the place just opened and we were there with only a couple of tables occupied.

I ordered their Vegetarian breakfast which has poached eggs while DH had his pancakes. It was a good breakfast, it's like something that I would have at home.

 

Breakfast at Lyfe Kitchen, Chicago

Another day in Chicago and we needed to have breakfast. We decided on a nearby Lyfe Kitchen for some healthier meals.

Here, the three of us had:

Omelette with Avocado

Black coffee

Steel cut oats with dried cranberries, toasted almond, Greek yoghurt and pure maple syrup

Blueberry buttermilk pancakes with Greek yoghurt and pure maple syrup

Pancake With Homemade Mixed Berry Sauce

I had these pancakes a while ago, on the same morning when I decided that I should clear many of the frozen berries that I had in the freezer. Simultaneously, I prepared mixed berry sauce. That's just about all. They were great together and did not take too long to prepare.

Corn Pancakes

I thought I tried to make some corn pancakes for breakfast. Aside from corn, I put in some sliced green onion and flour with some salt and pepper to season. It's a quick breakfast and they were not  bad. 

German Pancake

German pancake is quite easy to make but I don't make them often enough. Just like my other breakfast, I like to have them with many different fruits that I have. Mango is in season, so I had some of them on my pancake, along with some mixed berries.

Brunch At Wildberry, Chicago

Lots of people say and write that this is a must-try place for pancakes and we felt compelled to go. We needed to eat anyway. We started the day so late. We were both tired from traveling and walking. By the time we arrived, it was nearly 12. There was a short line and we waited a good 15-20 minutes, which was not too bad.

I had small Wildeberry Orange Juice while DH had a cup of coffee. The cup came in the form of big mug. Woo!

Ahead of time, I planned to order one sweet and one savory dishes for both of us to try. So we had Signature Berry Bliss Pancake above and Rutherford Omelette below. The Pancakes came with Vanilla Anglaise, Blackberry Coulis, Berry Mascarpone and fresh berries. The Omelette had baby spinach, caramelized onions, goat cheese and bacon and came with a serving of hashbrown. All were BIG. We could not finish but we were happy to have tried the famous pancakes in Chicago. 

Breakfast, Breakfast! Homemade Breakfasts!

It's 2015 and January nearly ends. These are some of my homemade breakfasts in December. I had overnight oatmeal with chia seeds above, pancakes and more healthylicious below. 

German Pancake

It's a light and big pancake that is nice to eat with fresh fruit and share with the whole family. I like to have some maple syrup or powdered sugar on top. Either one, it's equally yummy.

Blueberry Pancakes

I made some mini blueberry pancakes using the leftover batter from previous day and had them eaten with banana and cherries, drizzled with maple syrup and coconut cream. Breakfast!

Wholemeal Pancakes With Pan-Seared Banana

I had homemade wholemeal pancakes for  breakfast sometime ago. The pancakes were drizzled with salted caramel sauce.  On the side was pan-seared banana and mixed fruit. Simple and wonderful.

Pancake And Strawberries

A lot of times, I run out of ideas for breakfast. We are not a big fan of cereals or toasts. So, when I have an idea that could work, making breakfast becomes a piece of cake. I planned it all out last night, I was going to make some buttermilk pancakes with sliced strawberries for breakfast. I craved for them. They easy to make, light and fresh. Delicious too, I must add. If only I could plan this sort on daily basis, life would be easier. Now I have to think of what to prepare tomorrow....

Crumpets...

Our last trip to Sydney has reminded us of crumpets again. We don't come across much of it around here, but this yeast based pancake is delicious for breakfast. And lunch and at anytime too. This was my second attempt to make them. The first recipe that I used, resulted in thicker dough, therefore, resulting in thicker crumpets. This time, with some adjustments here and there, I got a much better result. I believe, I should be able to improve them further.

It's 10-10-10!

I lost track of dates and was only reminded, by the Father at church, that today was 10-10-10. How special! I don't know what effect it has on me. I know that a lot of people pick this date for certain celebration in their life like marriage.

I woke up early again on another Sunday morning. Again, I did not have too, but my body was awake shortly after 5AM. I went down to the kitchen with the intention to get one thing done and ended up cleaning up some parts of the fridge and throwing away a lot of hopeless food that won't be consumed... and down in the bottom there was a moldy orange that has turned green. I was hopelessly diverted and uncontrollably turned into having OCD. Digging in further, found some ripe apples and a pear that has aged. Apple & pear sauce was made to top the fluffy pancakes for this morning breakfast. Yummy! A productive morning on 10-10-10.

Banana Pancake

Sunday morning with gray sky. It's kind of cool-ish outside. Banana pancakes with homemade caramel sauce are just right.... We are on lei--zeeee..... mode.

Brekkie With Potato Pancake

After many mornings with freshly baked bread topped with grated cheese, it's time for misters potato to take over the table. It's a morning with potato pancake indeed. A quick meal that anyone could have for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's a matter of slicing the potato, be careful not to slice your fingers, especially if you are still half awake! Lay them out on a greased hot pan, sprinkle some cheese in the middle and lay more potato slices. Remember to sprinkle some salt and pepper in between the layers. When that's done, flip the pancake over and leave it to brown a coupe of minutes and slot them in the oven for some 5-10 minutes to cook. Go make your coffee and wash up if you have not. Go back to the kitchen, get some ham or bacon or whatever you like and smile to your breakfast! Have a great day!

Banana Pancakes

The weather over the past few days has been really punishing, hot, hot, hot and humid. 33C and 66% humidity. Air-con helps. These poor machines, they have been working extremely hard to cool us down. I am not looking forward to seeing the electricity bill this month and I suspect this furious weather is going to continue for a while. And our electricity bill will escalate too!

Seven more weeks to go before the end of the term, which means that seven more weeks to go before we take off to New York. Wir gehen nach America. I am still working out the route we are taking, since we will be mostly driving. I practically have been eating, drinking, sleeping, breathing of the distances to go to, the hotels to choose from,their locations, the places to visit. Researching and more researching. So far, one hotel at Universal Park, Orlando has been booked, this will be a part of the last leg of our trip.

I hope to wrap the prep up in two weeks, it will be a miracle to get them done within a week. I am more inclined that it's going to take longer because I have things booked on my calendar over the next two weeks. With only one child going along, I anticipate everything to be less complicated. It should be simpler to make arrangement for three people compared to five, our usual number. One will be heading to South Africa, another will be dropped off at Brown University and will only join us to go Florida later.



It was too hot for hot cakes, but DH bought some bananas last night and indirectly implied, like in many cases, that he was going to have banana pancakes this morning, served with caramel sauce. (This never ever means that he is going to get up earlier and make the pancakes!!! Never!) I still have plenty of caramel sauce in the fridge and am more than happy if anyone makes use of them. And typical of me to grant his wish without even him asking. Unfortunately this is not exactly a two-way thing.