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Wagashi Making Workshop

/ Mutsumi / 2 Comments

Last Sunday I had an opportunity to hold a ‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop. The venue of the event was Wasoukan, the Kimono shop located in Notting Hill, South West London. I had been thinking to do this kind of activity for many years and the chance had come to me at the end of May. Because it was decided so suddenly that I had only just a little more than one week to notify and gather people to attend.  Despite the short notice, many people made enquiries, ending up with the right number of participants for the day.

Workshop10-2e

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ONE Seat Left to Grab for Workshop

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My ‘Wagashi’ Making Workshop in London will be held this Sunday (the 10th June).

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So far I received a great reaction from people but ONE seat is still available!

If anybody who reads this post would like to grab this opportunity to learn ‘How to Make Japanese Sweets in London’, please email the organizer, Wasoukan (info@wasoukan.eu) directly. As time is running out …

Japanese Sweet Making Workshop in London

on: the 10th of June (Sunday), 10-12AM

at : Wasoukan (293 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill,  London W11 2QA)

https://www.wasoukan.eu/

 

Hope to see you there on Sunday!😊

News: My First Wagashi Making Workshop is Coming!

/ Mutsumi / 2 Comments

This is a rather exciting news to announce. I am going to have my first ‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop. In the last two years I had been asked by several people who are curious and keen to learn how to make Japanese Sweet whether there would be a possibility of me teaching a class. Just recently the opportunity suddenly arose so I grabbed it. That is why the date was decided very quickly and it is rather short notice.

 

‘Wagashi’ Japanese Sweet Making Workshop

on: the 10th of June (Sunday), 10-12AM

at : Wasoukan (293 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill,  London W11 2QA)

https://www.wasoukan.eu/

 

My first workshop will be held at the Kimono shop that has been serving my sweets for two years. They have a counter type of Matcha Bar at the front of the shop. It is a very cosy space in a unique Japanese atmosphere. The counter is quite small so the participants are limited to a very small number. I wondered what kind of design I can show the participants how to make. And these are the sweets I decided that we are going to make together!

Wagashi Workshop b2

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Happy National Tea Day!

/ Mutsumi / 2 Comments

Apparently it is National Tea Day in the UK today.  Britain is officially one of the biggest tea drinking countries. People’s day starts from having a cup of tea for breakfast, morning and afternoon breaks and even after an evening meal. Any film or TV drama located in the UK will always have one or more scenes drinking tea with the famous phrase “Would you like to have a cup of tea?”. Although more people have started having a taste for coffee,  people’s love of tea will never dissappear in this country.

There are many types of tea around these days. What kind of Tea do you like? I wonder which tea should I have for this special day?

What I matched with this Rose Japanese Wagashi sweet is this herbal Tea. It is a Wild Berry herbal tea which has a wonderful rosy red colour and full of fruity fragrance.

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Have a lovery Teatime ☕ on this special day!!

Yomogi Mochi 2018

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I made Yomogi Mochi for April. I don’t know why I feel like having Yomogi Mochi especially in spring but I made Yomogi Mochi and posted about it last year too. Maybe because ‘Yomogi’ is wild leaves you can find in a field and we are in the season now that lots of plants are just coming out after being under a cold weather. My Yomogi Mochi this year looks quite similar to the last years. So what is the difference?

Yomogi Mochi, 2018

The outer layer is a ‘Mochi’ type of Japanese sweet with Yomogi leaves mixed in. It has a slightly bitter leafy taste but with sweetness and a bouncy and gooey Texture. As the centre I used ‘Tsubu-An’ Sweet Azuki Beans paste without skin removed during the process. Yomogi and Tsubu-An are just a great combination and I could not think of using any other bean paste for Yomogi flavour.

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Matcha Swirl Mochi for Early Spring

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Comparing to the snowy weather three weeks ago it is so much more like spring now. It is not just because the temperature is higher but because the sunlight is brighter and the air is lighter. Although the forecast says there is a possibility that this weekend might become cold again, the season always moves forward by going back and forth a little. It means we are definitely getting closer to spring!

It means we are in Early Spring now. I quite often design sweets depending on which season we are in. I pick some significant signs of the season such as colour, flower or mood of the season. So what is early spring like for me? It is the season some leaves start to come out (Green) on a tree and field, but in some area it is still covered with snow (white). It is a little too early to see a view of full Sakura cherry blossom in the most places, however, but in some warmer area some trees probably starts blossoming (Pink). The smell of early spring is a grassy green smell. So what I have to do after running my imagination is put all these images together.

Matcha Swirl Mochi

I needed to assemble all the elements of green, white and pink together. I was imagining a mountain in early spring. For autumn season I made Autumn Mountain Mochi and reached up to this swirling sweet of early spring version of the mountain.

Matcha Swirl8

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