My kitchen: hello kitty candy from butterscotch chips

When I saw these Hello Kitty silicone molds a few days ago at the Sanrio store, I couldn't resist! Cheaper (and hopefully better tasting) than eating at Hello Kitty Sweets and endless possibilities. I was surprised when the sales person said they were for the microwave- I guess because people in Japan and Taiwan don't often have ovens in their homes so they bake using their microwaves.

So the next few nights I spent googling "microwave cakes" and "microwave silicone molds" to see if I could use regular cake mix or if I had to adjust the recipe. Found too many different recipes so I still have to experiment. I considered making jello or almond jello, brownies or cake cookies or using pancake batter.

In the end, I decided to try to melt down some butterscotch chips I had.

First, I used a paper towel and wiped the mold with vegetable oil. This was a tip I read that said would help prep the mold and make it easier for the candies to pop out.



Next I put a layer of chips in each pocket and microwaved it for a minute at high then 20 second intervals. I stirred it but it was a creamy consistency, not runny and I was afraid of burning it, so I spread it around. I also dropped the tray a few times to try to get air bubbles out but I think it was too thick to make a difference. I tried to make them thin, but to get the shape it still had to have some depth.

Then I popped it in the freezer for about five minutes. When they were hard, I popped one out to try- since I didn't make it super thick, the ears broke off quite easily. Also there were tiny air pockets on most of them.

I even tried remelting them over a double boiler on the stove but the consistency was like peanut butter.

Not bad for my first try and it was pretty easy. Need some work to make it pretty and less sweet though! Next time I'll use a stainless steel pan and try adding heavy cream or butter and a pinch of sea salt. I also some some ideas for putting a layer of ice cream to make little ice cream balls, or cake mixed with frosting to make sort of reverse cake balls. Lots to play with!

Anyone have any good microwave cake mix or experience with detailed silicone molds?

Snapshot: Hello Kitty Ramen at 7-11

I think Hello Kitty is celebrating her 35th birthday so you can find all sorts of Hello Kitty related stuff for awhile at 7-11, or at least more than usual. I wonder if there is anything special about the ramen inside or if they just slapped an image on the package.

news/taiwan: HELLO KITTY HOSPITAL

awwww

Not food related, but for those pregnant hungry girls in Taiwan, you can consider trekking to Yuanlin, Taiwan to have your baby blanketed in Hello Kitty from the moment he or she is born. I had heard of Hello Kitty themed "one month rest" places, Hello Kitty-fied airline flights, but this is the first of an actual hospital that is authorized by Sanrio. Even the birth certificate will have a HK cover.

Director Tsai Tsung-chi said he hopes the white, mouthless cat that is one of the world's most recognizable characters will ease the pain and fear associated with childbirth and being admitted into hospital.

"I wish that everyone who comes here, mothers who suffer while giving birth and children who suffer from an illness, can get medical care while seeing these kitties and bring a smile to their faces, helping forget about discomfort and recover faster," he told Reuters.

Check out the whole Reuters story here

It would be awesome if the hospital food was cute HK bentos and cakes! LOL

Of course, if you are in need of a Hello Kitty fix in Taipei, you can check out the Hello Kitty Sweets cafe (though while the decor and cakes are cute, I've heard that the food and service aren't that great) or the 7-11's or McD's often has cute Hello Kitty merchandise.

my kitchen: my hello kitty sandwich maker

After a friend of mine told me how awesome her Hello Kitty sandwich maker was, I tried to find one for awhile in Taipei. None of the Sanrio stores really knew what I was talking about and I finally found one, GUESS WHERE, at Watson's of all places!! It was a pretty good deal at around NT$500 (I bought it awhile ago, I forget exactly how much!) and it actually makes REALLY good toasty cheesy sandwiches.

Some of my favorite combos are:

-ham and cheddar cheese
-goat cheese, honey and pecans
-mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce
-avocado, tomato, ham and cheese



I just bought some goat cheese and gouda cheese (SO GOOD) from Costco last week so I will probably be making some goat cheese honey ones and some gouda canadian bacon ones. I love how the sandwich maker seals in the melted cheese and makes the bread all crispy like it's almost fried, but without any oil.

The slightly burned HK face is really cute too.

new in town/desserts: HELLO KITTY SWEETS

updated 3/2011

Hello Kitty Sweets
No. 90, Da An Road, Sec. 1
(near intersection of Da An Road and Zhong Xiao E Road, Sec 4)

MRT: Zhong Xiao/FuXing

(02) 2711-1132

website: sanrio.com.tw Chinese only

hours: Sun- Thurs 11:30 AM - 10 PM; Fri- Sat 11:30 AM - 11 PM

$-$$

I forgot how I first stumbled upon hellokittyhell.com ages ago, but its writer constantly makes me laugh with the hatred/overload/humor of Hello Kitty related products that his wife (and most of his site's fans), but he cannot stand. From the crazy Hello Kitty shaped gold fillings or shaped hard boiled eggs, to weird Hello Kitty masked clad lingerie women and tattoos, he shares things that he finds out about (though not from where with great determination) that scare him or more usually that his wife MUST HAVE that makes his life a Hello Kitty Hell.

Anyways, I remembered reading about this Hello Kitty Sweets shop opening a few months ago and have recently been getting a lot of hits from people looking for it.

So I decided to do some research and do a little news post. Though I haven't had the chance to go there yet, I've passed by it (it's near the Zhong Xiao/Da An Road intersection) in the alley around the corner from Bistro 98 and not too far from Sogo. It is seriously hardcore from the decor to the jewel encrusted napkin holders to the desserts and table settings. Don't know if it even tastes good, but I suppose it's a must-see for Hello Kitty fans who are in Taipei. The last time I had Hello Kitty desserts was at (and now closed) Hello Kitty dessert place in the Xinyi Eslite building.

So if you've been looking for it, here is the address and phone number! Let me know if you've gone or how it was and if you have to wait to eat there! I'll try to make my way there eventually.

pics from hellokittysweets.com.tw website

CLOSED! dessert: HELLO KITTY PATESSERIE

HELLO KITTY PATISTORY
Eslite Mall (XinYi)
11, SongGao Road, B2
Taipei 110

$$

visit reviewed: 4-23-2006

ED 11/9/2006: Sorry Hello Kitty Fans! It seems like the Hello Kitty Patistory is no longer there. I went by last week while in the Eslite Mall foodcourt, and to my surprise the space was now occupied by a store selling furniture. Boo hoo!! Even though I can understand why- people liked to look, but probably not enough people bought stuff to keep it in business. Although I never really bought anything after my initial review because it didn't taste as good as it looked, I was sad I wouldn't ever get the chance to ever again, even if I wanted to. :( .. So if you are looking for Hello Kitty decorated cakes, I think there is a place in one of the other food courts in Mitsukoshi malls, but it's not as charmingly pink and packaged like this Patistory was.

(ED note 7-3-06: While I spelled "patisserie" wrong in the original review- OOPS- I will leave it in the title for those that are linking to it, however, upon double checking, the name of the shop is actually spelled "patistory".. so either someone else can't spell or it's a play on the words "pastisserie" and "story.")

Wandering around the food courts in Taipei is such an adventure- there is such a wide assortment of foods on just one floor- noodles, curry, steak on hot plates, desserts, drinks, bakeries. So was I surprised to see a bakery full of Hello Kitty decorated pastries and breads and cakes? The adult in me marveled at the marketing/retail genius who decided to extend the brand into food products, but little girl inside me shouted "must try some."

I think every little girl must have some memory of wandering through a Sanrio store and picking out a notebook, pencil, stationary or stickers to take home. The same little girls were wandering through this bakery, as well as the ones like me who used to do so, and now had the pocket money and sweet tooth to buy our own stuff. And the box.. the Hello Kitty box you got to take the pastries home in. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a sucker for packaging.


I'll have to take a picture next time of the brightly lit, pink and glossy area. The refridgerator section that held the rows of tiramisu, fruit tarts and white chocolate Hello Kitty toppings, as well as the area with the varied baked breads and cakes with Hello Kitty image burned into them.


The strawberry tart (NT$99) is like any other strawberrry tart- sweet little strawberries drenched in jelly sugar, with a crust that is too dense and stiff to eat.


The signs in the bakery unfortunately are in Chinese, so I had to ask them what was inside these breads. This one had red bean (NT$40). Though the dough is soft, it wasn't really sweet or particularly tasty. The filling inside was a glob of read bean. I didn't finish it and wouldn't try it again.


The tiramisu (NT$108) was more cream than cake and the Hello Kitty chocolate on top had no flavor at all. I expected it to be a tasty reward at the end, a sweet piece of white chocolate to savor, but instead it was just pretty display. Maybe for the mold and decoration, they couldn't use chocolate that tasted good? I don't know! But I was extremely disappointed. At least I get to keep the glass container that came with it.


This one (NT$108) I gave away, as I thought it was so cute. I'm not sure how it tasted.

Was I suckered into it? After all, picking out the pastries and bringing them home in the giant Hello Kitty box made me really happy, and the desserts cost no more than the desserts I would try at the other bakeries. I sampled the chocolate and cheesecakes that they had available, which were actually pretty tasty. So I would give it another chance. I think they would probably make really cute gifts or party favors, for die-hard Hello Kitty fans, as the presentation is really great.