Thursday 31 March 2016

Two Weeks Japan Getaway with a Tiny Human: Part 1 - Tokyo

Our flight ticket was booked months before Baby V's arrival, so to be honest, Baby V wasn't included in the original travel plan. However, after her arrival, we couldn't bear to leave her behind while we were miles away. We were in deep dilemma for months trying to decide between cancelling the trip or adding another infant ticket and bring her along.

We were so indecisive because she's had a pretty rocky birth, graduating from NICU only after a 3 weeks stay. Even so, she still needs several follow-up trips to the hospital to monitor her condition. However, we were so glad that at about 6 months plus, she was finally cleared from her previous medical condition. Nonetheless, our "Japan or not" dilemma developed into other questions like:

1. Will it be troublesome to bring a baby?
2. Can she handle a 7 hour flight?
3. Why bring her? She will have no memory of it.
4. What if she falls sick? You don't even know their language.

Or, rather, these are questions that people threw at us. :P At the end, we decided to give it a try, bearing in mind that we will follow her flow and make sure our travel schedules aren't too tight. My verdict? Bringing a 11 months plus tiny human on an overseas trip like this is definitely do-able with some planning and determination. LOL. Well, at least all of us did come back in one piece. :P

This is a something like a simple travel journal that I hope can help you plan your own trip to Japan. First things first, this is a 3 pax trip that includes Baby V, mummy, and daddy. The beauty of no other travel companions on this trip? We do not need to worry about Baby V delaying other peoples' schedule, or even the possibility of ruining their holiday. LOL. So, no pressure here. :P We basically spent one week each in Tokyo and Kyoto respectively.

As the blog title suggests, I will just cover Tokyo first in this post.

Day 1: Arrival at Haneda International Airport

We arrived at Haneda International Airport at about 10 pm local time. After buying our Tokyo Subway 3 Day ticket, we caught the train to Keikyu Kamata Station, spending the night at APA Hotel booked through booking.com. We only moved to our apartment booked through Airbnb in Nishi-Shinjuku the next day because we fear that we will not be able to catch the last train.

Day 2: Kichijoji

It takes quite a bit of effort to figure out the subway lines but the good thing is, with the Tokyo Subway 3 Day ticket, there is no need to worry about wasting money if you took the wrong train to the wrong place, which we did. LOL. After settling down in the aprtment in Nishi-Shinjuku, the rest of the day was spent in the room for Baby V to rest more since she was sick. Nonetheless, we manage to visit Kichijoji in the evening.

Kichijoji is located on the JR Chuo Line and Sobu Line from Shinjuku Station. With hundreds of stores located here, Kichijoji is a shopping heaven for skincares, makeups, shoes, fashion, electrical goodies, souvenirs and and many many more. If you prefer to shop in departmental stores, it's good to know that Atre shopping mall is actually attached to the Kichijoji Station. For those interested in cameras and electrical stuffs, make your way to Yodobashi Camera (one of the largest chain of electrical goods in Japan) to get your "made in Japan" goodies!

Most importantly, there are plenty of restaurants, dining bars, and confectionary shops here. With almost no knowledge of the Japanese language, we entered a noodle shop and had our first try of ordering food through a vending machine, buy looking at food pictures. Haha. The udon was pretty decent and this is the first time I discovered that Baby V enjoy slurping/ sucking noodles into her mouth. If I do feed her our food, I just rinse off seasonings using water since she is 11 months plus at the time of travel. You might want to read here if you are concerned about your baby's food during travel.

To sum it up, this place has something for everyone. So just eat, shop, and be merry! Haha.

Day 3: Tokyo Tower

Baby V developed a high fever and we brought her to a paediatrician. Read our ordeals here. T_T After her fever subsides, the only place we managed to go for the day was Tokyo Tower. The Tokyo Tower is about 10 minutes walk from Akanebashi Sation on the Oedo subway line.

We did not make our way to the observatory deck because Tokyo Skytree offers a better view at a much taller height. So basically, it's just some selfie time from below. Haha. We ditched our plan to go have a look at the night view of Roppongi Hills as Baby V looked really uncomfortable with non-stop sneezes and coughs. >.<

The beautifully lit Tokyo Tower


Day 4: Camping in Room T_T

With a sick and drowsy baby, we decided to stay put for the day so that Baby V can rest more. So the trips we had for the day were: trips to nearby restaurant for meals and M's trip to the laundry shop to clear our massive pile of dirty laundry. :P

Day 5: Ueno Zoo - Ameyoko Shopping Street - Asakusa - Sumida Aquarium - Tokyo Skytree

Ueno Zoo, the oldest zoo in Japan (opened since 1882), is a must go place if you have tiny humans with you! It takes about 10 minutes walk to get there from the Park Exit of Ueno Station. Admission fee is 600 yen and the monorail ride connecting the east and west area of the zoo is 150 yen per ride.

There are plenty of animals her including giraffes, elephants, gorillas, polar bears etc. Although Baby V slept when we first arrived, she was beyond excited to see different animals when she woke up, kicking in joy and trying to get her little hands out of the carrier.

Giant panda at the zoo

Feeding time of the sea lion

After our visit to the zoo, we walked to Ameyoko (located nearby the Station Central Exit). This is a busy market street packed with tourists, so watch out if you have kids with you. There are plenty of stuffs here, including fresh seafoods, dried goods, fruits, clothing, shoes, souvenirs and so on. So, what exactly did I bought? Wakame and dried kelp. Haha.

We were a bit late when we arrived Asakusa around 6pm that some of the shops were getting ready to  close. Nonetheless, we still manage to grab some local snacks, visit a few shops and snap some photos. :P

Kaminarimon, Asakusa

Sensoji Temple, Asakusa

Our next stop for the day was the Sumida Aquarium, located at the base of the Tokyo Skytree. Do make your way to the Tokyo Skytree Town (Tokyo Skytree Station) to visit both places! The Sumida Aquarium is another must-go place, whether or not you have tiny humans with you, because it houses more than 10,000 sea creatures, cute penguins included! Admission fee is 2050 yen for adults and 300 yen for children above the age of 3. After visiting the aquarium, we spent quite some time at the Tembo Deck (2050 yen admission fee) of Tokyo Skytree, relaxing and enjoying the view of the city.

Super cute, no?

Elegant jellies <3

A spectacular view of Tokyo city from Tembo Deck, Tokyo Skytree

Day 6: Harajuku - Meiji Shrine - Imperial Palace Garden

Harajuku, the hub of Japanese youth culture and fashion, is all about style and kawaii. We got off at the Omotesando Station and walk through the streets of Harajuku, making our way to the Meiji Shrine. This area has plenty of shopping option ranging from small individual boutiques to large chain stores. Likewise, there are many dining options as well, including restaurants, themed cafes, and street foods.

If you are not quite into all these, fret not, walk through the streets, have a brief look, and the Meiji Shrine is just around the corner. Or, you can skip street walking entirely by getting off at the Harajuku Station. The walkway to Meiji Shrine starts just a few steps away from this station. Enjoy the ambience and see how locals offer their prayers in Tokyo's most famous Shinto shrine. If you are lucky, you might also get a glimpse of a traditional Japanese wedding procession.

Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine Wishing Tree

Our sightseeing plan for the day ended ahead of schedule so we decided to go have a walk at the Imperial Palace Gardens. To be honest, there isn't much to see here since cherry blossoms are yet to bloom at the time of our visit. T_T So, pick your travel period wisely, either to see cherry blossoms or autumn foliage.

Day 7: Kamakura - Enoshima

The Kamakura - Enoshima area is a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo city. Nonetheless, be prepared that it is still packed with tourist. :P We took the Odakyu Romance Car Limited Express Train (1250 yen per pax) from Shinjuku Station to Katase-Enoshima Station. The entire train ride takes about an hour. Therefore, depart as early as possible from Tokyo as there are plenty of attractions to cover in Kamakura. Having said that, you will still need to work out places that you really want to go because the attractions here range from shrines, parks, caves, and observatory tower to shopping streets. :P

We bought our Kamakura Enoshima pass at the Katase-Enoshima Station. This one-day pass allows unlimited use of the Enoden and Shonen Monorail for 700 yen. The Kamakura-Enoshima map below gives a rough idea of some of the attractions in the area:

Image Source: www.odakyu.jp

Our trip for the day starts all the way from the Katase-Enoshima Station until the Kamakura Station, stopping along the way to visit different attractions. Towards the end of the day, we take the Enoden train all the way back to the Enoshima Station at about 4.30 pm. From there, we walked our way to the Enoshima Island. As near as the island may seem, it is actually quite a long walk, especially after a tiring day of infinity walking. LOL. So, instead of walking, we took the local bus back to the Katase-Enoshima Station after our day trip ends, making our way back to Shinjuku Station.

Note that we did not follow the suggested route as shown in the map above (pink numbers from 1 to 6), thinking to kononnya (is there any English word that accurately translates this Malay word? LOL) enjoy sunset at the Enoshima Island at the end of the day. Now let me tell you, thats not an entirely wise decision because you'll need to walk between Katase-Enoshima Station (B) and Enoshima Station (G) twice, which is quite far! So the better route is:

Katase-Enoshima Station  --> Enoshima Island --> Enoshima Station --> all the attraction in between --> Kamakura --> Fujisawa (via Odakyu Romance Car)--> Shinjuku

Another tip here: don't forget to try the famous Octopus-senbei if you happen to visit Enoshima! It's a special cracker made by hot-pressing octopus and some batter together in some iron-like giant machines, giving it a nice crisp. Smells good too, but too bad I don't have a picture of it here. You can easily locate the shop on your way up to the Enoshima Shrine by well, just looking at the queue. Haha. We waited at least half an hour to get ours. >.<

The rail crossing near the Kamakura-Kokomae Station, used as a setting in the anime "Slam Dunk".

The Great Buddha of Kamakura, Kotokuin Temple

There are plenty of souvenir shop, street foods, and restaurants on the Kamakura Komachi-Dori Street. 

Enoshima Shrine

Remember to try the grilled squid at Enoshima Island. Yums!


Let's end this post with places that we planned to go, but did not manage to, as Baby V was sick during our first few days in Tokyo. While we purposely omit Tokyo Disneyland as Baby V is simply too young for any rides, these are the places that we wished we did visit: Tsukiji Fish Market, Akihabara, and Hakone. If we were to make a come back in future, I will definitely cover these places, together with Tokyo DisneySea! :P

Do look out for part two of our trip, which mainly covers Kyoto, although it may really take a while for me to compile everything. Haha. 





RELATED POST
Travelling with a Sick Baby in Japan
Travelling Japan: Homecooked Food or Outside Food for the Little One?
Travelling Japan: Baby Stroller or Baby Carrier?
Travelling Japan: Baby Room and Breastfeeding



Thursday 24 March 2016

Travelling Japan: Baby Room and Breastfeeding

Planning a trip to Japan with your baby in tow but you are not so sure about baby facilities in Japan? Worry not, I'd say that Japan is a super baby-friendly country to travel! Well, at least I have not encountered any problem finding a proper place to change Baby V's nappy during my entire stay in Japan. Emmm... I say this in comparison with the baby rooms of KLIA and KLIA 2, if you can actually find one. T_T Let's not go into that and concentrate on our world-class Japanese toilets/ baby rooms topic here.

There are plenty of baby rooms almost everywhere. Some places go as far as putting a baby room in the male section of the washroom. Yay to that because now every daddy can change baby's diaper! LOL. Even if you can't find a baby room, just use the washroom for the disabled. These spacious washrooms are equipped with a fold-down changing bed. 

The Kansai International Airport has a particularly nice baby room that you can do almost everything from nappy changing to making formula milk or to nurse. 








Pretty fascinating huh? Note the mini tiny human toilet bowl. Cute isn't it? LOL. I have not seen anything like this in public amenities yet before this.

This is a little off-topic but, what if you need to go to the loo and no one can take charge of the baby? Bring the baby into the washroom with you! Because the toilets comes with a baby chair inside! Haha. I am pretty amazed to actually see this kind of facility but of course, it's only available in certain places, especially kiddo-centric places like zoos and aquariums. 

Now that the nappy changing and toilet thingy are covered, let's talk about breastfeeding. Nursing rooms are a little hard to find as compared to baby changing rooms. However, that's not an entirely huge problem for nursing moms because there are a few ways to go about nursing discreetly:

1. Use nursing cover. I nurse using a cover almost anytime and anywhere. These include airports, trains, buses, parks, restaurants, and everywhere else that allows me to sit. I understand that some babies hates to be under the cover due to heat, but if you pick a cool weather to travel, this is probably less of a problem. Anyway, some babies are just playful, pulling the cover from time to time while nursing, just like Baby V. Haha.

2. Nurse inside a soft structured carrier, although this requires a little practice. I did this when Baby V needs to nurse but I really couldn't find a place to sit down and nurse with a cover. The best part of this method? You can still walk around while you nurse and nobody is going to notice it.

3. Use double-shirt method. This is what I did: pull up the top shirt and pull down the top of the padded tank top underneath, and feed. The top shirt needs to be a little loose so that it can be lifted easily and falls easily to cover everything. No nursing bra involved and therefore, no troublesome clips to undo. And again, people probably won't notice that you are feeding because you really looks like you are just holding your baby.

If all the above still fails to deter unwanted attention, keep calm and nurse on. You have done your part not to offend anyone, although there really isn't anything offensive about breastfeeding. Simply accept the fact that wherever you are, there are people who just don't know when to mind their own business. :P



Wednesday 23 March 2016

Travelling Japan: Baby Stroller or Baby Carrier?

OK, now that we have covered the dilemma of home-cook food versus outside food, it's time to talk about another travelling dilemma: to stroller or not? LOL. Well, I brought along both and my initial plan was to decide which one to use depending on the place that we go for the day. 

However, I ended up using baby carrier most of the time for several reasons, with the main reason being Baby V prefers to be stuck to her mummy like a tree-hugging koala bear most of time time. Haha. Baby V easily falls asleep inside the baby carrier when mummy is close to her. I think this has something to do with the cold weather during our stay in Japan. The warmth of mummy's body must have allowed her to nap more comfortably as compared to sitting inside a stroller. In fact, when she is in a bad mood, putting her inside the stroller is close to impossible as she will scream her lungs out wanting to be carried.  In times like this, I will be using the baby carrier whereas the stroller will become a makeshift shopping/ luggage cart. Haha.

Baby V was super excited to see all the deers in Nara Park. 
Note: The deer did not "kiss" Baby V, although the photo looks like it did. LOL

Secondly, I find that a baby carrier is more convenient to use during commute because a stroller takes up much more space inside a train. Pushing a stroller at subway stations during peak hour is kind of difficult too. While most subway stations are equipped with elevator, there are still times when I need help from M to carry the stroller up or down the stairs. Imagine the trouble when we have tons of  other things like baby bag, camera bag (M is an avid photographer that couldn't live without his DSLR :P), and occasionally shopping bags to carry. I totally ditched bringing the stroller out after 2 or 3 days of trying. Having said that, Japanese are extremely accommodating towards babies that we were offered help to carry stroller up or down stairs several times at subway stations.

Thirdly, some shops and restaurants simply don't have lots of space and room and hence, pushing a stroller would be troublesome. In such cases, I stayed with Baby V outside the shop while waiting M to shop, or the other way round.  

Last but not least, some places of attractions are simply not stroller friendly. This is particularly true in Kyoto. Gravel paths and infinity stairs in certain places really aren't helpful if you bring a stroller. T_T Since we also get around using buses when in Kyoto, bringing a stroller is really inconvenient. Imagine the trouble of folding the stroller, bringing it up and down buses repeatedly, and trying not to block the way of others in super-packed buses.

On our way to Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, and this is a street somewhere around Ninenzaka. 

Night view of Enoshima shrine, Fujisawa. 

While I personally prefers to use a baby carrier, there are still places like zoos and theme parks that allow comfortable use of baby strollers. In fact, stroller rental is available in most of these places if you did not bring your own. Anyway, we skipped Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan this time because Baby V is too young for any rides at 11 months old plus. T_T If we happen to visit Japan again when Baby V is older, I will definitely cover theme parks, and most importantly, rent matching mom and kiddo kimono in Kyoto to play Japanese for a day. :P

Aren't these lovely? <3





RELATED POSTS
Travelling with a Sick Baby in Japan
Travelling Japan: Homecooked Food or Outside Food for the Little One
Travelling Japan: Baby Room and Breastfeeding
Two Weeks Japan Getaway with a Tiny Human: Part 1- Tokyo


Tuesday 22 March 2016

Travelling Japan: Homecooked Food or Outside Food for the Little One?

Home-cooked food? Outside food? I bet all mummies can totally relate to this dilemma when the little one is involved in a travel plan. Well, home-cooked food is no doubt the best for babies but considering the practicality during travel, I chose to do both home-cooked food and outside food. Since Baby V is going to be a year old soon, I am a bit more lenient towards her food.

Initially, I considered bringing a thermal jar so that I can cook and pack porridge for her while we are out but I backed out after considering the space that the jar takes up, and the weight of the jar. After all, there are already tons of other necessary baby stuffs to bring along.

With all these in mind, I chose to cook food in the morning so that my tiny human can have home cooked breakfast or brunch, and sometimes reheat the food for dinner when we were back. At times, I also packed fresh fruits like grapes, blueberries, and strawberries for outings. Since the weather was about 10-15oC during our stay in Japan, I can quite confidently say that the fruits are still nice and fresh after 3-4 hours without refrigeration. I also brought along baby puffs as snacks too.

Otherwise, I just let Baby V have plain food like rice, bread and tofu, or any other food that has been rinsed with water to remove seasonings. Therefore, Baby V have had her fair share of udon and soba noodles too during our stay in Japan. In fact, I was fascinated that she actually mastered the skill of slurping or rather, sucking noodles into her mouth. Haha.

Now, back to the homecooked food topic. We booked our Nishi-Shinjuku apartment through Airbnb and this is how my mini kitchen looks like. As small as it may seem, the mini kitchen is actually very well equipped for simple cooking. 


I brought anchovy powder and some rice from home. The rest of the ingredients like veggies, fruits and eggs were bought from local supermarkets and convenience store. This is the mini refrigerator in our room. It was sweet of our Airbnb host to stock free "adult snacks" for us in the fridge. Haha.


The kitchen and fridge in our Kyoto room looks pretty much the same sans chopping board and knife.  However, cutting up ingredients was not a problem since there was a kitchen scissor. 

So, what are the stuffs that I have cooked during our stay in Japan?

1. Spinach porridge with anchovy powder
2. Apple porridge
3. Apple soup
4. Daikon soup with anchovy powder
5. Wakame soup with cherry tomato and bonito flake
6. Tofu soup with tomato. mushroom, egg, and leek

Add udon/ soba noodles bought from convenience store to any of the savoury soup above and voila, a hearty bowl of hot soup noodle is ready breakfast or dinner! In fact, all of us have home-cooked breakfast almost everyday. I am pretty delighted that our Shinjuku Airbnb host actually has salt and pepper, together with tea, coffee, and sugar ready in the kitchen. I bought a tiny bottle of salt from a convenience store when we were in Kyoto since it was not prepared by the host. While our Kyoto kitchen is a little less complete when compared to the one in Shinjuku, I still love our accommodation very much for one reason, i.e. sleeping on the wooden floor on Japanese style futon mats. In the parenting world, this means that tiny human can crawl almost anywhere without the parents fearing that the baby might fall from the bed. Haha.

To sum up, if you intend to cook when travelling with your little one, take note of the availability of kitchen and fridge when booking your accommodation. If you don't mind carrying a food jar for outings, or that your baby is simply too young to take pre-rinsed adult food, go ahead by all means so that your baby can enjoy the goodness of home-cooked food for the entire trip. :D





RELATED POSTS
Travelling with a Sick Baby in Japan
Travelling Japan: Baby Stroller or Baby Carrier?
Travelling Japan: Baby Room and Breastfeeding
Two Weeks Japan Getaway with a Tiny Human: Part 1 - Tokyo


Monday 21 March 2016

Travelling with a Sick Baby in Japan

I've not been updating my blog for quite some time now because I was away for a 2 weeks' holiday. This is my share of story when Baby V fell ill during our trip to Japan. I did not expect Baby V to be sick on her first trip abroad since she is generally fit at home. Having a sick baby when travelling is every parent's worst nightmare, more so, when language becomes a little bit of a challenge. 

She started having coughs before the flight to Tokyo but she was still a happy baby overall. Soon after, her cough worsens with frequent sneezes, runny nose, and slight fever. With all the discomfort, she became the crankiest baby on earth, crying frequently during the flight, and refusing to nurse or sleep. Sounds scary, no? Feeling bad for disturbing the passengers around us, my hubby and I tried hard to entertain her by reading her storybooks, as well as giving her snacks and toys. This is poor Baby V inside the bassinet in front of our seats.


When we run out of ideas to keep her busy, I flipped the inflight menu with her over and over again for like, a gazillion times. And of course, not forgetting walking her up and down the aisle with her in our arm just to stop her from crying.

Our first night in Tokyo was not any better as her discomfort continues. She woke up several times in the night crying and screaming so badly that I worry our neighbours would mistake it as her being tortured. We gave her our standby medicines but she did not seem to feel any better. The next day, we bought a combination syrup for runny nose, fever, and cough from a local pharmacy.

On the third day, we started to panick as her fever reached 39oC. We decided to bring her to a paediatrician despite having read before that medical care in Japan is extremely costly. Our Airbnb host turned out to be incredibly helpful on bringing us to the clinic which was just 5-10 minutes walk from the place we stay. We couldn't thank him more for trying to translate Baby V's condition to the doctor. Baby V was tested negative for influenza and was diagnosed as just having a common cold. The doctor sent us away with medicines for cough, phlegm, and fever, together with antibiotics. All these cost a whooping 7920 Yen (about RM295), way more expensive than what we usually pay for back in Malaysia.



We ended up staying in our room most of the time during the first few days in Tokyo so that Baby V can rest more. So yeah, it's a pity that our sight-seeing schedule is pretty much delayed but nothing is more important than Baby V's well-being. Anyway, we were still able to make the most out of our trip by filtering out places we really wanted to go. I will be posting about our Japan escapade soon, so stay tuned if you are planning to travel Japan with your little one. :D
Travelling Japan: Baby Room and Breastfeeding
Two Weeks Japan Getaway with a Tiny Human: Part 1 - Tokyo

Saturday 5 March 2016

DIY No Sew Tutu Dress for Tiny Humans

This DIY tutu dress is part of my preparation for Baby V's first birthday smash cake photoshoot soon. Well, not that soon actually, it's like a month away from now but I am a kia-su mum so I'd like to be ready sooner than later. Haha. If you are interested in making your own tutu dress for your princess, read on!

You'll need a crochet headband (mine measures about 15 x 15 cm), tulle in your preferred colours, a pair of scissors and a measuring tape. You can get all these from your local fabric store or craft store. 


The length of the tulle depends on the height of your little one. I wanted my tutu to be about 25 cm long so I cut my tulle into 50 cm length. The length is doubled because the tulle will be folded into half when tied onto the crochet headband.


Stretch the headband onto something bigger so that the holes on the headband can be easily located. I stretched mine on a teddy bear. Haha. 


Now that the headband is stretched, locate the first hole from the seam of the headband. Fold tulle strands into half and pull it through the hole to create a loop.



Then, pull the two ends of the tulle down into the loop and tighten the knot.





Continue around the headband and you'll get something like this. My knots of tulle is tied in alternating colour of dark pink and light pink. At this point of time, the tutu dress is already good to go.


However, I wanted my tutu dress to be puffier so I added another layer of shorter tulle (42 cm strands) on top of the existing layer. This time, I tied my strands of light purple tulle in alternating holes of the next layer instead of every holes of the layer. Voile! My tutu dress in shades of purple and pink is all done!



You can go on and add extra embellishments like ribbons, rig rags, flowers, and pearl beads to make the tutu dress more adorable. It all boils down to creativity and how you want to design your tutu dress. I prefer to keep mine simple for now. Hehe

Happy trying and do share the picture of your tutu dress! :D

P.S. I can customise tutu dress for your little one too. Hehe. Do contact me for details at thatcraftymummy.gmail.com



Thursday 3 March 2016

Anchovy Powder

Aside from enriching the taste of food, anchovy powder is a good source of calcium and protein. Nonetheless, like any new mummy, I am pretty concerned about the salt content. Therefore, I rinsed and soaked the anchovies a few times to reduce the salt content. I don't use it everyday but rather only once in a while, adding only a tiny pinch everytime. If you are still not convinced, then perhaps, add it to your little ones' food when they are older. I started adding anchovy powder to Baby V's porridge since she is approaching 11 months old. Anyway, making our own anchovy powder do allow us to have control over the level of saltiness. When buying anchovies, remember to choose those that are lighter in colour to ensure freshness.

Ingredients:

Dried Anchovies (The amount of anchovies depends on how much you want to make but you can start with say, 300g or 500g)

Method:

1. Ensure the anchovies are free of heads and entrails. Rinse in running water several times to remove dirt. Soak anchovies for 10 minutes in a pot. Change water and soak for another 10 minutes.


2. Drain in a colander and leave it for 10 minutes to drip off excess water.


3. Heat a wok without adding oil. Add anchovies and fry over low to medium fire. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Continue frying for 20 minutes or until you get nice golden brown anchovies.




4. Leave the anchovies to cool for 15 minutes and you can start grinding your anchovies.



5. Store anchovy powder in an air-tight container and keep it in the fridge.


Happy trying! :D