Crepe cake, otherwise known as “mille crepe” or “gateau de crepes” is made of thin layers of crepes sandwiched between a creamy filling. It can be prepared with various kinds of fillings but this pandan coconut version is our family favourite. It combines our love of French crepes and South East Asian flavours.
Here we have layers of pandan infused crepes, filled with pandan and coconut cream.
This cake is always requested by Anne for her birthday and has had many iterations over the years. I’ve experimented with so many recipes, to finally settle on a version of my own. It is actually based on Adam Liaw’s recipe for mango pancakes, only tweaked to make it pandan coconut-ey.
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Autumn is the best time to visit Margaret River region in Western Australia. Famous for its stunning landscapes and surfing beaches, this stretch between Cape Leuwinn and Cape Naturaliste offers world-class wineries and restaurants. There is so much to see and do. Spending a week in the area last year was a highlight of our WA road trip! Come along for a memorable adventure when we celebrate the good things in life over 7 days.
When we took off for our tour of Western Australia, we gave ourselves plenty of time to meander along the way. Leaving Sydney late February, the idea was to reach Perth by Easter, 5 weeks later.
Having done an earlier road trip there, we blitzed thru Victoria and South Australia, with 500km days and judiciously picked overnight camps: outback pubs, lakeside spots and rest areas along these interminable highways. It took us a week to get to Esperance. We could finally rest, give the GX a bit of TLC, and plan the month ahead touring the WA South wedge.
The only items on my list were a week in Margaret River, followed by a few days in Perth. The rest of the itinerary would mostly depend on weather, scenery, accessibility and our mood ( in that order ). We followed the south coast from Esperance to Fremantle, with detours inland to the Stirling Ranges and the southern forests.
After the sweltering summer heat of the Nullarbor, the weather on the whole south coast of WA was surprisingly cool. Still, the beaches looked stunning and the lower temperature made the hiking easier.
By the time we reached the Margaret River area, I was looking forward to wining and dining. Mr T and I agreed to a plan.He would be the dedicated driver during the day, as I indulged in wine tasting. Until 5pm, that is. Then, being beer-o-clock, we’d need to be back at camp or close enough. How did we go? Very well indeed.
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Hakone is one of the most popular day-trip destinations from Tokyo.
A mountainous town, it is renowned for its onsens ( hot springs ) and year round green scenery, within view of Mount Fuji. Japanese people have come here for centuries to enjoy the natural beauty of the region, staying in the traditional inns called ryokans. Nowadays, international tourists also flock to the area, for leisure and relaxation. After the buzz and busyness of the city, we are certainly looking forward to a tranquil getaway. All we want is to be close to nature, taste amazing food and experience a Japanese ryokan stay.
I am sitting in our hotel room, on the 22nd floor, looking down over Tokyo. It is the largest city in the world. The vista never ends and I feel very strong vibes of “Lost in Translation”, the movie. This moment has been years in the making: a Tokyo overnight stopover in 2001, followed by plans for a longer trip for cherry blossom season in 2020, only to be cancelled due to Covid. Japan has been that elusive destination we’ve dreamed about visiting for years. Until now.
When our daughter enrolled in an exchange program in Tokyo last year, she nonchalantly asked “why don’t you join me at the end and we can have a White Christmas in Japan?”. That was in July. At the time, we were travelling in the Kimberley, in the confines of WA. But somehow the idea was appealing and soon flights and accomodation were booked for the end of the year.
Fast forward to December and here we are. Welcome to Tokyo! This is where our 24-day family adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun starts.
I cannot believe that we are in the third week of 2025 already. By Australian standards, I am way overdue for Season’s Greetings, for which I feel slightly apologetic. Only slightly though, because the French in me keeps remembering that the Festive Season runs until the end of January.
So, Happy New Year to you all, from our family to yours. I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, ready to face 2025 head on.
Not sure I am yet, as I’m still trying to wrap my head around 2024, the year that was.
It was undoubtedly a great year for us, with lots of travelling and discoveries, many bucket list items ticked, and generally looking for adventure.
Touring Western Australia was always a dream, and with most of the rest of the country explored over the past 3 years in the GX, we decided it was now or never. Not wanting to do it in halves, we booked a cruise thru the Kimberley for July and made the rest of the road trip fit around it.
We started by leaving Sydney late February, driving west across the Nullarbor and enjoying the South West wedge of WA while the weather was still warm. Meeting old friends In Margaret River and making new ones in Perth are some of the many highlights.
The road trip continued along the Indian Ocean coast, the Pilbara and the Kimberley over the next 5 months.
Only interrupted by a 10-day cruise onboard Seabourn, along the Kimberley coast, one of these luxury experiences we always dreamed about. Most of the details and highlights were shared on my socials ( Facebook and Instagram) but for those who missed them, let me tell you how beautiful Outback Australia. The ancient landscape is so raw, distances so vast, and history surrounds you everywhere. No words can fully describe it, even the myriads of photos I took will never do it justice. Not for lack of trying. Since our return, 3 months ago, I have edited and compiled thousands of pictures into travel books so I can finally call myself an author. At least in my own head. Terry is now hoping I can go back thru our previous travel journals and publish more books. The man lives in hope.
In the meantime, the children have had a busy year: working jobs, studying at Uni, minding the dog and keeping our house in order while we were away ( though we did multiple trips home thru the year, courtesy of idle frequent flyer points !). We have been like ships in the night at times, living in the same house on different schedules.
So, to cap off this year of unusual travels we decided to break with tradition and have a family holiday in Japan, to celebrate the Christmas season and bring in the New Year. As I write this post, we are back in Sydney after touring the centre of the country for 3 weeks by train, covered the major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, skied in the Japanese Alps, enjoyed the hot springs, and eaten our body weight in noodles and rice!
This last trip has been a little mind bending, coming from one of the countries with the lowest population density to one of the highest, and speaking very little of the Japanese language. But this was easily overcome thanks to the kindness and understanding of the Japanese people. We’ve been so impressed by their quiet demeanour, polite nature and respect for others, life lessons I hope we remember and carry forward with us into 2025 and beyond.
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year. May 2025 bless you with joy, happiness and good health.
Voahangy
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