Hot Pot & Boba: Panda Recipe Cards (Updated Deck)

WE DID IT!!

Our campaign is funded and now we are on stretch goals(๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

If you're new to Kickstarter, stretch goals are "bonus rewards" that unlock when we hit a new funding target. They are included all physical reward tiers at no additional cost to you!

Here's what's in store:

Stretch Goals 1, 2, 3 & 4 UNLOCKED + Sticker Sheet Preview: 

Y'all are AWESOME! We just smashed through our first two stretch goals: Metric deck customization, Culinary Critter AND Hot Pot & Boba Sticker Sheets are a GO🤩 

Here's a sneak peek of stretch goal 2 (aka the CUTEST n' YUMMIEST sticker sheet ever):

(This will now be included in all physical reward tiers - at no extra cost!)

***

The Panda Recipe Card Story:

Hi there!

I'm Linda (sometimes known as Panda), the comic artist behind these recipe cards.

I also *INHALE* Chinese food on a near daily basis: 

Unfortunately, for most of my adult life, I either spent way too much money on sub-par Chinese takeout…or resigned myself to cold cereal for dinner. 

In fact, I spent my 20s deprived of the family style home cookin’ I grew up with… but too lazy (or so I thought) to actually make my favorite dishes myself… 

Until I drew my first recipe card, that is:

Since those first food comics, I’ve cooked my way through dozens of my favorite family recipes…and this collection of comic recipes began to form:

Curious Culinary Comics for the Cluttered Mind:

Last year, I expanded that first online recipe comic into a physical deck of 25 cards, which made their way to over 1000 of you! 

This year, I’d love to do another print run of these panda recipe cards, and expand into a four-season drink set (sneak peek below!):

Neurospicy comics, a story:

I’ll be the first to admit: I am a comic artist, not a chef…but if these comic recipe cards could teach me (with all my cooking struggles) to love making food, I think they can help you as well. 

These cooking comics have been tried and loved by other folks too:

Imagine not only serving up SUPER YUMMY (and authentic) Chinese dishes, but also having FUN while preparing it! 

That's what these recipe cards provide for visual learners and adventurous cooks: 

Why Cooking is Hard?

There’s a reason why many of us LOVE TO NOM a yummy meal…but struggle with actually making that food.

Let me know if this story rings any bells:

And before I knew  it, hours have passed, I’m still starving and everything is now closed. Cold cereal for dinner it is, then! Wait, there’s no more milk?!

Another year passes like this, and when the new year rolls around a decision is made: it’s time for CHANGE! 

So! Full of motivation, I order a collection of glossy, beautiful cookbooks:

But the truth is, I didn’t even go to the grocery store. 

Because even the thought of doing all of the above drained me of my initial motivation. I put off digging into that cookbook to a later date … except that date never came.

And now those gorgeous cookbooks are gathering dust on my kitchen shelf…and then the frustration and shame start creeping in. 

Why couldn’t I just get my act together and DO THE THING?! 

Here’s what I wish someone had told me:“cooking” is actually a collection of many (often overlapping) tasks: 

And in today’s  noise and distraction filled world, not only us ADHD-ers have trouble with the multi-tasking mastery cooking requires…

How cooking (can ) be FUN!

…but of course, this story doesn’t end with a: “welp, I give up, I guess cooking isn’t for me!”

There’s a not-so-secret recipe to unlock (your) joy of cooking: and the ingredients are clarity,  motivation, and memory hooks!  

These are the three ingredients I’ve used to create these panda recipe cards:

How Panda Recipe Comics Work:

All the comic recipes in this deck are seasoned with “neuro-spicy” tips that have given me the motivation (and step-by-step roadmap) to make a lifetime of delicious meals (and now, drinks)!

While these tips will benefit people who are neurodivergent like me, they’re also universal — anyone who struggles to cook can use them!

Everything you need: on one page

I struggled with traditional recipes because they were often so long winded that by the time I scrolled down to the steps, I’d forgotten how much of each ingredient I was supposed to use! 

Or I’d forget an important step I was supposed to have done before hand…and now it’s too late. 

So, for clarity’s sake, the panda recipe cards have everything on a single page:

 Colorful & Space efficient meal planning

Another struggle I found was constantly stressing over (or shall I say…lacking clarity in…) what to eat! 

These days, I let these recipe cards speak to me (tarot style✨), and put ‘em on my fridge as a colorful and motivating reminder of deliciousness to come: 

Visualize the process, from shopping to serving

Once I’m clear on what to cook, the problem becomes being motivated enough to, well, actually do it. 

Here’s the  sneaky thing about motivation: it’s often the result of action (as opposed to the cause of it!)The cool thing is - that action doesn’t even need to be physical

Just  visualizing the cooking process (from start to finish) is often enough to (start) charging that motivation meter:

Cute critter motivation 💗

So…one might argue…you can ALSO visualize the cooking process by watching video, or reading a photo-blog, right? 

Totally! And I LOVE my cooking youtubers & bloggers - shout out to Made with Lau & The Woks of Life…both of whom have recipes featured in the panda recipe deck: 

What magic sauce the panda recipe cards add is this: 

Comics are fun to read (and also FAST to  re-read…especially if you just need a quick refresher on a dish). 

Plus, with each re-reading, I’m reminded of the little critter easter eggs I left myself…which brings me joy every time I cook:) 

Here’s me rereading one of my most cooked dishes:

Step-by-step, Distraction Proof “Memory Hooks”

Last but not least…enter the power “Memory Hooks”! 

These “Memory Hooks”  are also the bold colored “STEPS 1-2-3…etc” that appear in every card:

As the name suggest, these memory hooks  give us a place to “hang” our memory (so if we get distracted, we can easily pick off where we left off): 

The 2024 updated Panda Recipe Deck!

One of my supporters from last year put it best: these cards are like “cheat codes”: 

And I am SO excited to do an updated print run of these yummy info-packed “cheat codes”! Here’s what to expect: 

Our (hopefully!) back by popular demand Chinese food recipe deck will include: 

• 24 tried and true recipe cards 
• 1 digital download card giving you high-res (printable) versions of all the digital rewards
• 4-season drink sets
• 3 BONUS sticker sheets (of sauces, veggies and fruits - our stretch goals from last year!) 

This is the full set of recipes:

Last year, this panda recipe card deck shipped out to over 1000 of you! And I’ve LOVED getting photos of your recreations of my family recipes: 

And here’s a sneak peek of what’s new this year, starting with the (already completed) SPRING and SUMMER Drinks from our four season drink set: 

Strawberry Matcha Latte (Front)

DIY Boba Card (Front)

When I’m anxious, stressed, and drowning in a sea of deadlines and obligations – being able to take a moment to craft myself a cool n’ yummy drink has been nothing short of a lifeline.

But it’s exactly when I’m stressed that I forget about the things that bring me joy… which is why I started drawing these drink cards :’) 

I hope that these new cards spark for you what they do for me: a reminder to pause, sip, *breath*, and smile…and appreciate small joys, a respite in this noisy world<3 

***

Anyway, that’s the plan! Onto the rewards!  

The Reward Tiers

The rewards for this project come in two different flavors: digital and print(ed). If you pledge by August 21st, you'll unlock access to our (best value!) early bird bundle✨

This is my complete budget (line-by-line breakdown of how I arrived at my funding target). For this project, I've factored in my own labor (I'm estimating about 160 working hours or 4 full work weeks for this project, from conception to delivery) at 15$/hour. Of course, if I end up beating my target goal, I'll end up making MORE than minimum wage #huhuhu 

Shipping will not be charged during the campaign. It will be charged through the pledge manager after the campaign based on the actual costs incurred to ship. This is so we can be fair to all our backers as shipping is rarely one size fits all, and also give you more stretch goodies and possibly a choice of carrier options.

The shipping rates below are an estimate but they will be the maximum possible value charged to the pledge manager at the end of the campaign. Please note that these prices are subsidizes as we really want this to be affordable as possible.

Shipping Restrictions

Unfortunately, I won't be able to ship to the following countries: Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Congo, Cuba, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine. 

Pledge Manager

We will be working together with a Pledge Manager to handle fulfillment. For those who are new to Kickstarter, a pledge manager will help us to manage the orders and information more effectively. About a week after the campaign ends, all backers will receive an email with a survey to confirm shipping address, shipping costs and any additional add-ons or purchases that they'll like to make.

Linda Yi 
Panda Cub Stories LLC
124 Patchen Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11221