Author: Ting-a-ling

Blueberry lemon zest muffins

Combining two of my favourite fruits into one cupcake is like a treat from heaven. This muffin is my family’s favourite and its usually gone in an instant. Ingredients 100ml of grape seed oil 125g plain self-raising flour 100g wholemeal self-raising flour 80g brown sugar 3 large eggs (at room temperature) Zest 2 lemons 100g of blueberries 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 4 tablespoons of non-fat yoghurt or greek yoghurt (about 200g) Directions Preparation time: 15- 20 min Baking time: 15-20 min (or when the muffins turn brown) Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Prepare a 12 case muffin pan Mix the flour, sugar and lemon zest together in a large mixing bowl. Use your fingers to ensure that there are no lumps of flour or sugar in the mixture. Beat the eggs into the yogurt Tip the mixture of yoghurt into the dry ingredients with the oil and vanilla essence. Mix together with a spoon until lump-free Add in the blueberries and fold it into the mixture Divide the mixture between the cases Bake for 30min …

Coffee cake

I love the smell of coffee in the morning. Living in Australia for the past four years has made me grown to love coffee – although I am trying my best not to get addicted to it. The first time I made this cake was using instant coffee without any coffee essence added. I couldn’t get the flavour of the coffee into the cake. So I experimented it again, this time, I went out to the cafe and got two espresso shots, hoping that the coffee taste would be stronger. However, it was not fragrant enough. In the end, my friend suggested to use coffee essence and the cake turned out to be perfect. Saves me money buying expensive coffee for the cake too! I made this cake so many times that I have different variations of it. If you prefer a lighter version, use two eggs instead of three. Buttermilk (150ml) can also be used as a substitute for the yoghurt. Hope that you’ll enjoy the cake as much as I did! Ingredients 120g …

Yokoso Tokyo!

Calbee fresh potato chips Tokyo Station (Yaesu exit) Verdict: Must try! For the junk food lovers, their freshly cut potato chips is delicious. There are various flavours to choose from such as cheese, sour cream and even chocolate drizzled potato chips. My favourite is the freshly made Jagabee, tastes like french fries but so much better! It’s a must try snack when you are Tokyo Station. Beer hall Tokyo Station (Yaesu exit) Verdict: One of the best katsu I’ve ever had. The Japanese have a good technique of deep frying food, the pork is tender on the inside and the crust is crispy. I don’t even feel guilty eating it because the katsu is not even oily. Delicious! Tokyo Marriott Hotel at Shinagawa (formerly known as Hotel Laforet) Verdict: The hotel rooms are huge for a hotel in Tokyo. The breakfast was sumptuous and the service excellent. Location wise, not that bad, about 15 minutes walk to Shinagawa station. Tokyo Disney Sea Verdict: Worth going once in your life! Japan is the only country with …

Spicing up your taste buds – Chengdu

Spicing up your taste buds! The capital of the Sichuan Province, Chengdu is famous for the Great Pandas and their spicy cuisine. But it is not just any ordinary spice, it is called 麻辣 (Ma La). This spice came from the pepper 花椒 (Hua Jiao) which cause numbness to the tongue when bitten on. The typical sichuanese cuisine usually cooked with lots of chili, pepper and oil. If you have the love for spicy food, Chengdu is definitely the place to visit! Click on the photos to read more about the food! 大蓉和 (Da Rong He) 成都高新区紫荆南路68号 Verdict: Highly recommended! Can’t go to Chengdu without eating at this restaurant! 虾佬圣汤 (Mr Prawn’s Holy Soup) 营康西路 四川省成都市金牛区营康西路 Verdict: Must go! 南粥北面 (Nan Zhou Bei Mian) 成都市通锦桥同心路171号  Verdict: Worth trying! Healthy stuff! 雅安倪记老面馆 (Ya An Ni Ji Lau Mian Guan)  成都市武侯区双元街6号(近大石西路) Verdict: Yes! Well patronized by the locals 大妙 (Da Sha) 成都市锦江区石牛堰河滨路6号(河滨印象对面) Verdict: Your adventure in Chengdu is not complete without getting your taste buds exposed to the sichuanese hotpot! 滋味烤鱼 (Zi Wei Kao Yu) 成都市武侯区广福桥北街6号附9号 Verdict: Must …