Hello?

I might be talking to the spiders creeping around the corners of this blog, but I'm here to turn on the lights and wipe the dust away – second year at college has been crazy, but these are all you need to know about the past few months of the gastronomy of student life:

The most important things I've learnt from student living:

1. Cream cheese and honey on toast makes a bangin' breakfast. Richard claims it to be "like cheesecake on toast". TIP: Stuff warm pita with the same stuff. It's ridiculous.
2. If you don't buy it, you won't eat it. Do you really need a pack of McVitie's Chocolate Digestives every time you pass (or delibrately browse) the biscuit section in Tesco's?
3. Light butter spread is pretty useless. I dunno, it might help with the calories and saturated fat and whatever, but it barely tastes like the real deal!
4. Never let yourself run out of milk. Milk is the loo roll of the refrigerator. Gotta have it at all times. No milk means dry cereal, black coffee, black tea, no means of making hot chocolate, pathetic scrambled eggs, no impromptu pancakes... and the list goes on.
5. Abstain from purchasing cereal. Mostly if you're someone like me who cannot resist eating cereal out of the box, cinema-popcorn style. I've opted for porridge oats, which are less edible straight out of the box.
6. Frozen food is your best friend. Meat, veg, pizza, pies, ready meals – the best thing to do after a long day at dance college is sticking something into the oven for dinner which hardly cost anything.
7. Sweet potato fries are the ish. Slice them up, stick them into the oven with oil, mixed spice and salt, and you're ready to go.
8. Portion minced meat before freezing. It's not much fun digging your pathetic knife into a solid block of meat when all you want is just enough for two portions of spaghetti bolognese.
9. Raw mushy sausages can become meatballs. Feeling like bits and bobs instead of rods? Worried that sausages and pasta don't look very sophisticated? Cut up raw sausages before cooking.
10. You can indeed accomplish an epicmealtime 'handle it' recipe. I've done it, and it was glorious.
11. Just take the mould off the cheese, nobody's going to die. Cream cheese and cheddar alike – I'm still here, aren't I?
12. Don't look down upon a roasted onion half. It's gooood.
13. Make and keep tons of tiny pancakes to use up expiring milk and leftover chocolate chips. You're welcome. Keep them in the freezer for an eternal breakfast backup plan.

It's been two years of student-living in an English country, but there are wonders undiscovered, the gaps of which my English boyfriend has happened to fill with his superior knowledge.

1. Fire ovens still exist. Richard had one in his student house.
2. Gravy granules! I'm learning.
3. Golden syrup or honey with beef and gravy. *Melts*
4. Mixed herbs can save your life. A sprinkle does magical wonders to almost anything.
5. Sweet and sour sauce with spaghetti is legit.
6. Actually, anything with pasta can be dinner.
7. Yes, even gravy.

Other stuff you should totally try making:

1. Peanut butter and banana milkshake: Blend two generous dollops of peanut butter, a chopped up banana, one or two tsp of sugar, and milk to cover 3/4 of what you've already got in the blender.
2. Peanut butter and banana porridge: Stir in mashed banana and however much peanut butter into your warm porridge for an energising start to the day! Much needed when you start with a ballet class every morning at college.
3. Nutella and peanut butter sandwich: I don't know why most people I speak to haven't tried this yet. Spread one slice of warm toast with nutella, the other with peanut butter, and stick them together. Watch them ooze and fuse. Enjoy.

The best pancakes ever

There are pancakes, and then there are crispy-edged, light and fluffy American pancakes.

My flatmate shared this recipe with me, and it has been somewhat of a morning mantra – a guarantee of no more lousy breakfasts, as long as we've got eggs and milk in the fridge, and I'm willing to get out the mixing bowl.

This recipe is the one. If you're still looking for the perfect recipe, look no further than below.

Ingredients:

135g/4¾ oz plain flour

1tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp caster sugar

130ml/4½ fl oz milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking

Instructions:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.
2. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, and using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter (or olive oil). When it's melted, add a ladle of batter (or two is your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). Push fruit into the batter in the pan now if you wish. It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick.
4. Repeat until all the batter is used up. Add butter or oil to the pan before each pancake for a better result.
5. Serve immediately with maple syrup, chocolate, or extra butter.

Long White Cloud

Located a few minutes away from Hoxton railway station, Long White Cloud is a Kiwi-owned free-range, free-trade café-cum-gallery space which serves up interesting brunch-type meals such as smoked salmon scrambled eggs and french toast with bacon and banana.

It was pretty filled at 11 in the morning, but not enough to gather a queue. The interesting thing about this café is the fact that they display local artworks which are also on sale. When I was there two weeks ago, Kate Ardern's intriguing 'Into The Wild' paintings were up on the walls, most of them already marked as sold.

I got myself a full English breakfast, something I realised that I'd not yet actually had in this country.

It was filling – I think the word 'full' applies to the state of the diner's tummy rather than what's on the plate. The food was alright, the beans felt home-made and authentic though, definitely not Heinz.

What still lingers in my mind is their peanut butter and banana smoothie which is so simple but so good. It wasn't too sweet, and both flavours were balanced beautifully, inspiring me to try blitzing my own sometime soon.

They've got an evening menu as well with the likes of pies, burgers and fish cakes. I'd love to go back there some time in the future (it's in East London, so if I sound slightly dramatic, that's because it is a pretty epic journey. At least to me it is, anyway) to chill in their intimate setting with some French toast and bacon!

Long White Cloud
151 Hackney Road
Hoxton
E2 8JL
tel: 020 7033 4642

Dorset Cereals – Honey Granola

Dorset Cereals and their whole muesli thing has always appeared to me as overpriced bird food. (PS: I'm not a muesli fan) I do like granola, though, especially with nuts and honey, so I decided to give this box a try. (PS: It was on offer)

This cereal is seriously stripped down. Oats, pecans, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, all baked with the tiniest hint of honey and vanilla extract. This is perfect for people who absolutely love nuts and oats, as that's pretty much the main taste of the cereal.

I'm not too big on this cereal, but it's not bad either, considering how natural and healthy it is. A good choice for organic bunnies, but is definitely not for those looking for a Crunchy Nut or Cheerios alternative. And definitely no great after-cereal milk.

Sweet Home Farm Granola – Maple Pecan

It's been a while!

I wish I could say that I haven't been updating much because of my incredibly packed schedule due to being so super-popular that I have to meet up with three to four different friends per day, but that is not the case. While I am free and easy in Singapore, all my friends are in school on weekdays, and cooped up at home on weekends burying their heads in their books for the crazy school system which I've managed to escape!

Fortunately, before I head back to London next Wednesday, I'll be meeting up with friends for a bit, to celebrate birthdays and say goodbye!

When there is no pau, wonton mee, moon cake, egg tarts or curry puffs for breakfast, I grab myself a bowl, a spoon, some milk, and the carton of cereal above.

Wait a minute, those strange things don't sound like things people usually have for breakfast, says England. You're right, but only if you aren't in Asia.

Prior to contrary belief, Asians are in some ways pretttttty unhealthy eaters. Just walk through the Taiwanese streets full of fried-food vendors, or check out the Singporean ah peks ('uncles', i.e men aged 50-ish and above) in the kopitiams (hawker centres) at nine in the morning eating nasi lemak (fragrant Malaysian rice with varying side dishes) with fried chicken and egg.

To feel slightly back-to-routine again, I occasionally have a bowl of cereal when I sleep in and wake up too late to be served breakfast, or when Mum isn't in. USA-imported Sweet Home Farm cereals come in a fat carton and several other flavours which I haven't seen or tried.

The clusters in this cereal don't easily come apart like the one from Tesco, (which tastes amazing by the way) and the pecan nuts are wholesome and appealing. They taste noticeably unique, and far from the standard-sweetness of Tesco's and Sainsbury's versions – there's a deep, woody flavour in this cereal, a sigh of actual maple syrup! The sweetness doesn't hit you in the face, but there's a good amount which leaves a fabulous cereal milk to slurp up!

The milk used here is Pura's regular whole milk, which has been the standard purchase in the household for years – there's no annoying taste, yet it isn't completely bland, a perfect blank canvas for cereal-consumption, and even for drinking it on its own.

Going to creep to my kitchen now and eat out of the tupperware (which it has been transferred to due to potential pesky ants) with a spoon, shhh!

Bon voyage

I departed to Heathrow on the one day when London hid its rare, persevering sun and threw out a layer of grey, indifferent clouds, as if it had decided to say farewell by serving a taster of what I'd get when I come back in September. (Hopefully not.)

Terminal 3 of London Heathrow Airport's departure hall is pretty much an actual hall, huge and oblong, lined with shops like Starbucks, Boots, WHSmith, YO! Sushi, duty free, etc.

Breakfast for me was a Ham & Egg Salad sandwich from Boots (£2) which was so-so. I mainly tasted peppered egg, but it filled me up nevertheless.

It's been a year, but I still don't understand why the English don't mind cold sandwiches. In fact, they probably eat more cold sandwiches than warm ones, because they can be taken straight from the fridge in any supermarket or a pharmacy with snacks. Warm sandwiches are so much nicer – there's more taste, and the meat tastes like meat, instead of cool rubber.

Yes, this is a breakfast menu from Singapore Airlines. Having forgotten to take a picture of the menu, I contacted Singapore Airlines, and they kindly scanned me a copy of the menu from that particular flight within a few days, even though they've probably got better things to do!

I got the Tandoori Salmon served with raita, vegetable curry and Kashmiri pilaf – it was a good choice! The Tandoori salmon was cooked well and tasted great, with fragrant, fluffy pilaf rice, and a decent vegetable curry. The bread roll that came with it was as soft as a pillow, and light-tasting, it was pretty much perfect!

This mango chutney tart served atop salad intrigued me. It looks a little dodgy, but it tasted very interesting! Under the chutney is ground chicken tikka, and the flavours all went together wonderfully in the firm pastry.

Pad Thai for breakfast sounds outrageous to some people, but noodles for breakfast happens sometimes in Southeast Asia. These noodles were average, they didn't reeeally taste like Pad Thai, but reguler fried broad noodles with seafood, egg and veggies. The bread roll was ten times tougher than the one served during dinner. *insert pout face here* There was also a random butter cake at the side, along with raspberry yoghurt and fruits... there was a lot on that breakfast plate!

Now that I'm in Singapore, I'll be attending the best culinary school in the world, held exclusively and privately in my home kitchen, led by Chef Mummy. Progress and updates will be slow, because I've got many other things to do during my time here. I'll also be visiting eating places that I've heard about and always wanted to try!

However, don't ignore my blog for this month just because you're in London! Singapore has a brilliant food culture which I will be exploring from a whole new perspective, having experienced many other international foods in London.

Crunchy Nut Clusters with milk chocolate curls and honey

"Crunchy Nut is on offer!" my sister suddenly half-yelled as I was standing in the cereal aisle of Tesco deciding between the healthier Special K options or Cookie Crisp and sugar-coated things.

For £2 (U.P £2.69) we got a 450g box of cereal clusters and chocolate curls.

The clusters of puffed rice, peanuts, and oats were simply decadent! The honey coating was extremely yummy, and as always for Crunchy Nut, the peanut fragrance really came through, in a sweet rather than nutty way.

The clusters really stuck together, and didn't fall apart easily even when submerged in milk. The chocolate curls were not so significant, but provided the tiniest hint of taste and soft texture. The milk became quite sweet as a result of the honey, hooray!

A great cereal, I'm definitely getting it again some time. This cereal is basically for everyone – kids, granola-lovers, nut fans, chocoholics, sweet teeth, the whole lot!

Cadbury Wispa Hot Chocolate Drink

I received this as an Easter gift (yes I know, this post has rolled under the bed and gathered dust and crumbs for a little while) from my homestay hosts, as they know how much I love chocolate.

In Singapore, Milo is the breakfast drink for kids and teenagers – it is a chocolate and malt drink, ubiquitous in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, but is also available in some other parts of the world. (100 points for specificity!) I used to have it every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon as well, chilled with ice cubes. Milo is also served in eating places, and has developed into all sorts of different desserts.

But enough about Milo, because hot chocolate has taken its place in my heart.

After having hot chocolate almost every morning while in London, I went back to Singapore during term break, had a cup of Milo, and, no sir, something had changed in that relationship. I found my tastebuds craving something more than a diluted, malt taste with only a tinge of chocolate.

As good as hot chocolate goes, my favourite powdered milk chocolate drink would be by Waitrose Essential. It is £1.58 per 400g glass jar, and very chocolate-y and delicious. Galaxy's hot chocolate is nothing. It is a little on the bitter side, and unimpressive in general.

Waitrose's chocolate drink powder may be my favourite, but Cadbury's Wispa comes pretty damn close. They both have a rich and sweet chocolate taste, but Wispa boasts an additional feature – frothy bubbles.

The jar of 246g costs £2.79 (Tesco), and contains some carbon-dioxide related ingredient (again, 100 points for detailed description!) within the powder to create a frothy layer which rests on top of the drink.

The powder fizzes audibly when water is poured onto it, and a fair amount of bubbles rise instantly, so pouring becomes careful business, while you gotta ensure that the drink doesn't overflow. This frothy layer really makes a difference to the overall experience of the drink, and is also quite fun to scoop out and eat, if you are a weirdo like me. However, the bubbles don't stay forever, and will dissipate eventually, so drink it up!

If you're getting bored of having the same old drink for breakfast, why not try Wispa's Instant Hot Chocolate for a change? Unless you despise chocolate (what are you even doing on this blog?) you are bound to love this drink!

Weetabix Apple Breakfast Biscuits

I'm becoming quite trusting of the apple and cinnamon combination. Almost always, the flavour turns out right, often pulling off a killer combo in crumble, ice cream and cake.

The first type of 'breakfast biscuits' I ever had were Belvita's honey and oat biscuits, which I absolutely love.

Weetabix has a similar type of biscuit, which I bought at a corner shop for 39p. Each pack has a plastic container of 4 biscuits. The container is quite annoying to meddle with to remove a biscuit, as there is no space for a finger to slot in.

The biscuits have a lovely, hearty taste, which warms up in your mouth. There is a great balance of apple and cinnamon flavours, but they are mild yet noticeable, which gives way to the wheat-y base. The biscuits are dense and crunchy, and they melt in your mouth.

The thing about breakfast biscuits is that they are rarely eaten during breakfast. At least in the case of my friends and I, anyway. We bring them to school and have them for a snack. Eighty percent of the time, I plan to do that, but end up finishing them while sitting on my desk at home. (They are really addictive and moreish!)

Biscuits are biscuits, and they'll be treated like biscuits, even if they're meant for a certain time of the day.

Cybercandy | Part Two

Click here for part one.

Moving on, we are faced with a variation of the peanut butter cup by Megaload, which is filled with caramel instead of peanut butter. (£1.15)

From left to right, the caramel cups are topped with Almond 'Buttercrunch', Candy-coated chocolate pieces, and Peanut 'Buttercrunch'. Not as interesting and original as the combination before, with their peanut butter cups. The m&ms are here again, between two very similar-looking 'buttercrunch' variations. This pack doesn't get me as excited as the peanut butter cups. I mean, two out of three of those were slapped on the top with a whole cookie!

The caramel was runny and smooth, and the cup reminded me of a Cadbury Caramello Koala.

There was nothing very special about it taste-wise, but it sure looked pretty as I ate it.

I couldn't tell the difference between the next two. Because the chocolate and caramel combination is already very strong for the tastebuds, the pathetic brittle (almond buttercrunch above, peanut buttercrunch below) doesn't do anything, and it felt like their purpose was unserved.

Likewise, these caramel cups are pretty and unique, and make great gifts. (i.e. pop some into my letterbox please, I wouldn't mind)

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats (£1.29) is a snack bar variation of the original Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, much like the Lucky Charms Treats bar. 

My friend, Esther, and I sitting in the middle of Piccadilly Circus on a sunny day, taking pictures and enjoying the weekend. Sometimes, you have no choice but to enjoy yourself in London so much.

We watched La Bayadère at the Royal Opera House and ate lunch at Master's Diner at 4pm in the evening. We even had two minibons from Cinnabon at Piccadilly Circus. No regrets!

American cereal-ness was definitely noticeable here. It took me a long time to recognise the cinnamon taste, because most of it was just sweetness. The yogurt base was really good, and the bar was huge, tasty, and satisfying.

This was the elephant of my purchase, the main act of the variety show.

Oreo Os were the highlight of my childhood. The journey these blue boxes made from the supermarket shelves, into the multi-purpose (yes, hanging on to the handles and riding on it IS a purpose) transportation vehicle of The Trolley, momentarily hidden in one of the many white NTUC plastic bags like a cursed shell game, tucked out of reach in the cupboard, and magically appearing in a bowl the next morning next to a carton of PURA milk – all of this was ritualistic and sacred, and I treasured every aspect of these events up until the woeful year of 2007, when Post stopped producing these Oreo Os.

Where else am I going to get the best cereal marshmallows in the world? Where else am I going to get cereal which tastes like freaking OREOS?

At Cybercandy (Islington) for £6.99, it seems, with a Korean title. I cry a little, but I think about that fact that a) it is the only one of its kind, b) I can earn it back by working at my library for an hour, and c) it tastes like Oreos.

The black, crispy O's are filled with the taste of Oreo biscuits, and speckled with white bits of the stuff present in the original sandwich cookies.

Among the O's are similar-sized, sweet marshmallow circles, which have the best melt-in-your mouth feel one you get past their delicate, icing-like texture.

Like how you dunk Oreos in milk, this moreish cereal also goes well in a bowl with milk. The deep flavour of the O's is complimented so well by the milk, but don't expect any special taste in the leftover milk. You can have Oreo O's in a bowl with milk, you can have it in a box with a spoon in hand – I just wish you could have it for under £3 a box from the local supermarkets. Sam I am.

The Butterfinger (£1.19) is a famous American chocolate bar filled with dense peanut butter flakes, coated with chocolate. It is longer than the average chocolate bar, and rather heavy too. The flaky, puff-pastry like texture was rather unusual, and the peanut butter and sugar filling stuck to my teeth pretty severely. Not something I would buy again, but it was alright.

What is life without cereal? | MEGA-POST!

I feel like I have gone through a rite of passage with regards to the type of cereal which I eat.

Before coming to London, if someone mentioned 'cereal', I would think of Nestlé's Honey Stars, Cookie Crisp, or something sweet and crunchy which involves chocolate. (Click here for my first post, in which this mindset is demonstrated perfectly.) In my household, the normal cereal in the main cupboard was for my third brother and I, while the wheat-nut-leaves-whatever-stuff-grown-in-a-field-sort-of-thing cereal in the corner cupboard was eaten by mum and my second brother. I never cared to find out the difference between 'muesli' and 'granola' – I was happy with the Honey Stars.

This whole cereal business has become a different story ever since I came to London. The supermarkets' cereal aisles are filled with so many boxes of different brands and varieties, with font sizes getting bigger and bigger as they boast about their health benefits and energy releasing-powers.

There are choices of granola, muesli, oats, shredded wheat, puffed rice, cornflakes, porridge, bran, pillows – and half of them come in grab & go sizes, such as cereal bars, and even biscuits.

This post is going to be as long as the cereal aisle in a Tesco Extra.

These White Chocolate and Strawberry Cereal Bars from Tesco is an awesome buy, at 76p per box. Although each bar is relatively small, (20.8g) they taste fantastic. The bar is more chewy than crunchy, and sweet, with strawberry-flavoured bits, plus white chocolate chips – delightful.

This Kellogg's Special K Red Berry Cereal Bar tastes great too, and is slightly bigger than the previous one, but costs a lot more, at £2 for 5 bars (Tesco), and has a drizzle of yogurt for a topping instead of white chocolate chips, which doesn't do much for the bar, when you can really enjoy the white chocolate chips in the other one. It may be Special K, but doesn't have much calorific difference from the 76p option offered by Tesco.

While the cereal bar is yummy and sweet, I could not stand having more after the first serving of Kellogg's Special K 'Red Berries' cereal, which is made of rice and wheat flakes, with added dried red berries.

I had the impression that the cereal was going to be really good, because it is famous, and, gosh, just look at those generous, dried fruits. I had this cereal with milk, and all I tasted was the sourness of the dried berries, together with the bland cereal – needless to say, I did not like it at all. It would probably be edible with yoghurt, but it was just so unsatisfying with milk. I gave the rest of the box to a friend, in exchange for this:

Jordans Country Crisp with Chunky Nuts is probably one of the best cereals around.

This box of sweetened granola with hazelnuts, pecans, brazil nuts and almonds flakes just makes the world go round. They stay crunchy in milk, and the combined nutty flavours, with the perfect level of sweetness, make the cereal extremely moreish. 

It took me a while to realize and register that 'porridge' in this country does not refer to rice cooked in broth with meat, ginger, peanuts and sesame oil, but oats soaked in warm milk or water, until it all becomes creamy mush.

I have the impression that oats are pretty bland things, so I was a tad sceptical about Quaker's Oat So Simple porridge with Golden Syrup, but I trusted the promise of a Golden Syrup flavour.

I ended up really liking this porridge pot by Quaker Oats. After pouring boiling water into the pot, an aroma of golden syrup causes those nearby to turn their noses curiously. The taste isn't strong, but the porridge is satisfyingly creamy and yummy, and also very filling!

Source

Weetabix is barely edible until you know what to surround it with. Made from wheat, they come in "biscuits" which are basically round blocks which soften and separate in liquid. I have this in the mornings, as they warm me up in the ridiculous "spring" weather of two degrees celsius. After microwaving half a bowl of milk, I stir in two tablespoons of hot chocolate powder (Waitrose's own brand – my favourite so far), then drop in the biscuits and mush them around, making a warm, delicious chocolatey porridge. Golden syrup, honey, or sugar is also a popular choice of topping.

Tesco's Maple and Pecan Crisp is more in crumb-form than it is in cluster-form, and the pecans are barely distinguishable, but they're there among the crisped rice.

But mother of god, this is one good box of cereal. The maple and pecan flavours are so perfect and satisfying, you really can't help but want ten more spoonfuls.

Sainsbury's sells the same kind of cereal, and although it looks more promising, with whole pecans, solid clusters and all, its taste pales in comparison to the awesomeness of Tesco's version. There's just something in the fragrance of Tesco's Maple and Pecan Crisp which ruins it for the rest of the supermarkets' own brands.

I used to take horseback riding lessons when I was 10, so when I see the word 'bran', the first thing that comes to mind are the plain, brown pallets which serve as horse food. Needless to say, I was sceptical of anything on the shelves which call themselves 'bran'.

However, these snack packs of Kellogg's All-Bran Golden Crunch was on offer at Tesco, so I decided to give it a go. Boy, were they good. These were honey-coated or something, and each bite was sweet and yummy.

Kellogg's 'Krave' shouldn't even be classified as a type of cereal. They're more like chocolate-filled biscuit pillows, really.

They're not actually florescent yellow. Lighting issue!

Each biscuit pillow is filled with chocolate hazelnut cream which provides a nice burst of flavour when bitten into. The cream is more of a solid than a liquid, but that can be solved with the use of a microwave. Once you pop a Krave into your mouth, it's impossible to resist a second one. And a third.

Kellogg's Crunchy Nut is apparently voted the best-tasting cereal by, uh, some people, and rightfully so.

The nut in mention is the peanut. Its smell dances under your nose when you open the bag of cereal. Each cornflake is infused with peanut bits, and coated with sugar or something, which goes off into the milk and creates the best after-cereal milk result ever. I often find myself eating Crunchy Nut straight from the bag, unable to stop.