I did a whole slew of baking over the holidays, like a Chocolate Orbit Cake,  Italian Macaroons, Almond Tart and Tang Yuan (hey, it's a festive season in the lunar calendar too...). And today, I made with an apple crumble for today's gathering. Sorta today.  The best thing about this recipe is that the topping remains crisp for ages, baked or unbaked. You can double the recipe and keep the remainder in a zip-lock bag in the freezer for...

Along one of the rows of shops in South Melbourne Market is Padre Coffee. Padre was highly recommended to me by Miss XS, whose friend would cram his luggage with their coffee beans on every visit without fail.  I love their beans now, but I have to admit, my initial impression of Padre was not very favourable. We ordered their Flat White and Magic, and left disappointed. The coffees had a slightly sour taste, like they have left...

Tang Yuan (汤 圆) is a common sight every year to mark dong zhi (冬至), the start of winter. Tang Yuan is a recipe I've been meaning to write for a while. It has the simplest steps: mix glutinous rice flour and water to form a dough, and stick a piece of sugar into each ball of dough. But like any traditional recipe, I had a hard time getting the proportion down. Recipes handed down from generation-to-generation give a rough...

Living in an Asian country has its perks. But on the cons side, the likes of many western delights such as cured meat, cheese, olives, wine, and fruits such as blackberries or peaches are exorbitantly priced and reserved for special occasions. No matter where I look, I could never find any that are priced within my budget. Of course, if your parents didn't grow up around these kinds of food, then you're doubly out of luck.   When I made...

A couple of years ago, I got frustrated by the different types of measurement, so I compiled a list together to refer to whenever I start to bake. Most of the information here came from the ever-inspirational Cafe Fernando. I've added a few of my own, and would continue to update this list as I go along.  Some recipes like pies (or even cakes!) specify a pan size, which is important to adjust for when making batter, dough and filling....

Just a short drive away from Steer is the famed Adriano Zumbo Pâtissier. A friend of mine went before I did, and generously gave me a Zonut, which was A. Zumbo's interpretation of the modern Cronut (a cross between a donut and a croissant). After one bite of the pastry, I knew I have to visit one day. We went straight to Adriano Zumbo for desserts after lunch. But by that time, it was already far too late to get my hands on their Zonuts or...

After Miss XS came back from berry-picking, we decided to make a custard pie with berries on top.  Miss XS commented that the pastry cream was too egg-ish for her liking, and preferred a lighter style of custard. I was fine with it, but I'll imagine one way to address the issue would be to fold half a cup of whipped cream into the finished custard. Another recipe, from the Joy of Baking, has a lower proportion of egg yolks. ...

I can't believe that there are several thriving cherry farms located just under an hour's drive from my school. Well, I can, seeing how my area doesn't exactly look very urban or city-ish, but I still can't. Am I making any sense? I have spent too much time under the hot Australian sun. But sanity is a little overrated, and I'll gladly trade it away for a summer spent plucking (and eating!) berries. We had the opportunity to stay for an extended...

My family follows a doctrine of Taoist-Buddhism that forbids beef consumption. My grandma, who I stay with, would explain to me why she choose not to have beef, though she was never one to impose her religious views on others. I was free to decide for myself whether to adopt the practice. Since it was my grandmother who usually cooks, however, beef wasn't part of my diet growing up. (See? It's not my fault for not being able to differentiate...

I had a few chances to visit Top Paddock over this summer, and if you know me at all, I gladly seize any and all opportunities (ie excuses) to eat food, especially in places I like. I was first introduced to Top Paddock by a friend who brought us there, and I later learnt it was one of the most popular brunch cafes in Melbourne. When my familiy came visiting recently, we went around 10 plus on a Monday morning and I was surprised to see it packed....

by Miss XS Dandenong Pavilion makes some of the best burgers in Melbourne. On my recent visit, they really do live up to their fame. It's kind of a long story how I came to learn about Dandenong Pavilion. I was in my workplace when one day we had lunch catered for us. I didn't have my hopes up for the meal (hey... it's free and everything). but holy sh*t the burger was so good. I've had great burgers elsewhere,  like Melbourne's...