pumpkin spice cupcakes

it's been a long time since i've actually baked! probably a bit over a year now..wow. i've been craving pumpkin spice cupcakes for the longest time, and i finally decided to do something about it. i made a batch for a dinner with family friends, and they were well-enjoyed!

the presentation looks quite nice, doesn't it? (: i loved the cracked tops!

these are completely 100% hand made from scratch. and by scratch, i mean even the nuts on the top were cracked open by a hammer HAHAHA. seriously. (those who know me understand that i only like eating nuts that i take out of the shell by myself..peanuts, pistachios .. and everything else keke). okay wait, i realise that i used canned organic pumpkin - but everything else was definitely from scratch!

i altered the recipe i got to cater to my crowd - i used mostly whole wheat flour, added some extra pumpkin, and i probably cut the sugar by half, if not more. the frosting was also made with light cream cheese, and instead of the normal amount of sugar, i used only 1/3. it wasn't as sweet as normal cupcakes would be, but they're definitely better for you!

the preparation was a tad difficult because, like i said, i had to do everything by hand, including the mixing. it's very, very hard creaming butter & sugar when you only have your arms and a fork. time to invest in a kitchen aid mixer for sure haha (:

let me know if you want the recipe! these are fun to make and definitely makes your house smell delicious!

Patisserie Valerie

once i got to London, i immediately researched all over to see which food establishments i had to visit. though most of them were quite out of my budget, there were some bakeries that i knew i HAD to check out. one that kept popping up in my searches was Patisserie Valerie, and though i never made any plans to eat from there, i ran into one during a visit to Spitalfields Market. the place was super, super crowded, and even though i had already eaten that day, i knew i had to get some goodies to go..

they pack everything for you in a cute little paper bag btw (:

i chose the grilled croissant with cheddar cheese & ham (£2.50) for lunch, which was definitely a steal because it was HUGE and delicious!

they generously gave lots and lots of ham, and they heated it up for you before putting it in a nice black box. the croissant was very, very crispy on the outside - something that i didn't know if i liked or disliked. it flaked a lot when you tried biting into it, so it was a bit annoying. still, i felt like it was very well made for the price.

i also got a blueberry muffin (£1.60) to take home for breakfast the next morning.

it was one of those café style muffins where the top is cracked and overflowing - my favourite.

there were lots of blueberries jammed into the muffin, and the batter wasn't overly sweet. definitely a huge plus! and for £1.60, it's extremely affordable as well.. pair it with a great coffee and you're set for a great day!

Patisserie Valerie
37 Brushfield St.
London E1 6AA

dimsum in Londontown

generally, dimsum in LA is served between 9 am and 3 pm, and you go with a bunch of friends and order lots of goodies to share. consider it Chinese tapas, if you will. however, it's quite different in London's Chinatown; food is available from noon until 5 pm, so i guess it's eaten more as a lunch / afternoon snack. the prices are obviously a bit on the steeper side, so that left me with no choice but to order less dishes than i normally would.

E and i had dimsum twice while i was in London, and the pictures below are from my second (and final) experience. we went to a little restaurant in Chinatown called Harbour City, and it looked quite nice inside. even though it was 4 pm, they were still serving all the delicious dishes! yay for long hours of dimsum..

Sunday Roast

though roasts are not limited to being eaten only on Sundays, it's still generally considered tradition to have them on the weekends. instead of having them for tea (dinner) like you'd expect though, it's actually supposed to be at lunch. most pubs in London will offer roasts / carveries for anywhere between £5-10 on Sundays, which might actually be cheaper (and definitely less of a hassle) than if you cooked it yourself.

i had my first official Sunday roast at Hobgoblin, a pub right next to Goldsmiths. for £6, i had beef, mixed vegetables, a Yorkshire pudding, and some roast potatoes.

Thanksgiving: recession style

since i'm currently in the UK, i didn't expect to have an elaborate Thanksgiving. seeing that half of my flatmates didn't even understand the concept until i explained it, i figured there would be no way that everyone would be keen on celebrating it. still, at the last minute, E and i decided to whip up a mini meal, and we headed to get groceries at 8:30 pm...haha!

we used some stuff that we already had in our fridge, and then bought a few things to make the sides. in total, E and i only spent ~£8 on groceries! fantastico! (:

a few of the things we bought: stuffing mix for 39p, pie crust for 87p, sweet potato for 88p, créme fraîche for 71p, evaporated milk for 51p...

we also bought some carrots, some butter, and some other basics like potatoes & gravy.

did you know that they don't have pumpkin puree here?? i've moaned and complained about this for 2 days straight now, but .. it shocks me! instead of making pumpkin pie, i had to make sweet potato pie instead (RECIPE BELOW).

proper chippy

i had some more fish & chips the other night from a "propper chippy", which is a little shop that does fish & chips and other stuff and wraps them up in paper for ya. it's a lot greasier than what you'd get at pubs, and instead of paying for the location and sitting down to eat, this is something you'd bring home and then watch telly while eating.

it comes wrapped in paper, and you can see the oily goodness seeping through haha

for £5.50 i had the cod with chips, which isn't a bad deal at all.

they definitely give you a lot of food! the only thing about chippies (at least this one) is that they have the cod prepared ahead of time, and it's basically sitting there, baking under a heat lamp.. which isn't too appealing, but the fish still tasted quite good! i'd imagine if you went in earlier in the day you might feel a bit better, since they'd be sitting out for a shorter amount of time.

the fish was in a really good batter. yummmm.

it's not as crispy as it would be if you got it in a pub, especially since all the condensation would soften it anyway. i thought the chips were decent, but the batter made it all worth it.

this chippy boasts that Paul McCartney loves their stuff and has come in multiple times to get food; they even have an order named after him (:

Sirius Fish and Chips
397 New Cross Rd.
London, SE14 6LA

DIY popcorn

i always used to think that you needed a popcorn maker to make your own popcorn, but it turns out that it's as easy as popping kernels on the stove!

i've recently become quite addicted to making my own popcorn; partly because it's a lot cheaper (69p for a decent sized bag of popping kernels that lasts you for at least 5 pops vs. £3 for 3 packs of microwavable ones), and partly because it's a lot healthier. do you really want to know what they put inside those microwavable ones? neither do i.

all you have to do is get about 2 tbsp of butter (or vegetable oil spread, or whatev you please), a non-stick sauce pan with a lid, and some kernels. you NEED the butter - listen to me on this one. i don't like using it because it adds the extra oils and such, but if you don't, the popcorn will burn immediately and you'll have wasted batch after batch before you realise that it's a necessity.

heat the pan up for about 3 minutes on high, then add the butter. wait until it's bubbling, and then add about 3/4 of a cup of kernels. turn down the heat to medium-high, and then continuously shake the kernels around so that none of them start burning. once you notice that the butter has seeped in a bit, put the lid on and alternate shaking it and keeping it on the burner (15 seconds each). when it begins popping, just keep it on the stove and do what you'd normally do for microwavable popcorn - listen for the popping to slow.

voila - healthy popcorn that provides fiber and happiness!

i've gotten into the habit of adding ground pepper on top - i have no idea why haha. of course, you can add salt and sugar to your liking, but if you're going to try and stay healthy, use something like cinnamon instead.

more afternoon tea adventures

i had the opportunity to have official afternoon tea at a place called Sketch this past thursday, and it was quite lovely! prepare for lots and lots of delicious pictures ahead!!

it's a non-traditional tea place that is very popular; the wait time to make a reservation right now is about 1 month. the inside is decorated with sparkling things all over, and it's quite artsy!

authentic Italian - no, really.

how much more authentic can you get than having Italian in Italy? (: i was lucky enough to get to do that, and let me just say once and for all that the food there is amazing. i really do believe i could just live on pizza for the rest of my life. that's probably the one food that i'll never be able to give up. something as simple as baking some tomato sauce & cheese on dough..who knew it could be so heavenly?

quiche

the current trend regarding food in my life is that i've been craving items that i never usually enjoy. for example, i've bought more chocolate in the past month than i have in the past year! the same has applied to other foods, and one of my recent cravings has been quiche.

it all started with walking past the canteen near class, and having heard that it's quite cheap, i decided to pop in and take a look. i noticed that there were quiches offered with a salad, so i figured i'd give it a chance, since i hadn't eaten quiche in over 3 years.

they microwaved my red onion quiche for me, and i added a side of potato salad. the whole order was only £2.50, perfect for a starving uni student.

snails and ducks

i'd assume that those are two of the most popular French dishes..escargot et confit de canard. i managed to have them both in one evening on my last night in Paris.

my friend E and i had dinner at the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) in a little restaurant called La Petite Hostellerie. for €15, you could have a set meal with an entrée, main course, and a dessert. (i got confused when i was first in France because entrée in the US always meant "main course", but it's actually the starter).

Ladurée

you know how it feels when you take a bite of the most delicious dessert you've ever had? that's how i felt when i bit into my macaroon at Ladurée.

various Parisian delights

this entry is going to focus on food that i recently ate in Paris! everyone knows that basic French cooking is super important in the culinary world, and though i have to admit that fancy dishes with rémoulade and béchamel sauces are nice, the best thing about Paris are the pastries and desserts (: (:

let's start with the croissant. sadly, i only had one while i was there, but it was an amazing one that i picked up from a little pâtisserie down the street from where i was staying.

the insides were super buttery and soft, and the outside had a light, crispy crust. it was definitely très bon! many croissants that i've had in the states either had a hollow centre or tasted too bready. this one was good in that it made you full, but was still light and airy.

proper English tea time

what better way to have tea than to have it with Mr. Darcy?

okay, so i didn't exactly get to eat finger sandwiches with a fictional character, but i DID get to enjoy tea at the Jane Austen Centre.

there is a little tea room called the Regency Tea Rooms on the 2nd floor that has an array of tea, sandwiches, pastries, and other drinks to choose from. though it's quite tiny, it's very cute - the waitress dresses up like a maid, and there are white tea sets on each table. everything looks cozy yet pristine..definitely makes you want to keep your pinky up!

bao - the bun

the word "bao" refers to a bun, or a big dumpling, in chinese. there are numerous different types of baos, with the most popular ones being char siu bao (bbq pork bun), lian rong bao (lotus paste bun), bo luo bao (pineapple bun), xiao long bao (steamed buns)...the list goes on and on.

i actually went to eat dimsum with my friend E and conquered 2 types of bao; on the way back from Chinatown, i picked up 2 frozen types, and at the bakery i bought 2 more. you gotta love being Asian sometimes haha.

10 minute dinners

when you're cooking for yourself all the time, it's pretty easy to get into the habit of eating stuff that isn't that great for you, especially when you don't have time. i try to avoid eating ramen as much as i can, but there are days when i really, really crave it!

my parents sent me a pack of 5 Hwa Ramyun, which is my all-time favorite packaged noodles. it's spicy, and the noodles are nice and thick. mmm! i try to add a bit more stuff in it aside from the packaged spices and flavouring, such as 2 poached eggs, some bean sprouts, and sometimes other leafy veggies if i have some. and it's even more delicious when you eat it right out of the pot! :D

looks yummy, no? (:

if you cook it for exactly the right amount of time (a bit more than 4 minutes - the timing of putting the egg into the pot is the most important thing!), the noodles come out al dente and really good. you wouldn't even think that it was instant noodles.

another easy fix for dinner is to cook frozen foods; i had bought frozen dumplings from a store in Chinatown a few weeks back, and decided to give it a go. make sure you boil the water before dropping these in, and then have 2 small cups of cold water on hand. each time the water comes to a boil after you've put in the dumplings, add a cup of water and stir. when the dumpling skins have turned somewhat translucent, you know they're ready!

these were lamb & chive dumplings, and they were tiny!! but not too shabby..you can still see the steam coming off of them in this picture.

it reminded me more of wontons than anything else since they were so small. the filling was really really salty, which was kind of upsetting because they could've tasted really good.

some of the dumplings would puncture when you cook them, turning the water into more of a brothy soup. 2 in 1 for your money! haha (:

easy dinner

being the lazy uni student that i am, i really didn't want to cook last night. i was walking past the shop inside the main building and saw some sandwiches in the fridge, so i figured i'd pick one up. after all, i didn't have much food left in my own fridge, and it looked really delicious from what the description said. it's an organic ready-packed sandwich called "tastes of the souk" (£2.85).

the sandwich is filled with "moroccan spiced chicken with coriander houmous, roasted lemon and peppers, olives and rocket". judging by how things are spelled and how many words seem foreign, it's definitely not a typical american sandwich. a quick translation: "morrocan spiced chicken with cilantro hummus, roasted lemon, peppers, olives and arugula".

overall, it was quite delicious. the chicken was well prepared and they gave you enough - could've been more, but it was adequate. what surprised me was the lemon; somehow, i had read the description as "lemon juice", but it's actually full on grilled lemon slices! it wasn't appetizing. you'd bite into the sandwich, enjoy the savoury taste of the chicken and hummus, and then .. "what's that bitter tough thing??"

see the orange thing? that's not chicken, that's grilled lemon rind. once i pulled all the slices out, the sandwich became much better and made a good dinner. i did get hungry after a while though, so it might be better suited for lunch. not too shabby for £2.85, though for that price i would've preferred a grilled panini (:

late night food runs

before arriving in london, i was telling everyone how i would probably come back 15 pounds skinnier because there'd be nothing to eat. i should've known better because i'm still going to be living on a college campus. campus = pubs + late night fast food + chinese/indian take out. aka WEIGHT GAIN!

there's a place down the road from school that stays open until 2 am every night called Tasty Kebab. granted, it's not the nicest quality food you can get, but after a night out or if you're up studying, it's not a bad place to go.

i've eaten from there at least 4-5 times now; i swear the owners probably know me :| i think there's only been a week that i haven't shown up asking for chips (£1.20)!

the first time i ordered them, i got ketchup and no vinegar because i was staunchly standing my ground against the whole "i-put-malt-vinegar-on-everything-i-eat" British ordeal. they give you a choice of sauces as well, and i've always ordered the garlic sauce, which is essentially garlic flavored mayo & a tad of ranch, i believe.

the chips are really, really good. i'm not gonna lie - i think i probably have a few arteries blocked already, but they're that good. it must be how they fry it or something..much much better than normal pub chips (in my opinion). probably because it's greasier. haha.

i've also ordered the falafel and chips (£3.00) in order to watch the USC game. i know, it's weird, but they don't serve nachos anywhere near here, and i don't trust getting a hotdog at any of these places..

they come with a piece of pita bread, fresh off the grill (: and yes, that's garlic sauce again...and vinegar! i've completely converted and can't eat chips w/o it anymore. here's a nice look at the crispy falafels:

yumm. these falafels were definitely satisfying, even if i'm not the world's biggest falafel fan. i think it's because i watched an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S where rachel's sister thought ross was the falafel guy..regardless, i got a huge craving for them and headed to Tasty Kebab. didn't fail to impress (:

i haven't actually tried any of their meat products yet because i'm slightly worried about them .. they're encased in a large refrigerated glass, but it looks exactly the same each time i walk in, so i'm not sure how long they stay in there :| the rotating piece of lamb on a spit also looks slightly dodgy (sorry, TK!) i think i'll be sticking with the chips for now. at £1.20, it's a freaking good deal. they give you a lot, and it's definitely enough to share.

Tasty Kebab

319 New Cross Rd.

New Cross, SE14 6AS

Cornish Pasty

I dearly luv a pasty, 
A 'ot 'n' leaky wun, 
Weth taties, mayt 'n' turmit, 
Purs'ly 'n' honyun, 

Un crus be made with su't, 
'N' shaped like 'alf a moon, 
Weth crinkly hedges, freshly baked, 
E always gone too soon!

 a traditional pasty (pronounced past-EE, with a soft "a" - opposite of pastry) is very similar to what Brits call "pies"; it's essentially half a pie with some sort of filling inside it. almost like a large unfried empanada, really. you can get all sorts of filling inside, from cheese & bacon to apples and pork, with the basic being the "traditional", which has minced meat (aka ground beef in American-speak) along with onion and potato. pasties originate from Cornwall, and they are actually trying to place a patent on it so that only those made from there can have the label (like Champagne).

the first time i saw the company, i thought they had spelled something wrong. then, when i was queuing to buy one, i sneakily listened to how everyone else was ordering so that i wouldn't say something stupid. thank goodness, because otherwise i would've blurted out "can i get a chicken and veg PASTE-EE please?"sure goes against basic spelling/pronunciation judgment, doesn't it? you'd think that since pastry has a long "a', pasty would be the same...

anyway. i chose to order the steak and stilton pasty (£3.00) from the West Cornwall Pasty Co. today, which you can find pretty much at every large tube station.

the filling was .. decent, i suppose. it was my second time getting it, and both times i was a little let down. they mostly give you loads and loads of onions and potatoes; i barely tasted the cheese, and there was about 4-5 pieces of steak inside. small pieces. :| the crust tasted quite good, but there's a whole lot of it. quite honestly, half the time i barely even got any filling with each bite.

i always get cravings for them for some reason, yet every time i actually DO eat one, all i feel is disappointment. i'm thinking that i might just stick with shepherd's pies for now, and perhaps i'll give the "traditional pasty" a try some time before i leave for home.

West Cornwall Pasty Co.
Unit 11, Main Concourse
London Bridge Station
London, SE1 9SP

LOLA's Cupcakes

i am usually not a sweets person, let alone a cupcake person. i love baking them for people, but i usually hate eating them - especially the frosting! well, it seems like i've found a new weakness: Lola's  Cupcakes. i've been there twice already, once at Harrods, and once at Selfridges & Co. they have counters inside both stores, and each time i was unable to walk away without a purchase.

the first time i tried it was at Harrods; i figured i'd buy 2 mini-cupcakes and then decide if it's worth getting a bigger one next time. i purchased a red velvet cupcake and a banana cupcake, which turned out unsuccessful because they gave me a vanilla one instead :(

they package it in a little container for you, and let's just say small container + crazy tube ride = smushed cupcakes.

public house food

The British Empire was created as a by-product of generations of desperate Englishmen roaming the world in search of a decent meal. - Bill Marsano

you know, the Brits get teased a lot for having "super bland food" and just..well, bad food in general. i had prepared myself for the absolute worst before arriving in London: i searched Google for "typical british foods" and got "carrots, peas, brussel sprouts, potatoes, roast meats, pork, and cream." i thought to myself, "great, i'm going to starve." and decided that i would bring some packs of ramen to prevent utter starvation. then i thought, "wait. how could London, such a huge and diverse city, have bad food?" turns out, it's not so bad after all (just rather expensive).

i'll describe a bit about London food in general in some later posts; today, i wanted to focus on something important: fish and chips. this is generally what you think of as soon as you hear the words "british food" and "pub". i've had it twice so far, and both were quite decent.

my first ever experience (yes, i've never even tried it in the US before) was at Castle, a nice pub near Notting Hill. the plate of fish and chips (haddock, i believe) arrived with a side of mushy peas (£7.90).

i had always imagined the fish to be cut up in chunks - something along the lines of fish fingers. well, in front of me was a huge, 10-inch chunk of fish, waiting to be chopped up and eaten. the fish itself was fried to a nice crisp; the skin was so crispy that it detached itself from the fish, so i was able to save a few arteries from being blocked by not eating some bits. the mushy peas were incredibly sour. i know British people have a habit of putting malt vinegar on everything, but i was hoping that i could control the amount in my food. needless to say, i didn't finish it. the tartar sauce was extremely light, and there was barely any taste to the fish even with the sauce and vinegar and lemon juice. i left the place happy but a little unimpressed; somehow, i felt like it didn't wow me like i had expected.

the second time was at White Horse, which was a huge pub right next to Carnaby St.

after a full afternoon of walking around, i was starved and ready to dig into my food. the pub was huge; my only complaint was that our table smelled of smoke the entire time, and we never found out where it was coming from. when the fish & chips (£7.50) arrived, i eagerly dug in, hoping that it would be a more pleasant experience.

the mushy peas this time weren't sour at all - surprisingly, this turned into a complaint of mine. it didn't have a taste, really. the fish was smaller than the one i had gotten at Castle, but it was much thicker. the sauce was perfect, and i finished off the entire plate without hesitation (not a good idea because the portion was rather large, and i was in slight pain afterwards). they don't give you as much chips though, but it was well made up for by the huge fish.

it's not exactly a healthy meal, but i'm not giving it up any time soon. if i can help it, i'm trying to eat it at least twice a month so i can say i truly know what they're supposed to taste like.

Castle
225 Portobello Road
Ladbroke Grove, W11 1LU

White Horse
16 Newburgh Street
Soho, W1F 7RY 

breaking out the champagne

after a one year hiatus on my previous food blog, i felt like it was time to start it up again. the only problem was, it didn't seem appropriate to just pick up from where i had left off. first of all, i wasn't even sure if i wanted to approach it the same way i did before - i'm not sure how this one will turn out, but i wanted it to be more fun, casual, and personal. secondly, i felt like my style of writing had changed some since i last wrote (it's been a good 2+ years); i also am using a new google account. it would have been weird to see a new username posting, even though it was the same person.

hence, it was only appropriate to create a brand new blog! those who know me understand that i love creating new things - new screen names, new email addresses, new blogs, new layouts...the list goes on. i promise i'll try to make this one last, though!

if you want to visit the previous one, click HERE. i read through it from beginning to end the other day, and i'm actually quite surprised at how much i used to cook and bake! in fact, i'm rather impressed! (: i couldn't even believe that i had made some of those things .. well, i'll take this new blog as my opportunity to impress myself (and you guys) all over again. 

finally, thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to read my blog. i hope it creates a bit of joy for those out there who enjoy eating and learning about food as much as i do!