Skye Soon
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~TRENDING IN CHINA NOW!~


This Green Tea Sprite recipe has been making its rounds on TikTok and the rest of the internet platforms. 

It looks easy and fun to drink, so let's have a go!

The basic ingredients are:

1. Sprite

2. Green tea sachet

The idea is to let the green tea sachet infuse the Sprite. Just let it sit in the fridge so you can enjoy a cold drink. The video uses a bottled sprite but I only have the canned one. 

Other variations include adding lemon slices and also passionfruit. 

I had problems trying to find fresh passionfruit from the supermarket. Not every fruit shop carries it too, so I had to forgo that.  

Anyway, I always considered Sprite as the soda that plays second fiddle to coke. It's nice that it has its moment in the limelight too! It being J-Hope's favourite drink doesn't hurt either 😜

Another trending drink now is the Espresso Soda. Yes, it means coffee and soda. Have you tried it?!

Love,

Skye


Update: We found passionfruit!

They're sold at about $2 for 5 in a tray at Giant!



 They smell soooo good. Also, they're the easiest fruit to work with - just scoop!

Used whatever green tea we had at home this time. The sprite is still clear in this picture because I made a new bottle to sit in the fridge. The sprite should look green!


Like this!



Taste test: It was fun to drink indeed! Fizzy, slightly sweet and refreshing thanks to the tartness of the passionfruit. 

Alternative for sweet tooths - use passionfruit with Korean Citron tea. You can enjoy it hot or cold. Passionfruit makes the tea smell so delicious, and works so much better than just plain ol' lemon, lime, orange slices or even apples.

Yup, we're back with the comparison posts. Today's theme is Grass Jelly, also known as Chin Chow, or in Chinese, 仙草。 

First, let's address the elephant in the room.

Is grass jelly made of grass?

Well, you make it by boiling a plant called Chinese mesona along with starch and potassium carbonate (source: thewoksoflife). 

So I consider it to be a byproduct, like tea. You boil the leaves but you don't eat them. 

What does it taste like?
To me, grass jelly tastes a little herbal. I like that it is unsweetened. It is refreshing in a bowl of dessert or in an iced drink. 

So what's this post about?

Back story: We had this wonderful grass jelly milk tea in JB once upon a time and we have been raving about it ever since. It was ridiculously smooth, soft and jiggly and you can use a bubble tea straw to suck it up and enjoy with the beverage. 

Objective: I wanted to recreate this at home. We are looking for a grass jelly that is unbelievably smooth and slightly soft so that it travels well in a large straw. We're also going to limit the search to supermarkets because the goal is to stock up on the grass jelly and use them when needed. Fresh grass jelly is great but it's a bit of a hassle to leave the house just to get it all the time. 

Without further ado, let's hit the streets to get some grass jelly!

1. 陈顺美 Tan Soon Mui Chin Chow

Price: $1.15 from NTUC
Weight: 500g
Origin: Product of Singapore
Texture: Extra firm and hard

As you can see, there's only a slight give when you press on it with force.

Smoothness: Average, 3/5

Experience: I tried cutting these into big pieces and put them in a homemade iced latte but the bubble tea straw had a hard time doing its job. I gave up and used a spoon instead. 

Recommended for: Cutting into cubes or smaller pieces for a traditional iced dessert. 

2. Grass jelly from the market


Price: $1 per block
Weight: Did not weigh. Probably more than 500g per block though.
Texture: Medium firm
Smoothness: Average, 3/5

Jiggle test: More jiggle than the first grass jelly.


I had high hopes for this grass jelly but I guess the search continues. I always thought 'fresh' grass jelly would be softer.

3. 陈顺美 Tan Soon Mui Chin Chow (Sweetened)


Price: $1 from NTUC
Weight: 300g
Origin: Product of Singapore
Texture: Medium Soft
Jiggle test: We saw it wiggle, wiggle!


So far this is the softest grass jelly we've tried. It's still not what I'm looking for though. 😔

I think there's one more brand that I saw in NTUC, but it looks quite firm as well so I just ignored it. Had too many false starts... guess I'll stick to getting large, soft grass jelly from bubble tea shops until I find one with the desired texture. (Or maybe you guys have a recommendation for me? *hopeful*)

There was a silver lining from these grass jelly tests though...

I had grass jelly in many ways, such as:

Grass jelly with ice and honey

Grass jelly and milk

Grass jelly and soy milk

Grass jelly and milk coffee


But the best one is a recipe by my dad 😂
Have you ever tried 100 Plus grass jelly?


I was super skeptical but it didn't stop me from trying. With some squeezed lime, this was actually super refreshing. The 100 plus adds some nice fizz to it. 


HOW TO: Cube your grass jelly into desired size, add some 100 plus (ours was the zero sugar one but the regular one probably works too). Add lime for extra zest. ✨ 

Thanks for reading! If you do try the recipe, let me know what you think!

Love,
Skye

We enjoy chocolate in all its creamy, sweet goodness, but sometimes a tart flavour like orange that cuts through the sweetness really elevates the experience.

Jaffa cakes, or orange cakes with chocolate sauce, is a popular small cake introduced in the UK in 1927 by McVitie and Price. I believe McVitie's digestive biscuits are quite common and well known in Singapore. 'Jaffa' refers to a type of orange.

Today I'm going to introduce three types of jaffa cakes that you can find on the shelves.

First up, we have to thank KT for bringing home these McVitie's Jaffa Donuts all the way from London. 



Look at this wonderful cake donut with a perfect glossy chocolate finish!


Definitely enjoying this thickness of sponge cake, too. 



It kinds of looks like a pineapple covered with chocolate, haha. 

Texture: It was excellent for a store bought treat! The cake was slightly bouncy and moist. 
Flavour: The chocolate and orange struck a fine balance between citrus sourness and sweetness. Loved it! It's a good choice for when you don't want to indulge in a complete sweet cake experience (think Chocopie), and instead want something with a bit of zest in it.

Let's compare it to this Griesson orange soft cake that I found in Switzerland. 


The box is vibrant and the cakes look pretty sumptuous. 

In reality, this is how the cakes look like. 


Texture: It is not exactly very soft, nor as thick as I thought they would be. The cake is also on the dry side. 
Flavour: The orange jam was quite sweet, and that meant I usually only had one piece at a time. One box contains two rolls of cookies, and as you can see, I'm still struggling to finish them. I guess you could say they disappointed me.

Lastly, I have some Mini Jaffa Cakes from Marks and Spencer.


These cute mini jaffa cakes come in a small 100g bag.

Texture: They are thin and tiny! You get only a thin sliver of cake as compared to the luscious Jaffa Donuts. 
Flavour: The dark chocolate flavour overpowered the orange a little, and overall I considered this more to be a chocolate heavy snack with just a hint of orange flavour. Due to its small size (about 4cm) even though the chocolate is rich, it's not cloying at all. 

Conclusion

If you like tiny doses of a sweet small treat: Mini Jaffa Cakes
Suitable for tea break: Jaffa Donut
Suitable for sharing (like at a kids gathering): Griesson soft cake

There's something for everyone!

Love,
Skye

P.S. New blogposts every Wednesday!

On our day trip to Lucerne, we had lunch at this young, hip pasta joint called Pastarazzi. 


You pick a type of pasta, gnocchi, or ravioli, then choose a sauce and add-ons if any. They have maybe up to ten types of ravioli! The menu was in German but some of the staff spoke English. Takeaways in your own bowl seem to enjoy a discount too! 

We chose a Tagliatelle with cream sauce. (cream = Rahm). This is the small portion. We did not dare risk the 'large' portion as the usual portions in Switzerland are already pretty big for us. It was really delightful, fresh, bouncy and perfectly al dente.  Big yes from us.


Now the more adventurous choice: the apple and lemon ravioli! I didn't know we could mix raviolis (they also had other interesting flavours and fillings like meat, mint, green pea, carrot etc) so I just chose this with Pesto sauce. This was super refreshing too, though the tagliatelle was too delicious and outshone the ravioli. 


Two small plates dining in cost us 34CHF. The restaurant is busy so be ready with your order!

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Pastarazzi
Hirschengraben 13, 
6003 Luzern, Switzerland
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More Switzerland posts

Hikes
Hiking to Zermatt
Hiking in Schynige Platte
Hiking from Grindelwald First to Lake Bachalpsee

Food
Snacks Nom Nom Nom
Chocolate Trail (Zurich)
Swiss Cookie - the Vogelnestli
What we ate in Zurich

Over the weekend I caught the Japanese animated film, Children of the Sea (2019).

What's it about: Ruka, a petulant child, dreads her summer holidays because she has no friends. At the aquarium where her dad works, she encounters two boys that were raised by dugongs. Ruka then embarks on a watery trip of a lifetime.

The film deals with themes like the cosmic realm and birth. While not completely comprehensible to me, the animation was breathtakingly gorgeous.

Enjoy dynamic scenes of ocean creatures and absolutely stunning landscapes. The quality of visuals and details are off the charts! If I'm not wrong, there's a mix of 2D and CG work in this film. 


I loved the composition and colour scheme of this moody, rainy scene so much.





I also quite liked the art style. The eyes of the characters are old school and charming.




Beautiful animation and amazing 'bullet' perspective work too!




Ridiculously gorgeous palette and skies.




Lovely streets of Japan. The vibrant reds and greens will always remind me of Spirited Away.



Had to include this scene - the little boy figurine holding the ice cream is too cute. 




Towards the end, the visuals reach a spectacular crescendo. I think it is all the more beautiful especially since these new images from space were recently released. It really drives home the message of how beautiful, important yet inconsequential we are in the universe.

Plot wise, there's a lot of mystery but little resolution. Instead we are invited to share in the emotional ups and downs of Ruka in this coming-of-age movie. Character development is average even though there were two hours to flesh things out. There was simply too much other material (like the overarching mystery) overshadowing the characters. I would say that the film truly shines in the visual department. 

Overall, it's a decent film to be enjoyed if you do not care too much for plot or characters. Maybe the development is better in manga or easier to cultivate in an anime series rather than a one off movie. 

Next up, I'll probably watch Bubble (2022). Somehow I only saw the trailer but didn't realise that it was already out. Oh well. Better late than never?

Also, I'm really looking forward to catching the next big animated film (Suzume no Tojimari) on the big screen. Animated Japanese film aesthetics are truly my favourite! 

Love,
Skye

cows in switzerland

dog in river

bench in a forest

swiss mountain dog

pinecones growing on tree

red bench by the lake


couple walking dog on path surrounded by trees

All photos taken by me in 2022 in Switzerland. Hope you enjoyed them!

Love,
Skye
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Skye Soon : lifestyle blogger in Singapore, street busker and enthusiast of chocolates and books

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