Skye Soon
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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

Willing Hearts Signboard

Hello my friends,

I just had one of the most meaningful and productive mornings in a long while! Let me tell you about it.

Recently I've been feeling stuck. I tried various methods like sleeping more, or doing more, to try to feel less lethargic, but to no avail. Cycling through different projects didn't seem to help either.

Now, regular volunteering has been something that I have been wanting to do, but it has always been on the back burner due to work commitments (and other excuses).

In my mind there are just so many things I need to accomplish! I want to improve my guitar skills, learn coding, learn drawing with my free time. Well, sometimes it does happen but more often than not, the free time is eventually squandered (usually to doom-scrolling?).

So yesterday night, I decided that since I'm not getting anything done, I might as well use this time to accomplish something more useful! 

I went ahead and signed myself up via the e-portal  for a volunteering session at Willing Hearts, which by the way, has moved to a new location at 1 Lorong J Telok Kurau, Singapore 425792.

This is my first time helping out at their new address.

(You can read about my First Time Volunteering at Willing Hearts too if you like)

Previously I only got to work with preparing vegetables. Today I got to do so many different tasks! 😆

First up, let's suit up!

  1. Scan the QR code at the piano area to check in if you want to register your hours. 
  2. You can put your belongings at a metal rack in the vegetable cutting area.
  3. Put your hair in the disposable hairnet, wear an apron (disposable or cloth), and put on gloves.

At about 8.30a.m., we packed rice, minced meat and vegetables into rectangular plastic boxes for delivery. 

  • Collect huge tray of rice
  • 'Cut up/mince' and scoop meat
  • Scoop veggies
  • Cover tightly with plastic lid
  • Pack and it's ready for delivery!

Sounds simple enough but when you're preparing thousands of these... it's not as breezy as it seems! WH serves 11,000 meals a day! Isn't that amazing?

The packing room seems to be the most well ventilated so far, with a large fan in the middle. There's even radio music to listen to while packing. We had three efficient stations so time flew by quickly. 

Soon some of us were called to help at different stations. Some of us ladies were tasked to cut open packages of sliced ham and separate them into single pieces for easy assembling. There was a lot!!!! of ham. 

While preparing the ham slices, I couldn't help but feel like I was preparing food for a buffet. Kitchen staff are really such heroes! If you ever entertained thoughts of working in kitchen (maybe because you play Overcooked like me, or watch too many episodes of Gordon Ramsey), you can maybe experience a tiny sliver of kitchen staff life here.

The kitchen area is definitely much warmer, so I was glad to move to a different part of the place once we were done with the task. 

Next, we prepared food for steaming. Some cooked rice has already been portioned out by the earlier batch of volunteers (who start at 5am!!!), so now we have to:

  1. Put vegetables (broccoli, cailan etc) in the box of uncooked rice. 
  2. Add water.
  3. Stir.
  4. Add the meat (minced meat or 3 slices of ham).
  5. Close the plastic boxes.
  6. Load them onto the huge trolley.
We worked a lot with huge metal trays and at some point I accidentally cut my finger on one of the trays. There are first aid kits located in many parts of the place though, so don't worry! However, there are mostly bandages, gauze and eye shields in the first aid kit. I couldn't find any plasters so I just used the gauze and tape. Luckily it's just a tiny cut, which is more annoying than worrying because we are handling food. Don't worry, I wrapped it up well and put on some new gloves. 

Compared to my previous visit, the core staff seemed more jovial and willing to teach today. I think the new place also seems larger, cleaner and more organised. What didn't change though is that initiative is always appreciated here!

If you see an empty tray that is disrupting the assembly line etc, go ahead and find a way to replace it etc. If you don't know where to get something, ask. Usually someone will know what to do and give instructions. 

It is also nice to work in a cheerful environment where everyone has the same goal - to serve the beneficiaries. Loved getting to know and work with everyone!

Like I said, I hope will integrate volunteering in life and make it regular! It really does give me an added sense of purpose and I appreciate feeling useful. 

If you are keen to volunteer, visit https://willinghearts.org.sg/ for more information!

Love,

Skye

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. We found it to be a pretty mix of historical architecture and modern amenities. We did a lot of chocolate shopping here and also visited the Swiss National Museum* (free if you have the Swiss Travel Pass).

Food wise, there are more options other than the usual meat/potato/cheese kind of western fare. There's Asian food, Italian and Mediterranean too.

In a previous post, I shared about the cheese fondue we ate in Gruyères. What we ate in Zurich is decidedly less traditional. Here are 4 places we ate at!

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VITO
Europaallee 4, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
(Right outside Zurich HB)
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This Italian pizza place was a random find for us. We simply chose it because it was close to the station (Zurich HB). We headed there after before appalled by Asian food costing $12-22CHF per bowl. (Food in question: Udon, soba, pho, katsudon)

There was a set deal of 2 (large) slices of pizza and a salad for $20CHF. What a steal! You make your order and pay at the counter, before heading to any seat of your choice. 

Sorry for the crappy photo - we were hungry and I didn't realise this was unfocused. 

We got Magherita and Mushroom (champignon). They also top the thin crispy pizza with shaved cheese and rocket (which we declined). It was delicious! The salad was also generous with pine nuts and beets. 

One big plus of this place as well is that it opens late - all the way to 10pm/12am! This is a big deal,  because most food establishments close quite early.

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Brooklyn by Burger Meister 
Kasernenstrasse 77b, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
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Next, we tried some burgers. Burger Meister's marketing department will be pleased to know that we chose to dine here simply because we kept seeing their signboard with humongous, blocky letters on our walks in Zurich. The exposure effect is real.

There are a few Burger Meister restaurants in Zurich but we ate at this one, a quick walk from Zurich HB. 

We ordered a classic Hamburger, a Buttermilk Chicken Burger and also fries to share. Total bill here was $40.30 CHF. 

What you see in the photo is actually one serving of fries that we split up. 


To be honest I had low expectations but the juicy beef patty in the hamburger really exceeded my expectations! Also enjoyed the flavours in the hamburger. Simple but it works. You can probably skip the Buttermilk Chicken burger though, there's nothing too special about it. Guess it's true then, that cow products are just simply irresistibly good in Switzerland!

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Cafe Henrici
Niederdorfstrasse 1, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
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This last place I want to tell you about is Cafe Henrici. It is located at the Old Town of Zurich. 


To be honest we didn't notice this cafe despite walking past it several times. It looks quite simple and nondescript. But after some research we headed there because they had quite an extensive menu of coffee, drinks, pastries, mains and dessert and opened pretty early!



Inside, the decor was inviting and cosy. There were wall paintings and little nooks with coffee books (in German). 

We ordered an iced latte, a blueberry muffin and chanced upon this page of Tarte Flambée, a type of French dish. 

You know us. Our curiosity was piqued. We ordered it.


And we were rewarded. Turns out a Tarte Flambée resembles a thin crust pizza. We chose the 'Champion' tarte, and enjoyed avocado and paprika!


It felt very luxurious and satisfying to be having this for early brunch. 


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Crepes
Old Town, Zürich, Switzerland
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In the same area, there was a cart selling Crepes. No address for this since the mobile cart moves around the city. There's a menu in English.


The cart offers both sweet and savoury crepes. Sweet crepes include lemon and sugar, apple sauce, and chocolate. 

We ordered the cheese and spinach flavour (kase and spinat). This crepe cost us about $11CHF. 


There were benches around the cart so we just ate in the little square. Ah, the joy of a hot, floppy crepe. The cheese is extremely melty too. You also have an option of topping your crepe with Paprika (and salt?). For some reason this made the crepe kind of salty, so we started to think of paprika as the Western version of MSG. (lol)

Extra notes:
I also think that if you have a chance, maybe dine by the waterfront! For us, the weather would abruptly become drizzly by the time we wanted to do that so we missed our opportunity to do so. I think it would such a nice experience though. It is truly as they say, Switzerland is as picturesque as it comes.

Ending notes:
As you know, my Swiss travels have long ended and I'm making these blogposts back in Singapore. Do I miss Switzerland? Yes. 

Covid-19 has basically been a dampener on all travel desires and this mood has been sustained for two whole years (and more.) I can see how 'revenge travel' is a thing. Well, I hope to have a chance to travel again! 

Love, 
Skye
P.S. New posts every Wednesday.

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
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ABOUT ME

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

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