Cupcake brownies

You wake up on a Saturday morning with the realisation that you just finished your university tests and you have absolutely nothing to do (no, I will not continue studying just yet). Room cleaned ✓, house cleaned ✓, outdoor errands ✓. So a few weeks back, I baked a chocolate cake (which because of my lack of presentation skills resulted in no pictures, no post) which was surprisingly very delicious. I've never baked cakes before so the chocolate cake would be my first. I had quite some leftover bits of ingredients from the chocolate cake so I decided to use them to make brownies. The recipe I used is from All Recipes. 

Serves: 20

Prep time: 4 mins

Cook time: 20 - 25 mins

Ingredients

400g caster sugar

225g butter, melted

60g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

225g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

60g walnut halves (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in the order given. 
2. Bake at 180°C / Gas mark 4 for 20 - 25 minutes in a rectangular 23x33cm greased baking tin. 
3. Cool, and slice into equal square portions. 

Due to my inability to access my mum's supply of baking utensils (mixer, baking trays, etc.), I used muffin tins instead of a baking tin which resulted in little mini cupcake brownies. I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the way the brownies turned out. 

Siobhan Lim

Goodbye winter

Winter evenings in Moulsecoomb, Brighton

Never have I ever had the problem of wanting the season to change so bad. I grew up in a country where it's practically summer all year long. Heat, heat and more heat. The first time I experienced a season other than summer that I can remember would be the student exchange programme I participated in 5 years ago. I travelled to Japan early winter for about a week and that was my first time experiencing temperatures below 10 degrees. 

A few years later, I travelled to Australia with my family. It was early Christmas and supposedly summer time there (and I've heard that summer time in Australia can get pretty toasty). I was and will always be prepared for summer time anywhere. But nope. The temperatures deviated from 8 to 20 degrees and I was silently and slowly freezing to death. Yes, I know. What is 8 to 20 degrees? I'm not a big fan of the cold, so you could only imagine my sufferings. To make things worst, I only packed a pair of jeans which I had to live in for the next 7 days. Note to self: no matter what the season, always pack more than one pair of jeans. ALWAYS. 

Moulsecoomb, Brighton

Flash forward to slightly less than a year ago when I travelled to Europe for the first time. Temperatures were between 18 and 25 degrees which was, by far, the best weather I've ever experienced. I froze for a bit when I first arrived, but slowly adapted and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

When I first touched down to the UK, I wasn't really worried or nervous about the weather. I mean, how bad can it be, right? Wrong. As winter slowly crept in, the temperature just kept dropping, and dropping. At the rate the temperature was dropping, it BETTER start snowing. But then again, Brighton is by the coast which meant: no snow. Well of course there are exceptions some years, but the chances of it snowing is pretty low? Nonetheless, I was really excited with the hope that it might snow here in Brighton. Even if it's just one time, I'd really love to see snow. 

And it did.

It wasn't much, but honestly, seeing snow for the first time just cancelled out any sort of disappointment about there not being much snow. The snow even disappeared leaving no traces of it ever snowing at all once it was 10AM! That's sunny Brighton for you. But nonetheless, another item checked off the bucket list ✓.

Siobhan Lim

Honey cornflake cups

One of the things I think about when Chinese New Year is around the corner: CNY cookies. A few weeks ago before Chinese New Year, I had a craving for CNY cookies. Being in the UK, CNY cookies are hard to find. In fact, I think they're impossible to find! And obviously my cravings needed to be satisfied. So in to the kitchen I went. This was a recipe I found online.

Serves: 70 mini cornflake cups

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 10 - 12 mins

Ingredients

2 tbs honey

50 grams unsalted butter

150 grams gently crushed cornflakes

coloured sprinkles

Directions

1. In a saucepan, melt butter and honey over gentle heat, until the mixture is frothy. 
2. Add crushed cornflakes into the honey butter mixture and stir to coat the cornflakes evenly. 
3. Spoon cornflakes into individual mini baking cases and top with coloured sprinkles. Bake at preheated oven of 150°C for 10 - 12 minutes, or until the cornflakes turn a darker shade of golden. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container. 

Siobhan Lim

The Script @ The Brighton Centre

It was the year 2008 when I first discovered The Script. A friend of mine asked me to listen to one of their songs, telling me it was an amazing song. Who would've known that 8 years ago, Breakeven would still be my favourite song to date. That was also the year I discovered the guitar. Of course not its existence, but the beauty of it; how you can play any song on it. I decided to pick up the guitar solely for one purpose which was to learn to play Breakeven. Breakeven was my motivation. 

I don't usually buy music albums due to me not wanting to spend money on something that is not food or clothes. Not to say albums are cheap either! Especially now in this new technological era where you have things like YouTube and Spotify, it's so easy to listen to music without having to buy an album. And you need a music player for that too! Even so, I have all (except the most recent one, No Sound Without Silence, *cries*) of The Script's albums. I told myself that I'd only ever buy an album if I am head over heels over an artist or band. 

The Script, they weren't just a band. They weren't just a band singing songs. They were my best friends in music. 8 years, they were my best friends. They were with me through my ups and downs. When things got tough, they were there. When things got even tougher, they were there. And when things took a turn and got better and even better, they were there too. I guess that's the beauty of music, you know? How just a few simple words put together to form a song can touch you in a way only music can. 

Well, to sum things all up: last Tuesday, I got the opportunity to finally, I repeat, FINALLY, watch The Script perform live in concert at The Brighton Centre. 8 years I have waited for this day to come. You know how some people have this bucket list where they have things like 'smoke at least once' or 'travel to Paris', something like that? Well, 'to watch The Script live at least once in this life' can finally be checked off mine ✓. 

Siobhan Lim

Barcelona food diary

Any vacation is incomplete if you don't have good food. Let it be pricey, affordable, or cheap, good food is good food and there's no questioning that. When you ask anyone who has been to Spain, they will all tell you, "churros", "tapas", "paella". Google will tell you to eat them. Even my parents wanted me to try them. 

When we arrived in Barcelona, the weather was unfavourable and it definitely affected us. We couldn't find our way to our hostel and ended up having to walk for almost an hour in the rain just to get there. When we reached the hostel, we couldn't check in either as it was not time. Talk about a way to start a vacation, huh?

Shortly after we arrived at the hostel, the sun came up and it stopped raining. We decided to leave our bags at the luggage locker and head out on an adventure around Barcelona to look for the Punt TMB information centre to collect our online-purchased travel cards. I must say, these travel cards were really worth the money if you intend to explore Barcelona on your own. 

After a long and unrewarding goose hunt (we couldn't find the information centre), we decided to walk into a random restaurant to satisfy our pack of hungry wolves. 

Pura Brasa @ Rambla Catalunya, 13, 08007 Barcelona

Grilled fish

Patatas bravas (potato) - I had this on the last day of my stay too because it's amazing and if you are going there, you HAVE to try it.

Pork skewer - juiciest skewer I have ever eaten

Catalonian creme dessert with glazed sugar

We thought we were lucky to have a lovely churros shop near our hostel so we didn't have to go all mad goose hunt looking for one. That luck slowly turned into a guilty pleasure as we bought churros everyday from there. It was our breakfast, snack and supper for the whole length of our stay. We even bought a bag before our departure. 

Churrería J. Balcells @ Carrer de Córsega, 341, 08003 Barcelona Catalonia

This was another little restaurant/cafe/mini bar that we found while wondering the streets of Catalonia. It is located somewhere behind the Barcelona Cathedral. 

Potato tapas

Beef skewers with potatoes

Turmeric chicken with potatoes

Next on our list: paella. After much googling, we found this place just close by to La Pedrera (which was our next location after lunch). We honestly thought that it wasn't THAT special but found that we were craving for it after. Also, it was really filling and we only felt like sleeping after. 

Artapas @ Calle Provenca 269, 08008 Barcelona
(Top) meat paella, (bottom) seafood paella

This was eaten the night of the football match. Most of the restaurants were packed to the brim so we just randomly walked into one. I think it took us almost an hour just for food. That's a piece of football night for you! 

An egg cake with bread

Carbonara risotto (which was surprisingly really good)

This is located after walking up a hill to get to Parc Güell.

Another random restaurant the same row as our hostel @ Carrer de Còrsega. 

Tomato based squid ink paella with seafood (p.s. cravings satisfied!)

La Torna inside Merkat Santa Caterina @ Av. de Francesc Cambó, 16, 08003 Bacelona.

BEST. MEATBALLS. 

Fish with beans

All in the name of good food, we returned to Pura Brasa for our last meal in Barcelona. No regrets, at all. 

Pork ribs that I mentioned in my earlier post. 

Pineapple rice

Siobhan Lim

¡Hola! Barcelona

Currency exchange, check-in times, itinerary planning, planning, planning, planning. I have to admit, I salute my mum for having to plan all our family vacations. Who would've thought it would be so hard!  

I had a three week Christmas break from university last year and decided to go on a little getaway to Barcelona. Three weeks prior to my departure and I had a Google history of everything Barcelona. From things to eat to places to go; I could be your itinerary planner if you're ever planning a trip there. I must say, I have a whole new respect for those who travelled when there was still no internet. Google maps has by far been my best friend throughout the whole trip. Along with apps such as City Mapper which were a BIG help during my stay in Spain. 

A screenshot of the City Mapper app. 

Planning where to go is simple. Just google 'things to see in Barcelona' and boom. Pages and pages of websites providing you those answers. 'La Sagrada Familia', 'Parc Güell', 'La Pedrera', and so many more. This is where my saviour Google maps come in to picture. Planning the hours to go to each of these attractions was by far the hardest. How long will it take to get there? How long would I spend there? Google maps tells you roughly how long it will take to get there by foot, taxi, and whatever public transportation they have in their country; let it be buses, tubes or trains. And lovely TripAdvisor reviewers tell you how long you will need to spend there. It's amazing. 

You cannot leave Spain without trying churros. You cannot.  

La Sagrada Familia feat. unglam me

Panaroma view of the roof of La Pedrera

Watched a match between Barcelona and Huesca. This would be my first football match.

Panorama view of Parc del Laberint d'Horta

Famous lizard of Parc Güell

The colonnade "La Ola" @ Parc Güell

Tip: I bought all my entry tickets (La Sagrada, La Pedrera and Parc Güell) online so I can skip the long queue and not waste any time. Oh! And for Parc del Laberint d'Horta, admission is free on Wednesdays. 

This was taken while I was stranded in a town and there were no taxis (what happens when your outlet shopping desire > the fear of getting lost in a country where you can't speak their language)

picture from Global Blue

Details: 

La Roca Village
08430 Santa Agnès de Malanyanes
La Roca del Vallès

Last meal in Spain: pork ribs (because who doesn't love ribs?)

So long, Spain. Till we meet again. 

Siobhan Lim