jammy swiss roll

the perfect swiss roll – for me – is a slice of tightly-wrapped, chiffon-light but substantial cake spread with minimal buttercream and rolled in sugar. it’s an impression forged amidst nostalgia – a common snack when I was younger and singapore didn’t have nearly that many fancy bakeries was a box of swiss rolls from the polar chain of cafes. fluffy and mildly sweet the way I liked it, these cakes were always displayed perfectly in glass counters, and cost very little for a midday treat.

they’ve lost their popularity now, and while the polar chain remains, it’s a throwback to times that the new generation don’t always appreciate amidst the proliferation of fancy, trendy bakeries with their fashionable cupcakes and bubble tea. and that brings me to this recipe.

singaporean seafood dinner

hello to you all – I hope you’ve had a great christmas season with family and friends, and managed to squeeze in a little shopping/rest! I’ve been on holiday in vietnam for the last week (loads of photos and things to share with you) and while my family doesn’t explicitly celebrate christmas, it’s always a good time to rest.

before I start off on my vietnam posts, I thought I’d share with you what constitutes a dinner at home for us. we are immensely greedy seafood eaters at home, and go through a rather impressive (even if I do say so) amount of seafood for the four of us at a sitting. I don’t cook while at home – that’s my mum’s milieu and not an activity I’m permitted – and so these shots were takeb while flitting about the kitchen and annoying her as she was cooking.