Almond And Apple Tea - 苹果杏仁茶

There is always a saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, and apple itself contains high nutritional value, promotes digestion and help to prevent diseases and other functions too. This common fruit which is suitable for all ages often comes in various sizes and varities from different countries. During recent years studies iit also shows that Apple may prevent or reduce food allergies in human too.

Recently I get to learn how to make this drink from one of my boy's classmates granny who loves to boil soups for her family. She shared with us that this soup is good for health in long run and it also helps to prevent cough and cold due to the ingredients used. Above are some collage photos of the ingredients and steps of preparation.

Sweet & Bitter Almonds(南北杏), Apricot Seed
Warm. Influences the lung and large intestine channels. Stops cough and moistens the intestines. Commonly used to treat dry cough and constipation.

Ingredients: (serves 4)
2 - 3 Big Apples, cut into wedges
1 Tablespoon Sweet & Better Almond
1 Piece of Candidate Tangerine
4 Strips of Candidate Winter Melon, optional
1 Knot of Pandan Leave
1.5 Litres of Water

Method:
1. Rinse, peel and core the apples then cut them into wedges. (about 6 - 8 wedges per apple)
2. Bring 1.5 litre of water to boil and add in all the ingredient except pandan leaves.
3. When the water comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer on low heat for about 20 - 25 minutes.
4. Add in pandan leaves at the last 5 minutes then continue to let it simmer.
5. When done turn off the heat, remove the sweet & bitter almond pack and pandan leaves from the pot.
6. Serve warm or cold with the cooked apple as drink or dessert.

Note:-
~ Spoon the sweet and bitter almond into stock bag and secure it before adding it to cook with the rest of the ingredients.


This is a very refreshing tea that makes you hook on it due to its sweet and sour taste together with the fragrant of the apples and other pairing ingredients used. You can even boiled this tea and consume it as normal daily fluid by having an option to remove the adding of candidate winter melon to reduce the sweetness. And from some research shown Apples can also reduce high cholesterol, blood pressure and at the same time maintain consistent sugar level in the human body. So this quick and easy tea is sure to be a good keeper in most of our family and it also makes a great drink for kids too.

Soyato! Healthier Choice of Frozen Dessert!

Soyato is a brand new  frozen dessert  concept that is made of only "Soy Milk" as the base, and contains NO eggs, cream or milk. So this would be a great dessert for those who loves ice cream in a healthier way and it is also suitable for everyone including people who are lactose intolerant, vegans and vegetarians.

This newly set up stall is located at basement level of Bugis junction which is opposite KFC. Unlike Mr Bean, Soyato offers a wide range of more than 10 different flavour soy milk dessert for patrons to select according to their liking. You can start off with any flavour of your choice in a single scoop cup at S$3.60 or add on a dollar more to move your scoop of choice into a "Giant Waffle Cone". But if you prefer some toppings you could always choose from their visible topping ranges of selections from $0.70 per serving. There are also some free flow drizzling sauces such as “Chocolate”, “Strawberry” and “Caramel” for you to go with your dessert too.


My Boy's choice of Chocolate flavour single scoop with chocolate sauce.


Yancai's choice of "Apple Cinnamon"(the cup at the back) and Maureen's pick of "Royal Tea" to share with Kai.


Alvin and Lobs' settle with this double scoop of "Peanut Butter" and "Yuzu".

Soyato has more then 10 different flavour available for patrons to select and some of the exotic flavours are Yuzu, Black Sesame, Royal Tea and Honey Lemon. Overall I love their Yuzu and Royal Tea and I am yet to try out some other interesting flavour soon.

Their frozen soy desserts churned are made totally from low-fat soy milk which is an ideal choice for people with dietary constraints or those who loves ice-cream but are afraid of its fat and cholesterol contents. So why not the next round when you are in Bugis area pop-by their stall and ask their friendly staffs to let you sample some of their flavours before deciding on which one to go for. I am sure there is definitely more than one that you loves.

Soyato

#B1-K5, Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street,
Singapore 188021
Website: http://www.soyato.com

Opening Hours:

Daily: 11.00am - 10.30pm

Pooh Pancake Bento

It has being more than a year since my last bento post on making the "Macar Garden". Usually for a traditional bento it consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables that are packed in a box-shaped container. But recent years making of kids’ bento also became a trend in Singapore under the influence of those creative Japanese bento makers. For kids’ bento you can packed anything that your kids prefer in those cute and fashion “bento boxes” that comes in various sizes and designs. (Click HERE for sample)

Here I am packing a "Pancake Bento" which I believes everyone loves pancakes despite whether kids or adults so with some quick and easy pre-packed pancake mixture and extra ingredients like milk and egg you can prepared some delicious pancakes in no time.

I bought this set of "Pooh Face" pancake pan about 2 years back during my craze over these cute bento products. So far I have only tried using it once until recently one of my friend bought me another similar set from her trip. So I decided to use it to make some cute "Pooh Face" pancakes for my boy.

These collage photos show the steps on how to cook the pancake and you could also refer to the instructions below:-

Ingredients:-
200g Pre-mixed Pancake Flour
1 Egg
150ml Fresh Milk
Oil or Soft Butter to grease

Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl add in pancake flour, egg and fresh milk then slowly whisk it with a balloon whisk till well combined.
2. Set the mixture aside for about 2 - 3 minutes, lightly grease and preheat the pooh pancake pan or any small pancake pan till hot.
3. Slowly ladle 1 small scoop of batter and swirl it around the mould/pan.
4. Cook it on low heat for about 2 minutes till the mixture almost dried up and bubbled. (refer to the photo above)
5. Carefully loosen the side of the pancake if using the pooh pancake mould, then flip it over to cook the other side for another 1 minute or so.
6. Remove from pan and continue with the rest of the mixture.
7. Keep it warm and serve with extra butter and maple syrup.


You can easily get a pack of this pre-mixed pancake mixture from any leading supermarkets or you can also use any of your reliable pancake recipes.

My Boy loves Winnie the Pooh so I have some collection of the Pooh related bento items range from bento boxes, food cutters, fork and spoon and etc (Click HERE for sample). So with this lovely "Pooh Pancake Bento" it really brings joy and excitement to him when he gets a set of this for his afternoon tea break. To make this more attractive, I also add in pooh shape butters and some maple syrup in pooh container. Mummies with similar interests I am sure everyone of you can prepared something even better than mine to bring a smile on your kids' face.