The muffin chronicles

matcha gems, tech vs tradition

glistening with caramelised edges, meltingly tender, with smoky, charred corn: pork belly at Longtail, Taipei

Food news of the week:

I was torn between showcasing the fun new eats I discovered in Taiwan—where my Travel Eats series first took off—or sticking to tried-and-true gems like unlimited hotpot indulgence at Wagyu Shabu or braised favourites at Moon Moon. I had a most unforgettable plate of pork belly at Longtail, and you can’t miss the severely underrated Miss Croissant at Taichung main station, where the croissants rival Parisian perfection– hot, buttery, and impossibly flaky. Ultimately, I went deeper with this week’s restaurant highlight: the criminally underrated Sushi Suzuki Kosuke.

Back in Singapore, find out my favourite muffin and matcha spot by far in the food and drink combo section below, complemented by a reliable coffee muffin recipe!

where to get this hydrated, not-too-sweet kinako muffin

Science of the week:

At a health tech conference in Taiwan, I was struck by the juxtaposition of the unwavering belief in holistic health of the Taiwanese, with their extreme technological modernity; I do feel like Taiwan and Japan are at least 5 years ahead in that respect. NFC (nailfold capillaroscopy) is a technique used to analyse the blood flow and pattern at your nail bed (evidence-based) which reflects your overall health and metabolism, however they used my apparently poor blood flow pattern to sell me a $100 pillow with a piece of metal in it, meant to improve this blood flow (not evidence-based).

Insight of the week:

My mandarin may have gone down the drain, as I realised on this trip, but did you know: Chinese is the only language that doesn’t have a discrete yes and no? Say I ask you: Hey have you eaten? In any language you would say yes, like oui or ja, but in Chinese, you simply use affirming or negating language like yes, I ate (是的，我吃了), by repeating verbs and context. It’s more like expressing general agreement or disagreement as opposed to directly saying yes or no.

Recipe of the week:

Today’s letter speaks fluent muffin, inspired by the kinako muffins I’m raving about below. This coffee creation is a seductive blondie-muffin hybrid—devilishly chewy at the edges, soft and pillowy in the middle, and unapologetically bursting with coffee.

Coffee blondie muffins, makes 6-7 muffins or one loaf of blondies

Ingredients

100g butter, at room temperature

50g light brown sugar

50g white sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp fine salt

110g plain flour

1 tsp instant coffee

1/2 tsp baking powder

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and prepare 6-7 muffin liners. Alternatively, grease a standard 9×5-inch loaf pan; you can use this mold for the same batter and its quantity.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the soft butter, sugars and salt using a strong metal whisk. Use a rubber spatula to help cream everything together. Once pale and fluffy, add the egg and whisk that in well. Then tip in the flour, baking powder and instant coffee. Use the rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet.