For passionate foodies, a good meal is always enjoyable. Many will drive or queue up just for some delicious bites, and when they cannot go out, they whip up a storm in the kitchen. CGTN's Wang Siwen looks at how home quarantine due to the COVID-19 outbreak, has made baking a trend.

Zheng Xiaoyu, a resident in Hebei Province, enjoys her new culinary pursuits, saying home confinement has turned her into a "baking expert." 

"During this outbreak, I have taken part in every 'cooking contest' people organized on WeChat... whether it's about making cold noodles or fried rice cakes. I also make some pastries at night. Today happens to be my first wedding anniversary. We cannot go out to celebrate so I made a cake," Zheng said.

A range of Chinese pastries, from steamed rolls, dumplings, and breads, are all on the menu. 

A report by group-buying app Meituan shows that searches for baking ingredients have risen by a whopping 100 times recently on its platform, with sale of yeast up nearly 40 times, and that of dumpling wrappers growing seven fold.

Wang Qiushan, a supermarket manager in Hebei Province, said: "Before the coronavirus outbreak, our sale of yeast was about thirty to forty small bags per day, and now it's more than 100. We are increasing our orders to meet the demand."

Adding some joy to these trying times, it's safe to say these pastries are bringing much needed relief to many families