Frannywanny

My lil sister is a certified chocoholic. In fact, she keeps a medium sized plastic box in our cupboard where her stash of chocolates are neatly contained. It is no surprise therefore that her boyfriend Jiggy would shower her with sweet chocolate-y surprises every now and then. Good thing, Pan loves sharing her chocolates with the rest of the family which we are all thankful for Ü For the past year, our lovely wooden cupboard is always filled with all types of chocolates. Since I'm the only white chocolate lover in our family, it then makes sense that boxes and packs of milk and dark chocolates outnumber the lone giant Cadbury White from my beloved Paul. To celebrate Papa's birthday, Jiggy brought over a clear plastic box that contains an ice-cream-slash-cake-like dessert. As the elegant looking sticker reads Vargas Kitchen my eyes suddenly lit up and my heart gave a tiny leap and a couple of summersaults as I recognized the name that is known for their to-die-for butter cakes....

I'm thankful to have Paul. Where else can you find a boyfriend who would go out of his way to celebrate the special days in our relationship by bringing me to a new romantic restaurant as seen here or who would just give in to my constant pleading to drive all the way to the opposite end of town to satisfy my sudden cravings ? Lastly, Paul never forgets our monthsaries. Yes, we are on our 58th and still we make it a point to celebrate it every month. No fancy gifts though, a simple dinner date is already perfect. Ü This month, thanks to my grandfather who is a certified foodie (it truly runs in our blood, don't you think?), we tried a new restaurant that specializes in one of our favorite cuisines. Nasi Lemak is a Singaporean-Malaysian restaurant located at the tip of busy Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. Entering the well lighted restaurant, I noticed that there are a number of long tables filled with families. Overwhelmed with the wide selection of dishes, I resorted to...

Not so long ago, a market is primarily known to be a place where one can get the freshest meat, veggies and seafood. Furthermore it is also a place that is synonymous to wet floors, yellow incandecent bulbs and yes, that distinctive aroma of raw meat. It is a place where moms, cooks and yayas would go to on an early Sunday morning. Growing up, my mom would occassionally mention that my sister and I have to learn to go to the market for us to be a lil bit domestic in the future. That and learning how to cook a couple of basic dishes. We took her advice on the cooking part but to this day haven't had the chance to visit a wet market. Thank God for the brilliant minds of neighborhood associations who got together and created, what I'd call, the cleanest markets in town! If all markets were like these then everyday would probably be Market Day! However, unlike your regular wet market, weekend markets have more cooked meals and specialty stalls that features unique dishes. Some eve...

Tomorrow marks my 3rd official week as part of the corporate crowd in Pioneer. Day in and out, I still get excited exploring my new environment be it inside the confines of my big (and I must say hip and trendy looking) office or outside with a mall that (ok, fine) barely matches up to that giant shopping complex along EDSA. However, still miraculously provides the basic necessities such as books and office supplies, a big hardware store, a number of restaurants and fast food chains and yes! even a bingo bonanza station. One discovery that I am very happy about happened over an impromptu lunch out last week. It was supposed to be a lunch meeting that got cancelled at the last minute when two out of three of my groupmates suddenly couldn't make it. With no food for lunch, my colleague and I decided to try this new restaurant called Chili Willy's . To be honest, I was excited to visit this restaurant after reading Anton's wonderful (and as always, very convincing) review . I...

Dear Friends and Readers, Today, I opened this blog and noticed the tiny pink count meter at the bottom right-hand portion of the page...after close to a year finally it read 20,156 ! My blog is turning a year old and yes, it has been visited 20,156 times!! woohooo!! To everyone reading this, I just want to say.... ...from the bottom of my heart Ü Love, Fran

It was raining hard last Wednesday when I met up with Paul at his car wash. After realizing that it will take a while for the rain to stop, Paul asked me if I'm hungry and maybe we should just go grab a quick bite before heading home. Driving along M. Paterno street in San Juan, we saw a cozy-looking restaurant with a bright signage bearing a cute drawing of a Chinese-looking lady with a bowl of seemingly hot soup and a spoon on both hands. Big Mama's Place , it read. Instantly, I remembered a friend who sent me an SMS not so long ago telling me to try it out because the food is delicious. Parking is pretty limited good thing it was still early and we were, in fact, the first customer for the night. We were welcomed by Rey, the very friendly server who ushered us to our table and presented their big laminated menu. He continued by enumerating their best-sellers and even gave a short description for some. I was impressed. His approach was done in a very helpful manner making us ...

Thanks Tinsky for awarding me with this cool badge Ü It's amazing to note that it IS possible to make wonderful friends even over the internet. I love my blogger friends Ü

Unlike most of my highschool batchmates and my very own sister who chose to become a Blue Eagle in college, I took the road less taken and spent my 5 wonderful years of university life in Pearl Drive, Pasig. Therefore, being able to go to Katipunan Avenue is always something I look forward to because this means I can try another new restaurant that is solely found in this student-populated road in Quezon City. Tonight, craving for something new, I was lucky enough to convince Paul to drive all the way to Katipunan to try a restaurant that I've been hearing lots of raves about. Getting a positive feedback is one thing and getting it from a reliable source, for instance a true blue eagle, is another. Changing misconceptions The attractive lightbox displayed on top of the entrance door read ... Sweet Inspirations. To be honest, I've always thought that this is just a neighborhood bakeshop that sells your usual pan de sal, ensaymada and perhaps a couple of the usual cakes too. ...

08.08.08 A special day that will definitely be part of history. This was when... ... the Beijing Olympics opened ... a lot of people participated in the Kasalanan ng Bayan ... I had my first publisher's report. Ok, so the last one would just be part of my own history but believe me it will be something that I'll never forget. Least to say, it was my initiation as the newest member of the publishers group. The two reports that I made have costs me 5 hectic days, 4 sleepless nights and 3 tall cups of Starbucks coffee (for someone with a tight budget, I was already beyond my weekly limit) . Luckily the meeting went fine.. I was somehow bracing myself for the worst like making a mess, stuttering or simply ending up embarassing myself. Guess my lucky stars were all present that morning that it turned out ok. Sharing with you all my 08-08-08 photo:

Disney's Mulan is one of my all-time favorite movie! It's a story of a young Chinese girl who went through the challenges to be a warrior disguised as a man to take the place of her father. It was a difficult feat but eventually Mulan successful was able to lead the fight against the Mongols and saved China from being invaded. Hooray! It's a story that shows the importance of taking care of the family's name, upholding the honor for one's country (China) and going against all odds to protect these. No matter how often I watch the movie, it never fails to bring tears to my eyes whenever the dad would say this line: "The flower which blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all." --proverb from "Mulan" I can't wait for the opening of Repertory Philippines' stage version of the movie entitled Disney`s Mulan Jr. ! This is targeted primarily to the kids whom I believe would love the show! Mulan Jr is opening tomorrow and will...

For me its this... sushi platter at Shinjuku Ramen House (Pasong Tamo) and these... cakes by the Cake Club (Powerplant Mall) What are you craving for lately? :)

Step 1 : Make sure everything you need is well provided for Most especially during times of emergency! ;) Step 2 : Get a good massage anytime you need one Back massage? Hand massage? You name it, Emy can do it! Step 3 : Indulge on the best desserts to your heart's delight! Step 4 : Never allow yourself to be bored. Have the best choice of entertainment within reach. Like the latest movie being shown to keep you updated or available wifi to surf the net ;) and lastly... Step 5 : Feast on a meal fit for a King (or a Queen)! Mine would always be a BK Big Fish sandwich, onion rings and Coke light! All these are possible at Burger King with branches at E. Rodriguez, Mall of Asia, Glorietta, Robinson Galleria, Gateway Mall, Robinsons Manila, Timog and a lot more! Photo credits: Paul Ang Big thanks to Yehey.com and Burger King for this very filling event!

When: September 21 2008 Where: 1 Esplanade Registration starts 5:00 PM with the awards to commence at sunset. More details here See you all there!!

August 2008 will mark a lot of beginnings for me. First, there's the start of my new career which is really something great and exciting... But more importantly, this will also be the month where i'll FINALLY take my first step in having a more healthy and fit lifestyle. For years I've been wanting to hit the gym/bike/airwalker/threadmill/any form of exercise machine or activity/you-name-it-i've-thought-of-it. Although I've manage to start the routine, after some time and most especially after seeing very good changes, I tend to slack off and eventually forget all about keeping the weight off. Finally, I've decided that this month I will make that change . Thus, in this blog I will share with you a couple of healthy yet super yummy dishes and recipes that I've discovered as well as short snippets on the things that I will be doing to support my new i-love-myself campaign. Yipeeee!! *photo credit: www.istockphoto.com