Frannywanny

Make no compromises! 8 wonderful days have passed and I got a total of 53 awesome answers to the question: What is that one thing that you will never compromise when it comes to dining out? I really enjoyed reading through all of the answers and in the process realized that each of us takes dining out seriously and that each one of us have our own rules that will ensure each dining experience to be stress-free and worthwhile. Allow me to share with you the top 15 answers which I think are just truly great! These are some things I will definitely bare in mind on my next food trip: Cleanliness 1) Rowena Wendy Lei Hygiene! I will never compromise the cleanliness of the food and the place because you can catch killer diseases like Hepatitis A,B,C and so forth by dining in unsanitary conditions. 2) Cherry i won't compromise cleanliness , it definitely will speak something about the person who prepared it and the place how they value themselves and others. the quality of taste and the pr...

I guess I'll be dreaming of this tonight... Coco Loco Prawns by Lorenzo's Way What I great way to start yet another busy weekend!!! Enjoy it everyone! :) p.s. thanks to Danio, Becky and Koko for the Yummy treat! p.p.s. Lorenzo's Way , I shall return!

Last week was spent meeting up with old friends, first there was that delicious Chinese dinner at Eat Well with my high school seatmate N and this time I met up with another high school buddy who actually graduated from the school across my school . Knowing how much I love to dine out, A told me to decide on our dinner venue for that night. A long list suddenly came to mind but after going through my thick yet handy-dandy Enjoy booklet , I chose from the ones with branches in Greenhills and finally settled on Italianni's . It was a good thing that A was also craving for Italian food and so this made a perfect choice. I arrived earlier than expected and I took this opportunity to scan the menu. I actually love doing this as I like reading each item slowly before making my choice. A arrived right after I did and we decided to make use of my Enjoy coupon that gives us a Buy one, Get one free main dish treat ! On the table It wasn't that difficult to make our choice as A and I p...

After years of indulging in the best tasting dishes and enjoying dinner outs , 2010 is the year to be healthy and to take on a more active lifestyle. This is the main reason why I immediately said yes to an invite to try the latest exercise workout called Barre3 . This was brought in by its Managing Director Tanya Tan after spending 5 years in the USA and loving the combination of yoga, ballet and pilates. So, I went straight to The Spa at the Bonifacio Highstreet after work yesterday. Entering the building, I was greeted with the soothing sound of water that immediately made me feel relax and a bit sleepy. The strong minty scent makes me want to go up to the second floor to avail of a massage treatment. Then, I had to stop myself as my main goal was to try Barre3 and to torment my body who hasn't worked out for quite a while. Entering the Barre3 studio, I was greeted by Tanya Tan herself who happens to be my sister's batch mate in high school. After exchanging his, hellos...

It was during our 3rd year in High School when Ne and I were assigned to sit beside each other. While I've known her since we were in Grade School as our younger sisters were classmates then, it was only in high school when we found ourselves on the same class. N's your typical quiet diligent student while I... well... I just love to talk and talk and talk. I guess our teachers back then thought that by putting me beside N would finally make me keep quiet and give more attention to the teacher... well, they were wrong! (haha!) While N still remained the diligent type, let's just say she found a chat buddy in me. During class we would pass notes once in a while or more like whenever we're really really bored and eventually became really good friends. It's amazing how we can talk for hours and hours despite the fact that we see each other every single day. Graduation came and we went to different universities. She turned out to be a budding licensed CPA while I made ...

I guess it's no secret how much I love to dine out! In fact this is probably one of the main reasons for this blog's existence. Trying out different cuisines and immersing myself into the different themes and feel of each restaurant is always something that I look forward to at least every weekend. From the formal restaurants to the fun and hip diners, I am game to try out their best-selling dishes and to take my taste buds into a new foodie adventure! However, if there's one thing that I expect each restaurant to have -- that would be to be able to provide the best service possible to its customers. Working for a coffee shop for more than two years showed me how we should treat our customers. Sanitary was of course the top priority. Here, I learned that we shouldn't put anything that has food (not even a plastic bag) on the floor. We take great care in checking the best before tags and most of all, we try our very best to give each and every customer the most amazing ...

I must admit that although I do have very strong Chinese lineage, I grew up at the other side of town thereby depriving me from living the Oriental life where horse-drawn carriages would go around and around town, where majority would speak the Chinese language (or at least, the more popular dialect called Hokkien ), where I can stuff myself with the best tasting dimsums, noodles and a lot more. Needless to say, I'm trying to make up for the loss as I would frequently visit Manila's very own Chinatown otherwise known as Binondo . Thanks to the talent and expertise of Ivan ManDy who conducts fun walking tour around Binondo as he shares his knowledge about his side of town as well as the secret food stops that makes Binondo a must-go place for not only the tourists but for locals as well. Notice we're all in Red ? :) Like Ivan, I take pride in showing a bit of my Oriental lineage to my friends. Such was the case when I accompanied three of my dear colleagues to Ivan's B...

Here's one cool gift that I have received last Christmas... Thanks to the folks over at Spot.ph , I squealed in delight upon seeing this lovely red tin can that I know holds the key to almost a hundred discounts and freebies in various restaurants not only here in Metro Manila but in Cebu and Boracay as well. This is Enjoy Philippines this has been highly recommended by fellow blogger Anton who will even offer a 5% discount in any Ultimate Philippines tour of your choice. It has been barely a month since I got this gift and I've already made use of both the card and the coupon booklet a number of times. First was when I met up with my dear friend Sab for lunch and coffee at UCC , followed by a quick lunch at Pho Hoa, then there was that dinner at Super Bowl of China and countless others that I've happily visited and availed of their discount and freebies! One tin can contains the membership card, two coupon booklets (one for Metro Manila, another for the provincial outle...

What's your gimik style? I must admit mine normally consists of an intimate and delicious dinner followed by a long night cap over coffee. When given more time, I would probably choose to watch a movie or to sing the night away at the KTV. I was never good at bar-hopping and perhaps the only reason why I would visit a bar is when they do also serve good food . Such is the case when I received an invite from fellow blogger Hannah to attend the Grand Opening of Luna Resto Bar along Wilson street in Greenhills. Aside from the fact that it's perfectly located within my neighborhood, I believe that Paul and I deserve a break from our usual routine and it's time to do something exciting such as spending the night with friends while enjoying Luna's good food and drinks. To get the party started, we were served with the Luna Nachos (Php. 220). Said to be the Best Nachos in Town , true enough, I love Nachos and this version earned at least 10 thumbs up signs from our table. ...

Let me share with you my latest discovery! While shopping at the Rockwell Moonlit Bazaar last month, I chanced upon a booth selling packs of grains and dried herbs. Looking at it closely, the package says Mushroom Risotto . Hmm.. interesting. I turned the package and read the step-by-step procedure, looks pretty easy to do. I couldn't resist and bought myself a pack to try. Finally, a couple of weeks after Christmas, I decided to try this interesting instant Mushroom Risotto and see if it can definitely satisfy one's sudden gourmet Italian craving. Cooking this is simple -- I simply just boiled 5 cups of water and added everything into the pot. After the liquid has been reduced to half, I turned down the heat a bit and continued stirring until I got the right consistency. Within minutes, I can smell the mushroom and herbs! Mmmm To make it extra yummy, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese before serving. The verdict: It surely was a hit with my family particularly with my sister! ...

From being the famous Drunken Master to the talented Chief Inspector Lee to lending his voice as a Monkey... Jackie Chan is back, this time, as Bob Ho in his newest movie, The Spy Next Door . The movie was very entertaining which was definitely perfect as I was really looking forward to an opportunity to unwind after a hectic week at work. Thanks to fellow blogger Az and Viva International Pictures for inviting me and Paul to take a sneak peek of the movie, we truly had a marvelous time laughing at Jackie Chan's funny antics and at some point even got teary-eyed at a couple of dramatic scenes. The story is all about Bob Ho, an undercover CIA agent, who retired from work to attend to his personal life most particularly his blooming relationship with his girlfriend Gillian. Due to an unavoidable situation, Gillian had to leave town and Bob offered to baby-sit her three kids who does not like Bob very much. In his quest to get the kids to like him, he also came across an unfini...

It's always a joy going to the new Eastwood Mall . With its growing list of interesting food establishments, I normally would suggest meeting up here for a quick get-together or a cozy lunch out with friends. Such was the case one Saturday afternoon when my balikbayan friend Ei and I agreed to meet up for lunch. Since she lives up north and I, somewhere along the center of the metro, Eastwood City turned out to be our middle ground. I have a growing list of must-try restaurants in this new mall and this includes Momo Cafe . After enjoying our lunch at Chelsea Market and Cafe and loving the drinks over at M Cafe, I was very excited to try out this particular restaurant by the same operating group. We arrived just a little past 12:30 and the restaurant was jam-packed! It's a good thing that service was quick and turn-over was pretty fast too. In no time, the front desk officer was able to lead us to our table. I love the bright, colorful interiors. With yellow being the main t...

I must have mentioned before that my sister is such an adventurous eater. An evidence of which was when we were driving along Jupiter street one day, looking for a place to have lunch. Among all the different restaurants that seems to be worthy of a visit, only one caught my sister's attention and that later became our lunch date venue. With its bright orange facade, how can one not notice Indian by Nature despite being located at the 2nd floor of the same building that houses Mey Lin Pot & Noodles, Malacca and the store of well-known designer Debbie Co. Walking inside the restaurant, we were the only guests there. I was told that their peak hours is at night where a lot of customers who go there to have dinner and a couple of drinks. Pan and I were given a table near the bar. The lighting was pretty dark which I guess makes it perfect for an evening ambiance. There's a huge TV screen playing Indian drama series which was also a delight to watch. We enjoyed the ambiance w...