Frannywanny

As fellow bloggers Chris and Jane once said, it'll surely be a Prime day . True enough, I took a break from my usual office lunch consisting of a homemade sandwich and a small piece of banana and headed to 22 Prime at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas to join a couple of bloggers for a steak lunch. What I did not expect was that we won't be having the usual rib-eye steak that's good for one but instead we came face to face with the biggest piece of meat that I've ever seen! Introducing the Tomahawk Rib-Eye Chop that's approximately 1 kilogram heavy. As Chef David Pardo de A yala carried this out from his kitchen, I couldn't help but wish that I have Paul or my dad there with me as they are long-time steak fans in the family and would definitely be amazed by the size of this! I can just imagine having the entire piece of lunch which I think would take me the entire day to finish! What a HUGE piece of Meat! Lunch began with basket of bread and thre...

Indian cuisine always has this distinct taste and flavor that never fails to perk up our taste buds. It was a busy Tuesday night when I scheduled to have dinner at Legend of India , the newest Indian restaurant along Jupiter street in Makati, with a couple of friends. On our way there, I was already psyching myself up for some delicious, flavorful Indian dishes that I'm sure will be served to us that evening. We were one of the last who arrived and the group was already busy munching on something that looks very much like trail mix. It's called Mixed Chevro , I was told, it has a mix of different Indian crackers, nuts and dried fruits. I took a small scoop and poured everything into my mouth, oh I love how the flavor suddenly burst into my mouth. It was delightful! I can taste a little bit of anise seeds, the salty nuts, the mildly spiced crackers and the sweet raisins. Yum! I lately found out that they're selling bigger packs of these Indian snacks and I made a mental ...

I can't believe almost a year has already passed. I can still remember blowing out my 27 candles and here I am again, looking forward to another birthday in a week's time! This birthday will be extra special though, it will be my last birthday as a single lady and I'm making sure I'm gonna party ! Ok, so maybe to throw a big birthday bash with overflowing food and drinks would highly be unlikely right now given that I hardly have time to do anything beyond planning for our BIG day...nonetheless I have already requested my dearest friends and relatives to save certain dates for ME ! :) Before blowing out my birthday candle/s, I have the habit of closing my eyes and making a big big big wish. Since I have 28 candles this year, I guess I am entitled to have 28 mini wishes right? Let me share them all with you! 1) to have a problem-free, stress-free BIG day 2) to finally get a laptop 3) to live a healthier life and to stay in tip-top shape 4) to be the best ...

I've always been intrigued by it but never had the guts to go ahead and try it..it wasn't under Jane made me taste a piece from her platter and that officially marked the beginning of my love affair with Uni . Uni actually means sea urchin in Japanese and this has been a popular delicacy in most sushi bars. I think it's safe to compare this with caviar, a teeny-tiny bit is just enough to complete your meal. It's that perfect seafood indulgence that we should entitle ourselves to once in a while. Since this is raw, make sure to have your Uni Sushi in places with a good reputation for their hygiene and food preparation. Take also a piece of wasabi with your soy sauce for extra caution. I love the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture of the Uni. There will definitely be more Uni moments in the future. *photo by Paul Ang This Uni Sushi was enjoyed at Omakase . Located at the 2nd floor of the Intrepid Plaza, E. Rodriguez Ave., Libis, Quezon City. Contact them at ...

It was our monthly shopping/bonding session and before hitting the shops, my sister and I decided to fill our body with that much-needed energy by having a hearty lunch! It was a good thing we were both craving for Chinese food that we both agreed to try Mr. Choi Kitchen . I've been a regular patron of Mr. Choi Kitchen as there's a branch that's just within walking distance from my office. My sister, on the other hand, has only visited this restaurant once. Service here was quick and despite arriving at the restaurant during the rush hour, we were able to get a table right away. My sister allowed me to plan our lunch since I'm familiar with their menu already. After placing our order, we were given a bowl of their complimentary appetizer -- Crispy Fish Skins . I love this munchie as it has just the right amount of saltiness and it's not too oily too! Best to dip this into a bowl of spicy vinegar. Yum! Our Hakao (Php. 110) was the first to arrived. Piping ...

It was just another busy weekday for Paul and I as we had to run a couple of errands late in the evening. Driving along Banawe Avenue in Quezon City, we were looking for a place to have our (very late) dinner. I always enjoy visiting this part of town due to its numerous food choices. Growing up with my grandparents, I remember how fun it was when my Kongkong (maternal grandfather) and Amah (material grandmater) would take my sister and I for a ride down Banawe everyday for our afternoon snack. More often than not, we would end up in the same place -- Mami King . Kongkong loves their halo-halo and so every single day of our summer vacation was spent there. Aside from Mami King, which sadly is not operational anymore, there are a lot of dining spots that keeps their own food secrets. There's one that serves the best creamy crabs, one that has to-die-for Chicken and Taro Hotpot and a number who serves the best noodle soup, dimsum and tofu drink. Following the lead of fellow...

Let me share with you my favorite quote as taken from the Disney movie, Mulan : "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all..." Trying the Floral Bloom Tea (Php. 59/pot) at the Cantonese Soup Kitchen was really something. I enjoyed watching it bloom as the server slowly pours steaming hot water into my cup. It does not only looks beautiful but it tastes good too! It reminds me of my favorite Kak Hue Te (Chrysanthemum tea) that has a very light body in every sip. Cantonese Soup Kitchen is located at Unit C-847 Banawe cor. Linaw St., Quezon City. Call them at 743-5249.

I hardly can remember my first haircut experience but I sure know where it was done. My mom has been a loyal customer of Piandre Greenhills since we were small. She entrusted us to her favorite stylist Nenette to create a manageable, kid-friendly hairstyle in every visit. One visit we had a bob cut while on a another we were given bangs, what I remember though was the experience. How I enjoyed having my hair shampooed as I love the scent of their shampoo and conditioner, down to the very personal service that Nenette would give us. She never treated us like clueless kids instead she always try to get our opinions on how we want our next hairstyle to be. Nenette to us was like a fairy godmother. At some point she even had successfully and magically fixed our jagged, super short bangs as an effect of our pretend salon games. Over the years, we continued to trust Piandre . It was in their Timog branch where I would frequent during my high school years. I had my favorite make up arti...

For once ever since the start of the year, Paul and I were fortunate to be able to experience our first light weekend. No appointments made neither was there any pressure to tick off another to-do from our BIG day list. Somehow, we were able to BREATHE for two full days. Actually the initial plan was to go out of town to visit a Principal Sponsor however this plan was postponed leaving us with nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon. Not long after, we found ourselves on our way to the Gateway Mall for a fun pizza and ice cream feast! We arrived at Pizza Hut Bistro a little past 2 and was surprised to see the restaurant packed with big groups of friends and family. We purposely chose to go a little after lunch time hoping that we'll be able to secure a table right away. It's a good thing though that luck was on our side as the server was immediately able to lead us to our table. I love Pizza Hut Bistro ! I enjoy trying their soups, salads, gourmet pasta dishes and of co...

As they say, the third time's a charm. My first visit to Eat Well , I fell in love with their Shrimp Puff with Wasabi Mayo. A couple of weeks after, I brought Paul with me and we loved the Xiao Long Pao and their Yang Chow Fried Rice. Last week, I met up with two of my best friends at Eat Well and we had a feast! Trina, was a regular patron and she knows the best dishes to order. We started off with two baskets of steaming Xiao Long Pao (Php. 175/8pcs). Just the same way it captured my heart the first time, I continued to enjoy slurping the yummy soup inside the thick wrapper and later enjoying the soft ground meat inside. After our dimsum appetizer, we got two types of soup: Braised Spinach Soup with Seafood (Php. 88) and Hot and Sour Soup (Php. 88). We enjoyed alternating between the two. I love it that their soup is not loaded (or is actually cooked without) with MSG that it did not leave us thirsty after the meal. Yum! Spying our neighboring table, I noticed tha...

For the past two weeks, Paul and I have been getting gastronomic hints from The Lion City . First was the surprise package that I got from a college friend who asked us to try out her family's delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe. Then there was that pasalubong from Mom who dropped by Ya Kun Kaya in Ortigas for some delicious Kaya Toast. Lastly, an invite from fellow blogger Spanky to try out Nasi Lemak . Well this was not actually our first time at Nasi Lemak if you remember my first blog post about our 58th monthsary celebration with our new found Singaporean favorites which was followed by a number of family dinners thereafter. It has been a while though since we went back...quite some time that we were surprised to see that they closed down their Tomas Morato branch and later found out that they opened a new branch at Robinsons Galleria! Yay! Much closer to home! Our afternoon began with a brief demonstration by Mr. Tan himself. Using just the essential (yet very...

Age-old saying would say that "Three's a Crowd." However, I would like to disagree as I am actually a part of not only one but a number of trios. Take for example, my favorite work colleagues K and B who, due to our common love for trying out new food spots , became two of my closest friends through time. Then, of course, there's S and D . Despite graduating from the same high school, our friendship began through blogging and continues to grow as we occasionally meet up to catch up on each other's lives. Lastly, my trio with C and E. Though we rarely get to see each other as often as we're all hoping we could (this actually is becoming a joke that we get to meet up only once a quarter) , every single dinner spent with them is still the same. Full of stories, laughter and genuine friendship. Last night, our dinner was set for us to try out Romulo's Cafe in Quezon City. Usually, it is just the three of us meeting up for dinner but this time, we ag...