Frannywanny

I was supposed to be on a vacation today...in fact, if only my flight has pushed through I would have landed at Silay Airport in Bacolod at this very moment. Sadly, due to some airline trouble which includes a huge strike waiting to happen today and downsizing of manpower which has caused a lot of flights to be canceled, here I am in Manila... sulking . It has been a while since I've been out of town and I was particularly excited for this one as Paul and I were supposed to attend the wedding of my dear friend Jas tomorrow. Not even my McDonald's Longganisa Meal can cheer me up this morning. I guess I'll just head over to the Negros Trade Fair at the Rockwell Tent this weekend where I'll have my Chicken Inasal and sweets. I love to travel, having been bitten by the travel bug at a young age I really can't last a year without going out of town at the very least. Last year was the best year for me as Paul and I have been out of the country multiple times after o...

Exactly a month ago, I suddenly had this weird midnight craving for my childhood favorite bakery called La Chesca . That prompted a shout out over at Facebook and Twitter asking anyone to give me leads if La Chesca still exists today. This led to friends expressing their love for La Chesca 's specialties namely their Sapin Sapin, Maja Ube / Mais, Egg Pies and of course their homemade Chicken Pie. That truly showed me that I am not alone... I share my love for La Chesca with hundreds of people out there. I never gave up, even asking my Facebook friends to help me find the owners of the bakeshop. Until one day... my Auntie H told me that she knows the owner of La Chesca and I can possibly text her to ask if she still accepts orders. My heart skipped a beat. This is it. I am THIS CLOSE to being able to enjoy my La Chesca favorites again. I wasted no time and texted the owner as soon as I got her number from Auntie H. One day has passed and no reply... my heart sank. Either ...

My friend T has been raving about this delectable Salted Caramel Macaron that was so good it has made her cheat on her diet as she couldn't resist a piece...or two...or maybe three. T has really good taste in food so I figured that those macarons must really be THAT GOOD. So one Sunday, my in-laws decided to have lunch at Burgos Circle and right after, I convinced Paul to cross the street and visit Bar Dolci , a dessert place where my friend T got her favorite macarons from. Actually, I just remembered that I wanted to try Bar Dolci and totally forgot about the macarons at first. As we entered the busy store, I was immediately drawn towards the gelato freezer matched with the glass panels filled with names of Bar Dolci 's gelato fans. The rule is they will put a point beside your name for every purchase of their gelato and after x number of cups, you get a prize. I tried a few such as the Salted Caramel , Ferrero (which was yummy, by the way) and the almost sold out V...

...and the snacking continues! The Food Club celebrates Paul's 30th birthday!!! My husband Paul blew out his 30 birthday candles yesterday! He officially said goodbye to his twenties and gladly welcome the BIG 3-0! Aside from my non-stop teasing; I, together with his family, organized an intimate dinner to celebrate his birthday with our loved ones (his side and mine) and our dear friends a.k.a. The Food Club last Saturday. Despite the short notice, we are really blessed that almost everyone was able to make it. Thanks guys!! ♥ For his birthday, Richard, Irene and Lauren gave Paul a box of Homemade Treasures Ensaymada . It looks really pretty and premium as it's encased in a light brown box and tied with a golden ribbon. Paul normally skips breakfast as he would rather sleep till lunch especially during the weekends. I was surprised when we woke me up early on Sunday and invited me to have breakfast with him. I really wanted to sleep some more but when I remembere...

I love to snack. In fact, I always find snacking exciting as the choices are pretty much endless! What I snack on basically depends on my mood. At times, I am happy with a bowl of yogurt with some sliced almonds and crushed graham while on another day I want something heavier say, a bowl of mac and cheese. It's Snack Time! : A Four-Part Series I open this week with a four-part series on four different snack items that I highly recommend that you try soon. These were the ones that I snacked on this weekend and I was pretty please with all of them. Now, I know some of you might wonder how can I have four snacks in a two-day weekend...well...that's the Frannywanny power! *sly grin* Let me start with my newest yummy discovery, after running some errands and before heading to Unimart to do our grocery shopping, I saw a new store that has just opened at the V-Mall Garden (near the chapel) in Greenhills . I quickly pulled Paul to check the store out and as I get closer I fel...

Last week, Paul and I were privileged to be invited to an intimate dinner to sample a number of signature dishes which will only be available for a very limited time at the Jasmine Restaurant of the New World Hotel in Makati . From September 19 to October 1 , that's a total of 13 days only, Chef Wong Kam Chung from Shanghai will serve his specialties to the patrons of the restaurant. Being the executive chef of the famous YUE 1525 in New World Hotel in Shanghai, Chef Wong is a veteran in preparing a number of Cantonese dishes including his special Double Boiled Whelk Soup with Chinese Herbs and a lot more. Since the drive from my office to Makati took a while, we arrived quite hungry and ready for our lauriat dinner. We began with two appetizers which were totally different from the usual cold cuts platter that we're all used to. We had Lotus roots stuffed with Glutinous Rice (Php. 480). A long platter where you get eight bite-sized pieces. It has a very sweet taste...

Here's one interesting story to tell... Back in 1941, a mother of 5 named Rosa Francisco opened a small panciteria in Pasig. She named it Three Sisters' after (make a wild guess!) a talcum product that she just heard over the radio. On her first day, church-goers flocked to her panciteria and continued to go back from that day on. Sadly, World War II broke out and the family was forced to head to Antipolo to seek for safety and shelter. After the war, Rosa went back and found that her panciteria has been burned down. Still, with much determination, she rebuilt and re-opened her panciteria to the public. Soon, she has regained her loyal patrons and have acquired new ones. People would visit Three Sisters' Refreshment Parlor for their halo-halo and noodle dishes. Fast forward to 1970, Rosa Francisco decided to relocate her panciteria to its present site in Kapitolyo, Pasig . This time she has renamed it: Three Sisters' Restaurant of Pasig . Given the bigger space, m...

If today's my last day on earth and I am allowed to feast on only three of my favorite food items it would be: a plate of pasta, sushi/sashimi and dimsum . Who cares about carbs when it's your last day to live right? :) I am definitely indulging myself on these three delicious food items that never fails to brighten up my day. Shang Palace's Dimsum Plus Last Saturday, Paul and I joined our friends Jane and Chris, Richard and Irene, Grace and Peter for lunch at Shang Palace of Makati Shangri-la Hotel . They have availed of the Dimsum Plus promo before and have been raving about it since. Unfortunately, as most of our Saturdays were spent manning our booth at Mercato Centrale, Paul and I haven't had the chance to try it till that very day. From the moment we arrived, we were both handed a menu where it lists all available dimsum specialties, a few choices of soups, 8 types of Main Course (where we can choose one each) and a lot more! First things first, we orde...

Just how much food can you possibly eat in one sitting? This thought entered my mind in the middle of the meal last Thursday as I joined a couple of bloggers for a special lechon dinner at Pepita's Kitchen . When I got Spanky's invite for this particular dinner, I was just expecting an informal set-up where we will be pigging out on lechon, lechon and more lechon all night long. However, as we arrived at Pepita Kitchen 's very own Dedet Santos ' lovely home, we joined a long table where I immediately noticed the pretty ceramic plates in front of me. On top of my plate is our menu for the evening, I counted the dishes and realized that we will be trying a total of *gasp* 15 dishes that evening. Can I handle it? Let's see. Check out this cute lechon bread sitting cozily in front of me. Hello babe! Dinner began with two pates and a plate filled with Skyflakes. One was the Pinoy Pate which was the green pate made of balut (one-day-old chick) and wine while ...

I just love the feeling of being happy while eating! Yes, that truly sounded very much like a glutton talking but eating makes me happy and what I love most is when I dine at a restaurant that just gives a very happy vibe all together. This was how I felt the moment Paul and I discovered Hapadog at the Sky Garden of SM City North EDSA . We rarely reach this part of town but whenever there's a need to drive all the way to the north, we have to ensure we make the most of it. I've been hearing about Hapadog from my friend Richard who has been inviting The Food Club to check it out together. Due to all our conflicting schedules, it has been months since Richard's initial invite and sadly this plan still hasn't pushed through. Luckily, Paul and I found Hapadog which was strategically located beside Gong Cha and is just a few steps away from Starbucks Coffee. As we entered the very tiny restaurant, the server immediately handed us the menu and the first thing that ...

My ever dearest Papa turned 66 this year! To celebrate, we decided to try Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati as Papa just lovesss Japanese food. Since his birthday fell on a holiday, I made a quick call to the restaurant to make sure we have a table reserved for us to lessen the waiting time. It was past lunch time when we arrived and with our tummies growling loudly we began with a couple of sushi choices that my family loves: California Maki -- I love the plump sweet mangoes and that the sushi roll is well-covered with ebiko however I somehow find the maki roll lacking in filling and flavor. Definitely, Kikofuji or Kimpura wins in this category. Futo Maki (Php. 250) -- My Kongkong loves Futo Maki and having had a dozen futo makis whenever he would go to Japan on business trips before, it really would take a highly skilled sushi chef to wow him with our local version of his favorite rice roll. I'm glad that he enjoyed Nihonbashitei's futo maki which has passed his t...

It's that time of the year where we run to the nearest supermarkets, drugstores and department stores and hoard our hearts out!! :) Pond's is having a BIG Beauty Sale starting tomorrow, September 16 until October 2, 2011 and I'm giving you a one day advance notice simply because I want to share the loveeeeee ♥. Here are the products on Buy-One-Take-One ! That means you will be getting two for the price of ONE! What a great deal! :) Age Miracle Day Cream 50g – PHP 599 Age Miracle Day Cream 10g – PHP 120 Flawless White UV prevention cream 30g – PHP 219 Flawless White UV prevention cream 50g – PHP 349 Clear Solutions Facial Scrub 50g – PHP 75 Perfect Matte Facial Foam 50g – PHP 75 White Beauty Spotless Detox 40g – PHP 110 White Beauty Spotless Detox 20g – PHP 70 White Beauty Pinkish White Cream 40g – PHP 100 White Beauty Pinkish White Cream 20g - PHP 65 Happy Shopping!! :)

Paul has been going back and forth his hometown these past few weeks. During one of his visits, he found himself eating at Everybody's Cafe with his mom and little did he know, this marked the start of his love for.... fried crickets . Yes, you read that right. While he actually can bravely take in all sorts of exotic dishes such as Turtle Soup, Fried Frog Legs and a lot more, I don't think Paul really imagined the day that he would be having a spoonful of fried crickets with rice and meat. Since then, he has been craving for more thus the reason for our impromptu visit up north for lunch at (where else?!) Everybody's Cafe . To be honest, I wasn't as excited as him knowing that we are to dine at a restaurant that serves all sorts of local delicacies / exotic dishes. As you may all know, I can be a pretty picky eater and not a big fan of anything beyond the usual pork, beef, seafood and chicken. Still, I went there with an open mind and a growling tummy so I was q...

Let me tell you about the day I had the best cake in my LIFE! It as a Saturday and Paul and I took a spur-of-the-moment trip back to his hometown in Pampanga . Yup, my dear husband is a true blue Cabalen (and he's really really proud of it!) . Our plan was simply to go on a fun relaxed ride, have lunch, buy some pasalubong and grab a really good dessert on our way back home. Lunch was at a restaurant that Paul has been bugging me to try as it's known to serve all sorts of exotic dishes such as stir-fried crickets, stuffed frogs and a lot more. I really do not get why on earth Paul would think I'd be brave enough to go on a an exotic food trip. Well, let me tell you more about that on my next entry. For now, I'd like to share with you where we had dessert and the cake that truly made traveling all the way to Pampanga truly worth it. à La crème Cake Shop and Cafe is a local bakeshop that originated in Angeles, Pampanga a decade ago. Today, they have three bran...

Lately, I've been missing a number of my childhood favorites -- there's that delicious kakanin and chicken pie from La Chesca , Baked Mac from Petit Four , salad bar and steak from San Francisco Steak House and to-die-for Korean BBQ dinners at Arirang . *sigh* For my family, these are some of the best restaurants/cafes in town and we're extremely sad that they're no longer around anymore. *sniffle* Why oh why?!?! Luckily, there's one restaurant that we also love that is still around and I believe will continue to live on for more and more decades to go! Hooray! Ha Yuan is a popular Chinese go-to place when you're craving for a delicious bowl of Maki Mi or perhaps for a piece of Fresh Amoy Lumpia. I remember my Mom would even bring our stainless steel container to the store for them to just put the Maki Mi there and she would just re-heat this for dinner at home. One Sunday afternoon, Paul and I found ourselves at the Mother Ignacia branch of Ha Yuan...

My mom gave me a cake today and would you like to guess what it's for? No, I didn't get a promotion at work (how I wish I did though *ahem*). No, I didn't win the lottery... and No, no baby yet in my tummy! (However, I know every single member of my family is praying for this one to come hehe!) It's because she knows that Frannywanny.com is turning a year older and my ever-supportive mom just had to make sure we celebrate this milestone thus she came home with not a slice of cake, not even a cheap cake but a huge Tiramisu from Cafe Ysabel ! So after dinner, we cleared out the table and plates and out came the huge box containing this lovely cake. Of course, a few photo op was in order and Mom stuck 4 cute candles into my cake, lit it up and told me to blow. Poor Papa, he was so confuse as he knows it wasn't my birthday but he couldn't understand why there was a cake bought for me and why on earth am I blowing four candles out. Obviously, my Dad...

Remember my story about this particular Filipino restaurant that my family would frequent on a weekly basis? Just as much as we love Chinese and Japanese food, my family is a huge fan of good traditional Filipino cuisine too. Since the disappearance of Harana more than a decade ago, it has been a while since we've been loyal to a specific Filipino restaurant simply because there hasn't been any that can match up to the taste and quality of service of our favorite Harana . While I truly appreciate modern Filipino cuisine where I like trying deconstructed traditional dishes such as the ones tried here , here and here , my parents and grandparents still prefer Filipino dishes cooked the same way as it was centuries ago. Then we tried Abé , a traditional Capampangan restaurant operated by the LJC Group . We first visited Abé years ago when they opened in Serendra Piazza . Together with my grandparents, we ordered a couple of their house specialties and enjoyed it very much...

I'm a big salad fan! It's simply because my parents trained us to appreciate eating vegetables at a very young age that a meal at home is not complete without having veggies. What I love most though is having bowls of fresh lettuce and arugula mixed with my favorite ingredients -- kani sticks, chopped sweet mangoes, nuts, shrimps and mushroom! Of course, what makes or breaks a bowl of salad is the dressing! Paul and Mommy loves vinaigrette dressings while I still love the creamy ones. So much for wanting to eat healthy by having salad dinners! I love my Caesar, Ranch, Asian...you name it! Last Friday, while having dinner at my in-laws, I was able to try a new salad dressing that was so fragrant and good that I just ended up having loads of salad and grilled lamb for dinner. It's a Japanese Deep-Roasted Sesame Dressing   and is said to be made of wheat, eggs, soybean and lots of sesame oil! It's from the same company called Kewpie that also makes those delicious ...

After combing through the narrow alleys of 168 mall and haggling our hearts out till we were able to get a good deal, our group headed to Charlie's Tea House in Ongpin for lunch as this was highly recommended by fellow blogger Abet and his lovely wife Joan . Luckily, Joan was able to secure a long table for all of us thus we were immediately seated as we entered the tiny eatery. When your hungry and people around you were happily eating, it makes it extra harder to choose what to order simply because everything just looks so good! Irene suggested that we all order family style and share the dishes among the 7 of us. Great idea! Our first order was one whole HK Fried Pigeon (Php. 320) as Abet got me excited about it when he was describing what was good in Charlie's Tea House. The pigeon was quite small that you get only 4 slices (one quarter each) however complete with the must-have salt and pepper dip. It was delicious and not too oily. I'm definitely going back to C...

I truly admire companies who not only focuses on sales and growth but also gives just as much importance to its people and to the community. That was one reason why I was proud to work for the Green Siren as I had the privilege to be able to engage myself in CSR-related projects concerning the environment, early childhood development and the arts. Being able to help gives us that bigger sense of purpose that we are working hard to serve the community and with that, it makes everything more worthwhile. Unilab is another company that I look up to. Every year they run a contest called Unilab Ideas Positive , which is in search for the best health-related community project proposed by different college student groups. Last year, I'm proud to share that the grand prize was won by students from my alma mater, the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) wherein they have created a farm-in-the-city concept in Pasig that teaches the community to have their own sustainable source ...

I first met Chef Him Uy de Baron when I contacted him to cater for my very first event for RL. It was a mall display event that opened with an unveiling ceremony and cocktails for our valued advertisers and media partners. My goal was to be able to serve really good food that is sure to wow my guests. Chef Him was recommended to me by my boss and after a series of smooth negotiations, I knew right there and then that it will be a breeze working with him. He was very professional that he would always abide by our agreed call time and not only were his dishes amazingly good but it never fails to exceed my expectations too. I love how creative Chef Him can be when it comes to making his dishes very presentable. Meatballs in soup spoons, Nachos and Salsa in shot glasses, to name a few. Needless to say, I have been getting him for every single book launches, mall displays and other events thereafter. A few weeks ago, I landed at a Facebook page which immediately gave me the impression ...