Frannywanny

Summer is HERE!!! While the weather may be pretty contradicting at the moment, April is just a few days away and I am definitely crossing my fingers for sunshine-y days ahead. A travel bug attracts other travel bugs. Your entries to my recently concluded Crumpler giveaway contest just made me more excited for summer knowing that we're all raring to head out to various domestic and international destinations in the coming weeks! For those who are still planning their fun summer getaway, check out the 7th FLOW Surf Yoga Samba Weekend Retreat on April 28 to 30 at the Aliya Surf Camp in Baler, Aurora, Philippines . This is an exciting 3-day weekend that will surely spark your spirit and leave your body and mind relaxed and revitalized. I'd say this is what most of us need at the moment. ;o)

I was born to a family who loves to eat. Save for my Dad who has turned into a picky eater after his operation, the women in my family continues to be avid food lovers and our dinners, for instance, can go on and on and on. Sadly, it's only I who wasn't gifted with a sexy body that whatever I eat immediately zooms straight to my hips and butt. I'd call it ala-JLo asset if only I don't have a growing tummy too. *boo!* Just watch how my sister and Mommy would eat. They'd be the first to sit down for dinner and the last to leave the table. After dinner, you'd find them nibbling on chocolates, dried prunes, chips and a lot more. Life is truly not fair. *sigh* Anyway, one night after dinner, Pan and I were still craving for something sweet. Since we miraculously ran out of our chocolate stash at home, we decided to take a short drive to have some fondue! Yes! Fondue for dessert sounds yummy! The best thing is, I know just the place. After doing my regular bl...

I jump-started my weekend with lots of eating. Yes, after weeks of not being able to eat out as we've been having a crazy, jam-packed month, I made up for it last Saturday. Paul and I headed to the NBC Tent to join our friends and favorite food buddies Richard, Irene and Lauren to check out the Best Food Forward which was on its 2nd year already. Like a very organized expo visitor, we made our way in by going through each aisle starting from the right side of the tent as we moved towards the left. There were also a lot of concessionaires located outside wherein most of them where selling grilled or deep-fried items. I find this year's BFF to be more organized and attractive as they did away with the white sintra boards and stainless steel dividers which were present last year. The set-up actually reminded me of how we did Yummy Eats last year. Since most booths that needed major cooking were situated outside, this also eliminated the smoke from filling up the main tent...

I love being the bearer of GOOD NEWS! Just the same way that I love receiving good news myself. Before I finally reveal who's the lucky winner of the recently concluded Crumpler Dry Red blog contest here at Frannywanny.com , I'd like to thank ALL 109 readers who took time out to submit their entries. If only I have 109 Crumpler Dry Red bags to give out, I'd gladly play Santa to all of you who joined right now. The guessing game is over and I'd like to present to you the Crumpler Dry Red 6 ! This is what one lucky reader will be receiving from me very very soon! Before anything, let me show you why this bag was my bag of choice and what makes it oh-so-ahhhmazing . This is one versatile bag . You can easily turn it into a sturdy backpack or into a light suitcase . It has a convertible strap that gives you the chance to either tote it like a sling bag, carry it like a backpack or hold the handles too. Furthermore, it can easily fit your 17" laptop and a few ...

"What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice And everything nice..." - What are Little Boys Made Of , a nursery rhyme After our filling dinner at Sumo Sam , Paul and I decided to walk around the Greenhills Town Center to check the other establishments out. As we reached the back portion where Ha Yuan , a kebab place and an Asian mart are located, we also found Pastry Princess . I couldn't help but enter this cozy looking cafe that has a pretty baby pink interior. Oh how I drooled as I look at the glass case filled with all sorts of yummy looking cupcakes! Suddenly, I wanted to have a cupcake for dessert! (Who said I was full from our Sumo Sam dinner? Not quite!) The store is small but with free WiFi , this makes a great place to work or to hang out while enjoying a cupcake or two! In fact, we saw a mother-son tandem enjoying their chosen cupcakes that evening. The son was happily playing while the mom was busy with her laptop. They also serve coffee, tea a...

While Paul and I love going out with our friends and family; once in a while, we make time to just spend a quiet evening enjoying each other's company. One Saturday night, we decided to have dinner out at the newly opened Greenhills Town Center located along Granada which is adjacent to Gilmore and Ortigas Avenue. We've been looking forward to checking this place out as it's located so close to home. Another place to consider when dining out most especially when we want to avoid the Greenhills Shopping Center traffic. Greenhills Town Center is a small commercial complex that houses a number of food establishments like McDonald's, Ha Yuan , Seattle's Best Coffee, Red Buffalo and our dinner choice for that evening -- Sumo Sam . There are quite a number of new food shops that I will make sure to visit in the coming months. Sumo Sam is located right at the entrance of Greenhills Town Center making it very easy to locate. Note though that parking is quite limi...

How was your weekend? As we are minutes away from Monday, I'd like to share with you how I spent these two amazing stress-free days! Boy, time flies when you having fun! Yesterday, I woke up earlier than usual as I spent my Saturday morning at Mercato Centrale . Aside from visiting our former co-tenants, we joined the fun sampling activity conducted by Jollibee as they treated ALL market visitors and vendors to a cup of the new Jollibee Sundae Mix-ins MILO Blast !!! What's cool is that even Jollibee was there to join in the fun! Of course, I couldn't help but have a photo op with the happy orange bee! :) Jollibee , meet Mickey Mouse (points to my favorite weekend shirt) !

The wait is FINALLY over!!! My newest favorite donut brand, J.CO Donuts & Coffee Philippines , opened its doors to the anticipating public yesterday, March 15, 2012 at SM Megamall Building B and I'm lucky enough to be invited to be part of their exciting launch. I got there just in time before the program started and the store was filled with so many people! It actually took me a while to finally locate Paul who was already waiting for me inside. There were just to many festivities happening -- nonstop donuts sampling, endless coffee and yogurt supply, fun photo booth session and a lot more! Call me a stage best friend but I am so proud of T who's one of the driving forces behind this great Indonesian brand. Her numerous trips going back and forth to Indonesia has paid off as they finally opened their first store here in Manila and there's 4 more in the pipeline opening really soon! I beamed with pride as she delivered her welcome remarks to the crowd. Boys, is...

Hi readers! I've been blogging for five years and what really keeps me going is YOU ! I still get the thrill out of receiving messages that you guys would leave on my comment box and most especially when I get the chance to meet some of you outside. This Saturday, I'm heading to Mercato Centrale and will be hanging out there with the cool Jollibee crew as they will sample the new and totally yummy Jollibee Sundae Mix-Ins MILO Blast to all market visitors that day! To make things more exciting, I'll be spotting groups of friends enjoying this cool treat and will be rewarding them with Jollibee GCs ! I hope to see you guys on Saturday! Mark your calendars, March 17; 7AM to 2PM at Mercato Centrale , Bonifacio Global City! It'll definitely be one cool day!

Back in college, I didn't go to the Blue school . However, I'd consider myself an honorary Blue Eagle with a sister and two best friends whom I would regularly visit at the Blue school whenever possible. One thing that I'll never forget during my visits is having lunch at Manang's . My school , on the other hand, is located at the heart of  the Ortigas business district thus lunch prices ranges from P100 up. I'd really be lucky to be able to score a good lunch below that price. I'll never forget when T first made me try Manang's for lunch and as I got to the cashier, I thought she said one plate of liempo (pork belly) was Php. 130 when in fact it was only Php. 30! I think Manang found me silly for pulling out an extra hundred peso bill from my wallet and later giving her a shocked look as I realized I'm paying so much more. Lunch was fun! I loved the tender, perfectly grilled pork belly that has a good amount of meat and a few tendons and bones h...

Summer is definitely here and one thing that I love about this time of the year is that it's the perfect season to hit the beach! While I'd love to get a tan (or at least I continue to dream to get one) ; this year, I'm heading somewhere cold to chill like a polar bear and to have a perfect excuse to wear my fluffy, puffy coat! Don't you just love traveling ? I simply get the thrill out of getting a new stamp on my passport and really, I hope that I'd be able to fill it all up someday. I just love looking at the different stamps and visas that I get from every country. With numerous traveling comes endless packing. This is one skill that I admittedly have yet to perfect. I use to be a travel hoarder wherein I tend to bring my entire house with me when I travel. As a result, I always have to deal with overweight luggages or a frustrated Paul, trying his best to make everything fit. That was until I went to the US for a two weeks vacation and there's really no...

Wanna win THIS ? Visit this site again on March 12, 2012 to know how to join! :)

There are times when you just want to let your guard down and to just be able to relax, have fun with friends and most importantly, have a good and truly satisfying meal. My first encounter with Uncle Cheffy was last year when my sister-in-law chose to celebrate her birthday at their Burgos Circle branch. I helped her order our lunch and I was really happy with the two choices of thin-crust panizza and the seafood dishes that we got for the family to share. There were just so many restaurants and so little time that it has been 5 months since our last visit. I can't believe it took us this long to be able to go back to Uncle Cheffy again..what a terrible "nephew" and "niece" we were! So there we were, one weeknight at Uncle Cheffy in Ortigas Center with dear friends Richard and Irene . It was a fun double date and we were there ready to feast on Uncle Cheffy 's house specialties. Dinner began with the Uncle Cheffy Salad (Php. 175/230). I love eatin...

Believe it or not, I grew up not drinking coffee. Unlike my sister who loves needs her cup of java to wake her up in the morning, I used to prefer a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to go with my breakfast plate anytime. It's quite surprising then that I ended up working for the Green Siren for a fun two years plus. My first day at work really changed my life. It led me to drinking my first cup of brewed coffee and guess what, I liked it! Liked it so much that I never stopped drinking coffee after that. After a year or so, I even got certified as a Coffee Master ! This got my parents thinking how on earth did that happened. Their daughter, the former non-coffee drinker becoming a coffee master. That, my friends, continues to remain a mystery. It has been 4 years since I bid the Green Siren good bye but I continue to relive the fun days every single time I step into a store. The warm smiles, the comforting smell of coffee, the sound of the blender, oh I wish to be able ...

Don't you just love going out for lunch? Taking a short breather away from the office and having a really good and filling meal? That's what I did a couple of days ago. I was invited by my friends over at Discovery Suites to try their lunch buffet at Restaurant 5 and luckily, I was there on the day that they were highlighting a couple of Spanish dishes. Spell P-A-E-L-L-A !! My love affair with that orange, baked rice will go on for a lifetime! I love the flavorful Arborio rice cooked with the juiciest meats and the finest catch from the sea. The best part of course lies at the bottom of the pan. Socarrat , as they call it is the thin burnt layer that is so crunchy and good.

There are a number of brands that truly played a big part in our childhood life. First there's Jollibee , I'm sure every kid has had at least one birthday party celebrated with the happy-looking bee together with his friends Hetty, Popo, Mr Yum and Twirlie. There's the usual parlor games and Jollibee's signature food items such as the Jolly Spaghetti, Chicken Joy and Fries! I celebrated my 3rd birthday party at Jollibee Virra Mall back in the 80s and have almost hundred photos to remind me of it. Another brand that comes to mind when talking about our younger years is MILO . I can still remember their jingle: "Growing up with Olympic energy, growing up with Milo! Milo everyday!" Every summer, we look forward to taking up a new sport and what do we drink? Milo of course! I love drinking a cold can of Milo before my swimming class in the morning. My sister and I would have this every single day and believe it or not, we even lost a lot of weight! Milo tr...

It has been almost a year since my colleague told me to try this really good Japanese restaurant called Mangetsu . Back then, the restaurant used to be located in Mile Long along Amorsolo street in Makati. Time flies so fast that we have been so busy and before we know it, Mangetsu in Mile Long closed down to relocate. Shucks. I can't believe we just let one week pass after the other and just like that, the year has ended without us being able to try this highly-recommended restaurant. Fast forward to the start of 2012, I learned that Mangetsu is finally open again and this time it's located along Jupiter street, a place I am very familiar with. We wasted no time and there we were a few days ago to have dinner with two of my favorite food bloggers Jin and Leslie . We agreed to meet early, too early that we were the first batch of customers to arrive for dinner time. Good thing too as we got the full attention of almost all servers. Of course, I did my research by aski...