Frannywanny

Who doesn't love pizza? Growing up, this has been our staple during group meetings in someone's home, during a class party or even one's birthday party. Nothing beats the bonding experience as you share a box of pizza with your closest friends. At home, Pan and I would always have pizza for our afternoon merienda back when we were studying for our quarterly final exams. Mommy would leave additional allowance for us to be able to have a box of pizza delivered and this is something we both always look forward to quarter after quarter. To me, pizza is a comfort food. Someday, I'll be a cool mom and have pizza nights with my family. Haha! However, when it comes to pizza flavors, I like the basic ones. The simpler, the better. This has been my motto ever since. Call it fate that Paul actually believes in the same thing. He has been loyal towards Hawaiian flavored pizza which is also one of my favorite pizza flavors equally same with the all cheese or seafood flavored pizz...

I love to sleep. If only I have the luxury of time to stay in bed all day long. I'd love to do that again soon. Anyway, a week before our trip, Paul and I met up with a couple of friends for breakfast. Our January and early February schedules were so busy that the only way to squeeze in more chances to meet up with friends was to set breakfast meet-ups...and that's what we did. We met up with good friends Roch, Rowena and Peter at 8:30 in the morning at Cafe 1771 . Sure it was so hard for Paul and I to pull ourselves out of bed but the thought of being able to enjoy a yummy meal with a great set of friends was enough to keep us up at least for a few hours that morning. It's pretty much obvious that the breakfast scene in Manila is not as busy yet compared to probably Hong Kong or Singapore. This is  why there aren't a lot of choices aside from the usual fast food chains, 24 hour eateries, hotels and my Kong Kong's favorite congee places in Manila.  I'm glad ...

Thank God It's Friday!!! Since I'm finally back at the work force after a month-long break, here I am again excited at the thought that the weekend is just a day away! I woke up with a smile today knowing that it's the last day of the work week. Even my walk to the bus stop was faster this morning as I suddenly have this surge of excitement and anticipation for what we can do for the next two days. Anyway, Paul and I agreed to meet up for dinner at Vivo City a few hours ago. For those who haven't been to Singapore , Vivo City is actually your gateway to the beautiful island of Sentosa . Here, you can take the tram that will take you to the island within minutes. We've been to this mall during our trip to Singapore 3 years ago but weren't able to go around as we just came here to head to Universal Studios for the day. Looks like this will be the mall that I'll end up knowing by heart if I frequent this place more often. After dinner, we thought of w...

Every year since I was probably 10, my New Year's resolution always include losing those unwanted pounds. Believe it or not, I was a skinny baby. Too skinny that I guess Mommy panicked and force fed me with all the yummy things to make me gain weight. Well, she obviously was successful at that, wasn't she? As a result, I became a chubby little girl up until I was 16. That was also about the same time when I hit my heaviest that Mommy panicked again and enrolled me in a month-long swimming class the following summer where I lost more than 15 pounds. My tummy flattened up, my double chin disappeared, my arms had tiny biceps and I had to change my entire wardrobe as my school uniform was just too big for me already. As I bid all those unwanted pounds good bye, then came my confidence. Just in time to save me during those awkward puberty years where I began learning that boys aren't monsters after all. Tee-hee. However, I didn't stay slim for long, college rolled in an...

The Chinese New Year celebration goes on and on here in Singapore. It's pretty much similar to how us, Filipinos, celebrate Christmas! People would take time out from work to go on long vacation leaves, others would go home to their hometown, others would just stay in town and spend time with their family. However, what we notice is that in most of the Chinese restaurants here, even in small neighborhood eateries, families would gather around the table to toss shredded vegetables and seafood as they shout out their wishes for the coming year. This is called Loi Hei (in Cantonese), Yu Sheng (in Mandarin) or Prosperity Toss (in English). This is a practice commonly done in Singapore and in some parts of Malaysia. Last Monday, I had the chance to experience my first loi hei with my new colleagues. We headed to a Chinese restaurant in Clarke Quay and were presented with a plate filled with colorful vegetables like carrots, radish, red peppers and a lot more. The highlight of the Y...

It's no secret how much I love the Green Siren . After all, what's there not to love? The coffee, the happy and friendly baristas (whom we call partners), the relaxing vibe... indeed Starbucks Coffee has been my 3rd place since it opened its doors in Manila years ago. That said, it was a dream come true for this Starbucks baby to land a job as part of the Green Siren's marketing team back in 2006. We were a group of 7 girls and while others may think we would end up squabbling and pulling each other's hair, we luckily all got along pretty well. Of course, there were bella  days, as we would call our monthly grouchy days but if there's one thing we all love then it would definitely be FOOD. I tell you, we would have breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks together. Once in a while, we'd also go out for dinner and drinks too! I got to hand it to our very cool boss who was indeed the best leader in the land. She loved us all equally and would take the extra effort...

They say, first love never dies . This rings true for my love for milk tea. More than 4 years ago, I first learned about Serenitea during one of our monthly publishers meetings. Our big boss told us that she tried a milk tea place in San Juan and it was pretty good. Being bonafide foodies, we wasted no time and in less than a week we were all able to try Serenitea . Back then, milk tea wasn't still part of one's food vocabulary. Sure, it has been around for decades...even centuries but it's normally found in Chinese tea houses or in Chowking as it's called Nai-Cha for instance. Who would have thought that one day, milk tea would rule Manila and Serenitea was the one leading the pack. In time for the new year, Serenitea has launched 6 new drinks that I'm sure you'll all love as much as your old time Serenitea faves -- be it Hokkaido or Okinawa. A couple of food bloggers and I were lucky to be given a sneak peek on these yummy drinks a couple of weeks ago....

My family loves Hainanese Chicken Rice. Guess this is because we used to frequent Singapore back then that this has been our staple meal throughout our week-long stay there. Sadly, while a lot of restaurants do offer Hainanese Chicken Rice (HCR), only a few really came close to the real thing . Can't blame them, for one thing perhaps some ingredients used for the authentic Chicken Rice are not available in Manila. Another would be if they would really cook it the exact same way the Singaporeans would when preparing their HCR. Thus, when I heard about this guy named Stevie from Bel-Air, Makati who sells really good Hainanese Chicken Rice , I knew I had to take time out one Sunday morning to order a set from him and to take this home for my family to try. Ordering was a breeze, all I did was to call two days in advance (although I think 24 hours notice is allowed too, I was just so excited haha) and placed my order for a Hainanese Chicken Set with Traditional Rice (Php. 98...

A couple a weeks ago, Paul and I received two jars of Lotus Biscoff spreads from two kind friends. These were their going away presents and we really intended to pack both jars in our luggages and wait till we get to the Lion City before trying them out. However... we were obviously not marshmallow babies and we opened one jar the moment we got home. It was almost bed time but I couldn't help it. With a teaspoon, we each got a scoop and tried this much talked about Lotus Biscoff Spread for the first time. I tell you, it was delicious! No wonder a lot of people are crazy about it. If you love graham cookies then you'll definitely go crazy over this too. One lick and it brought me back to my childhood days where Mommy would pack those teddy graham cookies for me. I love the rough powdery texture of the cookie with a hint of a cinnamon. I was so excited with the Biscoff spread that I forced Mommy and Pan to try it out too. The next day, I got inspired to bake as I had two ...

Growing up, Mommy and Papa always remind us that " the early bird catches the worm ." They have been repeating this saying over and over again year on year as they remind us to try our darnest to make it to school on time. Well, sadly Pan and I are not natural early risers and till this day, we do value sleep so much that we can actually stay in bed all day long. If there's one thing that could easily make us get up early on a Saturday morning then it would probably be...FOOD. I've mentioned a number of times before how much I love going out for brunch. Fellow food blogger Anton must be right in predicting that this must be the start of an All-Day Breakfast or perhaps, Brunch craze in Manila . I hope he's right at it would be so fun to be able to meet up with friends over brunch on a lazy weekday morning. So far, I personally do enjoy having brunch at Milky & Sunny in Kapitolyo and at the Cake Club in Bonifacio Highstreet Central .Thus, when Pan and I hea...

Kiong Hee Huat Tsai , dear readers!!! Finally, the Year of the Snake is here and I pray that this year will bring more luck and happiness to ALL of us! Today, my family all wore our red dresses and shirts as we celebrate the Chinese New Year . After all, red for us, Chinese means lucky and for everyone else in the world, it's also the color of loveeeeee ♥. It's just perfect timing that Valentine's Day is just a few days away and Paul and I will be celebrating this for the first time in the Lion City. (Yep! We're leaving very very very...SOON! *happy tears happy tears* ) I'm sure restaurants will be bustling with reservations similar to how it has been for the past years. Some couples would opt to celebrate it a day before or even the weekend after just to avoid the traffic. Others would have a really formal 6...7...8 course degustacion meal while some would prefer to celebrate it at the comforts of their own home. Wherever you may be, which ever way you...

Just about the same time two years ago, Paul and I went to the US for a quick R&R. During the said trip to   California, we were able to try a restaurant called Umami Burger and believe me, they just got to have the best burgers in town (or at least from those that we were able to taste) . The flavor was just so intensely good that it left me in such a happy state days and months after. Just like the word umami  which is Japanese for  perfectly flavorful , Umami's burger was exactly that. It had all the right flavors that would make you want to close your eyes and savor one bite after the other. Here in Manila, there's a new restaurant at The Grove by Rockwell Land that shares a similar name -- Umami Hambaagu House is what it's called. The Grove is the up and coming premier property located right across Tiendesitas. At present, Starbucks Coffee has opened a branch there as well as Sunrise Buckets too. Expect more restaurants to follow suit in the coming mon...

I guess it's pretty obvious that Paul and I share a number of similar traits and personalities as well as a million and one shared interests. There's our love to eat, to cook, to travel, to listen to the same kinds of songs and a lot more. We also love going on road trips and we do admire pretty cars. We both believe that one should not work for the car but you always have to make the car work for you. Having a car should make your life easier and if it doesn't, then sadly, you are in big trouble. Two years ago, Paul and I took the Ford Fiesta Sport for a spin. We drove to Pampanga to have an authentic Capampangan lunch followed by some pasalubong shopping for our favorite native sweets. It was one of the best impromptu road trips that we've had and it really helped that the Ford Fiesta made traveling and driving such a breeze. Call it fate as Paul and I were invited once again by the cool folks of Ford to go on a fun Chinatown food trip in anticipation for the ...

We all know that Hong Kong is the place to be when you want to go on an ultimate food trip . I always tell people that it doesn't matter where you end up eating as more often than not, you'll always have a good meal . From the corner kiosk selling all sorts of street food to the posh French-inspired cafes, three meals is definitely not enough when you're in Hong Kong . The best way to go is to take smaller meals as you eat your way around. While we sadly do not have the luxury of time and budget to hop on the plane to visit Hong Kong more regularly, I'm glad that there are a number of nice Cantonese restaurants locally where we can have a good dimsum or wonton noodle lunch whenever the craving hits. Recently, a new restaurant opened in the neighborhood. The set-up appears to be more like a carinderia where cooking is done facing the street and a small dining area can be found behind it. We never have encountered Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food before but w...

There's a new kid in town and she's a hidden gem ready to be discovered. Say hello to Calderon . A new Spanish restaurant located right at the heart of San Juan City . This is a town that has been dubbed as the modern Chinatown . With more than a dozen Chinese restaurants and delis scattered all over this tiny city, it was quite a surprise to see a restaurant serving tapas instead of dimsum perhaps hoping to add some colorful Spanish flair to this very Oriental community. Quite a bold step, if you ask me but hey, change is always GOOD. Take it from me, a girl who is about to embark on a new journey, I began the year with a resolution to be more brave in trying new things. Though I'm not a stranger to Spanish food, there I was together with Paul and a couple of dear friends ready to try what Calderon had to offer. Allow me to share with you the different dishes that we were able to try during the two consecutive visits that Paul and I had in less than a week. To say ...

Today is the 1st of February and it's my dear friend and fellow blogger Jane of Between Bites' birthday!!! Since it's her special day, let me tell you about the night when Jane and I went out for a ramen date. Just us girls for a couple of hours of bonding and happy eating. I met Jane over the Internet as I have been an avid reader of her blog since way back. One time, we agreed to meet up for dinner with two other girl friends (hello Sab and Didi !) back in 2007. I still remembered that she brought a container of pasta for all of us to try. That's how sweet and thoughtful Jane has always been. She would really take time out to do things for her friends and loved ones despite her super jam-packed schedule and never-ending things to do. I really enjoy being able to spend time with her as she's one of the most sincere and loving friend that I've ever known. She's a keeper, guys and girls, and I'm so lucky to have a friend like her! Truly someone who g...