Frannywanny

My friend T and I have known each other since the very first day of college. Somehow, we instantly clicked and later on both became part of a group together with my best friend L and 4 other girls. We were inseparable all throughout our university days despite taking different specializations during our junior year. However, just like in any relationship, our friendship has experienced some bumps along the way that we somehow lost touch for a couple of years. I guess we're really destined to be good friends again as fate brought us together here in the Lion City to pick up where we left off. Yay! When you're living far away, you learn to treasure the ones who makes you feel right at home. It's a good thing T and I work close to each other that we make sure that we meet up over lunch at least once a month. During one of our lunch dates, we agreed to check out the much talked about food court at the Asia Square Building. It's the office building of Citibank and I've...

"Let's eat out when you're home!" , this was the SMS that my little sister Pan sent me weeks before our recent visit to Manila. My response was: "Okay, can we try Green Pastures ?" She SMS backed to say: "Galing! I was just thinking of that." We may be miles away but my sister and I sure do think (and continue to talk) alike. I've been hearing and reading about Green Pastures from fellow food bloggers and knowing that this is Chef Robby Goco's newest baby, all the more I was so excited to give it a try. Being a big fan of Cyma and Charlie's , I was pretty certain, Green Pastures will also be a winner. Just to ensure that we get a nice table as we planned to eat there on a Friday night, I called to make a reservation. I'm sure glad I did as the restaurant was packed at 7PM and there was already a waiting line outside. Whenever Pan and I are excited to try a new restaurant, we tend to over-order. Here's our dinner men...

Exactly 10 years ago, I committed to a relationship with a guy whom, to me, I felt most comfortable with. Just like in any courtship, there were those kilig  moments, surprises that left me speechless and revelations that more and more tell me that he could be the one . I guess, of all the things that I like most about him is that we get along really well. Examples would be having similar childhood memories, sharing a similar set of interests and most especially having the same intense love for food. More than being with someone I'm romantically linked to, I found a best friend . He's the kind of person whom I really look forward to spending every single day with. Thus, from that day forward, we instantly became inseparable. As a friend has pointed out, we're our own love team most popularly known as -- Paul & Fran . My old blog post in my now hidden blog. Back when I still call him JP/Jayps short for John Paul On that fateful night when I said "yes" to...

Growing up in San Juan, I've seen how it has slowly transformed from a quiet municipality into a fun and vibrant city. Back then, the only commercial area was Greenhills Shopping Center which continues to be our go-to place to do our grocery, to eat good food and to do some bargain shopping. There were other restaurants and commercial spaces around the area but you can basically count them with your fingers as they weren't a lot. Cafe Ysabel is one of those that has been around for as long as I remember. However, I haven't really gotten around to dining there as I always thought it looked a bit creepy especially at night. Once, Paul took me to Cafe Ysabel for dessert, as their Strawberry Shortcake is to die for, and I really couldn't get myself to go to the loo thus I just forced him to quickly finish our dessert and to take me home pronto. It must be the vintage-feel as well as the dark lighting that reminds me so much of those horror Filipino movies that my yaya ...

Halloween is just around the corner and this is the season of ghost stories and spirit sightings. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I cringe whenever I hear scary stories and try my darnest to stay away from spooky-looking places. Did you know that garlic is said to keep vampires and witches away? True or not, I am not taking chances. Of course, I won't go around town munching on plain garlic as my breath won't only ward away all those spooky elements but even my friends, family and Paul will stay as far away as they could from me too. I'm loading up with garlic in style and the best way to do so is at Mad for Garlic which recently opened a new branch at Suntec City . I heard that Mad for Garlic has also opened a branch in the Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines and I have yet to pay them a visit. Meanwhile, let me share with you the garlic-loaded dinner that I had with my cousins-in-law at Mad for Garlic, Singapore . Dinner began with Mad for Garlic's signa...

Back when I was still in Manila, I got to admit that the local Filipino cuisine was never one that I'd really crave for. As the saying goes: "You'll never know the value of what you have until you lose it..." perhaps a more apt saying would be "Absence makes the heart grow fonder..." Being miles away from home and not having the luxury of eating our local cuisine whenever I want to, I've grown to love it more and more. You have no idea how our eyes would sparkle at the scent of garlicky adobo or how our heart would do leaps and cartwheels at the mere sight of a shiny, crunchy roasted lechon. Thus, whenever we're home, we make sure to make up for lost times with our favorite dishes. One of the highlight of my recent visit was during a private dinner hosted by my favorite "lechon diva" D of Pepita's Kitchen . Note that I was burning with fever that evening but I made sure that I didn't miss this gastronomical experience. Of course...

Meet Chef Him . He's one of Manila's most sought-after chefs who's known for his creativity when it comes to his gastronomical creations. Don't believe me? Here's an example: I met Chef Him a couple of years back as I got him to cater my very first work event for Summit Media. We corresponded via email and the first time I actually saw his work and was able to taste it was during the event day itself. To say that I was impressed would still be an understatement. I literally had to restrain myself from standing beside the buffet table else my guests wouldn't be able to have those delicious risotto balls delicately placed in ceramic Chinese soup spoons. It was THAT delicious. Thus, when I heard that Chef Him was opening his very own restaurant called Nomama , I was one of the first to troop over with friends in tow to try and to show my undying support. How time flies as Nomama is now celebrating its 2nd year anniversary and they're running an e...

Do you believe in giving second chances?  Well before you answer that, let me tell you a little story. *puts on her lola glasses and sits on the rocking chair* *ahem ahem* Once upon a time, there was this girl whom we shall call FW. She went out with her best buds one evening for some delicious sushi and wagyu beef. Over their favorite Japanese choices, girly chit-chats and stories were exchanged back and forth. Dinner came to an end and not wanting to call it a night, FW suggested that they go get some ice cream. Feeling all grown up, the three girls decided to have some gelato instead. Off they went to Cafe Publico which was just a few steps away from their original place. It was raining hard that evening and they found a certain calmness inside the store. The rustic Italian garden interiors felt old yet comforting. The chess table in one corner looked really interesting. The place boasts of serving good gelato and so the girls made their choice. FW went for a sco...

A lot of you might have been wondering why the sudden silence for the past few days. Well, it all began late last week when I came home feeling feverish. We initially thought it was just stress or lack of sleep. I quickly brushed the panic away and made sure I got more than 8 hours of sleep that night. Well, I woke up still feverish and this went on for days. It lasted for 6 whole days which brought my temperature up to the 39 degrees level and down to 37. I was chilling at some point and sweating so much after. CBC tests were done to rule out dengue which thankfully came out negative. It was a viral case but what made me so sad was the fact that it coincided with my much-awaited visit home. I've been planning for this trip for some time now as I was so excited to meet up with friends, spend a lot of time with family and to try the newest foodie places in Metro Manila. With my fever in the way, the only thing I bonded with during my trip was my bed. *sigh* Well, as they say. If...

Remember I mentioned that Paul and I coincidentally share a lot of similar Hong Kong memories . One of the most remarkable one was our fondness for this particular Unagi Don at the basement of Sogo Department Store in Causeway Bay. It's so funny how we found out about this shared love for this Japanese eel rice dish. As we were walking around Causeway Bay, Paul suddenly brought up how he would excuse himself from his family shopping routine to be able to head straight to Sogo Department Store to have his Unagi Don box. While my Papa wasn't that lax to allow me to roam free on my own, I told him that we would also go to Sogo to have the same Unagi Don and I can also remember how good it was. A trip was definitely not complete without it. That said, we made sure to include the search for that particular Unagi Don during this trip. A lot of things have changed and to be honest, we had a hard time trying to recall where exactly that Unagi Don was as even the supermarket has a new...

Bonjour! If there's any language in the world that I would like to learn next to mastering my Mandarin, it would be French. Oh how I dream of having the French accent similar to that of Celine in the movie "trilogy" Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight . She speaks in such poetic tone that is just so nice to listen to. The same is true for my colleague G who's fluent in French. From him, we learn the proper pronunciation of certain words and while I still struggle to say the word "escargot" properly, I really do enjoy learning a new word each day. Speaking of French, one of the highlights of our trip to Hong Kong last year was when we had the chance to have a very French Afternoon Tea at Joel Robuchon's restaurant. Believe me, I was so giddy while lining up that I couldn't keep still. Joel Robuchon has 3 types of restaurants located all at The Landmark -- Le Jardin ( contemporary fine dining at the roof top garden ), L'Atelier ( the most popul...

Looking at this year's calendar, I suddenly realized that Paul and I haven't had a single trip. Sure we have been flying back and forth Singapore and Manila but to really go somewhere far away from our two homes and to call it a vacation, this has not been done so far. The year isn't over so I'm still feeling a teeny bit optimistic. Oh, how I miss those times wherein we would have a trip abroad or out of town almost once a month. Traveling keeps me sane and it's pretty good that I haven't gone nuts for not going on a vacation this year. Guess I'm still happy exploring this beautiful city to mind. That said, let me open this overly delayed Hong Kong travel series that I've been meaning to blog about for more than a year already. I'm so sorry as my bloglag is terrible! Prior to our overnight stay in Macau , Paul and I had a 4 day break in Hong Kong . We both grew up frequenting this lovely cosmopolitan that's just an hour and 45 minutes flight...

Do you know the nursery rhyme that goes like this: Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, They licked the platter clean. Sometimes, I feel that Paul and I are just like Jack Sprat and his wife. We can be very different yet at the end of the day, we know that we're truly perfect for each other. Those who knows us both would say that I could talk and talk all day while he can go about a day without uttering a single word. I'm definitely an extrovert while he's Mr Shy Guy. At the same time, I got to admit that I love the limelight and do not mind the attention while he tries his darnest to stay behind the scenes as much as possible. Still, these opposite traits make us get along so well. As the Law of Attraction has long proven -- Opposite Poles Attract. For Paul's 30-something birthday , he made it pretty clear that he doesn't want a big, highly publicized birthday celebration. All he wanted was to have a s...

This morning I woke up feeling a bit hungry. So, checking what's available in our pantry, I decided to recreate one of my local favorites here -- the famous Kaya Toast with Soft Boiled Egg. First, the egg. I carefully boiled a good amount of water and when it started to bubble, I put in the medium sized egg. I even set the timer to 5 minutes to make sure it comes out runny and cooked. After 5 minutes, I shocked it in icy water as taught to me by chef friends. Then, the grand moment finally arrived for me to de-shell the egg and to see if I did a good job. Well, let's just say it was a disaster! Paul just took one look at it and shook his head. *sigh* Feeling disheartened by the failed soft-boiled egg. I didn't even bother to make the Kaya toast. I just ate it with Wholemeal crackers. Days like this, I seriously wish I am a cooking diva. Making soft-boiled egg should be one of the easiest things to cook and yet it came out not as good as I wanted it to be. Guess, I just h...

Finally, after buying my two boxes of yummy cupcakes from Plain Vanilla Bakery , I headed over to Open Door Policy where I've made reservations for my Saturday brunch. I got to the door of the restaurant at exactly 11AM making me the first customer to enter that day. If you remember, I've blogged about Open Door Policy a month back when Paul and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary here . While our dinner was pretty good, I had this nagging feeling inside me that a return visit is in order and somehow, I just have to try their brunch menu. So, while waiting for my friends to arrive, I began reading the one-pager menu. Service was superb as always. The moment the server saw that I've settled into my seat, he asked if I want anything to drink. You can actually get some bubbly in the morning but I'm being a goody goody girl and just got a bottle of Fiji water for us to share. Finally, A and J arrived just in time and while catching up with one another, we mad...

Nowadays, I do look forward to quiet weekends. Gone are the days wherein my schedule is packed with errands, meet-ups, eat outs and more. Since I've moved here, my life is pretty much on a steady pace. From what used to be like a fast car zooming at 250kph, my weekends now feel like a smooth ride down an easy breezy road. Somehow, I like it that way. On one of those lazy Saturdays, I set a brunch meet-up with my good friend A who's back in Singapore for the F1 race. It's really cool that A and I still get to keep in touch even more now that we're both miles away from home. Thanks to the power of social media, we somehow get to be updated with each other's lives or at least our whereabouts from time to time. Also, I really enjoy going out for brunch with A and her beloved J. They're such fun couple who's game to try new places and since I was dead set in avoiding the CBD and touristy areas that weekend since I'm pretty sure traffic will be awful, I sug...

The food scene has been more active than ever before especially in this part of the world. I can say that every day, one or two restaurants have been opening their doors to the hungry public upping one another in terms of creativity and gastronomic talent. We're living in a world where people are more conscious about the food that they eat. Quality is king , I'd like to believe. Food lovers are taking the forefront as they go about town in search for the newest and yummiest food find. I would know...I'm one of them! Haha! Recently, I joined a couple of local food bloggers for an exclusive food tasting organized by Open Rice Singapore . Dinner was held at the very popular Wing Seong Fatty's Restaurant in Burlington Square. It was my first time to venture into this side of town thus I got a bit lost and had to walk a few meters more before I finally found the restaurant. How's that for some warm-up exercise? Wing Seong Fatty's Restaurant , as I was told, was ...