Frannywanny

My Mom frequents the South quite often. Aside from having to attend to the demands of her career, she loves hanging out with Auntie S whom she considers to be one of her dearest friends. A few years back, she came home to tell us about this really good Chinese restaurant that Auntie S has been telling her about. I guess it was really good that Auntie S proudly declared that it was the best in her side of town. The name is Phoenix Court . Quite posh sounding, don't you think? We rarely get to venture to Alabang as whenever we do get to go to the South, we just would head straight to Tagaytay. Thus, I was so excited upon receiving a dinner invite from my dear friend Jane during our overnight stay at The Bellevue Hotel last month. What a star-studded dinner it was as Paul and I were surrounded by our favorite fellow food bloggers! There's Anton and Rach , Richie and Rina , Ro and Peter , Sumi and Jerwin , Didi , new found friends Joy and Edric  and of course, our gracious hos...

Ahhhh... Staycation . Hearing the word is enough to make my heart leap and do tiny cartwheels all day long. Who doesn't want a vacation, right? You might have noticed that Paul and I love going on staycations. The main reason behind it is this... staycations keep us sane . Sometimes work and day-to-day craziness can really be stressful and since it's just not practical to jet off on a whim (yes, we're so past that stage already hehe) , the best option is to explore what the city has to offer and to stay the night or two in one of our choice hotels to enjoy the room and the amenities as well. This practice began when we got married three years ago. I have to say that Manila has a lot of really nice hotels so the challenge lies on choosing which one to try this time. The same can be said for Singapore. We've stayed the night at a number of hotels here and every single time, we go home rejuvenated and much more relaxed compared to when we first checked-in. Last D...

If there's one question that I always find challenging to answer it would be that infamous -- "what's your most favorite restaurant in the world." This question never fails to leave me speechless, a bit stunned and my mind always boggled until I finally get to blurt out an answer. I'm pretty sure foodies out there can totally relate with my problem. You see, it's not that there's no good restaurants around but in fact, there's quite a lot and it's hard to say which one is better than the other. Often times, I'd settle for my top 3 and this would vary depending on what restaurant comes to my mind at the moment. What I noticed though is that I like a certain kind of restaurant -- normally I go for stylish cafes or restaurants that offer dishes that I would consider as comfort food. These restaurants have a very relaxed ambiance where I would enjoy brunch, lunch or afternoon tea with my mom/sister/girl friend and/or a nice and quiet dinner wit...

Back when I was still a kid, Papa would always call me " sleepyhead ." This is because it would take him almost half an hour to successful pull me out from bed especially on a school day. No amount of knocking, tickling, singing loudly, turning on the radio, opening the curtains would wake me up from my slumber. The truth is... I really do love to sleep. However, what Papa doesn't know is that there's just one way to quickly get me out of bed and that's what Mommy has mastered -- preparing a really delicious breakfast spread and making sure it reaches my senses. So on days when Mommy's in charge, she would whip up a mouthwatering spread of garlic fried rice, hotdogs and scrambled egg. I tell you, the scent of fried garlic alone is powerful enough to wake me up, to get ready in twenty minutes or less and to head straight to the dining room with a big smile on my face. Still, I got the coolest and smartest parents on earth, don't you think? Breakfast i...

"What?! IKEA Again ?!?" This was my entire team's reaction when I told them one afternoon that I'm heading to IKEA after work. No, they weren't over-reacting and I don't blame them for the disbelief too. IKEA is one of my favorite places here in Singapore and I just love shopping and eating here. I'm glad that Paul shares the same fascination for this Swedish home store too that we would frequent it at least every other week and immediately signed up to be part of the IKEA Family Club weeks upon moving in to the Lion City. As we were busy buying gifts last Christmas, we somehow managed to visit IKEA 3 times in one week. Thus, the shock from my team when they found out I'm going back to IKEA again . So, to celebrate the yuletide season, Paul and I invited our friends I, O and C as well as our cousin J to join us for a fun Swedish dinner at IKEA last December 19. This Christmas Dinner ran for only two days and they had only two sittings per day. ...

"Do you believe in giving 2nd chances?" Such a tough question, isn't it? When it comes to life and most especially for food, yes I do believe in 2nd chances. Can't say much when it comes to matters of the heart as my idealistic self insists that one should let fate and destiny take its course and the right thing happens at the right time, at the right place. For life in general though, I always believe that everything deserves a second chance and more often than not, it comes out even better than what we've expected. Let me tell you a short story... Not so long ago, my colleagues invited me out for lunch at one of the newly transferred Mediterranean place near our office. I'm such a fan of this type of cuisine being a regular visitor of Arya back in Manila. How I miss my lamb kebab, basmati rice and hummus! It wasn't hard to convince me and so we went for our first lunch out at Urban Bites Mediterranean Cuisine . Browsing through the menu, I have...

Early this year, I opened my travel journal again. Not known to many, I keep a notebook/scrapbook that documents all trips since Paul and I got married three years ago. It had photos, quotes, theme park tickets, boarding passes and a lot more. However, we got extremely busy and I now have a heavy box that goes with my journal filled with photos, receipts, tickets that have yet to be placed in this journal. What more now that I've relocated to another country?!  I think I need a whole new scrapbook as everything might not fit in my old journal anymore. Anyway, at the last page of my journal, I have a list. This list is something that I love referring back to once in a while. My goal is to visit at least one country per continent in my lifetime. So far I've covered two thus I have 5 more to go. Knowing that I won't be able to travel far this year, I went through the list to see which are the "doable" destinations. Vietnam . The land of pho and banh mi! L...

Want to hear a secret?  Recently, Paul and I stumbled upon a pretty and very dainty-looking restaurant hidden in one of Makati's residential areas called Maria Luisa's Garden Room . It's located inside the Makati Garden Club, which I have to admit I never knew existed. Well, I was never a resident of Makati so hope you'll forgive my ignorance. Anyway, it was Christmas Eve and we went out for lunch with my in laws to have a triple birthday celebration for Ahia Jordan, Achi Marie and our cute nephew Jairus. The restaurant was listed as one of OAP's 10 Most Awesome Restaurants in Manila and after getting raves from a cousin-in-law, we agreed to give it a try.  We were given a long table inside the second dining area of the restaurant overlooking the garden. I love the pretty decors, the very feminine interiors and the well-manicured garden. I wouldn't be surprise if Martha Stewart would just show up at the door....or I'd just be too shock if she r...

I always believe that the internet helps connect lives and build relationships. When used properly, strong and real friendships can be made. While I've been pretty much invisible in the local blogging scene since the start of 2013, I'm lucky to still keep in touch with a few of my fellow food blogger friends who would drop in a message via any social media platform to say hi and to check on us from time to time. They would also update me on the newest must-try restaurants in the metro which I would make sure to try whenever I get to go home for a visit. As Christmas is the must-awaited season for partying and lots of eating, we joined the K.T.G . for their 1st ever Christmas Party! While a number were old friends, we were also able to finally meet the faces behind the blogs that we've been following for months now. Boy, were they a fun and happy bunch! Of course, what's a KTG Party without yummy food, right? Let me share with you some of the dishes that we were ab...

When it comes to celebrating the holidays, of course, we're talking about having a mouthwatering spread of savory and sweet dishes. This is probably the reason why people would say that we, Filipinos, do take Christmas seriously as this is the season of endless merry-making and non-stop eating. Case in point, on the day that Paul and I landed in Manila, we were greeted with this black insulated bag sitting prettily inside our freezer. While the look was really simple and doesn't evoke much excitement at a glance, seeing the name printed on the bag was enough to make my heart leap and do a million cartwheels.  Of course, who can ever say no to ice cream? Much more... Japanese Ice Cream! When it comes to food, I love anything Japanese. From sticky glutinous mochis to flavoured Kit Kats, from the spongey Tokyo Banana to the creamy Hokkaido Ice Cream. I love how the Japanese gives so much attention to detail. From the quality of the ingredients used, to the flavor and f...

It's the new year and I'm busy listing down my resolutions. Obviously, one resolution that never goes away is "to be fit and healthy" . I'm happy though that I've actually took my first step last 2013 when Paul and I began a healthier diet and have been hitting the gym more than once. We intend to continue this good habit for the entire year, this year. Anyway, Paul and I just came back from our amazing 12 Days of Christmas in Manila and we had a great time bonding with our dear family and friends. These 12 days, I must say, we've allowed ourselves to indulge in all the yummy food that Manila has to offer and yes, there were no regrets whatsoever. Right on the 1st day of our visit, we met up with our friends E and soon-to-wed C and K. C suggested that we try Relish in Quezon City and I was all for it as it was definitely something new to me. Parking was quite challenging as Relish shares the same lot as Cerchio, another restaurant. It's a good...

CHANGE.  Such a big word and it basically encapsulates how 2013 was for both Paul and I. We all recalled how the year began with an arrray of farewell dinners thrown by good friends and family as we prepared for our big move to the Lion City . Such a great leap it was that we were faced with new responsibilities, a new career, moving into a new home and the opportunity to build new relationships and friendships too. Months passed and we slowly made ourselves feel at home.  For us, Singapore has slowly became our second home. I guess we got these three people whom we consider our family in the Lion City to thank for. Meet I , O and C . Our three flatmates who have made our transition such a breeze. They're always ready to answer all our questions, to lend a helping hand and best of all, they're always game to join us on impromptu food trips too.  Unlike the past years, we were not able to travel anywhere beyond the frequent Singapore-Manila-Singapore tri...