Frannywanny

I sure hope that you all had a good start to your week! Coming from such an action-packed weekend, I'm glad that I had a relatively calm and steady Monday to match my sleepy state. Had it been one that's crazy and stressful, I would have probably went nuts! Then, I remembered this mouthwatering Japanese Cheesecake that I recently had back in Manila. The thought of it was enough to put a smile on my face. Not the cutesy, Mona Lisa-like smile but the kind that is so infectious that will surely spread around in minutes. Something like this... Isn't this the cutest thing? Opening soon in Manila, Green Cheese will soon allow the public to have a bite (or more) of its fluffy and soft Japanese Cheesecake that literally melts-in-your-mouth. I just love the custard-like texture that's so milky you just want to laze in bed in your PJs while indulging on this delectable creation all day long. We tried it warm and right after placing it in the fridge and I personally prefer ...

It's Paul's birthday and we're gonna parteeeeh !  Yesireee! This will be a fun weekend as we will finally throw that poolside barbecue party that we've both been planning to have since we moved into our new home here in the Lion City. Every single time, whenever we'd pass by the barbecue area and we would smell the delicious aroma of meaty barbecue, buttered seafood or even hotdogs, Paul and I would always talk about throwing a small barbecue party with our friends. More than a year had past and finally, we found the perfect reason to push through with it! So yes, we will be busy marinating, preparing, chopping and pre-cooking today but that's all right. I just hope the weather will cooperate with us tomorrow. Please don't rain on Paul's birthday  parade party! Speaking of the birthday boy, let me tell you a little bit about him. Most of you have probably known him by name (and perhaps by face for some) with the numerous times I've mentioned hi...

I know it hasn't been too long since we moved to the Lion City but every time we get to fly back to Manila, we can't help but feel somewhat touristy in our own country. I guess it's because at least every quarter, there's a new mall, a commercial complex or an attraction that would open and is worth checking out. So, during our ninja-like visit home, Paul and I went to Capitol Commons along Shaw Boulevard as we kinda saw this on our way to the airport during our previous visit. Weeks before we moved to Singapore, I remember Capitol Commons to be the place where one can go on a food truck hopping. I'm not quite sure where the food trucks went but what we saw were several fully operational restaurants in the area. For this particular visit, we dropped by Nomama to say hi to our friend Chef Him and to check out his new menu. I've known Chef Him way back when I was still wearing my magazine publisher hat. He was the first chef whom I've tapped for an even...

For locals here in Singapore, Crystal Jade has been a household name since 1991. Today, it's the leading Chinese dining concept with more than 120 outlets all over the world. In fact, my first taste of Crystal Jade was in Manila when it opened a couple of years ago. I could still remember the long queue that would form almost all throughout the day in the V-Mall branch. That's also where my love for Dan Dan Mian began. Often times, I would say that dimsum is one of my top 3 favorite food in the world and having steamboat or what we commonly call hotpot / shabu-shabu  for dinner is always something that I look forward to. Never mind that my kitchen diva skills are not Master Chef level yet but at least, I get the opportunity to cook even if it means tossing everything into the boiling pot with the confidence that everything will still be so delicious. So, when Paul and I were invited to have dinner at Crystal Jade Steamboat Kitchen in Plaza Singapura, this was one of th...

The healthy trend has finally reached Manila and it's something that locals seem to be embracing quite well. That's really good as it's high time for people to take a closer look at what they're eating and if this will bring more harm than good to their body. A quick check on Google showed me that heart attack, stroke and cancer remain as the top 3 causes of death in the Philippines. While cancer is more often than not due to genetics, there are a lot of ways to avoid the top 2. No, I won't go preaching about health and wellness to bore you all out. However, I just want to share that moving to the Lion City has made me realize the importance of eating well and keeping a more active lifestyle. It has just been more than a year since we've moved and both Paul and I would shake our heads in disbelief whenever we would come across our photos taken 2 years back. Paul has lost all the unwanted weight and has done an amazing job at maintaining it. I still have h...

For those who have watched the movie 500 Days of Summer starring Zooey Deschanel and my ex-boyfriend Joseph Gordon-Levitt, you probably also loved this scene: Paul and I are regular shoppers of IKEA . It's highly possible that someday, we will be able to furnish our future home with IKEA furniture pieces and items as it has been our go-to place since our 1st day here in Singapore. We would joke that if only we can live in IKEA, we probably would go for it. Well, who would have thought that the opportunity would come for us to "spend the night" in IKEA? A week ago, Paul and I were chosen to be one of the lucky few to join the exclusive IKEA Pyjamas Party . It was a 4-hour event starting at 11PM and we were told to come in..what else?!...our PJs. We were too shy though so we just went in our comfy t-shirt and shorts. Well, some were really brave and came in their full PJs complete with fluffy bedroom slippers! This event was to launch the 2015 IKEA catalogue also...

Peer pressure [n]: social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted. ( Source ) I know, I know... I'm too old to be "pressured" by my peers but when it comes to food, I have a good circle of friends whom I trust for their recommendations. Included in this circle is my friend I . She's a foodie herself and is a great cook too. She's someone who got an amazing taste in food and so far, I've loved every single recommended restaurant that she has brought the NKids to. So, when I  began talking about McDonald's Grilled Chicken McWrap  (S$5.40 a la carte / S$7 meal) and how it's one of the healthier options on McDonald's menu, I knew I had to give it a try. All the more when she and C would bring home these McWraps to enjoy for breakfast or to bring to work the next day. So, over lunch today, Paul and I decided to head over to McDonald's for me to fi...

During our recent ninja-like visit to Manila, Paul and I agreed that we will try to spend every meal with our families. So, aside from celebrating Papa's birthday and being E's "accomplices" to Pan's surprise engagement, Paul also wanted to treat both families out for an advance blow-out for his upcoming birthday! Of course, he left the responsibility of choosing the restaurants on my hands. No complains here! I happily took out my growing Evernote list and went through it to choose which restaurant would best suit my family's discerning taste. I chose Lola Cafe + Bar  in Quezon City. I've been hearing quite a lot of raves from fellow bloggers and friends about this homey cafe-bar located within the maze-like Scout area and luckily, Kuya M has such amazing sense of direction that he quickly found the restaurant with ease.  We went there for lunch so the place was quite empty making it so easy for us to secure a long table for our party of 8. How...

How I wish I can enjoy my lunch while enjoying this view every day...  Well, there's no harm in dreaming right? At least this "dream" became a reality one fine day when I joined a couple of food bloggers for a nice Italian lunch at Dolce Vita in Mandarin Oriental Singapore . This was to give a warm welcome to Chef Omar Bernardi , the restaurant's new Chef de Cuisine. Chef Omar Bernardi began his culinary career in some of the top Italian restaurants back in his hometown in Milan, Italy. Restaurants such as two-Michelin-starred San Domenico Ristorante and one-Michelin -starred La Terezza dell'Eden among others became Chef Omar's training ground as he continued to hone his kitchen skills and created a number of gastronomical delights in the process. He later moved here to Singapore in 2011 and has recently joined  Mandarin Oriental Singapore . What's a chef welcome without good food right? For lunch that day, we had a feast! Chef Omar has special...

Despite living miles away from home, I'm lucky that I have the Internet and really good friends who keep me updated on the latest happening back home. No, I'm not talking about shameless gossips about poor innocent people but being a true blue foodie, my friends would update me on the latest restaurant that just opened or is currently on everyone's must-eat list. Then, I also have my sister who keeps tab on the newly opened restaurants as well. See, with my friends, my sister and the Internet combined, I got all my foodie news bases covered. So, months before I flew home for my ninja-like visit to celebrate Papa's birthday, Pan and I were already discussing on where to have dinner this time. You see, my dear Papa is such a creature of habit. Once he loves a certain restaurant, trust that he would want to dine there as often as possible. Lucky for those restaurants as once they win his heart, they automatically get his undying loyalty too. Sadly though, one of his fa...

Recently, I received an email from a dear reader whom I'll call V  and here's what she wrote: Dear Franny,  My nephew who just moved to Singapore said he heard of a taiyaki served as an ice cream cone somewhere in Singapore. Wonder if you could find it and show how it looks like? Here's my reply: Dearest V,  Your wish is my command! Thanks to your email, I now found a new ice cream place to visit every time I'm in the Bugis district. This blog post is for you !  Love,  Franny ♥  Paul and I met up with a couple of friends from high school over lunch yesterday and luckily the restaurant was just a few blocks away from Bugis . I told Paul about V's email and he was very supportive and was game to search for this interesting taiyaki-meets-ice-cream-cone concept that V has mentioned in her email. A quick research brought us to the basement of Bugis Junction where we found Tai-Parfait . Tadahhhh! First things first, what is a Taiyaki ? This is...

I love my job. There, I said it for the world to read. I'd say that I've been really blessed in the career front. Throughout my 9 years ride, there have been a lot of dreams that came true -- working for two brands that I love , being part of the company that I've been dreaming to work for since colleg e and to have the opportunity to move to that one country that I'm so in love with and to work for such a dynamic and amazing organization. It's too early to sum everything up as I know I have a lot more to go but there's really nothing more than I can ask for at the moment. Okay, fine maybe to reach the top level someday (hahaha!) No matter how stressful my load can sometimes be, I think I've somehow mastered the art of what we corporate folks would call "work-life balance." For me, going home to enjoy a good dinner with Paul is enough to push all my stressknots away. Blogging has always been my release as well as meeting up with friends, tryi...

The day when Aloha meets Konichiwa.  Last Sunday, the NKids went out again for another food adventure and this time, our tummies brought us to the Bukit Timah area. The fastest way to get here is to take the MRT to Botanic Garden and as you go up from the station you'll see a number of interesting-looking restaurants perfect for a nice Sunday brunch. So far, we've tried to restaurants in this area and both were good and worth the trip . For this particular food trip, we went to try Little Hiro which is a relatively new burger restaurant owned by the same group who runs Island Creamery -- a local ice cream parlor serving Singaporean flavors. Condiment Party! Little Hiro has been on my list since the start of the year so I was just so happy when C suggested that we have lunch there. I love the very chic, beach-happy look of the restaurant's exterior. For some reason, I was reminded of the movie 50 First Dates. Mahalo! I have to say that the menu was extensi...

This week, both my Facebook and Instagram news feeds are filled with photos of friends in Manila showing off their piping hot bowls of ramen or worst, a close up food porn shot of the ramen itself. I thought to myself, Manila must be experiencing a really rainy or cold weather that everyone were just suddenly in the mood to have something warm for their tummies. Then the news broke out that famous Japanese ramen brand, Ippudo has opened its doors in Manila. Ahh.. no wonder! All these ramen photos and talks got me craving for a good bowl of ramen too! Luckily, we also have Ippudo here in Singapore and it's located right at the middle of Orchard Road and in 3 other oulets making it so accessible whenever that major craving for ramen hits. However, this particular visit to Ippudo dates back to the time when my family came to visit me. I just love it whenever family comes to visit as it gives us the best reason to eat out more and to try a couple of new restaurants that has been s...

Oh boy, time has been flying extremely fast! Another year has gone by and just like that, here we are again celebrating another blog anniversary. I can still remember that afternoon when I opened this blog account and there was that blinking cursor button waiting for me to type in my blog name. I paused for a few minutes then just wrote the first "what-I-thought-sounded-witty" name that came into my mind -- Frannywanny . A cutesy version of my real nickname. When I first started this blog, all I wanted was to have a more organized place for me to document my food discoveries as I used to just write it on my Multiply account. Paul and I have been eating out quite a lot then and he would take really nice photos while I just love to tell my friends about it. No marketing strategy, no serious business objectives. Frannywanny.com is simply and will be...   a girly-girl's guide to the best things in life .  Back then, I would get all giddy and happy whenever friends wo...

My good friend M is in town! I really like it whenever he's here because we get to catch up over a good meal. Remember the last time when we supported his craving for crabs and prawns  all because that's what good friends do? Yup! How can I leave a friend dreaming and drooling over a good dish for days right? I simply have to do something! Oh... the sacrifices one has to do. hahahahah! Anyway, M didn't have major craving this time but it was me who have been dreaming about those mouth-watering crab cakes that I had at The Pelican a couple of weeks ago. How it was so deliciously meaty and creamy inside and perfectly crisp on the outside. Of course, M was truly a good friend as he was really game to have dinner at The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill just to satiate my craving (or to make me stop talking about it over and over again!) The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill is known for its seafood platters among others. What makes this restaurant so fun to dine in is the ...

Despite the extremely short vacation that Paul and I recently had in Manila, we came back to Singapore weighing a bit more but definitely happier, more relaxed and rejuvenated once again. Nothing beats being able to catch up with friends and spending a couple of days with family. Believe it or not, I have to always put together a calendar every time I fly home. This is because my schedule is always packed to the brim with meet ups, errands and shopping. I'm very thankful that no matter what, we have friends who wouldn't mind waking up extra early or staying out a bit later than usual just to be with us. You guys know who you are and for that, we love you with all our hearts. ♥ Take for example my favorite Nuffies M and A, most of the time, we would just communicate via email but every time I'm back in Manila, M would make it a point to meet up with me. We agreed to have brunch at the newly opened coffee shop named CO/OP Manila along A. Mabini street in San Juan. I...

Last weekend, Paul and I did another ninja-like visit to Manila which lasted for only 4 days. The main objective was to spend as much time possible with family. I'd say, we were pretty successful as most of the meals were really dedicated to eating out with both my side and his. In addition to that, we went home to celebrate the birthday of one very important man in our lives -- my Papa . Despite how infrequent we get to fly home, we make it a point not to miss the birthdays of our parents. We sadly missed my FIL's birthday this year so we have to do better starting next year onwards. Anyway, to celebrate Papa's birthday, K of Sweet Grace Cakes & Pastries was so sweet to send over a box of her famous Pistachio Cake with Strawberries and Cream (Php. 800 / 6 inch and Php. 1500 / 8 inch) .  The cake arrived a day before his birthday so we had an early cake-cutting ceremony as we couldn't wait to try it. Even Papa was so happy when we opened his cake box to revea...

Whenever I'm asked what my favorite food is, I would always have to stop and think really hard. You see, the problem here is that I don't only have one but in fact, I have 3 favorite types of food that I love very very much! That would be sushi , dimsum and pasta . Give me any of these and I can eat it for days on end. I'm lucky that Singapore is such an awesome food mecca that there's pretty much a very wide array of food choices available all the time. Take dimsum for example. Yes, I do admit that Hong Kong still reigns as the dimsum capital of world but when it comes to Xiao Long Baos , then Singapore is pretty much ahead of the pack. What are  Xiao Long Baos ? It's a delicate, hand-created dumpling that is filled with pork and a small amount of soup. Steamed to perfection, the beauty of xiao long baos is that the soup stays intact even upon serving. So, there's one way to eat this -- carefully lift a piece using your chopsticks making sure that you d...