Frannywanny

"Can't this be love, I'm feeling right now..." ♥ It was just an ordinary late afternoon in Arab street where my colleague J and I were quickly walking around looking for a place to eat. We went there for an event which was about to start in 30 minutes so we weren't picky and just entered this empty non-air-conditioned restaurant thinking we will be able to order, eat, pay and leave. Little did we know that this place was Bergs -- Gourmet Burger , the one that I've been wanting to try for a year now! Now, isn't that called fate or perhaps destiny? The menu was really interesting. There was a good mix of beef burgers, chicken burgers, a veggie (tofu) burger, a burger filled with falafel and even a fish burger. I caught a whiff of the beef patty being grilled in the kitchen so I went for the Berg with Cheese (S$14.50 Bergs size / S$11 small size). My colleague J went for the Porto Pollo  (S$14.50 Bergs size / S$11 small size) which is a Peri-Peri-s...

On days when Paul had to work late, I would normally try to make it home earlier than usual to be able to prepare our dinner. So far, I've mastered the art of cooking rice and reheating a wide-array of viands too. When I'm feeling a bit more creative, I would cook a new dish and would surprise not only Paul but myself as well with the (thankfully) positive outcome. I have to admit though that we do most of the cooking during weekends where we have the luxury of time. Weeknights are normally meant for reheating our food as we basically have an hour to prepare everything to have dinner right away. One night, I went home late after paying a quick visit to the gym. Worried that we will end up eating really really late, I told Paul that I'll do something about it. As soon as he said "okay",  I quickly opened the ever reliable Food Panda app. The steps are really simple. First, I keyed in our postal code to be able to generate a list of restaurants that can ser...

When people would ask me what Paul and I did in Cebu , I would simply say... "we slept and ate...ate and slept some more." Not really intending to sound incredibly lazy but we were on a vacation so I guess what we did was just right. Take our first day for instance, upon checking in, we decided to grab lunch at Feria -- the hotel's in-house all-day buffet restaurant. This is because we just plan to take a nap after lunch and wake up just in time for the afternoon cocktails at the Business Class Lounge . The restaurant boasts of a very very very wide variety of food. If my memory serves me right, there were about 10 stations available -- Cold Cuts / Antipasti, Salads, Cheeses, Indian, Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Western and Dessert. While there were some staple dishes, the menu generally changes in every meal and every day. Allow me to tour you around Feria : 

Among all the 7,107 islands or rather the 81 provinces in the Philippines, Cebu holds a special place in my heart. It's the place where I had so much fun dolphin watching when I was a kid, eating to my heart's content every single time and the Cebuanos are just so hospitable and warm. I've visited numerous times but I still get excited whenever the opportunity comes for me to go back again. So, last December, Paul and I took 4 days out of our 2 weeks long holiday visit to the Philippines to relax and spend some quality time in Cebu . It was Paul's first time so I was really excited to show him around and hopefully he'd fall in love with Cebu just the way I did before. After booking our flights, the next step was for me to do a full research on where to stay . The choice was either to stay in Cebu City where we can visit the malls and a number of the famous touristy spots or to enjoy and chill out at the beach in Mactan. We went for the first option and I relied ...

*sponsored post* Living in the digital age, I've come to appreciate the ease and convenience of the internet. People may say it's an addiction but really, time has change and its no longer the concept of being online just to play but rather being online to easily be reached by friends and family, to have access to information immediately and to make your life way way way easier. Much more when you live miles away from home. Having a fast-speed internet connection has really been a big help to ease all those sudden bouts of homesickness. It has allowed me to be updated on the daily happenings back home and vice versa. Somehow, technology and communication has narrowed the ocean-wide distance between me and my family. Since I've moved to the Lion City, I have kept two sim cards. One for me to use locally and another (my trusty Globe sim) for me to use when I'm in Manila. That said, I have pretty much mastered the art of switching sim cards from my phone at recor...

I really love it whenever I get to catch up with my dear friends Jin and Leslie . If you haven't visited their blogs yet, I highly recommend that you do so after reading this entry as, for me, they are the best and most reliable food bloggers in town. ♥ I trust Jin and Leslie's taste when it comes to food so whenever we dine out, it's one of those rare moments where I'd rather keep quiet and allow my two friends to take the lead. Take for example our recent lunch out at Lung Hin , I know they've been there so many times but knowing that I'm dying to try this when I visited Manila last month, they were game enough to go back just to have lunch with me and Paul. Aren't they the sweetest? It took us a while to locate the hotel so we were actually the last to arrive. Leslie, the ever prompt one, took charge of pre-ordering the Roast Duck (Php. 1,600/half) as she knows that it will take a while for this to be ready. True enough, our glorious plate of du...

Finally I'm back with another entry for my Explore Singapore series! I'm terribly sorry for the long hiatus as I have been crazy busy to explore a new site here in the Lion City. Thanks to my friend D who gave me these tickets to the newly opened Trick Eye Museum  in Sentosa, Paul and I spent one weeknight playing around as we let our imaginations run wild! The Trick Eye Museum originated in Seoul, Korea as it features a number of 3D artworks where people can do a bit of role playing to get into the character or to be part of a certain scenario. There's no hard and fast rules on how to go around the museum. It's important to just have your camera, follow the correct angle and shoot away.

My dear readers probably know by now how big a fan I am of discounts and 1-for-1s. Of course, this is truly the best way to dine out as we get to try more dishes for a fraction of the price. After all, I've come to accept the hard truth that money doesn't grow on trees so being hardworking, frugal and smart about saving and spending money is truly the way to go. Don't get me wrong, I would still indulge and splurge once in a while but nonetheless, I think real hard before going for it. So, I just heard about the latest lunch promotion that Hotel Jen Tanglin  recently launched. It's called 12 at 12 at Ah Hoi's Kitchen and this just got to be the best promotion that I've ever heard of! Imagine being able to have 12 different viands plus complimentary drink, soup and rice for only $12 nett! The promotion runs during lunch hour which is at 12 noon sharp. The best part is, for groups of 12, the 12th person gets a free meal!

After eating our way around Hole in the Wall , we were just about ready to wave the white flag. Before that though, we just have to visit one last store. I have been hearing raves about this yummy dessert store and I made it a point not to miss this. Not even when our tummies are about to burst from so much food, my visit will never be complete without checking out Scout's Honor ! Luckily, Chef Miko Aspiras was there for me to say hi! I saw him back when we went to dine at Fairmont Makati and I'm happy to see that he has finally opened his very own dessert brand. Scout's Honor's menu is divided into three parts -- there's the Classic Scout Cookies , Craft Cookies  and they got flavored Milk  to go with your cookies too! First, Paul and I checked out the Classic Scout Cookies which are ready-made cookie creations which are not the ordinary.

Here's our 3rd stop during our visit at Hole in the Wall -- meet Liberation Shawarma by Chef JP Anglo. This stall takes inspiration from a food truck so you can see how it has a very simple, industrial look. Somehow though, it still blends in perfectly with its neighboring stalls which have a mix of colors here and there.

Bad Bird is the perfect example of East meets West. We went on a relatively quiet and slow lunch day at Hole in the Wall yet this store was so busy taking orders, cooking and serving platters after platters to its eager and hungry customers. Of course, we just had to join in the fun (a.k.a. nakiki-uso ) too! This stall specializes in umami fried chicken which are perfectly deep-fried and coated in their special flavors. What makes this food concept so interesting is how fried chicken, which is very western, pairs so well with a wide-array of Asian-inspired side dishes -- Kimchi coleslaw, corn covered with Japanese Kewpie mayo and bonito flakes, Waffle with Miso Butter and more! It's definitely the place where Uncle Sam and Mr. Miyagi can happily dine in together. Each fried chicken plate comes with 2 substantial cuts of chicken. Do take that phrase seriously as those cuts are HUGE! While others would just hide the tiny meat within a thick breading, this one seriously was al...

Have you ever watched the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? Remember scenes when Gus, the dad of lead actress, Toula, would refer everything back to its Greek word origin? While we all know that this was included as a comic relief, it also showed how proud Gus is to be Greek. His character reminded me so much of my own dad. No, Papa do not go around spraying everything and everyone with Windex but he also loves sharing stories about China and what it has created in this world. My dad is mighty proud of our origin and do value the importance of understanding our roots. As for me, I show my appreciation through my stomach. :) It's no secret that I love Chinese food. I love the wide-variety of dishes that you can create with one main ingredient. As Papa would say, the best Chinese chef should know how to cook an egg in 100 different ways. I haven't went past 15 so I guess I have a lonnng way to go. :) Kwong's Provisions was the first stall that my family checke...

It's a great great week, dear readers! No particular reason why but I just made the decision to start the week in a positive note. Given that, I thought of sharing with you one of my happiest discoveries during my recent visit back to Manila. Welcome to Hole in the Wall . Located at the top level of Century City Mall in Makati. I never imagined for such a cool mall to open in this spot as it used to be a mainly residential/office area. At some point, we felt like tourists in our own country as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed as we walked our way to the top of the mall. It's so pretty and I love love love it! For this particular visit, my family went there to have lunch. I've been hearing a great deal about Hole in the Wall from my foodie circle and I knew that I just have to check it out while I'm there. The top level has an al-fresco set-up where you can also find CaliBurger, 12 Monkeys and Andale by Agave. My dad, in particular, was amazed as he slowly checke...

Before flying home for the holidays, Paul and I met up with cousin J for our own Christmas brunch. Since we all have The Entertainer App , and you all must probably know by now how much I love it, we quickly went for The Marmalade Pantry for it's 1-for-1 deals. I tell you, having the Entertainer App has changed my life! With close to a thousand dining establishments, it has made every weekend much more fun as we would gamely try a new restaurant around town. I've lost count of the number of establishments that I've tried but seeing that I've saved about S$400 within 4 months was strong enough to tell me how often I've been using the app. Let me talk more about the app some other time and let us turn the limelight back to our Sunday brunch at The Marmalade Pantry . Located at ION Orchard, this cafe/restaurant seems to always have a permanent queue at its entrance. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long as we got to the restaurant a few minutes before the real br...

For friends and readers who are still wondering if they should visit Manila, Philippines. Allow me to give you just one reason why you should : our FOOD. This is even putting aside the wide-array of local dishes that your palates will go crazy over... imagine the lechon (roasted pig), pancit palabok (glass noodles in orange achuete sauce with seafood), the kakanins in all shapes and flavors (rice cakes) and more! Never have I thought that I can get all patriotic until I'd get into a conversation with my foreign colleagues about our local Filipino food. Oh boy, I can definitely go on and on for hours! Lately, more and more restaurants and food concepts have been opening its doors all over the country. Take the newly opened SM Mega Fashion Hall for example. My list of restaurants to try in Manila could barely keep up with one restaurant opening after the other. It would probably take me a couple more visits to be able to try them all. I'm so blessed though that frie...

Allow me to skip from telling you about my first day in Manila straight to my last day before flying back to Singapore. Don't worry, I promise to fill you in on all the food adventures that we had in between. It's just that my last day was quite amazing even if it means having to hug my family tightly as we bid each other "see you soon" as they sent us off at the airport. So, my day started early as Pan and I headed to our favorite salon for my mandatory hair cut and mani/pedi session. I have been putting this off all throughout the trip that I had some sort of panic a few days before flying back when I realized that my hair was in bad bad shape. As for my nails, they've grown so long that I once scratched myself accidentally. Pan sensed the urgency and gamely joined me for our 9am appointment that day. After an hour and a half we were done and she invited me out for breakfast.

Most balikbayans / OFWs will surely agree with this statement: "No matter how long your trip back to the Philippines is, it will never be long enough."  In other words, it will always feel like you just have so many things to do with so little time. The best solution for this? Multi-task . Believe it or not, I have begun creating day-to-day itinerary whenever we fly back to Manila. Every minute is precious and can never be wasted not doing anything. Of course, we have to make sure that we have set aside ample time to bond with our families too. For this particular trip, Paul had to go to LTO to have his driver's license renewed. Since we went right on the last work day before Christmas Day, we were greeted with a shockingly long queue and what used to just be an hour-long processing time took us almost half a day. Not wanting to rant that we have just wasted half a day waiting in line, it was a good thing that the LTO office was just right across Tiendesitas where t...

For someone who grew up getting all antsy and fidgety when traveling, I'd say I've successfully won the battle against air sickness with all these regular trips that I have been taking through the years. In fact, there are even some flights that have gotten me really excited starting from the moment I step into the plane. That's one of the best things about traveling right? Being able to enjoy the flight towards your destination. During my recent flight back home, Paul and I decided to fly Singapore Airlines. We have been flying budget the entire year so we thought that we might as well treat ourselves with a little comfort this holiday season. Was it worth it? Yes, Yes and YES! Check out the meals that we had during the flights to Manila and back to Singapore: SQ 912 : Singapore to Manila I wanted to try something different during this leg so I specifically requested for an All-Seafood Meal . Yes, Singapore Airlines allows you to specify any dietary restrictions ...

2015 is finally here and we're filled with so much optimism that this year will bring more luck, love, success and good health. Let me do a quick re-cap on the top 5 highlights of my 2014: 1) New friends, old friends As you may have noticed, Paul and I do love our friends dearly. We're blessed to have a handful who have stayed loyal and loving to us through all these years (some have been there for us for decades already!). Being away from home may have put our friendship to the test but it's such joy to be able to catch up with them every time and it's so easy for us to pick up where we left off making us realize the true friendship knows no distance . When it comes to new friends, we have the NKids whom we love and consider as our family in the Lion City. We're so lucky to have met them and to share a number of foodie adventures with them. C, I and O will forever be mainstays in this blog so do watch out for that. 2) Happy travels Finally, we're ba...