Frannywanny

We all love to brunch. Who doesn't, right? However, when you're too tired to wake up a little before lunch then you can now have Tunch ! I tell you, it just gets brilliant each time. Tunch is the perfect combination of lunch and tea time allowing yourselves to enjoy a wide-array of dishes with the addition of your favorite tea time selections. Last weekend, I was invited to try the Long Weekend Tunch at Grand Park City Hall . The buffet line-up closely focuses on a number of Asian favorites such as the local Rojak, Kueh Pai Ti, two types of congee and what I loved most was the dimsum station. I have to admit that there weren't a lot of items to choose from but the best buffets are really about quality over quantity right? Let me take you on a tour around Indulge at Park  and tell you more about the dishes that won my heart (and tummy) that afternoon. I always like to start my meal with a plate of sushi and sashimi. Look at this "bento box" of colorfu...

Often times, I'd say that Singapore  is Asia's booming food mecca. Seriously, you'll never run out of things to eat here. Think of any cuisine and chances are you'll find it here in the Lion City. From hawker centres to restaurants, there has also been an abundant growth of cafes for the past two years and that has brought about a nationwide love for brunch. With the many choices available, I have to admit that it's really hard to find a favorite. Sure, there's that hawker stall that knows exactly how I want my Seafood Fried Rice cooked (no peas, no corn) or that kopi shop selling my favorite Iced Kopi-C and Steamed Chicken Pau but other than that, it's really hard to specify one or two restaurants that I would end up visiting over and over again. I'd say it would take a special establishment to make me go back for two consecutive weeks at the very least.  I must have said that before I actually went to Artistry Cafe . Once again, an interest...

A few weeks ago, our dear friends Ro and Peter were in town. Of course, Paul and I wasted no time in meeting up with them and that means being able to share a good meal with our friends whom we missed so much. Days leading up to our dinner date, I research on possible places where we can take them to. I immediately ruled out Chinese/Singaporean food as they might have quite a lot of that already. Then I thought of the kids. That's when I decided to focus on pizza and pasta = Italian food. That's when I came across Sopra Cucina at the Ground Floor of Pan Pacific Orchard . This restaurant specializes in Sardinian cuisine which comes from a province in Italy called Sardinia. I remembered my first taste of Sardinian cuisine not so long ago where I was able to try fregola  for the very first time. It was an interesting cross of pasta and rice which is normally cooked in rich tomato-based sauce. We were a big group that evening where the kids had their own table and we adul...

Just recently, I stepped into the most Instagrammable cafes here in Singapore. It was after our dinner at Punggol Nasi Lemak when O suggested that we go check out Tiramisu Hero  for dessert. I really didn't thought much about it but I was surprised at how pretty every nook and cranny of the store was. I really had to stop myself from taking photos of the cafe in every possible angle. I just love how cute, stylish and in a way, quirky it was.

Here's the best way to end a busy work day -- Top a wooden board with an assortment of cheeses, fill up your wine glass with your favorite bubbly, bring in a good mix of friends and do this repeatedly whenever you feel like it.  It was only Tuesday but Paul and I were both so excited for this fun food tasting at Bistro 1855 with the folks from Entertainer App . At one side of the restaurant, you'll find the Bottle Shop where you choose from a wide-selection of wines and decide later on if you'd like to enjoy this with your meal in the restaurant or to bring it home. As soon as I entered the restaurant, I suddenly remembered my friend I whom I know would definitely love love love this place.

As soon as May rolled in, this also signaled the start of a whole new batch of birthday celebrations with the NKids. For the past 3 years, we have been eating out to celebrate all of our birthdays and there's that traditional birthday salubong  where we would wish the celebrant Happy Birthday, watch him/her blow out the candles and enjoy a slice (or two) of the birthday cake! Regardless if our birthday falls on a weekday and we all have work the next day, this is one tradition I don't think we ever will miss. This is just one of those things that make the NKids feel like family, don't you agree? So, last week, we celebrated O's 30-something birthday! The celebration began the weekend before his actually birthday where he treated all of us to a yummy dinner at Spruce . I think I was the most excited about this as Spruce has been part of my list since last year. Finally, we're able to try it! Yay! The restaurant is located along the very quiet and exclusive ...

This year we celebrate the 50th year of Singapore so in line with all the SG50 celebrations that have been happening around, let me share with you some of my favorite Singapore dishes one at a time. Today, I will talk about the glorious Nasi Lemak . My first encounter with Nasi Lemak dates all the way back in 2010. It was during our one-week-long honeymoon here in Singapore where I had my first taste of that fragrant coconut rice with ikan bilis (dilis), lots of garlic peanuts, egg and fried chicken. I fell madly in love with Nasi Lemak that I would order it every chance I get here in Singapore and when we continued with our trip to Kuala Lumpur. Fast forward to today, I've lost count of the number of Nasi Lemaks that I've already had. To me, it's one of my favorite comfort food where I can always be sure of it's consistent delicious flavor and the viands that come with it are pretty straight-forward, simple yet always satisfyingly good. So, for one of our food tr...

Right after our two-hour crash course in learning how to cook some Balinese specialties , Paul and I headed to MELT ~ The World Cafe for a delicious buffet dinner waiting for us. Starting last April 28 till May 8 , Chef Heinz von Holzen will be in Singapore and this means, you and I can enjoy a special line-up of Balinese specialties which will be included into the lunch and dinner buffet spread of MELT. Saying this without any bias, MELT is one of my favorite hotel buffets in Singapore. I just love that the offerings aren't too overwhelming nor is it too limited. There's always something yummy that you can find in each station and of course, there are my usual favorites. For this evening, Paul and I focused on the center counter where we found all the Balinese dishes served. In fact, you'll find a couple of Balinese dishes in almost all stations so you can actually have a full course dinner meal with all of Bali's specialties. Here are some of our favorites tha...

Long time readers of this blog probably know by now that I LOVE the Backstreet Boy s. Yes, I love music and I can't live without Spotify but my relationship with Nick, AJ, Howie D, Kevin and Brian goes way back in 1996. That's 19 happy years ago! So, when news broke out that they're coming to Singapore . I immediately told Paul and my very sweet hubby decided to buy me a ticket as his early birthday present for me. Unfortunately, he refuses to go to watch this female-dominated concert haha!  *sigh*  Luckily, I found fellow BSB fans in the office and within my groups of friends who were all more than happy to join me. Hooray! We fan girls have to stick together.

I'd say, Paul and I had a really productive Labor Day. Luckily, we laborers got a day off from work which allowed us to catch up on sleep, finish all domestic duties and to learn something new! Yes, you read that right. I love taking classes as it allows me to know a new skill or to sharpen something that I already know to be better. After all, learning should be a lifelong process. So, we spent two hours on Labor Day at Mandarin Oriental Singapore to learn how to cook Balinese food! Living away from home, I'd say our kitchen know-how has improved greatly from cooking sunny-side-up eggs to pasta and recently, we've become more bolder in experimenting on more complicated dishes. Nonetheless, we've stuck closely to Filipino and Chinese cuisines. These two that we both grew up eating at our respective homes. So, I was really intrigued as to what Balinese cuisine is all about. As soon as our class started, Chef Heinz von Holzen of Bumbu Bali Restaurant & Cookin...

Just like that, we're on to the 5th month of the year and that means... 7 months to go till Christmas! :) What makes the 1st of May extra special is it's Pan's birthday ! I feel so sad that we're currently not in Manila to celebrate this day with her. However, we made sure to celebrate this day in spirit! First, we helped "blow her birthday candle" here in the Lion City! This was followed by having a delicious buffet dinner with the yummiest dishes which I'll tell you more about in my next post. For my family, birthdays will never be complete without two things -- a birthday cake and lots of greeting cards. My parents would ensure that we would receive a birthday card every single year and not a year has gone by without it. It's one of the highlights of our birthdays, waking up and seeing a nicely written card by Mommy and Papa. As for the cake, we have our tradition of blowing our the candle and slicing it for everyone to enjoy. Each one has hi...