Frannywanny

It's really rare for my health-conscious Mommy to crave for something sweet. So when we found out that she has been regularly craving for  Gigi Gaelan's Custaroons since last year, we knew that this must be something out of the ordinary. In fact, I think it deserves an entire blog post on its own. Gigi has been making her famous Custaroons for years! My first time to try it was 5 years ago when I received a nice box from a dear blogger friend . I love the combination of the creamy, cheesy custard and having that good nutty bite similar to a macaroon. During my recent trip home, Mommy and I went to visit St. Padre Pio's Chapel in Libis and after saying our prayers and making a quick stop at the chapel store, we headed towards the parking lot where Kuya M was waiting for us. On our way there, we spotted a tiny retail outlet and what do you know?! It's actually a Custaroonery shop! The only one in the entire chapel compound. Interesting.

It's almost the end of the month and I'm still celebrating my birthday! I guess, the beauty of having your birthday on the 1st day of the month is you can actually celebrate it for the next 29-30 days that follow. Hahaha! For instance, the next working day following my birthday, I treated my closest colleagues out for lunch. We were actually supposed to head to a cafe for some brunch food but we spotted Twins , a newly opened restaurant along Craig Road in Tanjong Pagar. The interiors were simple, the walls painted in black but what caught out attention was that flashing sign from the bar that says "Korean Fried Chicken". Oohhhh!

"Can we have dinner tomorrow at Momma Kong's? I made reservations already." This was the message I got from my friend C when he and his family visited the Lion City a couple of weeks ago. I'm ashamed to admit this but I wasn't sure where and what exactly is Momma Kong's . It sounded like a little hole-in-a-wall home-cooking eatery to me. However, I trust my friend C though for having really good taste in food so even without any research I happily replied back, "ok! see you then!"

"Good things take time." I came across this quote not so long ago and I just felt like it was the perfect answer to my endless "Whys" for many months now. You see, I've never been good at waiting. I grew up thinking that all things in life can be achieved with strategic planning and precise calculations. Of course, prayers will always be part of the equation. For most things though, this type of "strategy" has been working. Dreams have became reality, goals have been met. However, I also realized that there are some things in life where we have no control of. Sometimes, all it takes is to wait for it to happen. Slowly, I've come to understand that some things do take time and when it comes, it will be worth the wait. When it comes to food, a lot of the most delicious things do take time too. Slow-Roasted Pork that melts in your mouth, my Kongkong's Pata Tim which he cooks for more than 5 hours to make it so fork-tender and flavorful and j...

Life is truly funny at times. Just when you thought you got some things all figured out, you then encounter one thing that's totally new that will make you doubt what you already know. Can you relate to this? For years, Pan and I used to be  loyal patrons of several Indian restaurants in Manila . We would feast over plates of basmati rice, paneer, butter chicken, curries and of course, our all-time must-have, papadum. For us, Indian food is all about curry and spices. We thought we know the Indian cuisine inside and out...well not until last night. I was invited to try the newly-launched heritage menu at Muthu's Curry . A popular and rather upscale Indian restaurant here in Singapore. Muthu's Curry has been around since 1969! This means the restaurant is 46 years old -- 4 years shy from the country's year of independence. Nonetheless, being able to be around for this long is an accomplishment already given that not a lot of restaurant can have the same luck to ev...

As most of you probably know by now, I'm not really much of a drinker. My idea of a night out is to have a good and satisfying dinner followed by a night cap over coffee, ice cream or milk tea. So, if ever I do get to go to bars, the first thing I look for is the bar bites menu where I'd order some munchies to go with my glass of mojito or a bubbly wine. Here in Singapore, Clarke Quay is the place to go if you want to party or to go out for drinks at night. It's lined with a number of bars as well as interesting restaurants here and there. So, one evening, I found myself at the newly renovated Harry's with my friend B. Along with the store renovation giving it a new, modern look, Harry's also has new additions to its menu. Finally, we can actually have a full 3-4 course meal at Harry's and B and I were there to eat, eat and eat!

Taste is subjective. That's a known fact. So it's highly possible that what may be out-of-this-world delicious for me may just be a-okay for you and vice versa. So, when it comes to getting good and reliable restaurant suggestions, I rely on my favorite food bloggers (listed below) to tell me which restaurants to check out. Such was the case when I was chatting with fellow food blogger Leslie a couple of weeks back. I told her that I'll be in Manila to spend a week with family. Being the sweet friend that Les always is, she immediately recommended a couple of must-try restaurants that's just within the vicinity where I'll be. One thing that I immediately took note of was Oedo Japanese Restaurant . I've been seeing her repeated posts on this restaurant in her Instagram account and for Les to go all the way to Quezon City for this, then that's an indication of how good this restaurant must be. So, for lunch one day, Mommy and I decided to give it a try...

Okay kids, listen closely. When it comes to choosing the right man for you, make sure..he spoils you like crazy! Hehehehe :)  Kidding aside, I do believe that the right man should only have two queens in his life -- his mom and you. That's it. In fact, how a guy treats his mom is actually a good indication of how he will be treating you. Luckily, Paul loves and adores my MIL unconditionally so that pretty much mirrors how he has been showering me with the same amount of love and affection too. :) So, on my birthday, Paul took me out on a special date. This may sound cheesy but even after being together for 12 (!) happy years, I still get that giddy, "kilig" feeling whenever we go out on a date. What made this date extra special was the fact that Paul took charge of choosing the restaurant and making a reservation too! It has been a while since we've had Korean bbq so he chose K.Cook Korean BBQ Buffet to be our lunch date venue that day. Boy, was I excited!

Metro Manila is roughly 600km² big but with the crazy traffic jam that happens everywhere in the metro, every single day, it somehow makes going from one point to another feel like an out of town drive. Since I spent most of my days with Kongkong and Ama in Quezon City, you'll noticed that most of the places that I've visited for this trip is just within this vicinity. Not a big problem there as Quezon City is one of the biggest cities and there sure are a LOT of dining options to choose from. Let me start with my latest find -- Tien Ma's Taiwanese Cuisine . I've actually heard of this restaurant from Mommy who even called me when I was here in Singapore to tell me about their latest food discovery. It must be that good that Mommy couldn't wait to tell me in person, right? Located along the busy intersection of N.S. Amoranto and D. Tuazon, parking may be a bit of a challenge but luckily, we went there for late lunch so it was easy to spot an empty slot. The me...

Fly in, fly out.  This has been the story of our lives since 2013. As much as flying home never fails to bring so much joy to our hearts (and tummies), the whole process of going through the whole airport routine  can sometimes wear us down. Thankfully, Changi Airport is just one of the best in the world with so many food options and a couple of recreational facilities on hand while NAIA 3 is starting to shape up making the wait and transfer more bearable each time. Plus both airports got free Wi-Fi connection so no complains there! Recently, I discovered that my Citibank Premiere Miles card can give me access to one of the airport lounges in NAIA 3. That really got me so excited! For someone who loves to arrive at the airport close to the 45 minute limit of the check-in counter, I made sure that I got arrive 2 hours prior to my flight to check the lounge out. After passing through immigration and the final security check, I headed up to the 3rd floor where all the lo...

Fire up the grill!  Those four words are music to my ears. I just love BBQs as it's really simple to cook and even to prepare yet the rewards of enjoying freshly-grilled cuts of meats is truly heavenly. Not to mention the aroma that hits your nose while it's cooking. There's also no hard and fast rules when it comes to BBQ-ing. Basically, you can grill any type of meat, have any kind of rub that you prefer and just make sure it doesn't turn out toasted or charred. This is the perfect way to get cooking especially for amateur cooks. If you ask me, I love BBQ'd seafood and beef. Give me a slice of tender steak and a mountain of grilled scallops, prawns, fish and squid and I'm one happy camper. So, when Paul and I were invited to be part of the Asian BBQ dinner at Grand Park City Hall , we immediately said YES! Similar to the Afternoon Tunch , there are a couple of similar local dishes such as the Kueh Pai Ti, Satay, the Laksa, an assortment of hand-rolled m...

Another year, another chapter. Yesterday, I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Gosh, I can't believe I'm this old! For a moment there, I had a quick flashback of that one time my 7-year-old self was telling Mommy that I wanted to grow up faster. Oh why did I ever said that?! *sigh* Well, my birthday was simpler this year. A bit more quiet than usual but still one for the books. It began with our traditional birthday salubong with the NKids. They play an important role in my life now and I purposely flew back to Singapore to celebrate my birthday with them. I'm so touched that Paul took charge of buying the cake and of course, he made sure it was yummy one! We're missing I  who's out of the country for work right now but my birthday celebration shall continue once she's back! Of course, we're family and no one gets left behind (or forgotten). Ohana ♥