Frannywanny

"Where to eat?" For those working in the Central Business District (CBD), I bet you can all agree that this is the most used phrase come lunch hour. Funny thing is, of all the areas in Singapore, I'd say that the CBD has the most food options from the quick and easy fast food joints to the very Singaporean hawker centres to the slightly classy restaurants and hipster cafes. Then again, with more options comes greater confusion on where to go for lunch every single day. Unless you're a create of habit like me who frequents her favourite places on a weekly basis to the point of being known on a first name basis by either the stall owner or the restaurant server, then choosing your lunch venue would definitely be a daily dilemma. 3rd branch? Wonder where's the first and second branches... Allow me to share one of my favourite restaurants with you in hopes that this will solve your problem. :) Hyang To Gol  is a traditional Korean restaurant located inside Ama...

It's no secret how Paul and I love to travel. However, given that we have very limited leave dates at work and more than half of those are spent in Manila for Christmas, Chinese New Year and for family birthdays, we barely had any days left to really go on a vacation. That said, this is one reason why we love taking staycations every now and then. You see, we both love taking some time off from work to unwind and recharge. We both lead very hectic work lives so this is the only chance that we get to spend one entire weekend clearing our minds and catching up on sleep. Not to mention that we get each other's undivided attention as we don't have to worry about household chores or running errands too. During one of our visits to Manila, we spent the night at Edsa Shangri-la Hotel . As you may have read in my past entries, this hotel holds a special place in my heart as I've spent a lot of weekends with my family here. I love how it's located right at the center of ...

Three years ago, there was a couple who arrived here in the Lion City with pretty much their entire lives packed in three huge suitcases. It was right in the middle of all the Chinese New Year festivities and as they thought they knew everything there is to know about this particular holiday, they were proven wrong within the span of a week. Walking around the hawker centres, they were startled by the sudden shouts and scenes of people standing around the table tossing shredded vegetables up in the air. It was madness! "What on earth are they doing? ", they'd ask one another. While this sight was very new to them, this couple was quick to adjust and have imbibed all the new customs and traditions that they have learned in their new home called Singapore . Above is a real, true to life story of Paul and yours truly. This was our first experience of the Singaporean-style Chinese New Year and having close to a dozen yu sheng salads, tossing veggies up in the air countless...

Over the Christmas/New Year break, I brought back with me a new toy -- my Oster Hand Blender ! Actually, I've had it since our wedding day in 2010 but since we first lived with my in laws and later moved to my parents' house, I never really got around to using my own appliances or cooking utensils as Mommy has kept the kitchen complete with practically everything that I could possibly need. I was so excited about this and I've been day dreaming about all the different things that I can create using my blender. First was to recreate my favorite Crema di Zucca from Cibo which is a rich and yummy Pumpkin Cream Soup. After researching across a dozen (or even more) recipes, I found the one that I like and kept it on bookmark for the next two weeks. As soon as my work ended last Monday, I made a mad dash to the grocery which thankfully is just located across my office building. I've memorized all the ingredients that I needed and within 15 minutes I was on my way hom...

Whenever people ask me what my favorite cuisines are, I would instantly answer "Chinese and Japanese" in a heartbeat. However, when I finally had the time to stop and think, I realized that I'd also like to add "Italian" in the line-up too. I guess, one reason why I love the three cuisines is because, to me, these are my comfort food. I guess, it must be the ESFJ personality in me that puts my emotions above everything else. Let me know focus on the Italian cuisine. While I haven't been to Italy to enjoy the authentic Italian fare, the ones that I've had so far are good enough to make me fall in love with it over and over again. I seek comfort in a plate of pesto pasta or even in a bowl of risotto or gnocchi. I love anything with tartufo (truffle) and I can definitely have Tiramisu (especially the one that my friend Gary makes) any given day. These are just a few of my Italian favorites and trust me, I can go on and on about it. Therefore, getti...

Booking a flight home for the holidays is not as easy as it normally is given any ordinary day. For one thing, a clear strategy has to be in place in order to: a) get the cheapest rates b) fly home and back on our desired date and time c) seriously, get the cheapest rates  During our first year here in Singapore, Paul and I wasn't that knowledgeable yet and we sadly forked out a huge amount of money for a plane ticket on a budget airline. I tell you, the stress of having to fight for the smallest overhead cabin and later having the flight attendant beg you to just have your hand-carry luggage on your lap for 3+ hours was terrifying to say the least. Needless to say, we vowed never  to fly budget during the Christmas season ever again. So, on our 2nd year, we planned early and luckily were able to score great tickets via Singapore Airlines . I was really excited for this trip beginning from the plane ride and even for the ride back to Singapore.  Last Christm...

I must really be getting old.. ..or at least my vocabulary is.  Working with younger colleagues has broaden my knowledge to a whole new world of words. Ever heard of " LOLs "(laugh out loud), " Hahas " (extremely happy laugh) and the ever famous, " YOLO "? YOLO stands for Y ou O nly  L ive  O nce. Pretty much our dear millenials' battle cry in life. Through I feel that this is a very brave stance as it empowers them to break free from their inhibitions and what ifs and to just be the best person that they can be. As for me, it's all about taking good care of ourselves. Carefully choosing what goes in our mouth as we only live once and we have to treasure every moment of it. That said, I was so happy to finally discover a new restaurant near my office called.. YOLO . To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to give this a try as healthy food doesn't come cheap and given that this serves dishes above my usual lunch budget is one reason why I...

"Hun, someday I want to be one of those ladies who lunch ."  This was one of the things that I randomly told Paul one evening as we were getting ready for bed. Of course, I wasn't ready for this response:  "Why wait when you can be one starting tomorrow? You can also that lady who eats breakfast, lunch, dinner and merienda pa!" Haynako....   *sigh* Anyway, he's partially true. Why wait till the future when I can indulge and go have occasional lunch dates with my girl friends right? That's exactly what I did a week before flying back for the Christmas break when I met up with my long time friend A whom I haven't seen for more than a decade. This meet-up was intended to happen almost a year ago and I'm glad that it finally pushed through. We agreed to have lunch at May May  which right in between our offices. I've been reading about May May and have heard a lot of raves about their famous Liu Sha (Salted Egg) Custard Donuts. It was o...

During the recent Christmas break, my family and I headed up to our favorite weekend getaway, Tagaytay . Since we left the house close to lunch, we decided to stop over at Nuvali for lunch. I was tasked to take care of our dining itinerary so I had to do a thorough research given that we're quite a big group of 8. Luckily, I chanced upon Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen 's Facebook page and then remembered that I've been wanting to try it out after seeing how my fellow bloggers have been raving about their delicious risotto. I was so happy that they actually have a branch at Solenad 2 and their sister-restaurant Nonna's is located at Solenad 3. Two choices just in case one is really packed! Seeing that we got Kongkong with us, the very efficient server quickly ushered us to a long table with a couch on one side. We let the seniors ( heehee ) sit inside to make it more comfy for them. Of course, Papa refused to be counted as a senior citizen and insisted to sit on on...

It's no big secret how much I love to travel and to fly home to Manila. However, the only thing that I just dislike is the wait that you normally have to endure at least 2 hours before your flight plus the countless hours you have to bear in the plane too. Good if you're taking a premium-class airline that offers in-flight entertainment, even better if they got WiFi internet and of course, good food. However, what if you're flying budget? I've been flying so often for  past 3 years that I know all the travel routines by heart. Luckily, I was able to gain access to a wide network of airport lounges all over the world and I have to say that this has really changed my perspective about flying and most of all, waiting. I really appreciate being able to grab a bite or even a drink while doing last minute work on my laptop in a more comfortable environment. Gone are the days when I would have to go hunt for a Starbucks Coffee or any airport cafe with an empty table for me...

You probably all know that I used to have really low tolerance for spicy food. I think, the only thing I could take were those yummy Spicy Prawn Rolls or at the very most, a few dots of wasabi for my sushi. I could still remember how my first few lunches here at the Lion City went. I ventured out and around my office neighbourhood to try the local dishes being sold. During one particular lunch, I decided to queue up in this really popular hawker stall selling Curry Rice. I love curry made at home and I thought to myself: "this could probably be something like what Mommy makes." Oh boy, I was wrong! One spoonful was enough to set my mouth on fire! It was so spicy that I immediately consumed my bottled water and that wasn't enough to kill the sting. I ended up buying an ice cream cone after my meal. Needless to say, that spicy experience scarred me for life. However, I'm not really the type who gives up easily. I'm a fighter and I try to overcome any "cha...