Frannywanny

For someone who only gets to fly back home at least once a month and who stays in Manila at an average of just 3-4 days in total, choosing the places to dine in is really crucial. I really have to plan each meal well. So, it's really rare that I get to repeat a restaurant given my long, long list of new places to try. However, I got to admit that I do have my favorites and I really have to give in to my cravings once in a while. Remember the first time I tried Tuan Tuan Chinese Brasserie  with my family in SM Megamall? I fell in love everything that we ordered most especially the amazing House Special Trio . It's definitely the best fried rice in town. On my next visit back home, I went back again to Tuan Tuan  this time with my in laws . Then, I was able to try more dishes which I got to my list of favorites such as the XO Radish Cake  and the Deep-Fried Baby Squid with Aioli Sauce . As you all know, December is the time of the year where we get to spend more tim...

In a world that's predominantly populated by meat-lovers, sometimes I wonder how vegetarians can survive especially when it comes to eating out. I have friends who have been vegetarians all their lives and I'm really amazed at how creative they are in the kitchen. In fact, their food looks mouthwatering and definitely not so sad at all. While I have a long way to go in being able to fully accept all types of veggies, at least I do appreciate a wide variety of leafy and non-leafy veggies and I think, at this point, that's good enough. One thing that I love about vegetables is the light feeling that I get after each meal. While I know I can't live life without meat, I do not enjoy the heavy, guilty feeling that I would get after munching on 2-3 pieces of fried chicken or after finishing even half a slab of ribs. Thus, I would allow myself to take a day off and go all-veg for some sort of "detox" once in a while.  Anyway, a few weeks ago, I had lunch wi...

Rise & Shine!  It's the start of a new week and while it may be hard to pull yourself up from bed today, I hope that these visions of delicious, mouthwatering food will be a good reason to greet this day with a big smile. One of the highlights of our last two visits to Manila were spent really early as we drove all the way to Roxas Boulevard to meet up with our fellow foodies for breakfast at Nobu Restaurant Manila . Since we were all so excited for this much-awaited breakfast meet-up. Of course, we didn't waste any time and decided to order practically everything on the menu. Let me share with you some of my top picks: Black Cod Tinapa Melt-in-your-mouth smoked black cod served on top of a bed of fluffy and fragrant garlic rice and a serving of runny scrambled egg. I'm glad though that Nobu's serving was just right for one to enjoy yet it's not too much allowing you to still have room to order more!

"HOP"-PY EASTER SUNDAY!  This is the most awaited season in Lent as it marks the end of our 40-day long sacrifice whatever that may be. For me, it's the end of all my meatless Fridays ! Woohoo! A few weeks ago, Paul and I got a preview to the special Easter spread that Street 50 will be serving today. As you all know, Easter Sunday also means bunnies and easter egg hunting so they came up with several egg-themed dishes to match the festivities. Which one is the pasteurized egg? Partnering with N&N Farm , we learned all about pasteurized eggs and the benefit that it brings. Did you know that it actually has a longer shelf life and it gives you the peace of mind as it's free from Salmonella which is the #1 disease coming from eggs? They also teamed up with Uncle William's quail farm wherein we got to meet Uncle William himself! I'll share more details about these two brands in my succeeding posts. Here are some of the highlights which you should...

3 years ago, Paul and I travelled all the way to The Grandstand in order to check out Pasarbella , the first ever gourmet market in Singapore. Remember, this was where we fell in love with Le Patio 's paella and that's where I discovered Ugly Cakes ' cupcakes too! Admittedly though, the distance from home has really hindered us from frequenting Pasarbella even how fun it really it to be there. Since then, my only wish was for Pasarbella to open a second branch which hopefully will be in a more accessible location. This year, my wish was granted! The second Pasarbella branch opened its doors in the newest wing of Suntec City  and boy was I so happy! I first saw this when it was still having its soft opening and I went around to check out the kiosks present. Luckily, all 14 of them were already fully operational during my first visit.

It's the start of the Lenten week and this means, I'll be shying away from meat and will say hello to more seafood! I think I really have to add more to my yearly sacrifice as admittedly, I love seafood so much that I really do not mind having this on a daily basis. A few weeks ago, I went to join a couple of my blogger friends to try a new restaurant at the equally newly-opened hotel called Hotel Boss in the Lavender district. I was surprised at how big the hotel was and I have to say that it's very strategically located as it's just a block away from Kampong Glam where all the cool cafes are and Bugis is just a few meters away. There are also a lot of dining options at the ground floor of the hotel whether you want to go local or to treat yourself to a wide-array for international fare. Gills n Shells  is located along the Rochor Canal where there's a cemented jogging path which will lead you straight to the Lavender MRT . I love the cool breeze that you...

Two years ago, Penang was declared by Lonely Planet as the Top Foodie Destination in 2014 . I personally haven't been to this part of Malaysia but after being convinced by my good friend K to go and visit for a nice weekend food trip, I know that I got to make it happen soon. Call it perfect timing. I was recently invited by York Hotel  to check out their latest buffet promotion featuring the top hawkers of Penang . Apparently, this has been running for 30 years already! Can you imagine? That was back in 1986 when Singapore was surely not the modern cosmopolitan, clean and green city that it is today. This was created during the time when travelling to Penang wasn't that easy yet and so the hotel decided to treat its patrons with the best of what Penang has to offer by running this buffet promotion three times a year. Today, flying to Penang will only take you an hour or so but for those who can't really take a leave from work or would rather stay in Singapore for...

Allow me to let you in on a secret.  It's the kind of the secret that I've carefully kept mum about for the past 13 years. However, I feel it's the right time to make the big reveal. So, here goes.... I found the ONE. That glorious plate of Baked Macaroni and I can dare say that it's the best that I've tasted in my entire 33 years of existence. Too good that I'm allowing myself to be melodramatic about it.  Welcome to Toll House . A home-grown neighborhood coffee shop found along the busy street of Sto. Rosario  in Angeles, Pampanga. Paul first took me here during our early days of dating and if I remember correctly, it was exactly after he officially introduced me as his girlfriend to his gwama and gwakong  which led to a short chit-chat a.k.a. interview. Yes, we had a " Meet the Grandparents " kind of moment and I guess it went pretty well so we headed to Toll House to celebrate. Haha! 

As you all know, the flight from Singapore to Manila takes a little more than 3 hours and when you're taking a budget airline with no entertainment to watch and to keep yourselves preoccupied, this can feel like forever. Paul and I, on the other hand, would make the most of the flight time to catch up on sleep, organize our thoughts (and our lives haha) and to talk. During one of our flights home last year, we started making a list of the food and restaurants that we miss the most. Of course there's the usual Filipino treats that we love such as pichi-pichi and kakanin for him and pancit malabon for yours truly. Then our conversation moved on to restaurants. Putting all the new restaurants that we're both hoping to try someday aside, there are just some old ones that we miss very much. One of those is Yabu : House of Katsu .  Back when we were still based in Manila, Yabu  has been our go-to place whenever we want to have a delicious plate of deep-fried katsudon ...

"Oh to be young and free!"  That was really the first thing that entered my mind when Paul and I visited Kokomama Market Place  a few weeks back. The set-up is like a school cafeteria but instead of having to queue up to get your food, you can simply order and wait for it to get served to your table.  Can't decide what to eat? The menu is so diverse that it can perfectly answer the BIG question : "What to order?" One look at their menu line-up and you can choose from a couple of Italian pasta dishes, Korean baked rice and ramen, Japanese rice bowls, Singaporean soup bread bowls and the ever-popular Bingsu! They also got a wide selection of bread and pastries which you can quickly grab when you're in a rush.  Since everyone just love anything and everything with salted egg , Kokomama has created a couple of salted egg infused dishes in order to satisfy that craving be it if you want it for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner!  Start your m...

For many years, rumors have been going around town that the ever-famous Taiwanese Xiao Long Bao brand, Din Tai Fung will open a branch in the Philippines. I could still remember hearing this news back when we were still based in Manila. Well, those rumors continued to remain as..rumors for 5 years or so. No one really knew who would finally be able to bring Din Tai Fung to our food-loving shores. That was until that fateful day in December when the Moment Group made every xiao long bao-lovers dream come true. Din Tai Fung finally opened its flagship branch in SM Megamall Fashion Hall . Given that this place houses a lot of international brands such as Tim Ho Wan, St. Marc's Cafe, The Halal Guys and Ippodo to name a few, it then makes perfect sense for Din Tai Fung to join the fun mix. I was in Manila a week after it opened but hearing friends warning us about the long queues, we decided to give it some more time before we go and check it out as we really do not have the lux...

It has been a year since I've started using the hashtag #frannycooks on Instagram . I still remembered how I promised myself to cook more in 2015 and initially, I would prepare the safe dishes which are the ones that I can confidently prepare and are surely edible. Little by little, I've gained more confidence and creativity around the kitchen. I love surprising Paul with a newly created dish every now and then and I'm lucky that so far, he has liked them all. Recently, I had lunch with my colleague C and since I practice abstinence from meat every Friday in Lent, I had to choose among the seafood items in the menu. I zeroed in on the Tom Yum Seafood Pasta as I love anything with tom yum! I tell you, that was one of the best lunches that I've had this year and I just kept on raving about it after every bite. I loved it so much that I was so inspired to prepare my own version that same day. As you may have noticed, I do thing pretty fast. After quickly going throug...