Frannywanny

Here are 3 main reasons why I love salmon: - It's rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, protein and all the good things making it good for your heart. - It's almost always served boneless which is perfect for people like me who do not like deboning their fish. - It's so easy to prepare and so versatile too! Regardless if you steam, bake, fry, pan-fry or grill it, you're pretty much assured of having a good salmon dish. So, when I received several packs of Seaking frozen salmon cuts a month ago, I was so happy! Well, it was perfect timing too that it arrived just in time for Paul's birthday and you all know how I love going the extra mile for his birthdays so I decided, we have a nice fancy dinner with Baked Salmon as part of the menu. Do you still remember the Baked Salmon dish that I've shared some time back? No? Don't fret, just click on this link to refresh your memory! Anyway, I used the same recipe but since Seaking makes use of Wil...

Dearest J & L, Where did the days go? Just last year, I remembered throwing your first birthday party together with our family and our closest friends. I can't believe it has been a year since then and you're now blowing out two candles from your cake.  This year, Mommy and Daddy became really busy with work. I still feel bad that I no longer can spend every waking hour with the two of you but someday, I hope you'll understand why Mommy had to go to the office or when Daddy and I had to leave you with Ama and Kongkong to attend meetings. Everything that we do now is for the two of you and as I reach home at night, nothing makes my stress and fatigue go away in a snap than with your warm hugs and never-ending kisses. I love it when you would continue to increase your daily count of saying "Mama" day after day. Mama loves you both super duper duper too. 

If there's one thing that I probably took after my Kongkong aside for his love for food, it's being passionate about entertaining and planning parties. I'm not talking about the glitzy and glamorous parties but rather more of intimate house parties with the best food, non-stop laughter and great stories shared all night long. Since coming home to Manila and having my twins, I haven't had the chance to entertain guests at home. However, this doesn't stop me from keeping myself updated with the best food suppliers in the metro. "You'll never know when you'll need one"  is one thing that I always keep in mind. I always believe that the secret to having the best party is to have the yummiest food. We remember how great a party was because of the food that we got to enjoy coupled with the fun experience that we had. This was also why Paul and I agreed to prioritize our food during our wedding reception as we do not want our guests heading straight to ...

Milk teas...Nai Chai... Bobba Tea... Called in various ways all over the world but it's pretty much the same. A cold, refreshing drink made out of brewed tea with milk and with a generous amount of sago / pearls or whatever sinkers at the bottom of the cup. You all know how much I love my milk tea from the time I discovered this back in 2010. Such perfect (or I would say, bad) timing that I just had to get so addicted months before our BIG day that my dreams of walking down the aisle in a slimmer frame went kapoof!  Anyway, I'm just glad that Paul loves me in all my chubbiness glory. Seriously though, I really have to get in shape. Gained so much after I've stopped breastfeeding the twins. *sigh*  Any tips out there? Recently, I discovered a new milk tea brand in Greenhills called Xing Fu Tang . I guess, it's because this place targets a lot of Filipino-Chinese students, families and even senior citizens that we sure have an abundant amount of milk tea brands all ...

My twins, just like their mom, are huge snackers! Meal time can sometimes be stressful especially for my little girl L who can get super picky but when it comes to giving them snacks, they'd grab this with a big big smile. From yogurt to fruits, from bread to their favorite cocoa pops, they love munching and snacking at any given time of the day. One of their favorite thing to snack on is Nosh Baby Munchables  which, I first introduced to them when they were 8 months old. I waited a few months after they got used to eating solids and from that moment that they had their first taste of Nosh , this has been their #1 snack choice till today. Nosh is one of the yummiest and healthiest rice crackers in the market. In fact, I even had a yaya before who would also eat Nosh which was intended for the twins. She's long gone now (thank goodness) but it shows how good it was. We've tried pretty much all the flavors available -- Banana Mango , Strawberry Beet , Blueberry and Pom...

I still remember how the food scene was just two years ago. As soon as we landed in Manila, the first thing that I asked my sister-in-law Achi J and my brother-in-law Ahia J was... "so what are the must eats here in Manila?" This was when they told us about the rising trend of food parks -- small, hole in the wall, highly instagrammable food concepts normally found in small neighborhood garage and built using old container shells. "Interesting" , I thought to myself. Achi J told me about several must-try concepts such as one with nachos topped with melted cheese, another with Iced Tea served in fish bowls that's good for 3-4 people to share. Somehow, it reminded me of Timbre+ in Singapore which, I'm happy to report, is still doing so well up until today. I wasted no time and brought my preggy self to try one of those much-talked-about food parks. Let's just say that after one short visit, I came to the conclusion that outdoor, al fresco dining in con...

Here I am again, reliving my love for quiet afternoon tea breaks at one of my favorite hotels in Manila. If you've been reading my blog for sometime now, you'd be pretty much aware of how often I'd spend my Saturday afternoons in the Lion City with my girl friends as we would enjoy a good variety of savory and sweet finger treats . From tea sandwiches to canapes, from fruity tarts to sinful mini donuts, afternoon tea time was my favorite weekend activity and I'm so glad to be able to do it again at The Peninsula Manila , no less. Of course, it was also because we wanted to continue celebrating Paul's birthday as I just felt like a one day celebration is not enough for this amazing guy. I've also been planning to take my twins to The Peninsula Manila as I remember spending a lot of time with the family when I was a kid then. It was at The Pen where I had the best tasting Strawberry Sorbet and I was so thrilled to find out that they still have that. I have ye...