Frannywanny

Trivia Time!  Did you know that majority of the Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines all came from just one province in China called Fujian. This is found at the southern part of China that's closest to Taiwan and since it is located near a big body of water, a lot of traders lived here. Eventually, people in Fujian migrated to neighboring countries such as Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore to name a few. Interesting though that Hokkien, the dialect spoken in Fujian, has several versions/intonations depending on the person's current location. Case in point, I have a very different sounding Hokkien accent vs. my cousin who has a similar Hokkien lineage residing in Taiwan.  Anyway, let's talk about Hokkien/Fujian cuisine! Since Fujian is near the water, majority of the famous Hokkien food consists of seafood. One of the most popular Fujian specialties is the soup called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall ( putiaojiu ), it's a very premium soup that's filled with all of the...

This is the story of when healthy food can be happy food too! It's been a while since we're visited the Greenhills Shopping Center . Yes, despite it's proximity to home, we rarely get to go out during the pandemic so after two years, while I took the chance to run some errands at Greenhills, I was so surprise to see that what used to be just a steel parking building now has F&B outlets at the ground floor already. Cool!  The first store that caught my eye was Koomi . I was so happy I've been wanting to try Koomi after hearing raves from friends that it's the best yogurt drink in town. Beside Koomi are two very new names that I'm not familiar with -- ZIG and Oh My Greek . These are all from the same company so today, let me tell you more about ZIG.  The concept of ZIG is simple -- they specialize in healthy dishes using the freshest ingredients. This is perfect for those who are watching their weight, their health and basically their food intake. Gone are t...

I often joke that the most used word in the house is "Mommy." I tell you, whenever I'm home and within sight, my twins would be calling out for me at 10 to 15 minutes interval. "Mommy, I'm hungry", "Mommy I need to go potty", "Mommy where's my (fill in with missing toy)", "Mommy?? Mommy??? Mommy!!!"  Don't get me wrong though, I treasure moments like this because I know that in a few years, these calls for Mommy won't be as often and random anymore. If only time can slow down a bit in order for me to savor each moment with them.  I'm also lucky because we live with my parents and that means being able to see Mommy and Papa on a daily basis. Just as how my twins would call for me, I am thankful that I can easily go to my Mom for anything. She's here to always give me the best advice whenever I need to make an important decision. She is also one of the first to know about our family's milestones and achiev...