Frannywanny

Singapore's 50th National Day has passed already but the celebration continues! After all, the country has such a colourful history and it's really amazing to see how far they've come and how much everyone have all worked so hard to make Singapore what it is today -- a pretty awesome place to be! In the foodie front, Singapore has made itself Southeast Asia's food mecca. With a wide array of cuisines to choose from, I tell you, you'll immediately be spoilt with choices here. Craving for Italian? Indian? Malaysian? French? even Austrian food can be found here! However, what makes Singapore unique are it's heritage dishes that withstood the test of time and these are kitchen secrets that have been passed on for generations to generations. A day before SG50, I was invited to dine at Ellenborough Market Cafe to check out the Heritage Flavours Buffet  which will be available till Sunday, 23 August 2015 . As you know, buffets can get pretty overwhelming so let me

5 years ago, Paul and I came to Singapore for a week-long honeymoon. Friends and family actually questioned why we decided to stay that long. You see, for most tourists, they feel that the only thing you can really do in Singapore is to eat. Well, I have to say that that's right...and wrong. Right because Singapore is clearly the food mecca in Asia (okay fine, maybe Southeaast Asia) but aside from stuffing yourself silly with all the gastronomic options available here, there are a lot of places to see as well. We came to Singapore at a good time then. It was right at the tail-end of the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) which means most stores were giving out further reduction discounts and it was also when the Singapore Food Festival  took place. Luck wasn't on my side though as I ended up with a terrible tummy ache which lasted all throughout the entire duration of our two week long honeymoon (we flew to Kuala Lumpur and stayed for a whole week too). So, instead of being able

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!

I really like it when our friend A is in town. This is because it gives the NKids a perfect reason to go out on a weeknight to try a new place for dinner. It was also perfect timing that it was  I 's birthday not so long ago so a post celebration was in order. We had it at one of her favorite restaurants here in the Lion City -- Brewerkz , a microbrewery and a restaurant bar all in one! A quick check on my Entertainer App and I realized that I got 1-for-1 vouchers for all main dishes too! I'm truly loving my Entertainer App as it allows me to try the different restaurants in Singapore for half the price. Since we all wanted meat, we decided to get two orders of the 3 Big Pigs (S$84) platter. It's a HUGE sharing platter that consists of Pork Knuckles , BBQ Kielbasa Sausages and BBQ Pork Ribs . It came with a scoop of creamy mashed potato and an array for sauces that best complements the three meats. Among the three, I enjoyed the ribs the most. It's because it w

While most of our peers would fly off to Hong Kong or some even to the US for weeks of endless shopping during our school summer break, my family and I would frequent Singapore to visit the not-so-endless variety of touristy places available given that this was in the late 80s, earlly 90s. Every year, we would visit the zoo, the Science Centre, to my horror -- the Jurong Birds Park and eat in some of the well-known hawker places in town. You see, Singapore holds a special place in the hearts of every family member. After all, it's the only place on earth that Papa considers to be really safe that he would allow me and Pan to go around on our own.Mommy grew up frequenting Singapore too and loves sharing her childhood memories with us. On of her childhood favorites is the Bak Kut Teh. I remember having this for breakfast and it was love at first sip. Unlike most kids who shy away from herbal-tasting soups, I love them very much! Having it the traditional way, we would have our bo

Ice cream has been around for decades..maybe even centuries. Growing up, this has been every kid's favorite dessert even before cakes and puddings came into our vocabulary. When Magnum was launched in Manila last year, I joined the millions of Filipinos who hoarded (yes, hoarded is the right word) packs of these yummy ice cream covered in premium chocolate coating in the grocery for my family to enjoy. Then, I was happy with the 3 basic flavors -- Classic, Almond and Chocolate Truffle. When I came to Singapore, I literally went wild upon knowing there there were more Magnum flavors and varieties! From the original size, they also have a mini version which I love very much. They also have more flavors too. Mint, Gold, Double Caramel, Limoncello, Irish Cream, Hazelnut Bonbon, Pistacchio and the list goes on and on. Every trip to the grocery is made more exciting knowing that I'll be taking a new box of ice cream back home with me. Recently, Magnum has launched two new flavo

Growing up in a tropical country, I've grown to seek comfort in a bowl of frozen treats. From gelato to yogurt, even to ice creams of all shapes and sizes -- scoops in a cone, a scoop in a bowl, served a la mode, ice cream with mix-ins, you name it, I've tried it! There must be hundreds of different combinations and ice cream creations in the local Philippine market. Thus, you can just imagine the excitement that rocked the entire nation when Selecta introduced their newest line of premium ice cream called Magnum . This kind of ice cream is not new. I grew up loving vanilla ice cream on a stick encased within a hard chocolate shell and for some, even sprinkled with nuts or local rice crispies we call pinipig. It was just about the same time last year when I had my first taste of Magnum's Almond Ice Cream and boy, I was hooked! For Php. 50 a stick, I got to admit it's way beyond my regular budget for ice cream but I didn't mind. I would buy 6-8 sticks every time I

A food lover will always be a food lover. No matter where we go, Paul and I make it a point that we get to have a wonderful gastronomic adventure in our trips here and abroad. Luck must have been on our side as we just recently found out that the Singapore Food Festival will happen just around the same time that we're there. Of course, this was immediately included in our itinerary. It has been drizzling all day but it didn't stop us from taking the MRT all the way to Clarke Quay in order to check the festival out. From the station, it was a short walk crossing Swissotel Merchant Court and soon you'll see the Singapore River with lots of small stalls selling shirts and other retail items. The Clarke Quay Food Street was located along the Read Bridge. It wasn't difficult to locate this as all we had to do was to follow the steady stream of people going in one direction. After going around each and every stall, we decided to buy our very own Kopi Tiam card

Our second day in Singapore began really early. It's a good thing that Paul and I took the time out to drop by the convenience store that was located at the ground floor of our hotel to buy a couple of instant noodles the night before. Since call time was at 8 in the morning, eating breakfast inside the room is the most sensible thing to do to save us more snooze time. After quickly getting dress, our group met up again at the hotel lobby to wait for the organizers of our tour. At exactly 9AM we rode our assigned bus and our Uniquely Singapore tour was just about to begin! 1st stop: Clarke Quay and the Royal Selangor Museum Located just a couple of minutes away from our hotel, we quickly got to our first stop. Clarke Quay is located along the Singapore River and is a popular night destination among the locals. During the day, we enjoyed watching the peaceful clean river as colorful ferry boats goes up and down bringing passengers through the entire stretch of the river. Too bad w