Frannywanny

I just had one of the yummiest breakfasts a few days ago. It was in the form of these interesting looking bread that's generously filled with cream cheese and herbs. What makes it so good is the slightly sweet buttery crust that it has. I discovered Lola Ester's Bread and Pastries  through my friend L who shared with me this family secret of hers. Apparently, Lola Ester has been baking empanadas and breads for years and finally, they're allowing the public to have a taste of her specialties. The delicious bread that I was talking about is Lola Ester's Herb Cream Cheese Pull Apart  (Php. 250 for 2 pieces) which took inspiration from the famous Korean Cream Cheese Garlic Bread  which I've never came across with in our neighborhood Korean bakery. Anyway, I'm glad that Lola Ester introduced me to it as it's soooo good! Even my twins loved it that I literally had to put on my Mama Bear cap and willingly share this with them (even if I know I just want more mo...

While I'm admittedly a rice fan, I still can't pass up any opportunity to enjoy a good loaf of bread. A few years back, Pan brought be to Eric Kayser  in Greenhills Promenade  for brunch and I can still remember swooning over their yummy flavored breads. It's quite sad though that this particular branch no longer is in operation today but at least they still got their flagship outlet at the Powerplant Mall . The shop is not that big but it sure is eye-catching! I love the clean white and orange interiors where the shelves are lined with all these huge bread baskets. I peeked into each one of them as I made my choice of what to bring home this time.

Given that I always have very limited time available whenever I visit Manila, I make it a point to fill up all meals with family gatherings or friends meet-up. For some of my close friends though, breakfast get-togethers have become a regular habit and we get more creative with it each time. Such was the case with my dear friends S and D. We normally would meet up for breakfast at a restaurant or coffee shop, this time though, S invited us to her lovely home for her to make us try her coffee creations. I loved the idea! Check out her beautiful Cafe Mocha, I hope S would someday open her cafe and I'll surely tell the world about it. Watching her in her kitchen is like watching a younger version of Julia Child working her magic around. I initially wanted to bring some Singaporean baked bread to our breakfast get-together but things just got too hectic before flying home that I wasn't able to find the time to visit my favorite bakery . Boo! Well, it was a good thing that w...

I'm back from my short  Lenten hiatus and it surely was a good 3-day well spent organizing, getting artsy and creative as well as enjoying my life offline. How about you? I'm pretty sure a number of you are on your way back from an amazing vacation! Tell me about it below, okay? Anyway, do you remember the old nursery rhyme that goes like this: Hot cross buns!  Hot cross buns!  One a penny, Two a penny,  Hot cross buns! In some countries, it's a tradition to have a Hot Cross Bun during Good Friday . Well, it was my first time to see a real Hot Cross Bun  up close and the moment I saw it, I got every single flavor there is in Cedele Bakery Cafe . We then had this at home for breakfast last Good Friday and it was fun doing a little taste-testing on which flavor is the best.

What makes for a good vacation? For me, a good vacation should be a perfect balance of being able to recharge yourself --physically, mentally and spiritually, as well as to satisfy your tummy with the yummiest dishes too. :) It was pretty obvious that Paul and I had the time of our lives as we enjoyed the room, jacuzzi and the DVD collection in Discovery Country Suites . After enjoying our wine and cheese cocktail, we also had dinner at Restaurant Verbena where we were given the chance to choose a set menu. It was so hard to choose as we each had something we wanted to try from the other set menus but the Verbena's Classics was mutually agreed upon as THE ONE. Restaurant Verbena is Discovery Country Suites ' in-house restaurant. I've been wanting to try this for the longest time for two main reasons -- first, it was listed as one of the top restaurants in Miele Guide and second, the restaurant features a number of Chef David Pardo de Ayala 's culinary creations...

I got to admit, if given the chance to choose between rice, pasta or bread, I would definitely go for pasta any day. This is also the reason why I tend to be extra picky with the type of breads that I eat. I love freshly baked pan de sal paired with a spoonful of peanut butter and a cup of hot cocoa. Soft and fluffy ciabatta bread has been my favorite when I'm making myself a sandwich. As for the type of breads that I avoid, these are ones with raisins, dates or the fruity type. I really do not know why but I always end up plucking each tiny fruit out before biting into the bread. One day, I received a box of freshly baked goodies from Bread Story Philippines . It was after visiting their Facebook page that I found out that the brand actually originates from Malaysia . We had some of their specialty breads for lunch. Among the four breads on the plate, I liked the Flossy Signature which had buttery pork floss on top. The Flossy Hottie , on the other hand, was topped with spicy...

As Paul and I followed the week-long news coverage on the wake and funeral ceremony of the late King of Comedy, Dolphy , it has been mentioned a number of times by friends and loved ones that Dolphy loves going to Hizon’s or he would gift someone with a box of Hizon’s ensaymada. At some point, this led to Paul telling me that he has never dined at Hizon’s or more specifically at the coffee shop adjacent to it called Za’s Cafe . I was shocked! Between the two of us, he grew up in Manila and I just can’t believe he has never been there. Whereas for yours truly who was born and raised in Quezon City , I has been frequenting this classic restaurant since I was a toddler. I guess that just goes to show that I would really go the distance for good food. Anyway, I really love sharing a piece of my childhood with my husband. Be it trying a glass of halo-halo that I grew up enjoying or something like this – taking him to Za’s Cafe one rainy Sunday afternoon. I am pretty proud of mysel...

...and the snacking continues! The Food Club celebrates Paul's 30th birthday!!! My husband Paul blew out his 30 birthday candles yesterday! He officially said goodbye to his twenties and gladly welcome the BIG 3-0! Aside from my non-stop teasing; I, together with his family, organized an intimate dinner to celebrate his birthday with our loved ones (his side and mine) and our dear friends a.k.a. The Food Club last Saturday. Despite the short notice, we are really blessed that almost everyone was able to make it. Thanks guys!! ♥ For his birthday, Richard, Irene and Lauren gave Paul a box of Homemade Treasures Ensaymada . It looks really pretty and premium as it's encased in a light brown box and tied with a golden ribbon. Paul normally skips breakfast as he would rather sleep till lunch especially during the weekends. I was surprised when we woke me up early on Sunday and invited me to have breakfast with him. I really wanted to sleep some more but when I remembere...

 Meet my first ever guest blogger. A man of few words yet his name is often times mentioned here in my blog. He would rather work behind his camera than to write up a storm like what I normally do. Between the two of us, our word ratio is probably around 5:1 but that doesn't make him a lousy story-teller. In fact, our days are filled with non-stop conversations with one another and I believe this has made our relationship grow and be more stronger. Meet my husband Paul as this is his blog debut here in Frannywanny.com and expect to hear more from him in the coming days, months and years! When Fran asked me if I want to join a group of bloggers to a trip to visit the Gardenia Plant , my first question was "who will be there?" While my wife is truly an extrovert where you can just let her go anywhere and expect that she'll make friends in a snap of a finger, I am rather shy and can stay quiet the entire day. I guess despite our differences, this is also where we ...

Here's a new trivia about me: I come from a bread-loving family. This is the reason why I didn't grow up having rice for breakfast everyday and instead we have loaves of bread on the table and we panic when we ran out of them and couldn't rush to the nearest bakery to refill our stock for the next day. As a result, we each have our own favorite type of bread. Mine would always be Ciabatta , my sister Foccacia , Mommy loves freshly baked pandesal and monay while my dad, a no-frills man, always goes for his 4 slices of Tasty in the morning. Together with our breads, we each have our own favorite spreads to. I love anything savory while my dad and sister prefer something sweet. Still we all love to shop for new jams, spread and fillings while doing our respective grocery shopping. Take my recent trip to the US for example, I went nuts inside the Knotts Berry Store as I hoarded on bottles of Strawberry and Apricot jams. Paul just stood beside me shaking his head and ...

Let me tell you about the time when I first fell in love with Sonya's Garden . It was sometime in the early 2000s when my mom brought the entire family to Tagatay for a special healthy lunch. After a couple of wrong turns here and there, my dad carefully drove down a small side street and my mom rolled down the window to keep her eyes out for a small metal signage on the gate. It wasn't easy finding it then as there were no huge banners or directional arrows to guide us. All we had was my mom's memory and a couple of instructions from a family friend. Finally, we found it. We drove into the compound and parked at the gravel lot. My mom called to reserve us a table and after giving our name, we were lead into a small greenhouse-like room where our table was ready for us. The moment we sat down, there was no menu handed to us. However, it seems like a scene out of Beauty and the Beast where the food would start coming out and in our minds we had the song Be our Guest pl...