Frannywanny

shiok [adj.] : Singlish word used to describe a dish that's satisfying, good or delicious. While the Philippines is literally a foodie melting pot with a wide array of restaurants specializing in all sorts of cuisines from all over the world, Paul and I can't help but notice that there seems to be a shortage of Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants around. It's quite mind boggling though given the number of locals who travel to these two countries on a regular basis plus the huge population of Filipinos residing there too. If you ask me, Singaporean/Malaysian cuisine has a very close taste profile as our local Filipino cuisine perhaps with just more heat and the use of a lot more spices. So imagine how happy I was when we recently discovered Shiok Shiok Singapore Food along Nicanor Roxas street in Quezon City. Coincidentally, we dined there on the 9th of August, Singapore's National Day. What a great way to celebrate our second home's special day. Together with ...

When it comes to answering the question " where is the best chili crab in Singapore? " Rest assured that you'll only be able to get the answer after surviving a long debate. With hundreds of zi char outlets all over the island and long time restaurants with histories spanning for decades, this question will never ever have a singular answer. Taste is subjective, after all so while some might like their chili crab burning hot with spice, I like mine with a hint of tangy notes and a bit of creamy texture coating the meaty crab. Whenever we have guests over, Paul and I would make it a point to take them to either a new, unique restaurant, or perhaps to one of our favorite foodie places or to Mellben Signature  to feast on some local favorites. There are actually two zi char places that we frequent but since Mellben Signature  is located just in Tanjong Pagar, this is the best choice in terms of accessibility. Recently, we had my first ever friend (I kid you not) A, as we...

I guess I've mentioned quite a lot of times before how happy it makes me when friends come to visit. Much more when they do come to visit and make time for me and Paul! Being travelers ourselves, we know how crazy one's trip itinerary can be so we don't normally demand people to meet up with us as we know they'd rather spend those hours exploring beautiful Singapore. So, when friends would message us and ask us if we're free to meet up for a meal, we'd make it a point to say yes and would go through great lengths to ensure that they'll indeed have a good meal. It's the least that we can do for their thoughtfulness and love, right? So, when my favorite foodie friends Dedet and Cyrene flew to Singapore over the weekend, we agreed to meet up for dinner. Dedet's only request was to have something uniquely Singaporean. I don't know why but the first thing that came to mind was Ah Hoi's Kitchen , our go-to place for delicious crabs and their mo...

Much has been said about Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice . Debates have sparked here and there as to which restaurant or hawker stall reigns supreme. Each one has his or her own opinion and that's perfectly fine. We all know that taste is subjective . So what tastes better for me may not be the same case for you. However, one thing is certain -- Hainanese Chicken Rice (together with the Kaya Toast ) has surely put Singapore right at the center of the foodie map and for years..maybe even decades now, it has sealed its spot right there and I don't think this will change soon. No visit to the Lion City is complete without having a taste of this delectable dish that consists of boiled chicken cooked in a rich and really flavorful stock. It comes with a cup of rice that is also cooked using the same stock and is drizzled with oil and is served with a trio of dipping sauce -- ginger oil, sticky soy sauce and chili. Friends would always ask me where's the best Hainanes...

Let me tell you a secret. Ready?  Okay, here goes....  I really love it whenever good friends from Manila would come visit and make time to share a meal with us. ♥  I know how traveling can be quite hectic so Paul and I really do appreciate it whenever our friends would go through the trouble of messaging us just to say that they're coming and they would really set aside some of their precious time to see us when they could probably spend this shopping away in Orchard. It really tells us a lot about the friends whom we have to treasure for life. Take for example my good friend M. He has been one of my closest friends since high school and we would talk almost every night all throughout our high school / college years and even after that. I know the story of his love life by heart and he has been a witness to mine. He's the kind of friend whom I know I can always count on anytime. For example, during my debut party, he even bought me my favorite fish sandwi...

My first taste of Wee Nam Kee was during our honeymoon trip to Singapore where Paul and I met up with our Singapore-based friends for a post-wedding celebration . The restaurant wasn't hard to locate as we carefully followed the directions given to us -- take the train to Novena and cross the street to find Wee Nam Kee . I wrote about our wonderful experience here and to this day, I still daydream about the yummy cereal prawns and Hainanese Chicken that we had that evening. A few months after we got back from Singapore , we heard some juicy rumors that Wee Nam Kee is coming to Manila!  This was confirmed by a dear colleague who's very own brother is the man behind Manila's very own Wee Nam Kee . In other words, we now have a Hainanese Chicken savior. Hooray! Finally, good and authentic chicken rice is coming to our shores! Sadly, hectic schedule and a bad case of amoebiasis restrained me from trying Wee Nam Kee right on its opening month. I died with envy upon he...

Since last year, I have been hearing about Tao Yuan and it's famous Hainanese Chicken. Luckily, we got an invite from my cousin-in-law F to have dinner there tonight in celebration of her adorable little girl's first birthday. Together with my in-laws, we headed to Newport City (Resorts World) at exactly 7PM as requested by F. I can't believe that at this time, the restaurant was already full and there was already a line waiting outside. Amazing! Dinner began with Assorted Cold Cuts . This is probably one of my favorite meal in any lauriat as I love jelly fish, century egg and cold pig intestines. I'm glad that the serving was pretty generous enough for almost everyone to have a second round. We had something that resembles that of a Spinach with Scallops soup earlier tonight. Note that we got a lot of scallops per serving. The soup was very refreshing and I enjoyed the tender fresh scallops in every slurp. Then the star of the show arrived -- the Hainanes...

While having lunch with our friend HK during our first day in Singapore , we asked him where's the best place to have Chicken Rice and he immediately answered " Wee Nam Kee" . Hainanese Chicken Rice is a staple and is probably one of those dishes that made Singapore very popular in the foodie world. Visit any hawker center can you'll definitely see a stall selling Hainanese Chicken Rice. My sister and I also grew up loving Hainanese Chicken Rice. I love the oily ginger sauce and my Chicken Rice will never be complete without it. My sister, on the other hand, adds a touch of chili sauce before enjoying her piece of chicken. We planned to meet up with our Singapore-based friends and I wanted to make sure that we'll be able to feast over good food as this will be our continuous wedding celebration with them. Following HK's recommendation, I left them all a message to meet up with us at Wee Nam Kee, boy was I excited! It was not difficult to locate Wee Na...