Frannywanny

While walking around Raffles City a couple of months ago, Paul and I chanced upon this cute purple shop that sells... MILKSHAKES ! Now, if you're like us whose childhood includes eating loads of ice cream and drowning ourselves in those thick creamy milkshakes, then you can probably imagine how excited we both were as we got closer and closer to the store. "Welcome to Once Upon a Milkshake !" The server greeted us! What a catchy name. I love it! Looking at the menu, we would chuckle every so often as one of us would point out a flavor which was given a funny name. Imagine ordering Sir Cookies & Cream or Baa Baa Naa! Humor aside, it was really a challenge to just choose one as more than one flavor brought back a lot of nice childhood memories and it just sounded so yummy! Finally we went for the Spooky Mocha in a Regular (S$4.90) cup as it was almost dinner time.

One of the most common question that I would get from people who knows that I'm a food blogger is: " What's your favorite restaurant? " I tell you, this always leaves me quiet for a while as I ponder hard on how to best answer this simple yet also difficult question. Let me explain why, it's no secret that I love to eat out most especially whenever I'm back home in Manila or when I'm traveling. It just so happen that Paul and I are trying to live a more domesticated life here in the Lion City that our eating out frequency has been lessened drastically from what used to be an every other day routine in Manila down to a weekend habit. So, if you do the math, we eat out 2-4 times a week assuming we have both lunch and dinner outside. That would be at a minimum 8 restaurants a month and 416 in a year! This doesn't include the occasional lunch out that I have with friends and colleagues. Normally, we don't repeat restaurants except if these are really...

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...

Alex III has been around for more than two decades.. I'm pretty sure of that as I remember dining in their Quezon City branch as a little girl and I'm sure that has been more than twenty years ago (ok, here I am on the verge of revealing my age) . For years, my staple order would be a plate of Chicken Barbeque with Java Rice, a bowl of Bird's Nest Soup with Quail Egg and my family's favorite -- Ponchi Sushi Roll and Laing. Even when we were still students, my parents would take us to Alex III along Wilson street to celebrate small achievements and milestones in our lives. I remember dining here after every quarterly exams. Papa would always get their Boneless Chicken Barbecue and the three of us would have our own plates of two-piece Chicken Barbecue. Mommy would always request that her Java Rice be changed to Plain Rice. These things have never changed since then. Now, our family is growing with Paul being the newest member of our small yet very tight-knit family....

At some point I wonder if Paul and I have met each other when we were kids. Probably we could have been at the same place and at the same time but we were too young to notice anyone else besides our family back then. While recounting our childhood stories, we noticed that we have shared a number of similar memories. Perhaps there have been other opportunities for us to meet but He made it all possible on that fateful night of May 11, 2003 where both of us attended a big group dinner without any idea that right at that moment, we were to meet the one whom we will be spending the rest of our lives with -- we were each other's soulmates. A couple of weeks back, we got an invite from fellow blogger Richard to have dinner at Chinatown's Best Food . On our way there, I was recounting my past experience of frequenting Chinatown's Best Food when they were still in their old location also along Banawe. The restaurant has came a long way. From a small al fresco eatery to a multiple...

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...

I guess it must be part of McDonald's marketing strategy and it's actually working!!! Every year, they release their delicious Twister Fries (Php. 58) for just a limited time and the whole country goes crazy about it! This has been a long time childhood favorite and the day they re-launch this never fails to put me in a very good mood. The Twister Fries came a bit late this year versus last year when it was re-launched late June. Today was the first launch and I made it a point to pass by McDonald's on my way home to buy myself some Twister Fries. I find it very crunchy and I enjoyed munching into the thin curly strips that goes perfectly well with my favorite Fillet O' Fish sandwich. Welcome back Twister Fries!!!

I remember my childhood filled with bubbly rootbeer float, meaty Coney Dog and a lot more. I can still recall numerous afternoons spent with the friendly looking bear in orange sweater and how fun those days there. Yes, that was my A&W childhood life. A&W has been a part of every Filipino kid's life up until a couple of years ago when they finally bid adieu to the Philippine market. Oh how we missed A&W so much! We tried to make up for the lost with other rootbeer brands but we know that deep inside our hearts, nothing can come close to the A&W experience. Just imagine our happiness when we chanced upon the friendly looking bear in orange sweater again right at the heart of Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur. Located right at the Bintang triangle, you won't miss this for sure. We had lunch already but upon seeing A&W we made space in our stomaches to accommodate a delicious early afternoon snack. Entering the restaurant, we both knew what exactly to ge...

Lately, Paul and I have been going on a Chinese foodfest . For two consecutive days, we have been feasting on dimsum, steamed dishes and basically our childhood favorites! Speaking of childhood favorites, Paul and I both remember dining at this particular Le Ching branch in Shoppesville inside the Greenhills Commercial Center . While the place underwent a slight renovation a couple of years ago, the same structure is still intact. The plastic tables, the wooden benches, the smell of steamed siomai, the not-so-tidy soy sauce container and of course their best-selling Spareribs Rice! Last Sunday, Paul and I visited Le Ching for our early dinner. It was really easy to order as we both knew what we already wanted. Service is fast here. Just right after we place our orders, out came our steamed Siomai (Php. 70). While it may not be that big in size, I was surprised that it doesn't have that much pork fat which can normally be found in most dimsums. I love dipping each piece into the...

I guess it's no longer a secret how much I love to eat out. I honestly find sheer excitement in being able to visit a new food spot and I am always game to try a new dish. However, there are also times when I just want to sit back and relax. These are the moments wherein I would just like to enter a restaurant, allow the server to lead me to a familiar spot and even without opening the menu, I already know what I'm getting and I'm 100% sure that I'll like love it. There are just a handful of restaurants that fall under this list. These are the ones who have proven their consistency and quality of service through the years. These are also the ones that have been around for more than a decade or so. Take Chilis Grill & Bar for example. Located along a busy street outside the Greenhills Commercial Center, this restaurant has been our regular hangout back in high school. It has been our venue for group dates, barkada dinners and class reunions. Funny that no matter ho...