Frannywanny

"Change is always good." This is what my Mom would always tell stubborn little me as I used to be really resistant to change when I was much younger. I guess it's the OC-side in me that I just like things done in a routine and in a definite process that a little change in that can really throw me off-track. Little by little, I learned to adapt, to bend, to be more flexible. Not physically but emotionally and mentally. I've learned to embrace the change and see that sometime's even when one thing is not broken, there are still more ways to improve. Such is the case for our well-loved Gloria Maris Seafood Restaurant . This restaurant has been a permanent fixture in the Greenhills Shopping Center and has played a huge role in my life growing up in this area. It's the place where we would go for our Mother-Daughter dim sum date, the place where my in laws would go for their hotpot , the place where my sister held her beautiful wedding reception and engagemen...

Milk teas...Nai Chai... Bobba Tea... Called in various ways all over the world but it's pretty much the same. A cold, refreshing drink made out of brewed tea with milk and with a generous amount of sago / pearls or whatever sinkers at the bottom of the cup. You all know how much I love my milk tea from the time I discovered this back in 2010. Such perfect (or I would say, bad) timing that I just had to get so addicted months before our BIG day that my dreams of walking down the aisle in a slimmer frame went kapoof!  Anyway, I'm just glad that Paul loves me in all my chubbiness glory. Seriously though, I really have to get in shape. Gained so much after I've stopped breastfeeding the twins. *sigh*  Any tips out there? Recently, I discovered a new milk tea brand in Greenhills called Xing Fu Tang . I guess, it's because this place targets a lot of Filipino-Chinese students, families and even senior citizens that we sure have an abundant amount of milk tea brands all ...

One reason why I always look forward to celebrating my birthday is because I get to try a number of new restaurants on my list and I have the perfect excuse to eat out and splurge! With that, I really give a lot of effort on thinking of places to treat my families and dear friends in. My birthday celebration began two Sundays ago when Irene and I treated the club to an afternoon merienda at Bag of Beans in Tagaytay . I love their Shepherd's Pie, Hot Chocolate and Bread! I'm glad that the rest of The Foodie Club enjoyed our simple merienda treat too. This was followed with an intimate Chinese dinner with my best friend T, my sister Pan and of course, my husband Paul at the newly-opened Choi Palace at the Eastwood Mall . What made this dinner interesting was the fact that my friend T, who just had her teeth whitened, is not allowed to eat anything colored. Thus, I spent the entire morning racking my brain on where we should have our dinner. While others may find this qu...

Every year, I find it a good challenge to pick out a restaurant on where I will treat my extended family to for my birthday. Early this year, I knew I wanted to throw a special lechon/paella dinner however after dining in more than a hundred new restaurants for the past two years, I have found a couple of good ones that I'd love to let my family enjoy for themselves. Such is the case of HK Choi , it was during one shopping date that I had with Mommy that we came across this promising Chinese restaurant in SM Megamall . We just shared on their Xiao Long Pao and Fish Brisket Hot Pot and HK Choi has successfully won us over. A week before my birthday, I invited my grandparents, aunts, uncle and cousin over at HK Choi . It's good that it's located in a mall making it pretty accessible for everyone. I went over and over their menu making sure I will be able to order a good mix. Of course, I also got suggestions from my grandpa and mom who are both expert foodies in the fa...

Here's my latest discovery with Mommy during one of our shopping dates in SM Megamall . Located at the second level of The Atrium, we found HK Choi which is the sister restaurant of Choi Garden , our favorite Chinese restaurant in Annapolis street here in San Juan . The ambiance looks very formal with mellow Chinese music playing at the background, servers were in the usual Chinese get-up and pretty rotating lanterns on the ceiling are lined up near the window area overlooking EDSA. We were led to one of their comfy couches as we marveled at the beautiful interiors of the restaurant. In our family, my Mom's the food expert and so she also took care of ordering for the two of us that day. For starters, Mommy chose the Xiao Long Pao (Php.90). She has always been searching for good Xiao Long Paos here in Manila ever since she tasted the real thing at Din Tai Fung during one of her trips to Singapore. :) For her, the best Xiao Long Pao must still have the soup inside th...