Frannywanny

When faced with a busy day at work where you ended up traveling from west to east to central for meetings all in one day, the best way to end is it with a good meal. Agree?  A couple of months ago, Paul and I were invited to sample the newly updated menu of En Grill & Bar in River Valley. We have been to their branch at Bukit Timah where we had a delicious Japanese a la carte buffet dinner with friends but that was more than two years ago. I think a long overdue return just made perfect sense. What we love about En's line-up is how they gave a modern take on the traditional Japanese cuisine. Be ready to entice your tastebuds with melt-in-your-mouth top quality Wagyu beef called the Motobu beef . In fact, En Grill & Bar imports this directly from the source all the way from Yanbaru ranch in Okinawa, Japan. I'm no expert in beef as I even abstained from it for a couple of years ago but I do know that the higher the grade level the yummier the beef is. That said...

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by fellow blogger E for a nice dinner tasting at Bridge . The direction to the restaurant was pretty simple -- it's along Seah street, behind Raffles Hotel. That was easy! As much as I love hole in the wall cafes in far-flung a.k.a. unexpected places, I do appreciate those that are strategically located right in the city. This area is accessible by foot whether you're coming from the City Hall district, Bugis or if you just love to walk... even from Clarke Quay. This is one reason why I thought the restaurant's name meant that it was the " bridge " in between the North Bridge Road and the South Bridge Road. Oh silly me! Apparently, Bridge is a restaurant that bridges the gap between fine-dining and the bistro scene. Now that makes a lot of sense! It's known for its extensive brunch and for our dinner that evening, we had a preview of the delicious dinner repertoire that they offer as well. Dinner began with a pla...

Here's an interesting quote that I truly agree and believe in: After all, we work 5 days a week so we really owe it to ourselves to relax and recharge for two full days before heading back to the battle work force once again. Paul and I also take these two days to go out on dates, meet up with friends and to just have fun. Sometimes, we would just stay home, go swimming, do some cooking and nap for as long as we want. That, my friends, is what I'd call work-life balance and I strongly believe that it's something really important to attain a happier life.  So, what did we do last weekend? Well, it was a busy, action-packed one for us, if I must say. Saturday was when Paul and I went to watch Rock of Ages with his cousin J and my friend C. It was so much fun! The musical was awesome and we're so happy to be in the company of such happy and amazing people. The show was so good that I'm currently experiencing major Rock of Ages LSS this week. We went home q...

Remember the bit about Paul telling my sister that if there's one meal that he will miss in Manila then it will definitely be the yummy dimsum dishes from Makati Shangri-la Hotel's Shang Palace ? Well, that day, we ate all the dimsum that our tummy could hold knowing that it will be months before we will be able to dine there again... ....or so we thought?  I guess fate really has its way of letting things fall into place. Not long after, here we are having lunch at Shang Palace . Somehow, being inside Shang Palace reminds us of all the good and delicious memories that we've had back home and it indeed felt so good.  In true Shang Palace fashion, our meal began with this bowl of complimentary starters. I don't know what it is with Shang Palace but everything that comes out from their kitchen is really the best. Take this appetizer for instance, truth to be told, it's a simple tofu snack that's mixed with some chopped up chili. However, it was r...

Whoever created the concept of brunch is, for me, a very wise man. Perhaps, he or (it could also be a she) must be like me. Someone who gives so much important to sleep and while food is equally just as important, a person must not sacrifice one for the other. Readers of this blog probably know by now that there's only one thing that can make me wake up early on a weekend morning...FOOD. However, it really should take a good breakfast spread to make that extra hours worth our while. This is why I truly embrace and love the idea of having brunch . Being able to eat breakfast food at a later time that's closer to lunch. Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch = Brilliant. One Sunday morning, Paul and I took Mom and my sister out to brunch. I've been keeping a list of restaurants in the city that offers really good brunch and as soon as 2013 rolled in, I was determined to give some of these a try. First on my list was probably one that I've been getting amazing raves from -- The C...

Remember the first time Paul and I dined at Lolo Dad's with friends Richard and Irene ? Let's say that it was indeed love at first bite and just like how one gets struck by cupid's arrow, both Paul and I have been wanting to go back to Lolo Dad's for more. Finally, we made time for our much awaited return and there we were back at a place so familiar and once again truly warm and inviting. This time, I tried the Tasting Menu (Php. 2,220++) as I wanted to try more of Lolo Dad's specialty and I think this is the best way to go. Paul, on the other hand, wanted to order ala carte as he wanted more variety. During this visit, we saw Chef Ariel Manuel and I couldn't help but request for a photo op with him. I'm glad he was so nice to accommodate my silly request. You can say I was indeed chef-strucked! Our meal began with a basket of Lolo Dad's homemade bread. I really love this and had it not for the 6-course meal ahead, I would have requested fo...

Don't you just loveeeeee breakfast? I really do but I sometimes find it so hard to pull myself out of bed especially during the weekends. Can you relate with me? This is the reason why I totally salute the person who invented the word "brunch". It's perfect! Not too early like breakfast yet no need to wait till 12 for it to officially be considered lunch. Take for example what happened last Sunday. Paul and I had to bring my sister to the airport at 10AM for her to make it to her noon flight. Feeling our tummies grumbling loudly, we headed to Marriott Hotel's Cafe at Newport City to avail of their Sunday Brunch where we, together with other bloggers, were invited as it was their opening day. We were one of the first who arrived and boy I was so excited! The buffet spread was pretty impressive! We were greeted with an abundant display of fresh oysters with sauces and toppings to suit your taste. Across it was the cheese display where I helped myself to...

Not all meals are created equal. I love to eat, that's true. However, in my many years of food tripping and blogging, there are just a handful of meals that really blew me away from start to end. No mistakes, no so-so dish, everything was simply delicious from appetizer down to dessert. Just recently, I had one of the best dinners that I've ever had so far. It was an intimate gathering with a few fellow food bloggers at the one-week-old restaurant called Impressions at the Maxims Tower and dinner was prepared by Chef Cyrille Soenen , former hotel executive chef and current owner of the French restaurant Cicou . Dinner began with a basket of freshly baked bread . I love warm bread especially when paired with an array of delicious spreads. I also noticed that the bread had a hole in the middle and it was because it was hanged like a kebab thus causing the metal rod to puncture a hole at the center of the soft dough. I was told that they don't fully bake the bread an...

Paul and I are such big fans of anything Japanese..culinary-wise, we can never turn down an offer to feast on sushi, teriyaki chicken, ebi tempura and my personal favorite -- katsudon. Such is the case when we received an invite from fellow blogger Alvin to try out a new restaurant called Jozu Kin at the Fort Bonifacio area not so long ago. Entering the restaurant, it somehow gave me an upper New York feel where big groups of friends would dine and drink until the wee hours of the morning. It's not your typical Japanese restaurant but rather it has a more edgy vibe that is sure to attract the younger crowd. We were the second and third guests to arrive and while waiting for the rest; Paul , Alvin and I decided to order an appetizer consisting of an assortment of maki rolls to share. We got the Maki Moriawase (Php. 357) which has a total of five different maki creations. What's interesting here is that while almost all five maki rolls were pretty familiar to us, it still has...