Frannywanny

As we all know, hawker centers has been a part of Singapore's foodie life since the 1980s and this is where we've grown to love our Chicken Rice, Char Kuay Teow, Chili Crab and more. No visit to Singapore will ever be complete without dining at any hawker centers and likewise, every Singaporeans and residents have their own favorite hawker centers and stalls that they frequent on a regular basis. In Tagalog, we'd say, we have our own suking tindahan . I have my favorite mixed veg stall who knows me by face (sadly, not by name yet) and this is where I would also get my staple 1 meat/fish + 2 veggies + curry sauce on my rice from. Times are changing and there's that conscious effort to preserve the the Hawker Heritage . That said, we've seen a couple of modernized hawker centers opening all over town. What makes these different is it features up-and-coming food establishments that serves a more varied modern and international fare. It started with Salut in Bukit...

5 years ago, Paul and I came to Singapore for a week-long honeymoon. Friends and family actually questioned why we decided to stay that long. You see, for most tourists, they feel that the only thing you can really do in Singapore is to eat. Well, I have to say that that's right...and wrong. Right because Singapore is clearly the food mecca in Asia (okay fine, maybe Southeaast Asia) but aside from stuffing yourself silly with all the gastronomic options available here, there are a lot of places to see as well. We came to Singapore at a good time then. It was right at the tail-end of the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) which means most stores were giving out further reduction discounts and it was also when the Singapore Food Festival  took place. Luck wasn't on my side though as I ended up with a terrible tummy ache which lasted all throughout the entire duration of our two week long honeymoon (we flew to Kuala Lumpur and stayed for a whole week too). So, instead of being able ...

This year we celebrate the 50th year of Singapore so in line with all the SG50 celebrations that have been happening around, let me share with you some of my favorite Singapore dishes one at a time. Today, I will talk about the glorious Nasi Lemak . My first encounter with Nasi Lemak dates all the way back in 2010. It was during our one-week-long honeymoon here in Singapore where I had my first taste of that fragrant coconut rice with ikan bilis (dilis), lots of garlic peanuts, egg and fried chicken. I fell madly in love with Nasi Lemak that I would order it every chance I get here in Singapore and when we continued with our trip to Kuala Lumpur. Fast forward to today, I've lost count of the number of Nasi Lemaks that I've already had. To me, it's one of my favorite comfort food where I can always be sure of it's consistent delicious flavor and the viands that come with it are pretty straight-forward, simple yet always satisfyingly good. So, for one of our food tr...

Huat Ah! This is probably the first Singlish phrase that I've learned when we moved to the Lion City exactly two Chinese New Years ago. As half of the city went overseas and the other half were busy visiting families, we took this time to make our visit to IKEA to quickly furnish our new place. All around us, people were tossing shredded vegetables while screaming " Huat Ahhhhh!! " I had no clue what they were doing then but who would have thought that this would be one exciting practice that I always look forward to every Chinese New Year -- Lo Hei . Paul and I loved it so much that we even brought back packs of Yu Sheng Salad to share this "veggie-tossing" practice with our families in Manila.  This is just one of the many things I love about Singapore and the Singaporean culture. Another thing we love (and we're pretty sure the rest of the world do too) about Singapore is the yummy hawker heritage . Many have been saying that hawker centres won'...

It's no secret that I love food and friends can testify how I can just go on and on for hours talking about it. So, it is also not a big surprise whenever acquaintances would ask me what my favorite food is or where do I normally go to when I want a surefire delicious meal. The funny thing is, I would sometimes end up a bit stumped on what the right answer should be. I guess it's because I've dined at more a thousand restaurants all over the region and this encompasses a wide range of cuisines too. One time, I really took a few minutes to think about it and the answer simple. I love pasta. There, I said it. If there's one thing that I love to eat in this world, it would definitely be a plate of pasta preferably cooked in an oil-based sauce with mushrooms, cheese, a simple choice of meat and spices. At the end of the day, I realized, nothing beats going back to basic . Pasta, to me, is the kind of dish that I would have whenever I had a long day at work. It's a p...

Here's another Singapore hawker find!  Lately, I've been challenging myself to eat more green! From pesto pasta to salads, even green bottled water (haha!) and if possible green tea or a whole kiwi after every meal too. On some days, I think I went overboard with my green lunch but that's alright.  Anyway, I stumbled upon this stall while checking out the Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market and Food Centre --my new go-to hawker centre since we moved to our new office recently. It's a stall called Traditional Hakka Rice and it serves one main thing: Thunder Tea Rice . 

I ♥ Salad! On days when I'm feeling really guilty for eating a lot of unhealthy and sinful food I'd then make up for it by having salad on my next meal. However, I'm quite picky on where to get fresh greens as I don't want to run the risk of ending up with a bad stomach or worst amoebiasis . I'm glad though that our local hawker stalls are taking the precautionary steps to practice proper food handling and hygiene all the time. Oh, one of the many things I love about the Lion City. Working in the CBD has its perks. One is definitely the endless food choices available. Since Amoy Food Centre is just a few steps away from my office, this has been my go-to place on days when I'm just too lazy to bring a packed lunch. Let me share with you one of my favorite stalls. Introducing The Salad Corner .

It has been a while since Paul and I had our weekly hawker challenge and we just felt that it was time to go for one again. What a perfect timing that the Chinatown Food Street recently re-opened making it our next hawker stop destination. Admittedly, compared to the two other hawker centres that we've visited and reviewed, this one had a more touristy feel. It was better ventilated, the kiosks are quite limited but have a good mix of basically anything and everything you'd like to try in Singapore, tables are cleaner and you'll see a lot of tourists dining here all day long. We were a bit hesitant to do the Hawker Challenge here simply because we know that anything tourist-y also means it can be pricey but as Mommy would always tell me, you'll never know unless you try . The first step is to walk around . Visit every stall and see what they have to offer. Most of these were specially chosen from all other hawker centres so you're assured of getting pretty ...

Following our Saturdate hawker challenge at Tiong Bahru Food Market , Paul and I ventured out again the next Saturday this time to Chinatown . We really enjoy being able to challenge ourselves to a try a different set of hawker specialties given a set budget of S$15. Will we be successful again this time? Chinatown is such a fun place to be. There's this old world meets modern city feel that I really love. Growing up, our trips to Singapore would never be complete without visiting this area. Mommy totally loves this store called Yue Hwa which, believe it or not, still exists at present. The store must have been around for more than 20 years! Here, she would buy our super soft and fluffy comforters, beddings and all sorts of Chinese-style linens and products that you can think of. I think it was also here where I bought my chongsam blouse, once upon a time, when I was crazy enough to think I wanted to channel Mulan. Anyway, so one Saturday night in Chinatown, Paul and I walked...

One thing I love about Singapore is that the government gives a BIG importance to food safety and sanitation. Wherever we go, be it a high-end restaurant or a hole-in-a-wall eatery, you'd see laminated colored letter signages on the wall of these food places. These are the sanitation grading that they have received and so far I've been seeing a lot of As and Bs and haven't came across a C yet. If Manila has fast food joints and Jolly jeeps in the Central Business District (CBD), here we have hawker centres which is not only limited to CBDs but can be found in residential areas too. I'm so lucky that there's one that's just a few steps away from my office and this is where I would buy lunch almost everyday. I love the variety yet at times, this can be quite challenging as I couldn't make up my mind whether I'd like to get chicken rice or duck noodles, or perhaps go healthy with some salad or to keep it light with a piece of curry puff with a fruit ju...