Frannywanny

It's no big secret how much I love Japanese food. I just can't live without my sashimi and sushi. In fact, I dined and celebrated my 40th birthday at a Japanese restaurant TWICE this year. I think, it's one of those cuisines that I'll never get tired off. Well, the choices are endless as there are just a lot of ways to enjoy your Japanese food. You can have it done in various ways -- teppanyaki, yakitori, teriyaki, deep-fried, raw, with broth, mixed into your noodles or rice and the list goes on and on.  One of our family's favorite Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood is Tomo Japanese Dining . We love this restaurant so much for it's extensive menu options and they also have a coffee shop called Verse Cafe  that's adjacent to it that serves superb coffee and tea drinks. Here's actually a compilation of dishes that we have enjoyed throughout the multiple visits that we have made to these two establishments. The good thing is, you can order from Tomo ...

We have this habit of making the most out of our staycation so instead of dining out while having our staycation at a hotel, we normally try to check out the restaurants inside the hotel. This is staycation tip #1 when travelling with toddlers. We just wanted to do away from any logistical nightmare of having to travel far, waiting in line and ending up with two restless and super hangry kids. The best way is to make a reservation at any of the hotel's food establishments and you can just go down just in time for your meal. Our recent stay at Somerset Millennium Makati  was no different. We had our dinner at Abuela's  the only restaurant establishment available in the hotel but while it may be the only in-house dining option, we had no idea that we were in for a delightful FEAST!  Come to think of it, there's a bar available in the hotel but for families like us, you will most likely focus more on Abuela's . Don't be fooled by the name. I initially thought it was...

"The great gift of Easter is hope." – Basil Hume Happy Easter, everyone! Time is zooming by so fast and as the number of COVID19 cases continue to rise, my only wish is that we get to end this fight against the virus soon. Let's all do our part, shall we? Stay home, practice social distancing, sanitize sanitize sanitize and go and get the vaccine when you can .  I'd also like to add one more tip too -- let's continue to support local businesses as believe me, our economy has been hit so badly and it is just too painful to see one restaurant/retail outlet/business close down after the other. Along with its closure means people losing money, jobs and a livelihood.  With that, allow me to share with you one of my favorite home food business whom I have been supporting since late last year -- Salmon HQ . I first tried their fresh salmon sashimi and sushi bake sometime in December when I prepared my sister's going-away lunch. I know that they will most probabl...

Today marks the 12th day of being yaya-less. Well, Yaya M was scheduled to come back yesterday and we have agreed on that. Then suddenly, she could hardly be reached almost all day yesterday and just managed to call me late in the afternoon to tell me that she wasn't able to get a bus ticket because the ticketing office was already closed (well, duh..). I had to do multiple deep breaths to hold my peace and patience as my MIL even called to tell me to just take it easy and be patient with her. Don't get me wrong, I rarely get mad at any of our staff or helper but I really do value agreements and word of honor. I just don't get how some people can make promises which they'll eventually break later on. So. Not. Cool. Luckily, my twins are much bigger now and they can play on their own. They can also take simple instructions so we still can have a bit of breathing time here and there. Paul and I have also attempted to go to the mall without a single nanny and we have s...

If there's one thing that excites me is when I get to dine at a restaurant that retains the good ol' tradition in terms of their quality and taste yet one that is also bold enough to break the stereotype and continues to surprise their patrons with "something new." Take the Japanese cuisine for example. Immediately, visions of delicious and comforting bowls of ramen would come to mind, right? How about if I tell you that recently, I tried one that's served in a sizzling bowl. Yup! It's one thing that probably not a lot of people would imagine to have in a traditional Japanese restaurant setting. Thus, this is precisely what sets Kureji  apart. Situated along Malakas street in Quezon City, I immediately fell in love with the beautiful interiors of this restaurant. It has kept the structure of an old traditional Filipino bungalow-style home with rooms in split-levels and an old-school bodega  (storage room) situated at the back of the house with a few step...

You know when you suddenly have a craving so bad that you just can't stop thinking about it for days? That's what happened to me recently when I started craving for anything cheezy and all I can think of were those delicious baked rice dishes at Tori Chizu . I can't believe it took me this long to actually write about it. I swear, the 1st year of motherhood just went by like a blur that I hardly had time to do anything but to take good care of my babies. No regrets though and here I am making up for lost time by telling you about my food discoveries. So anyway, back in July (I know!), Paul and I chanced upon Tori Chizu  at Eastwood City Walk. We used to frequent this part of town a long time ago and it was only when we agreed to meet up with some friends that we found ourselves in this familiar part of town turned not-so-familiar as there sure were a lot of changes from our last visit which was half a decade ago. Tori Chizu  is from the same company handling Bonchon C...

I first heard about Tenya back in 2016 from my good friend D as she was helping me put together my Tokyo itinerary. My friends in Singapore love going to Japan that I can probably name 10 friends who knows Tokyo so well that they can give the best recommendations even with their eyes closed. Thanks to them, Paul and I had spent one marvelous week eating our way around Japan and mind you, we managed to dine at some of the best hole in the wall places thanks to the tips that we got from these friends. I have yet to share with you stories from that trip and I promise to do it really soon. Meanwhile, back in Manila, Paul and I stumbled upon Tenya as we were going around the Bonifacio Global City one evening looking for a place to grab a quick early dinner before heading home. A quick search on our phone led us to Tenya  at the BGC Stopover complex. Okay, I have to admit that I never knew this place existed and boy was I impressed. We're talking about 3 storeys filled with a good mi...

Summer is definitely over and in comes the rain. Lots and lots of rain! I won't lie, I was really glad that we're no longer experiencing the warm weather and somehow, I do welcome this bed weather. The kind what makes you want to curl up in bed and sleep all day. Well, if you're a twin mom... "sleep all day" may not happen anytime soon but still, one can always dream. This is also the perfect weather for soups and warm congee. I recently started experimenting with a number of soup recipes which I will soon introduce to my twins as they seriously need to level up on their solid intake. Speaking of soups, I suddenly have this craving for ramen. It's really funny as back in 2015, I think I had way too much ramen and I somehow stopped having ramen since then. I think the last bowl of ramen that I had was during our trip to Tokyo sometime in 2016. I suddenly remembered my favorite ramen in Singapore -- Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu Four Seasons . I loved it so much tha...

Isn't it amazing how taste can evoke a myriad of emotions? Just like in the movie Ratatouille where one single bite can bring back a lot of memories for a particular person. No matter how far back that memory may have been, there are just moments when one familiar taste can take us back to a certain point in our lives where we have tasted the same thing and together comes a good story to be told. For instance, Paul and I remember growing up enjoying a particular refrigerator pound cake which we would have as an afternoon snack. While we didn't grew up together, it's funny how we have a lot of similar childhood memories most especially when it comes to food. Somehow, it's like we have been living parallel lives from the very beginning. So, when we got this beautiful box from Kumori Philippines , we were so excited to give it a try! One thing that I love about anything Japanese is how they make everything soooo pretty! Look at the box down to the actual product, it...

Throughout our years of non-stop eating, it’s no secret how much Paul and I love Japanese cuisine. This is actually one reason why we decided to visit Japan last year as we just wanted more, more and more! One thing that I love about the Japanese way of cooking and preparation is how they make every single thing look so pretty. Regardless if it’s just a piece of rice cracker or it’s something more elaborate like a sashimi platter, there’s a lot of thought and creativity poured into each item making your dining experience truly memorable. A few months ago, Paul and I were invited to try Kaiseki Yoshiyuki , which is located adjacent to Horse’s Mouth at The Forum Mall. Heading there gave us this sense of mystery, as there wasn’t any big, flashy signage directing you to the restaurant. Instead, you’ll just see a modest sign beside a big black door. Open the door and you’ll be led inside the restaurant. The interiors of  Kaiseki Yoshiyuki is so beautiful that I can't help but admir...

There's a new kid in town today! After treating our taste buds to all sorts of delicious ramen creations and some to-die-for gyozas too, Chef Keisuke Takeda  is back with a brand new concept and this time burger or beef lovers will surely rejoice! Teppanyaki Hamburg Nihonbashi Keisuke Bettei  offers two set meals only and even with just these two, it will really be hard to choose which one to go for. The restaurant will specialize on freshly ground and formed a la minute US Prime Beef Patties served with a piece of deliciously deep-fried ebi fry, grilled tofu, miso soup, rice and the best part -- an unlimited trip to the salad bar plus the egg station!

If there's one thing that I missed the most about our Japan trip. It would definitely be the FOOD. The fact that every single meal just leaves us so happy and satisfied. There was definitely no bad meal in Japan and even something as simple as the rice is worth swooning about. During one of those nights strolling along Paul's favorite district -- Akihabara, we chanced upon a small restaurant that's packed to the brim. Well, okay it's a really small restaurant but every single seat was taken by Japanese office men busy eating what looks like a mountain of rice covered in Japanese curry. Ooh lala! We both love Japanese curry and so we patiently queued up. Luckily, turn over was so quick that in less than 10 minutes, we found ourselves comfortably seated at the far end of the restaurant while watching the chefs prepare our food. There's really something about Japanese curry that's so comforting and addicting. The mild spicy note, the totally umami flavor prof...

No matter how short or long our stay in Manila is, what we loved the most are those times that we would spent with our families. I'd say, we're really improving in terms of scheduling our meet-ups as we get to allot more to family and our ever understanding friends would willingly take the brunch or tea time slots. During our recent visit home, we blocked off our Sunday lunch to go out for a nice meal with my in laws. It was also this time when Paul and Achi Jen decided to co-celebrate their belated birthdays similar to how they used to do in the past since their birthdays are two days apart. Achi Jen took care of making the reservations upon my request to try Tomo Japanese Dining  in Araullo Street. It's really a good thing that she made a reservation as the whole place was fully booked that day. We even bumped into our former flatmate C and his family there! My MIL has been there a couple of times so she knows what are the must-orders. Here are some of the dishes that...

It has been 6 months since ... our amazing trip to Tokyo and boy do I miss eating Japanese food every day for a week and the whole  kawaii vibe. I have a feeling that Paul feels the same way too as he would still talk about our trip every now and then. Luckily, Singapore has a lot of good Japanese restaurants should we suddenly have the craving for ramen, gyoza, katsudon and more. Recently, we traveled all the way to Serangoon Gardens to check out Hajime Tonkatsu & Ramen , a new Japanese restaurant that's said to serve really good tonkatsu and  ramen. Was it really worth our trip? Let me tell you more about it below. Hajime Tonkatsu & Ramen  is a casual eatery that promises to serve you authentic Japanese dishes at really reasonable price. Let's face it, Japanese food is really delicious but eating it repeatedly can definitely cause a dent on your budget. That wouldn't be the case at Hajime  as I was surprised to see that most of the dishes ar...

People walk in and out of our lives but the real challenge lies in being able to leave an impactful mark for them to remember you by. I know it's a Monday and I'm not talking about death just in case you're wondering. I'm talking the work place and the people you get to work with. A typical corporate set-up will allow you to get to know a lot of people but admit it, there's only a handful of them you eventually become close with. They're the ones whom you'd probably realized that you share the same interest with or their personalities just match yours making their presence such a pleasure to have around. Take for example my former colleague A. I had the privilege to work with her on several accounts and luckily we got along right from that start. Perhaps it's because we're always on the same wave length so it was a breeze working with her as we both believed and aimed for the same thing. So, when A came up to me one day and told me that she's l...

"How was your birthday ?" This was the question that I was asked most by friends and colleagues days after the 1st of June. Well, unlike the past years when it was admittedly more festive and loud, my birthday this year was much more private, more intimate yet I had the most important people of my life sending me the sweetest birthday greetings and wishes. What more can I ask for? Luckily, Paul didn't had to go to work on my birthday so he told me that he'd like to take me out for lunch. The best part was, I get to choose where we're eating! Yay! So days leading up to my birthday, I started shortlisting restaurants that I've been wanting to try. Should we go have steak? Perhaps indulge on pots after pots of Chinese steamboat? How about Japanese? Since I'm clearly not over my Tokyo hangover yet so sushi and sashimi was the final choice for my special day. So, off we went to Shin Minori  in UE Square  since I've been hearing so much good things a...

Chef Keisuke did it again!  After winning our hearts with his mouth-watering ramen varieties , gyoza rice sets and the best tendon in town , he's currently on a roll opening two new ramen stores one after the other. The first specializes in ramen with lobster broth which I heard is pretty good. There's always a long queue as the it's strategically located in Clarke Quay thus catering to the party-going, late night crowd. I should schedule a visit to that outlet soon but I'll probably let the queue die down or go at a very off-peak time. Meanwhile, Paul and I decided to try his second outlet, Ramen Keisuke Kani King  which is located at the ground floor of Orchard Cineleisure in Somerset. It just so happen that we were in the area one Saturday so we decided to go check it out. Luckily, we got there when the queue was still very short so it only took us 20 minutes waiting time. Don't worry though as the system is very efficient but you just have to make sure t...

Rise & Shine!  It's the start of a new week and while it may be hard to pull yourself up from bed today, I hope that these visions of delicious, mouthwatering food will be a good reason to greet this day with a big smile. One of the highlights of our last two visits to Manila were spent really early as we drove all the way to Roxas Boulevard to meet up with our fellow foodies for breakfast at Nobu Restaurant Manila . Since we were all so excited for this much-awaited breakfast meet-up. Of course, we didn't waste any time and decided to order practically everything on the menu. Let me share with you some of my top picks: Black Cod Tinapa Melt-in-your-mouth smoked black cod served on top of a bed of fluffy and fragrant garlic rice and a serving of runny scrambled egg. I'm glad though that Nobu's serving was just right for one to enjoy yet it's not too much allowing you to still have room to order more!

As you all know, the flight from Singapore to Manila takes a little more than 3 hours and when you're taking a budget airline with no entertainment to watch and to keep yourselves preoccupied, this can feel like forever. Paul and I, on the other hand, would make the most of the flight time to catch up on sleep, organize our thoughts (and our lives haha) and to talk. During one of our flights home last year, we started making a list of the food and restaurants that we miss the most. Of course there's the usual Filipino treats that we love such as pichi-pichi and kakanin for him and pancit malabon for yours truly. Then our conversation moved on to restaurants. Putting all the new restaurants that we're both hoping to try someday aside, there are just some old ones that we miss very much. One of those is Yabu : House of Katsu .  Back when we were still based in Manila, Yabu  has been our go-to place whenever we want to have a delicious plate of deep-fried katsudon ...

For the past few days, I find myself craving for ebi tempura . I know it's not the healthiest food on earth but come on, sometimes, you just have to give in to your heart's desire. Add to the fact that Paul and I are busy researching about our upcoming trip to Tokyo which in effect is giving us visions of fresh sushi rolls, perfectly grilled yakitoris, mouthwatering omurice and to-die-for ebi tempura! (By the way, should you have Tokyo food recommendations, please share them with me below! Thank you!) ♥ While dreaming about ebi tempura, I suddenly remembered the time when D and I met up with our former colleague, R. We decided to check out the then newly-opened Tendon Ginza Itsuki  which is owned by our favorite ramen chef, Kaisuke Takeda . He also owns Keisuke Tori King in 100AM, Tonkotsu King Four Seasons in Bugis and my other favorite, Gyoza King in Orchid Hotel. Just recently, he also opened Ramen Keisuke Lobster King  in Clarke Quay which I have yet to visit....