Frannywanny

It's no secret that I am a big foodie traveler. This is also one of the reasons why Frannywanny.com came about. For the past decade, I've been sharing with you my travel adventures which leans mostly on the restaurants and food hops that Paul and I would come across in whatever destination we'd be in. I also got to admit that I am also a luxury traveler. By that, I mean I tend to be very picky when it comes to my choice of airline, hotel and mode of transportation. Comfort is always my top priority. After all, we travel to recharge and feel rejuvenated right? Singapore Airlines has been my top choice of airlines since I used to shuttle back and forth Singapore and Manila for four years. I realized that the cost of flying via Singapore Airlines is not that far from our local budget airline and if this means getting an extra legroom, bigger seats, a hot delicious meal and a wide selection of in-flight entertainment as I fly to and from Singapore, then I'm totally fo...

It has been raining on and off for the past few days bringing down Singapore's temperature and making it feel cool and breezy for a change. If you ask me, days like these is the perfect time to just snuggle in bed and stay indoors all day long. It's also the time when I would crave mostly for a bowl of congee or soup. Luckily, there are a lot of options when it comes to satisfying our craving for soups and congee. A few months ago, Paul and I visited the first ever outlet of Souper Tang  here in Singapore. Souper Tang (汤师父) originated in Malaysia where it has a total of 18 outlets scattered in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Ipoh and Johor Bahru. Apparently, Souper Tang originated as a TCM medical hall where the owners would sell herbal medicines for all types of illnesses. Then the lady owner would cook put together soup packs which she would give out as gifts to friends. Later on, it got so popular and people would request that she would sell her soups. This was when Souper Tang ...

Back when we were much younger, Paul and I would take one weekend off a month to go on a trip. Be it to go overseas or to explore one of the many provinces and islands of the Philippines, these quick trips have proven to be really effective in busting our stress levels due to work. Since migrating to the Lion City, we have incredibly slowed down in terms of taking impromptu trips. Perhaps, it's because of the size of Singapore as a whole and our lack of familiarity on this region. Slowly though, we're learning and hopefully soon we'll get back on track. A few weekends ago, we took in impromptu day trip to nearby Johor Bahru . Going to JB, as popularly called by the locals, is as easy as hopping on a bus and just following the sea of people as they go through the immigration centres and finally to City Square Mall. On our first try, we got lost. Yes, really lost that we somehow ended up at the other end of town. Unbelievable! Add to the fact that I failed to make any r...

I just broke a new record last Tuesday. That is the fastest overseas trip that I've ever taken in my life. The record time : approximately 12 hours. Yup! I flew out of Singapore for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the morning and was back at Changi International Airport 12 hours after. I have to say the trip left me so exhausted and almost in the brink of collapsing but looking back, it was still a nice adventure all together. Since I had a bit of time before my scheduled meeting in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to head to my favorite shopping mall -- Pavilion as this is one place I know I won't feel lost and can easily hail a cab to my meeting place right away. Pavilion is located along Jalan Bukit Bintang, the shopping district of Kuala Lumpur. It houses a lot of luxury brands so you can tell immediately that this mall is rather upscale. I like it though as I try to avoid overly crowded malls and walking around Pavilion never fails to give me that sense of peace.

Here's a quick guide to help you all when planning a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia : Where to stay Novotel Kuala Lumpur: 2010 , 2014 Sheraton Imperial Hotel   Restaurants / Food Establishments Good Friends in Genting Highlands Madame Kwan's Marrybrown Nando's Peri-Peri ♥ ♥ ♥ SkyBar, Traders Hotel KL  ♥ ♥ ♥ Yeast Bistronomy  ♥ ♥ ♥ What to see around Kuala Lumpur Acquaria KLCC Jalan Petailing (Chinatown), Jalan Alor and Bukit Bintang Petronas Twin Towers ♥ ♥ ♥ - highly recommended

During our quick weekend getaway in Kuala Lumpur, my sister offered to make use of her accumulated miles to fully pay for our 2 nights hotel accommodation at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel . Thank goodness for jet-setting little sisters who got a substantial amount of miles that needed to be redeemed soon! The best part about this is that the choices available were really nice. It was pretty much choosing from a number of 5-star hotels in the city. What a good problem to have! Sheraton Imperial Hotel  is one of the premier hotels in Kuala Lumpur. It's located along the busy Jalan Sultan Ismail where the nearest monorel station (Medan Tuanku) is just right beside the hotel's entrance. It's quite convenient to go to the busy shopping area (Bukit Bintang) or to have some late night snack at Jalan Alor. Sadly, the KLCC area is a bit out of the way as it's too near to take a cab to but a bit too far to walk. The hotel is also beside a street called  Heritage Walk , it's...

As much as the idea of staying in bed for the entire day and to just laze around the hotel room sounds so inviting, this is normally not the case whenever I travel. For someone who loves to take it easy and slow, my travel itinerary is always planned around meals. This means, I should have breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks in between. No time can ever be wasted as there are just so much to try and oftentimes, so little time to do them all. So, during our quick weekend getaway to Kuala Lumpur , we were up and out of the hotel at 8am on a Saturday morning. Our breakfast destination was at Bangsar, a town located at the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. I'm guessing that this place is majority residential so it's interesting to note that there are quite a number of must-visit cafes and restaurants that recently opened in this area. One of those has been rated as one of the best brunch places in Kuala Lumpur. I guess a lot of people had the same plan of having breakfast at ...

They say, traveling is always a good thing. No matter how short or long the journey may be, rest assured that you'll return home richer -- not necessarily monetarily but in knowledge. The experience and the people you'll encounter along the way will give you a better idea about the country's culture, way of life and its rich history too. I'm lucky that my parents made sure that Pan and I got to travel early on in our lives. School, after all, can only teach you so much, but learning a new language or being exposed to something that's unfamiliar to us will always bring about a lot of memories and new learnings. This is also why we're such travel fanatics till this day. So, it has just been a few months since my last visit to Kuala Lumpur and there I was again last weekend. The trip was pretty much spontaneous as it just came about as I was chatting with my sister one afternoon. She commented that she hasn't been to the Petronas Towers and knowing her fa...

When we were sort of planning for our weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur , I'm glad that we had cousin J with us as he took care not only of booking our flights, but he went ahead and handled the booking of our hotel and he even rented a car too! He was so organized that I swear, this was the only trip where I happily tagged along without minding that we didn't had any proper itinerary and I know that we will still have a great time. Cousin J is the best travel companion, I tell you. So, when I casually asked him where we're staying in KL, he told me that he booked us all at Novotel Kuala Lumpur . Yay! If you remember, four year ago, this was also where Paul and I stayed for our honeymoon and save for the drilling and mysterious water sound, we loved the hotel's close proximity to the major shopping malls and the beautiful view of the Petronas Towers too. 

A month ago, Paul and I flew to Kuala Lumpur for a quick weekend getaway to celebrate his birthday with his cousins. Luckily, Kuala Lumpur (KL) is a fast 55 minute flight away from Singapore making it such an ideal place to go to when we just need a vacation but barely have any work leave credits to use up. We flew out after work on a Friday and was back on Sunday night. Being a city girl, there are only two things that I love to do in Kuala Lumpur -- to shop and to eat . Of course, there's gawking at the beautiful Petronas Towers in the process too. I'm not really fond of hiking up any mountain, nor coming face to face with monkey or birds so as I was planning for our weekend trip, I've basically scrap all those out from the list. It worked out well for us though as we just wanted to have a relaxing weekend anyway. So, on our last day in KL, cousin B requested if we can have lunch at Nando's . She loves the Chicken Liver very much and after hearing her raves ab...

Having been to Malaysia only once wherein we decided to spend a week in Kuala Lumpur for the second leg of our Honeymoon, I have to admit that I know very little of the other states around the country and this includes Penang . If there's one thing that I know about this northern state though is that the food here is the best in entire for Malaysia and for that I still regret not taking the chance to visit Penang then. I'm not worried though as Penang is a short one hour flight from Singapore which means Paul and I can fly there for a quick weekend food trip anytime we want. Right? It also helps that my colleague K is from Penang and by just listening to her stories, I am convinced that Penang is such a lovely place worth visiting. After all, who wouldn't want to visit Georgetown which has been proclaimed at a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Well, I surely do! Call it fate that Paul and I were invited by our friends over at Traders Hotel for a preview of the ongoing Penan...

I got to admit, if given the chance to choose between rice, pasta or bread, I would definitely go for pasta any day. This is also the reason why I tend to be extra picky with the type of breads that I eat. I love freshly baked pan de sal paired with a spoonful of peanut butter and a cup of hot cocoa. Soft and fluffy ciabatta bread has been my favorite when I'm making myself a sandwich. As for the type of breads that I avoid, these are ones with raisins, dates or the fruity type. I really do not know why but I always end up plucking each tiny fruit out before biting into the bread. One day, I received a box of freshly baked goodies from Bread Story Philippines . It was after visiting their Facebook page that I found out that the brand actually originates from Malaysia . We had some of their specialty breads for lunch. Among the four breads on the plate, I liked the Flossy Signature which had buttery pork floss on top. The Flossy Hottie , on the other hand, was topped with spicy...

I can't believe it has been almost a year since Paul and I flew to Singapore then to Malaysia for our 2-week long Honeymoon. I remembered being welcomed by our friend HK who took us on a fun food trip around the Tekka Market where I had the best tasting Lamb Briyani and later we dined at a Nonya Restaurant where it was my first time to try this type of cuisine. I knew from that point on that our honeymoon will truly be a gastronomical trip. As we get closer to celebrating our first wedding anniversary, Paul and I were invited to a food tasting at Shiok where we relived the fun eating moments that we both had during our Honeymoon. We met Chefs Nicco and Denny who are both owners of the restaurant. They first opened a branch at the Fort Bonifacio and lucky for us Greenhills loyal visitors, they now have their second branch at the food court of Greenhills Promenade . Initially, I thought Shiok means "cheap" as directly translated in Hokkien. It was only after meetin...

Where to eat? Where to go? These are the most common questions, we normally would ask ourselves when planning a day out with friends and family. It has been more than three fun years... 5 foreign destinations ... countless domestic locations ...and a total of 263 food and travel recommendations ! Frannywanny's Food and Travel Index Here's how to use it: 1) Click on the link that you can see on the right side of the screen 2) Browse through the list as it's arranged alphabetically 3) To search restaurants per area : click CTRL+F (find function) and type in the city (eg: Makati) the computer will automatically highlight the restaurants under this category. Just keep pressing Enter to go through the list. photo credit: http://www.significantelements.org/

I love it that whenever I travel with Paul , we make it a point that our visit to that particular foreign country has a mix of trying out their local cuisine, visiting historical landmarks, shopping till our legs give up and lastly, being touristy by going to highly recommended tourist spots. Our honeymoon trip to Kuala Lumpur was not any different from our past trips. For instance, we made sure we spent a good amount of time admiring the beauty of the Petronas Twin Towers , we treated our taste buds to their local cuisines and those that we have not seen for sometime , lastly, we planned a visit to the Aquaria at the KLCC (Kuala Lumpur Convention Center) to see hundreds of water creatures and more! Entrance fee is only RM 45 (approximately P650) and you get full access to roam around the Aquaria, watch feeding shows and go inside the Oceanarium to see the fishes and sharks up close. Aside from water animals, Aquaria also has an exhibit of rain forest creatures that is s...

Man is truly a genius, creating beautiful works of art that makes this world a pretty place to live in. All day these towers stand tall above the leafy greens as if to serve as a guide to the lost travelers making their way. In the afternoon, it opens its doors to a thousand employees as they make their way home. Around it joggers enjoy the steady pace as they go round and round the landscaped path. But what I love most is in the evening when the towers glistened in the dark sky as if covered by tiny diamonds all over. The Petronas Towers is the 5th tallest building in the world following The Barj in Dubai and Taipei 101 in Taiwan. It is truly a majestic structure that makes Malaysia so proud of. This is definitely a must-see spot for every tourist visiting Kuala Lumpur . To get there: It is a 5 minutes walk from the Raja Chulan monorail station where you have to get to the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, follow the directions towards the park that will lead you stra...

Upon landing at Kuala Lumpur and heading straight to our hotel to check in, Paul and I decided to grab an early lunch at the Pavillion Mall which was located right beside Novotel KL . Following the map, we made our way down to the basement where there was a huge Food Republic and a row of interesting looking restaurants. One immediately caught my eye -- Madame Kwan's . I remember this being recommended by a reader here and I told Paul we have to try this. I love the cozy green and white interiors and the service was great too. We were immediately led to our table and soon we were busy scanning the menu. Since first tasting the Nasi Lemak served at the Swissotel's breakfast buffet spread and I've been hooked ever since! I love the aroma of the coconut rice mixed with salty peanuts and anchovies! Since this is a Malaysian dish, of course it is a must to try Nasi Lemak right in Kuala Lumpur and this was one of the dish that we got here at Madame Kwan's. Knowing ...

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...

I first saw Marrybrown at the exit of the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) of the Kuala Lumpur Airport. Initially, we expected it to be a local fast food offering Malaysian dishes. What we didn't know was Marrybrown could actually rival Col. Sanders's crispy delicious fried chicken. Yep! Marrybrown is a Malaysian fast food specializing in fried chicken and a lot more. Of course, we were in Malaysia and so we had to try something different. I was so hooked to Nasi Lemak the entire time that I was in Singapore. Oh how I love the taste of rice cooked in rich coconut milk. It has been my morning guilty indulgence. No matter how much I've tried, I couldn't seem to stop. Mix this with salty anchovies and peanuts, I was in food heaven. :) Scanning the board of Marrybrown, I noticed that they have Nasi Lemak (RM 8.90) as part of their line-up. Of course, they use fried chicken this time. I didn't mind and got this with additional chicken (RM 6.05) to share with Pau...

One thing that I really take great pains in preparing for when traveling is our hotel accommodation. I really make it a point to research well to make sure that we will be staying in a comfortable room and at a hotel that's accessible to the spots that we will be visiting to also lessen our transportation cost. Thanks to Paul's cousin who was able to cut my research time in half by recommending Novotel KL , I immediately visited their official website and I actually liked what I saw. This was where we stayed for 5 lovely nights at Kuala Lumpur. Entering our room, I immediately noticed the view from our window, it was the Petronas Towers and since we arrived late in the afternoon, the twin towers were beautifully lit up and the sight was just marvelous. Our bed was very comfortable too and I love it that we have a small couch where Paul and I would hang out while enjoying the view of the Twin Towers. However, unlike our hotel accommodation in Singapore , our packag...