Frannywanny

“Change is good” , they always say. While my OC-self tends to squirm at the thought of dealing with any change in my routine more so a change in my comfort zone, I can’t help but agree. With change, come new discoveries and opportunities, after all. I also believe that change helps us grow in life. We deal with new challenges; we conquer bigger obstacles which leads to a more fulfilling reward at the end of it all. We come out a winner after every change. So one big change happened to one of my favourite Italian restaurant here in the Lion City. Dolce Vita Restaurant 's head chef,  Chef Marco Manocchio , who has been with the restaurant since 2015 recently launched a new menu featuring some of his personal specialties. How's that for a good change? I was one of the lucky ones (thank you my lucky stars!) to be invited to try a simple repertoire of Chef Marco’s new dishes. Let me share them with you!

HELLO 2017!!! Just like that, 2016 has made its graceful exit and in comes the start of another year. How has been your 2017 so far? For us, it has been really fun as we got to spend a lot of quality time with family. Well, the festivities is definitely far from over as we're all anticipating the coming of the Fire Rooster in less than 3 weeks time. That right! It's time to stock up on round fruits, fill up our red packets with money (and hope we'll get a lot too) and toss for luck and prosperity. Next to Christmas and New Year, the Lunar New Year is my next favorite holiday. It's also the time where we get to eat, eat and eat some more! Since moving to Singapore, one thing that I look forward to every Chinese New Year is the Lo Hei . I really love it! I enjoy the whole process of saying all the well wishes while adding in each ingredient and tossing it all up for luck. I also love the sweet tangy taste and most of all, the fresh salmon slices and the crunchy chip...

"'Tis the season for lots of feasting... fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la" Recently, I came across an article that showed how different people all over the world celebrate the holiday season and what food items are the ones that take the forefront during this time of the year. In the Philippines, out comes the glorious Lechon (roast pork) and the buttery Bibingka (rice cakes) and Puto Bumbong (Yam Rice Cakes). Did you know that KFC Fried Chicken is a Christmas staple in Japan? Here in Singapore, it's the perfect time to feast on all types of roast meats from big, juicy Turkey meat, mouthwatering Roast Pork and that to-die-for succulent piece of steak. In addition to that, there are all types of log cakes and dessert creations to have that perfect sweet ending to every holiday meal. Here are some of the yummiest log cakes to order this year: 1) Exotic Christmas Log Cake  from Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa  (S$60 / S$75) Selecting flavors that marry th...

One of my favorite time of the year is here and we only got 2 weeks to enjoy it! It's time for Melt Cafe 's annual Flavours of India  promotion and if there's any buffet theme that I love the most about Melt then this would probably be it. You see, Melt Cafe offers a wide range of dishes from a good selection of fresh seafood to an interesting line-up of salads, roasted meats, desserts, cheese, Western and Asian dishes but did you know that they also serve one of the yummiest Indian dishes in town? For instance, always make sure to try their freshly made prata (I love the garlic and cheese variants) as well as their curries and tandooris too. I was fortunate to try last year's Flavours of India  where we had an interesting wine pairing dinner which was actually my first time to have wine with Indian food. Normally, I'd go for some Mango Lassi to balance out the possible spiciness of some of the dishes. This time around, Chef Santosh Kumar outdid himself aga...

One of my favorite hotel buffet restaurants in Singapore has just gotten a makeover and we were all so excited about it! I love it so much that I think I've blogged about it multiple times before, yet I always look forward to any opportunity to go back and have a meal at  Melt Cafe in Mandarin Oriental Singapore. I can never have enough of its wide-variety of dishes and I feel that they have one of the best, top-quality Indian selections among most hotel buffets. So, when we found out that they did a bit of "re-formatting", I initially asked "Why?!" You see, I always believe in the saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"  and to me, there's definitely nothing "broke" about Melt Cafe . Then again, it's always good to do a bit of refreshing once in a while, right? So, a month ago, I visited the new Melt Cafe with fellow bloggers and we feasted on their newest menu line-up. Instead of writing lengthily about it, let me take...

Three years ago, there was a couple who arrived here in the Lion City with pretty much their entire lives packed in three huge suitcases. It was right in the middle of all the Chinese New Year festivities and as they thought they knew everything there is to know about this particular holiday, they were proven wrong within the span of a week. Walking around the hawker centres, they were startled by the sudden shouts and scenes of people standing around the table tossing shredded vegetables up in the air. It was madness! "What on earth are they doing? ", they'd ask one another. While this sight was very new to them, this couple was quick to adjust and have imbibed all the new customs and traditions that they have learned in their new home called Singapore . Above is a real, true to life story of Paul and yours truly. This was our first experience of the Singaporean-style Chinese New Year and having close to a dozen yu sheng salads, tossing veggies up in the air countless...

Right after our two-hour crash course in learning how to cook some Balinese specialties , Paul and I headed to MELT ~ The World Cafe for a delicious buffet dinner waiting for us. Starting last April 28 till May 8 , Chef Heinz von Holzen will be in Singapore and this means, you and I can enjoy a special line-up of Balinese specialties which will be included into the lunch and dinner buffet spread of MELT. Saying this without any bias, MELT is one of my favorite hotel buffets in Singapore. I just love that the offerings aren't too overwhelming nor is it too limited. There's always something yummy that you can find in each station and of course, there are my usual favorites. For this evening, Paul and I focused on the center counter where we found all the Balinese dishes served. In fact, you'll find a couple of Balinese dishes in almost all stations so you can actually have a full course dinner meal with all of Bali's specialties. Here are some of our favorites tha...

I'd say, Paul and I had a really productive Labor Day. Luckily, we laborers got a day off from work which allowed us to catch up on sleep, finish all domestic duties and to learn something new! Yes, you read that right. I love taking classes as it allows me to know a new skill or to sharpen something that I already know to be better. After all, learning should be a lifelong process. So, we spent two hours on Labor Day at Mandarin Oriental Singapore to learn how to cook Balinese food! Living away from home, I'd say our kitchen know-how has improved greatly from cooking sunny-side-up eggs to pasta and recently, we've become more bolder in experimenting on more complicated dishes. Nonetheless, we've stuck closely to Filipino and Chinese cuisines. These two that we both grew up eating at our respective homes. So, I was really intrigued as to what Balinese cuisine is all about. As soon as our class started, Chef Heinz von Holzen of Bumbu Bali Restaurant & Cookin...

Tis the season of endless eating *falalalala lalalalaaaaa* Here's the second installment of my Christmas Feast series in the Lion City! Recently, I had one of the yummiest lunch breaks that I've ever had in the history of my career here in Singapore. It was c/o the sweet folks over at Mandarin Oriental as I was given the chance to be part of the exclusive sneak peek of their Christmas offering. Normally, dining at MELT means indulging to our tummies delight at their famous buffet spread. This time though, I was led towards a long table where fellow bloggers and media friends were seated. Christmas, after all, is all about sharing and having the entire family together for a good meal and that's exactly what we had that day.

How I wish I can enjoy my lunch while enjoying this view every day...  Well, there's no harm in dreaming right? At least this "dream" became a reality one fine day when I joined a couple of food bloggers for a nice Italian lunch at Dolce Vita in Mandarin Oriental Singapore . This was to give a warm welcome to Chef Omar Bernardi , the restaurant's new Chef de Cuisine. Chef Omar Bernardi began his culinary career in some of the top Italian restaurants back in his hometown in Milan, Italy. Restaurants such as two-Michelin-starred San Domenico Ristorante and one-Michelin -starred La Terezza dell'Eden among others became Chef Omar's training ground as he continued to hone his kitchen skills and created a number of gastronomical delights in the process. He later moved here to Singapore in 2011 and has recently joined  Mandarin Oriental Singapore . What's a chef welcome without good food right? For lunch that day, we had a feast! Chef Omar has special...