Frannywanny

Every single time I hear the name or the phrase " Chow Fun ", I immediately remember my favorite scene from the late 90's film  "The Story of Us" . It's one of the best romantic movies that I've ever watched in my life which I feel shows the realistic side of marriage. Of course, back when I watched the movie, I was still in high school so what do I really know about love and marriage, right? Fast forward to today, I think Paul and I should watch this again on one of our home movie nights as we'll finally be able to relate closely to Michelle Pfieffer and Bruce Willis' characters now that we've been a married couple for 6 years now. For the youngsters who have no idea what on earth Auntie Franny is talking about... here's a 2 minute clip of my favorite scene: Now you know why I keep on remembering this scene whenever I hear the words "Chow Fun ". In reality though, Chow Fun Restaurant & Bar  is a relatively new food...

Next to rice, noodles is probably one of the most consumed product here in Asia. Take my brother-in-law E, for example. He told me that he loves noodles very much that he doesn't mind having noodles as often as possible every single day. I guess, he loves noodles just the same way I love having rice or pasta. So, when E and Pan came to Singapore for a visit, I made sure to prepare a nice bowl of noodles for him to try. Coincidentally, I recently discovered Kang Kang Express Meal Kit Noodles  which is a locally made instant noodles that comes in three flavors -- Prawn Mee Soup, Curry Mee and Laksa. Since I prepared this for breakfast, I thought of making the Prawn Mee Soup  which is also my personal favorite. Before I show you how it looks like, let me tell you why I love Kang Kang Express Meal Kit . First of all, it has no (yes, ZERO) preservatives. Secondly, it underwent pasteurization giving the noodles a longer shelf life and lastly, while I'm not sure if it's fr...

♫ It's my birthday and I'll eat ramen when I want to...eat ramen when I want to...eat ramen when I wantttt toooo! ♫ I officially turned a year older last Saturday..and you know what?! It was one of my happiest birthdays ever! It all began when I woke up with a big smile on my face and as I checked my phone, there were about 40+ greetings from friends and relatives back home. Wow! Paul and I agreed to meet up for lunch with some of our good friends here in the Lion City . Thinking of a place for my birthday lunch was such a challenge! Not that Singapore has a shortage of good food but it's the other way around. There were just a LOT that it was so hard to choose. Why do we have to limit ourselves to just 3 big meals a day? Whyyyy? Anyway, after a thorough research thanks to the local food blogs here, I finally found THE ONE. Meet Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons . It's a new ramen shop located at the heart of the Bugis district. It's owned by Chef K...

Today is the 1st of February and it's my dear friend and fellow blogger Jane of Between Bites' birthday!!! Since it's her special day, let me tell you about the night when Jane and I went out for a ramen date. Just us girls for a couple of hours of bonding and happy eating. I met Jane over the Internet as I have been an avid reader of her blog since way back. One time, we agreed to meet up for dinner with two other girl friends (hello Sab and Didi !) back in 2007. I still remembered that she brought a container of pasta for all of us to try. That's how sweet and thoughtful Jane has always been. She would really take time out to do things for her friends and loved ones despite her super jam-packed schedule and never-ending things to do. I really enjoy being able to spend time with her as she's one of the most sincere and loving friend that I've ever known. She's a keeper, guys and girls, and I'm so lucky to have a friend like her! Truly someone who g...

It's 2013 and I'm going to make a very bold food forecast. For the past years, we've seen a number of food items that have taken Manila by storm. It have made people crave about it, line up for hours for it and sales of these items zoomed up to the high heavens. Such food trends include the year when practically everyone in town were suddenly so in love with milk teas , this was actually such a hit that a number of coffee shops even tried to create their own versions too. Then there was a time that there was a surge of Mexican food stops opening here and there. Even J.Co donuts on its own got everyone craving for donuts once again. Visit one of their branches and you'll surely understand I'm talking about. Since the 2nd half of 2012, I had a feeling that a new food craze is coming to Manila and for this one, I sure hope and pray it stays for a longer time. Enter the Year of the Ramen . Filipinos are not strangers to Japanese food. Next to Chinese and Fi...

I'm nursing a nasty cold right now...it's the type that permanently clogs my nose making me unable to breathe properly. It's also the type of cold that's giving me a very nasal voice and is currently making me feel very very very....drowsy. Times like this I truly can't wait to curl up in bed under my thick, comfy comforters and to sleep the night away. Before that of course, I have to attend to my growling stomach. If chicken soup may be the comfort food for the soul, then mine would be that Plain Noodle Soup from Kanzhu Hand-Pulled Noodles. My first time to try Kanzhu Hand-Pulled Noodles was last Friday with some members of The Foodie Club , as we were invited to try some of their dishes. I've been passing by this restaurant since it opened taking the place of the Club's first meeting place -- Beijing Hand-Pulled Noodles . I'm happy to note that Kanzhu has a lot more varieties and Paul and I loved the quality of their noodles more. Let me sh...

Four years. It has been four long years since college friends Daff, Anne, Tim, Len, Paul and yours truly shared a meal together. Call it falling out. We've had our own drama episodes in the past until little by little we've learned to pull down our pride and agreed to start on a clean slate. After all, that's what friendship is all about, right? Paul and I would regularly double date with soon-to-wed Len and Tim and last Wednesday night was no different. I sent Len an SMS to ask how she's doing and she invited me out to dinner. Only this time, she asked if I am game to invite Anne and Daff to join us. Without hesitation, I texted back, "sure, why not?!" I haven't seen them for a long time and it would really be nice to catch up with old friends..after all, we've known each other for more than a decade already. Looking back, they were all seated at the front row as they watched my love story with Paul unfold. We agreed to meet at Shi Lin a...

Today's my dear Mommy's birthday and to celebrate her special day, I shall talk about one of her favorite restaurant -- Via Mare . It's here where she introduced us to real good Pancit Luglug where we would happily share on one order. This is on top of her other must-orders such as the Bibingka , Puto Bumbong and their wide array of AlTangHap . A couple of days ago, wanting to have a slight change in environment for our regular meeting, I invited my colleague ML for an afternoon snack at Via Mare . I was, in fact, craving for a plate of Pancit Luglug and I'm glad that she was game enough to go with my choice. We were quickly ushered to our seats as the restaurant was not that full at that hour of the day. Via Mare has been around for as long as I can remember. We would even frequent their branch in Greenbelt 1 whenever Mommy and Papa would allow us to tag along as they go to the office during our summer break. My favorite was the AlTangHap it stands for the thr...

My friend B is celebrating her birthday tomorrow! As a pre-celebration, she invited us, her former colleagues, to lunch at the Marriott Cafe . From the moment I received her text invite, I was very excited and told her I will not miss her lunch party no matter what happens. It was an intimate gathering among us, B's friends with Marriott Manila's Sous Chef Raffy . Chef invited us to try their buffet and of course we gladly accepted his invitation. My friend K, who was the first to arrive, was even able to do a short round and has her buffet strategy down pat. Marriott Cafe's buffet spread has a wide mix of dishes from the East and the West. As always, I began with the cold cuts and salad station . The selections for the cold cuts where a bit limited as compared to other hotel buffets -- they had the smoked salmon, salami and two more cold cuts. Salad afficionados will be happy though as you can choose from three different lettuce types and a lot of toppings and dr...

As soon as we enter the -ber months, we have noticed a slight change in our weather. The daylight gets shorter, the wind gets colder... December is just around the corner. Since we got back from our honeymoon , Paul and I have been craving for ramen noodles. Sadly, our hectic schedules have hindered us to quickly drive to the nearest Japanese restaurant to get our ramen fix. It was just a couple of weeks ago, when we had to bring our poor sick laptop to the shop for repair. The technician told us to come back for two hours and since it was also time for lunch, we went around Eastwood Mall looking for a place that will catch our fancy. We've both tried a number of outlets in the mall and even those along City Walk, then I remembered that I wanted to try Ramen Bar , quickly we looked around and finally found it just at the back of the laptop shop. I've heard about Ramen Bar from fellow bloggers and it has been on my list for a couple of months now. I'm so glad to...

Yesterday was our National Election Day and my sister and I were fortunate enough to arrive just at the right time wherein there were no lines anymore and we literally breezed through the entire voting process. With a lot of time to spend, we decided to grab some noodles at our new found neighborhood favorite, Beijing Hand-Pulled Noodles for our afternoon snack. I've been a regular customer of this cozy little eatery along J. Abad Santos street in San Juan. I love how firm the noodles are and the lamb dumplings are simply divine. We decided to share on a plate of Dry Beijing Plain Noodles (Php. 95). Mommy was actually the first to discovery this one as I usually would order their beef noodles. I love how flavorful this noodle dish is sans the meat toppings. To complement our noodles, my sister chose the Lamb Dumplings (Php. 75 / 7 pieces) which is a family must-order. This is the best dumplings in the house. Make sure to dip this into their special dumpling sauce to ...

I am a pasta fan and I guess thousands of you out there echoes this sentiment too. Pasta has always been equated to being a comfort dish that is enjoyed by anyone -- old and young alike. While there is that neighborhood Italian eateries s that boasts of their al dente pasta dishes, more and more fast food chains are also joining the pasta craze by coming out with their signature noodle dishes as well. Enter Goodles . Shar Tan, Goodles' hardworking and super talented owner A new player in the pasta industry that aims to be the first to sell gourmet pasta dishes in a more casual environment. For instance, an order of pasta is served in a cup which is perfect when you're on the go or you would like to bring this inside the movie house. Despite having its pasta dishes prepared fast, one can still enjoy the same al dente noodles combined with its flavorful sauce or top quality ingredients for nothing more than P180! Goodles is barely a month old and I have been visiting this kiosk...

Just a couple of months ago, I wrote an article sharing how San Juan is rapidly turning into the next Chinatown . With its numerous Chinese restaurants opening here and there, it is truly a perfect place to live in for a Chinese food lover like myself. After welcoming a well-loved Binondo chicken house , a Taiwanese-inspired tea store and a Taiwanese restaurant ; we witnessed the arrival of yet another Chinese food stop, this time specializing in hand-pulled noodles and dumplings -- Beijing Hand-Pulled Noodles ! So what makes eating hand-pulled noodles so special as opposed to the machine-made ones? For one thing, hand-pulled noodles are made right after you place your order. The noodle dough are made in advance then stored under a certain temperature. Upon receiving your order, the noodle master , who came all the way from China, will then begin the entire process of pulling and cutting the dough using his bare hands in order to create long strands of fresh noodles. We ordered the B...