Frannywanny

I believe that shopping and eating goes hand and hand. Like peanut butter and jelly. Like salt and pepper. Perhaps, even like strawberries and cream. Both fills a need, are pretty much therapeutic and at the end of doing either of the two, one always ends up feeling extra happy. No need to pop in the happy pill as this is a natural way of achieving that ultimate satisfaction and happiness. Agree? Rustan's Department Store has been around for years. This has been almost every grandmother's favorite shopping place and to this day, Rustan's has been my go to place when buying a wedding gift. In fact, it was also here where Paul and I did our gift registry for our very own BIG day. I love Rustan's for its quality choice of brands be it for the home, for your personal use or even for men. I really love it when department stores also think of their client's well-being in the middle of having their retail therapy. Shopping can be tiring and what better way to take a ...

It has been 5 years since my first visit to Bangkok, Thailand . In fact, that trip in particular allowed us to experience a number of firsts. It was the first time I traveled with my sister without having our parents with us. It was also the first out of the country trip that I took with Paul as well.  That said, it was a first for me to do the full itinerary as I was used to having my parents planning our trips for us. We spent a very short time in Bangkok but despite that, we all had a marvelous time and I was glad that we were able to have a good mix of cultural immersion with major retail therapy and of course, we were able to treat out taste buds to authentic Thai food too . All throughout our 3-day stay, Pan and I ate Pad Thai and drank Thai Iced Tea in almost every single meal. Comparing which outlet was better than the other one, we then concluded that we loved the Pad Thai at Big C which was actually a big supermarket similar to our very own Puregold or Shopwise. Th...

Last week crawled by sooooo slowly that I was really ecstatic when Friday finally came! All the more, I was also so excited to have dinner that day. Why? Well, first was because I couldn't wait to see my college best friend L and I was hoping her baby bump would finally show. The next reason was because we agreed to have dinner at Basil , a new Thai restaurant along White Plains and after reading several blogs raving about it , I couldn't wait to try it out myself. Traffic has horrible that we got there an hour after our agreed meeting time. Good thing, we still managed to get a table despite not being able to reserve ahead of time. The restaurant was packed and parking was very limited but thankfully it went smoothly for us. I'm happy that both L and T were just as excited as we were to try Basil out. I just love how my friends share the same love and passion for food. Basil's ambiance is different from any ordinary Thai restaurant out there. I love how ther...

Last week was definitely the busiest week for us publishers. It was the time for our annual strategic planning presentation and it is when we were required to present our ideas for 2012. Before this, we spent nights in the office working on our presentation, days thinking of ideas and hours before the presentation praying that everything will turn out okay. Thus, a celebration was truly in order. As much as I wanted to scream and do cartwheels for surviving the presentation, I felt a tiny ache in my heart as it was also the day when I will finally say goodbye to that one person who has stood by me for the past 3 years, he was the one who taught me everything that I needed to know in order to do a better job ...he was my boss and last Friday was his last day.  We decided to throw him a simple farewell lunch at Nav , a newly-opened Thai restaurant near our office. Passing by the restaurant, I noticed that the place was quite small thus I was surprised that when I called to make a...

It was one lazy Sunday and with our trusty househelp out on a day off, I told Mom to just relax, not cook lunch and I'll take care of it. She smiled and thought that I would probably take charge in the kitchen... well, that was not really what I had in mind . The trust is, I've been wanting to try the latest delivery service in the metro by City Delivery . Since their launch last year, I've been hearing raves from colleagues who have tried their service as they had to stay till late at the office. Imagine veering away from fast food and enjoying your favorite restaurant dishes delivered straight to your doorstep (or in our case, our office lobby). Finally, I got hold of a City Delivery menu which made it easier for us to plan our menu. I found out that I can only order from restaurants within my cluster (Greenhills/Ortigas/San Juan/Mandaluyong/Pasig). Luckily, the list is quite long for this cluster and it took me some time to decide from which restaurant I'd like ...

It has been two years since our last visit to the Land of Smiles a.k.a. Bangkok and one thing that why we miss it so much is because of their delicious food. Every meal was an adventure as we try their local favorites such as the Pad Thai, Green Curry, Pomelo Salad and of course the Thai Iced Tea. I think we must have had Pad Thai in almost every single meal during our three days, two nights stay. After work, one week day, Paul and I found ourselves at My Thai , the newest Thai restaurant along Wilson street in San Juan . It's part of the same group as Pho Hoa and Jack's Loft wherein you may also cross-order from these two other restaurants. Inside, the interiors was predominantly red with tiny black drawers lining up the wall. We chose to sit at the couch which was way more comfy than being in the yellow wooden chairs. Our My Thai picks I was craving for Thai Pork Bagoong Rice (Php. 230) which is what I first ordered even without opening the menu. No visit to a...

It has been a year since my last visit to Thailand . How I miss the delicious Pad Thai , shopping at Central World Plaza and of course, getting the best deals at the Chatuchak Market . Yesterday, feeling a bit hungry and with a few more hours to go before dinner time, I drove to Madison Square Pioneer which is just half a block away from my office. It's funny that I'm starting to hear raves here and there about certain establishments in this complex from people who actually lives or works farther than I do from this place. My first visit led me to a nice looking Thai restaurant called Lime Leaf . I scanned their menu and ordered a plate of Shrimp Pad Thai (Php. 150) and a glass of Thai Iced Tea . Service was fast and I got to hand it to my server for taking the extra step in ensuring that my dining experience remains insect-free by placing a candle on my table. As my pad thai was served in front of me, I immediately smelled the yummy aroma of shrimp, shrimp paste and chili....

A trip to Bangkok will never be complete without trying their local dishes. And among the popularized Thai dishes that we've grown familiar with, we noticed that only Pad Thai seems to be widely offered in any food establishment all over Bangkok. From food courts to sidewalk vendors to posh Thai restaurants, each has its own version of this delicious and fragrant stir-fried dish. Though each Pad Thai differs in terms of presentation, quantity and toppings, it all makes use of a generous amount of flat rice noodles mixed with eggs, fish sauce and served with crushed peanuts and a slice of lime at the side. With only three days to scour the streets of Bangkok, we didn't waste anytime in trying out what this Asian shopping and culinary mecca has to offer. Every meal always has a plate of Pad Thai for us to try out prompting the start of what I'd call the... Search for the Best Pad Thai Pad Thai #1: found at the Big C food court It was raining so hard during our 2nd night and ...