Frannywanny

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to the Year of the Earth Dog and welcome the arrival of the Earth Pig. I managed to take a quick peek at my horoscope and things seems to look positive and rosy for those born in my year (ha! I'm not disclosing which year haha sneaky sneaky huh?) . I'm sure there'll be lots of Chinese New Year prediction going around tomorrow so better keep a look out for yours and I do wish that your 2019 will be filled with happiness and prosperity too. Anyway, despite receiving a good forecast, I still like to play my cards right. It doesn't hurt to take extra steps to bring in more luck, after all. On the foodie front, here are 8 dishes that should be part of your Chinese New Year spread tomorrow night: 1) Dumplings This is probably one of the most popular dishes every Chinese New Year. This tiny yummy bags of pork/minced veggies/seafood symbolizes wealth . Shaped like ingots which are the olden day representation of money, thus it's believed th...

Last week was definitely a gastronomic one here in sunny Singapore . Thanks to the 24 food stalls who opened shop for 5 glorious days as part of the World Street Food Congress 2015  in the Bugis district . After 2 years of attempting to check this event out, Paul and I finally made it! Of course, we will never miss this year's jamboree for anything as we're ready to show our all-out support to our dear friend and favorite Lechon Diva, Dedet of Pepita's Kitchen along with fellow Pinoys, Chef Claude Tayag of Bale Dutung and Top Chef winner Paul Qui of East Side King .  The event opened last Tuesday at 5PM and believe it or not, Pepita's Kitchen's Truffled Lechon Diva was all sold out an hour and a half after! My heart sank the moment I got to the event grounds and Dedet apologetically told me they're all sold out. Awww mannn! Lechon with Truffled Rice.

I always believe that the internet helps connect lives and build relationships. When used properly, strong and real friendships can be made. While I've been pretty much invisible in the local blogging scene since the start of 2013, I'm lucky to still keep in touch with a few of my fellow food blogger friends who would drop in a message via any social media platform to say hi and to check on us from time to time. They would also update me on the newest must-try restaurants in the metro which I would make sure to try whenever I get to go home for a visit. As Christmas is the must-awaited season for partying and lots of eating, we joined the K.T.G . for their 1st ever Christmas Party! While a number were old friends, we were also able to finally meet the faces behind the blogs that we've been following for months now. Boy, were they a fun and happy bunch! Of course, what's a KTG Party without yummy food, right? Let me share with you some of the dishes that we were ab...

Back when I was still in Manila, I got to admit that the local Filipino cuisine was never one that I'd really crave for. As the saying goes: "You'll never know the value of what you have until you lose it..." perhaps a more apt saying would be "Absence makes the heart grow fonder..." Being miles away from home and not having the luxury of eating our local cuisine whenever I want to, I've grown to love it more and more. You have no idea how our eyes would sparkle at the scent of garlicky adobo or how our heart would do leaps and cartwheels at the mere sight of a shiny, crunchy roasted lechon. Thus, whenever we're home, we make sure to make up for lost times with our favorite dishes. One of the highlight of my recent visit was during a private dinner hosted by my favorite "lechon diva" D of Pepita's Kitchen . Note that I was burning with fever that evening but I made sure that I didn't miss this gastronomical experience. Of course...

I woke up at exactly 8:45AM this morning and initially I wanted to sleep some more...only I realized that it's December 31 , the last day of the year and I am definitely not wasting precious time in bed when I can jump start my action-packed day with this blog entry. My annual year-ender special where in the past I've listed off my 8 blessings in 2008 , 5 amazing moments in 2009 and Top 10 Food Spots in 2010 ! This year, I won't deviate from the usual practice as I present to you my 11 Memorable Moments in 2011 !!! (p.s. in no particular order) 1) Hello USA! It was like a dream come true. To be honest, I'd never thought I'd travel to the US...this soon and best of all, Paul was with me! :) Memorable food stops includes the mouthwatering ribs of Lucille's , the to-die-for bucket of seafood from Boiling Crab and the incredibly delicious Red Velvet Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory . We had a great time reuniting with friends and family all throughout o...

Just how much food can you possibly eat in one sitting? This thought entered my mind in the middle of the meal last Thursday as I joined a couple of bloggers for a special lechon dinner at Pepita's Kitchen . When I got Spanky's invite for this particular dinner, I was just expecting an informal set-up where we will be pigging out on lechon, lechon and more lechon all night long. However, as we arrived at Pepita Kitchen 's very own Dedet Santos ' lovely home, we joined a long table where I immediately noticed the pretty ceramic plates in front of me. On top of my plate is our menu for the evening, I counted the dishes and realized that we will be trying a total of *gasp* 15 dishes that evening. Can I handle it? Let's see. Check out this cute lechon bread sitting cozily in front of me. Hello babe! Dinner began with two pates and a plate filled with Skyflakes. One was the Pinoy Pate which was the green pate made of balut (one-day-old chick) and wine while ...