Frannywanny

♫  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...everywhere you goooooo  ♫ Here I am again going around town in search of the yummiest things to give this Christmas! It's not a difficult feat as Manila is literally bursting with so much talented home bakers and chefs thus the challenge actually lies in knowing how to best fill your tummy with all these goodies! As I'd always tell visiting friends, be ready to pack in a few pounds during the holiday season as you'll surely be surrounded by all these mouthwatering creations 24/7. During my quick visit to Manila, a bright yellow box was delivered to my home and the packaging was the first thing that caught our attention. The box was created using corrugated sheets and it was just so cute and innovative. As you must have noticed, my family loves pretty and creative paper creations so even before we got to opening the box, we all ooh'ed and ahhh'ed by just checking the packaging out. Now, the grand unveili...

"What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice And everything nice..." - What are Little Boys Made Of , a nursery rhyme After our filling dinner at Sumo Sam , Paul and I decided to walk around the Greenhills Town Center to check the other establishments out. As we reached the back portion where Ha Yuan , a kebab place and an Asian mart are located, we also found Pastry Princess . I couldn't help but enter this cozy looking cafe that has a pretty baby pink interior. Oh how I drooled as I look at the glass case filled with all sorts of yummy looking cupcakes! Suddenly, I wanted to have a cupcake for dessert! (Who said I was full from our Sumo Sam dinner? Not quite!) The store is small but with free WiFi , this makes a great place to work or to hang out while enjoying a cupcake or two! In fact, we saw a mother-son tandem enjoying their chosen cupcakes that evening. The son was happily playing while the mom was busy with her laptop. They also serve coffee, tea a...

What's your favorite dessert? For Paul it would definitely be a bar of chocolate. For my Dad it would have to be a bowl of his favorite Ice Cream while for Mommy it would be a refreshing platter of fruits. I, on the other hand, prefers to have baked goodies and cakes for dessert. Examples would be a ramekin of Creme Brulee, a slice of that perfect Red Velvet Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory or (once again) my friend Irene's to-die-for Queso de Bola Cheesecake! Having an amazing dessert is like getting a great massage. It brings you so much happiness and bliss that makes you go oohhhhh and ahhhhh while taking in bites after bites of that delicious piece of cake. It's a great way to indulge and to treat yourself especially after a stressful day at work. However, I tend to be a very picky cake eater as I have very low tolerance for overly sweet products thus I tend to stick to the fruity or slightly salty ones. I always have to scrape off the icing on any cake as my s...

In Hong Kong, there are only two main things you should not miss to do… to shop and to eat. While we were busy hitting our favorite shops all around Hong Kong, we also kept our eyes open for delicious finds as well. Such was the case of these to-die-for Chocolate Sticky Donuts (HKD $7) from the Little Mermaid Bakery – I remember reading how much fellow food blogger Leslie enjoyed these delicious indulgent donuts during her trip to Hong Kong and I grabbed the opportunity upon finding it near City’Super at Harbour City on our second day in Hong Kong. The case was almost empty and I was lucky to find the last clam-shell with four donuts sitting on the shelf. I grabbed it and quickly marched to the counter to make sure it will be truly mine. Paul was even telling me to ask if we can just get two as four donuts might be too much for us. I didn’t want to bother the sales clerk anymore and told him that we’ll eventually be able to finish it before heading back to Manila anyway. Let...

After enjoying our filling dinner at the newest branch of Charlie's here in San Juan, I sweetly asked Paul if we can hop over to the next store for dessert. I have heard quite a buzz about this new yogurt place from blogger friends and fellow club members Rowena , Richard and Carlos and I've been itching to try it since July. I am a big fan of frozen yogurt and I find joy in trying all of the brands that has been sprouting like mushrooms since last 2008. At the moment, I love Red Mango and Yoh-gurt Froz for their yogurt that's not too sweet yet not too tart either. I've tried a number of self-service yogurt places as well but none has made me go back after my first visit. Enter Yoggle , a hip-looking yogurt place along Ortigas Avenue in San Juan. It offers a total of 8 different flavor ranging from the Plain Tart to Sweet Vanilla. The charging is P20 per ounce. While this might be pretty tricky as you get a big cup at one end of the store and you make your wa...

This is definitely the warmest summer ever! Since the start of March, I have been looking out for cool drinks and desserts to bring the temperature down. Of course, there is my long running love for Serenitea's Hokkaido Milk Tea . While shopping at SM Megamall today, I got myself a large cup of my favorite cool drink since I was in college. Quickly's Super Taro Ice (Php. 65) To be honest, I wasn't sure really was goes into this yummy drink until lately when I bravely asked the server what this drink consists of. He then told me that it has a mix of sago and nata de coco + a layer of three different puddings + ice crushed taro mix. Yum! I am a fan of anything with nata and taro. This is the best thirst-quenching drink while strolling around the mall.

The Green Siren did it again! what's in the box? Bringing in another, what I feel will be, winning product for all Starbucks fans to enjoy. Presenting, America's very own, Top Pot Doughnuts ! This delicious, hand-forged doughnuts will be select Starbucks Coffee stores from April 12 onwards. By saying these are hand-forged, these precious yummy snacks were created making very little use of machines. Just like a cup of Starbucks coffee that's hand-crafted to suit your taste. There will be three flavors to choose from: Glazed Old Fashioned Doughnut , Chocolate Old Fashioned Doughnut and my personal favorite, the Top Pot Apple Fritter ! Best to serve these warm, you'll enjoy the melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon-sweet taste in every bite! I also love it that the sugar glaze leaves a favorable crunch on the outside too. The good news is that all Top Pot doughnuts have zero grams of Trans Fat! Yahoo! Watch out for these coming in your favorite Starbucks Coffee...

This is normally the case when I try something new and it wasn't really love at first taste . I even remember feeling a bit queasy about trying my first cup of Golden Spoon strawberry yogurt and vowed never to go back again... ...Guess I was wrong... Golden Spoon deserves a second try and I'm glad I went back. We wanted to continue our girl bonding session tonight and after a light yet delicious meal at Cibo , we walked over to Golden Spoon which is actually being operated by the same company where we all met and became such great friends. Taking the advice of a friend who loves Golden Spoon, I got the Cake Batter flavor (Php. 115/small cup) and added in two toppings: crushed graham crackers and mochi (Php. 30/topping). First bite, I liked the sweet vanilla flavor that has a buttery addition just like a rich cake batter that kids love to lick off from their mom's spatula. I was happy with my choice of toppings and I felt that getting a small cup was just right for me....

I am a fan of tea. Any tea flavor for the matter but after having my first taste of Genmaicha Green Tea a couple of years ago, I always catch myself favoring green tea before any other flavor. I love the taste of toasted rice that never fails to give that calming effect after a cup of green tea. The tea craze is really on as more and more entrepreneurs are getting into the business of creating unique tea blends and tea-flavored desserts too. Having had the privilege of tasting a wide-array of desserts from the well-loved chocolate cakes to the fruity flavored ones, I was very excited when a pack of Green Tea desserts were sent to me by Chris Chan , the man behind Wild Bites . My family loves tea-flavored food items too and we were all so excited to try Chris' Wild Bites . After lunch last Sunday, we tried each Green Tea dessert and named our favorite. Mine was the Green Tea clusters (Php. 75 for 10 clusters), very similar to Baguio's choco flakes only this is covered with wh...

Once in a while, a girl just got to give in and listen to what her heart and stomach are saying... We WANT Chocolates!!! Thankfully, there's a new chocolate cafe in the neighborhood. The name is Chocolat and it specializes in a couple of really yummy, moist chocolate cakes that's perfect to fulfill your deep dark chocolate dreams. Chocolat is a cozy looking shop located along A. Mabini street in San Juan, here you can hang out with your friends as you enjoy a slice of their cakes together with a steaming mug of their chocolate drink. What started as a small baking supplies store grew into an online cake shop and later into their very own store at the SM Mall of Asia! Talk about sweet success! I love their Death by Tablea (Php. 345 /6 inch, Php. 620 / regular size) which is made using native cacao (they even have the tablea on sale) and condensed milk. It reminds me of how our grandmothers would create our favorite hot chocolate drink back when we were young -- using native ...

My 2010 horoscope promised to bring in a lot of positive changes in life. Who would have thought that the first one would come right on the 1st day of work? It has been a crazy week but for some reason I'm happily taking it one step at a time. Still, after coming home tired from running around all day, nothing beats the happiness upon seeing a box filled with pretty golden balls given by Paul 's family. I love Ferrero Rocher and it has always been a treat indulging on a piece or two a day. Enjoying the nutty chocolate coating down to the thin wafer and finally allowing the thick chocolate melt in my mouth until I can slowly chew on the delicious hazelnut tucked inside spells heaven. What a rewarding treat! :)

This is what I've been munching on for the past few days... Chicago Popcorn Shops Definitely one yummy Christmas gift that you can give to your friends and loved ones. I like this particular flavor called the Chicago Mix® . This is their best-seller and I can definitely see why. It's your perfect sweet-salty snack item that is a combination of cheese and caramel popcorn. Stored in a handy tin container, it keeps the popcorn crunchy even after a couple of days. Chicago Popcorn Shops has branches located at Mall of Asia and Shangri-la Mall.

This is also posted over at Patay Gutom . Times have really changed. Imagine back then, cereals were just part of breakfast together with a good serving of cold milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Back then, the only choices that we have were corn flakes, chocolate pops, rice krispies and fruit loops. Today we have whole grain cereals, honey or sugar coated flakes and a lot more! I was amused and excited as I chance upon Cerealicious in Greenhills and actually in most commercial areas near high schools and universities. With names that sound like a movie title, they have at least 27 combinations that combines our well-loved cereals with fruits, nuts, chocolates and their homemade milkshake. We tried the Jumango after going with the recommendation of the server. This is a combination of Cornflakes, Mango and Honey Crumble. I also ask for a scoop of vanilla ice cream to make it extra yummy. The smallest bowl is only for P50 which I think is worth it. I watched at the server carefully piled...