Frannywanny

One of the biggest food trends that rocked Singapore last year was the entrance of Poke Bowls specifically to the lunch crowd. In case you're not sure what on earth poke (poh-kay) bowls  are, these are pretty much a raw fish salad served in a...bowl. All over the world, there are several variations closely similar to it. Ceviche from the Latin American region, Kinilaw in the Philippines and somewhat close, Yusheng here in Singapore. What makes Poke extra special is that the fish/seafood are marinated making it so tasty and it's served on top of a bed of rice or greens. During one of my lunch errands, I stumbled upon A Poke Theory  along Boon Tat Street. I seriously love this part of Tanjong Pagar as this was were my first office was located. I just love the quaint shophouses, the endless rows of restaurants and how this area has maintained this old Singaporean charm in a very modern setting. So, I really love it whenever I get to walk around this area for lunch again. A...

When it comes to answering the question " where is the best chili crab in Singapore? " Rest assured that you'll only be able to get the answer after surviving a long debate. With hundreds of zi char outlets all over the island and long time restaurants with histories spanning for decades, this question will never ever have a singular answer. Taste is subjective, after all so while some might like their chili crab burning hot with spice, I like mine with a hint of tangy notes and a bit of creamy texture coating the meaty crab. Whenever we have guests over, Paul and I would make it a point to take them to either a new, unique restaurant, or perhaps to one of our favorite foodie places or to Mellben Signature  to feast on some local favorites. There are actually two zi char places that we frequent but since Mellben Signature  is located just in Tanjong Pagar, this is the best choice in terms of accessibility. Recently, we had my first ever friend (I kid you not) A, as we...

Let me ask you all a question: "What were you doing when you were 25?"  For me, I was working for the Green Siren, organizing events and thinking of creative local store activities for each occasion and promotion. I was 25 when Frannywanny.com was born. That was probably the best thing that ever happened to me that year. Anyway, here in Singapore, two 25 year old guys have traveled around the world and have just opened their first ever restaurant. Thus, First 25 Cafe  was born. Now, what do you say about that?! :) 

For the past few days, I find myself craving for ebi tempura . I know it's not the healthiest food on earth but come on, sometimes, you just have to give in to your heart's desire. Add to the fact that Paul and I are busy researching about our upcoming trip to Tokyo which in effect is giving us visions of fresh sushi rolls, perfectly grilled yakitoris, mouthwatering omurice and to-die-for ebi tempura! (By the way, should you have Tokyo food recommendations, please share them with me below! Thank you!) ♥ While dreaming about ebi tempura, I suddenly remembered the time when D and I met up with our former colleague, R. We decided to check out the then newly-opened Tendon Ginza Itsuki  which is owned by our favorite ramen chef, Kaisuke Takeda . He also owns Keisuke Tori King in 100AM, Tonkotsu King Four Seasons in Bugis and my other favorite, Gyoza King in Orchid Hotel. Just recently, he also opened Ramen Keisuke Lobster King  in Clarke Quay which I have yet to visit....

"Where to eat?" For those working in the Central Business District (CBD), I bet you can all agree that this is the most used phrase come lunch hour. Funny thing is, of all the areas in Singapore, I'd say that the CBD has the most food options from the quick and easy fast food joints to the very Singaporean hawker centres to the slightly classy restaurants and hipster cafes. Then again, with more options comes greater confusion on where to go for lunch every single day. Unless you're a create of habit like me who frequents her favourite places on a weekly basis to the point of being known on a first name basis by either the stall owner or the restaurant server, then choosing your lunch venue would definitely be a daily dilemma. 3rd branch? Wonder where's the first and second branches... Allow me to share one of my favourite restaurants with you in hopes that this will solve your problem. :) Hyang To Gol  is a traditional Korean restaurant located inside Ama...

Do you remember this totally adorable 7-second line? Indeed, the world went crazy over little Agnes of Despicable Me and her cute ways that this winning one-liner totally stayed on longer than the movie itself. Case in point, I suddenly had this line in mind the moment Paul and I walk into Fluffy Dessert  in Tanjong Pagar Road. Fluffy Dessert specializes in Taiwanese ice desserts and it was just perfect timing for Paul and I to chance upon this little store as we were walking around the area in search for a place to have dessert one evening. I always give great importance to first impressions and I immediately liked what I saw.

"Care for some dessert? Admit it. No matter how full you may be after a meal, the thought of enjoying dessert never fails to put a smile on your face. Be it a scoop of ice cream, a piece of chocolate or a slice of cake, a meal will never be considered complete without dessert. That said, a trip to one of my favorite cake shop here in Singapore is something that I always look forward to. Luckily, it's located so close to my workplace so it's so easy to just pop by to buy a box of cake for someone dear or to enjoy a slice or two when my stress level calls for it. Yesterday though, the goal was to introduce Cake Spade to my newly married friend L . This was after pigging out over our individual gyoza lunch sets at Gyoza King. I'm so glad that L is such a great eating companion that she was so game to have some cake after lunch. Yay!

♫ Oh, do you know the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man, Do you know the muffin man, Who lives in Drury Lane? ♫ I think I have just found my favorite lunch cafe here in the Lion City! It all began when I received a message from fellow blogger Jane telling me that her friend and also a fellow blogger Leng is coming to Singapore and will soon be relocating here after she ties the knot with her beloved Plaid Boy next year. Of course, I excitedly said yes as I just love meeting new friends here. So Leng and I exchanged quick hi's and hellos and we began planning for our lunch meet-up. Since I can't go really far from the office, I'm glad that my work area is brimming with so much food options making it easier (or shall I say harder) for us to choose our lunch date venue. Then I spotted Drury Lane  which was just down the road from the Tanjong Pagar Plaza . I figured that it would a quick walk from the MRT too so it would be too much of a hassle for Leng. Coinciden...

Someday I wish to meet Chef Keisuke Takeda and when that moment comes, I'll tell him that I'm such a big fan and I think that he's such a foodie genius. You see, Chef Keisuke has opened a total of 6 different restaurant concepts here in Singapore and I was able to try half of it already. The first was purely accidental. I was really new here and with my birthday coming up, I just made a quick research on where's the newest ramen shop in town. This brought me to Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons  that was the first time that the NKids have ever tried this restaurant and we all loved it! In fact, this particular branch has been on top of our list when it comes to saying where's the best ramen in Singapore. Then, on the first day in our new office, my colleagues and I tried Ramen Keisuke Tori King . I never thought I'll ever like Chicken Ramen as I would imagine it to be served like a Chicken Macaroni Soup. Safe, bland and boring. Well, to say that Chef ...

I always believe in one thing: " No Man is an Island. " This quote is pretty much self-explanatory. It tells us that in life, we need people to be there for us. Being an extrovert, I know for a fact that I won't survive without Paul, my parents and sister, my in-laws, my extended family and my friends as well. You don't need an entire community to be there for you but to have that small and big circles of trust is enough to make life worth living. For one thing, a fun lunch is impossible to have without friends there to share it with. Which is why I'm mighty thankful for my favorite lunch crew namely G, D and K (whom I miss so much) . I love how they're always so game to go out and try a new restaurant or cafe with me. So recently, when our friend C was back in Singapore from China, a nice get-together lunch was in order. Her only request was to look for a place with free Wi-Fi. That was easy! I went through my Entertainer app and found Group Therapy , a...

When in comes to workday lunch, I normally would go for something fast, easy-to-eat yet still delicious. Often times, I'd just prepare my own lunch and bring it to work. This is the only way I make sure that I eat healthy. My usual lunch staples would be an assortment of salad mixes which consists of whatever I find in our fridge that morning or a grilled cheese sandwich. Sometimes, I'd bring pasta to work only when I was able to cook some the night before. However, there are just weeks wherein either I'm too lazy to prepare something or I just want to eat something else. Luckily, my office neighborhood (a.k.a. my workhood) is filled with a LOT of food places so the choices are pretty much endless. Recently, Paul and I discovered a restaurant called Sushi Burrito  in 100AM. It was after our gym visit in the same mall where we decided to check this place out. Funny that I've been seeing this restaurant for months since we moved to this side of town yet I never really...

"It's so beautiful!" I think I must have uttered this line more than a dozen time last Tuesday night when my colleagues and I decided to have dinner at Potato Head Folk  along Keong Saik Road -- a quick 10 minute walk from our office. I was at awe upon seeing this tall 4-storey white and red shophouse at the corner of the road that somehow reminds me of a ship. I don't know why, blame my hyperactive imagination. :) People who have visited Bali must be familiar with the name and yes, this is from the same group that runs Potato Head Beach Club in Indonesia. I personally haven't been to Bali, but I've been hearing a lot of good things about it. Potato Head Folk in Singapore is divided into three establishments -- Three Buns Kitchen , Studio 1939 and the Rooftop Garden . Each establishment occupying one entire floor and each carries a different vibe unique from each other. That evening, our dinner was set at Three Buns Kitchen so this is where this ...

When it comes to work-related / business lunches, I really like going Italian. Perhaps it's due to the quiet ambiance in the restaurant that makes it so conducive to being able to discuss important details yet it doesn't feel so dull and stiff either. Not to mention, it gives me the reason to enjoy a good plate of pasta while discussing work too. Recently, the team visited  Pasta Brava which is located just a few blocks away from our new office. I'm really loving our new neighborhood for the never-ending choices of good food available. It was K who suggested this place and I trust her taste when it comes to knowing where are the delicious, slightly " atas-level " but definitely the must-visit restaurants in Singapore(!). Having said that, Pasta Brava perfectly fits the description that I just mentioned earlier. Located in a two-storey shophouse along quiet Craig Road, the restaurant is dimly-lit and you'll see pretty paintings and decors on the walls. ...

Here's another Singapore hawker find!  Lately, I've been challenging myself to eat more green! From pesto pasta to salads, even green bottled water (haha!) and if possible green tea or a whole kiwi after every meal too. On some days, I think I went overboard with my green lunch but that's alright.  Anyway, I stumbled upon this stall while checking out the Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market and Food Centre --my new go-to hawker centre since we moved to our new office recently. It's a stall called Traditional Hakka Rice and it serves one main thing: Thunder Tea Rice . 

Ever since we moved office, I've always been excited to go in work and also to have lunch. This is probably because I'm really enjoying exploring our new neighborhood and so far every discovery I make have been a good one. A couple of weeks ago, D and I chanced upon a newly opened stall in 100AM, our very cool mall that's located across our new office. Named after Japan's high speed train, Shinkansen serves salad and a couple of hand-rolled sushi and sashimi too. The drill is to choose what "size" would you like to get:  Transit  (S$7.50) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce Station  (S$10) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce + 2 Add-Ons Terminal  (S$12) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce + 2 Add-Ones + 1 Meat Quite simple isn't it? After you choose how you want your Shinkansen bowl to be, you move on to choosing your base -- do you want to have Sushi Rice, Brown Rice, Soba Noodles or Mixed Greens...

A lot of happy changes in both my personal and professional lives happened as soon as the 2nd half of 2014 rolled in and it has just been 10 days since. Call it good feng shui but I'd like to think that all these blessings have something to do with our moving to a new office. True, saying goodbye is never easy but I am the kind who try my darnest to welcome change with open arms. So, on our first week at the new office, we began exploring for new food finds. Our first stop was over at 100AM where we found  Ramen Keisuke Tori King . We're all no strangers to the Keisuke line of ramen shops. I've mentioned a number of times how much I love the Ramen Kaisuke Four Seasons in Bugis and when my colleague R mentioned that Chef Keisuke Takeda has opened a chicken broth ramen that's just a stone's throw away from our new office, our lunch group gamely went to try it out. I got to admit though that as we were standing outside and waiting for our table to be ready, I ...

If there's one question that I always find challenging to answer it would be that infamous -- "what's your most favorite restaurant in the world." This question never fails to leave me speechless, a bit stunned and my mind always boggled until I finally get to blurt out an answer. I'm pretty sure foodies out there can totally relate with my problem. You see, it's not that there's no good restaurants around but in fact, there's quite a lot and it's hard to say which one is better than the other. Often times, I'd settle for my top 3 and this would vary depending on what restaurant comes to my mind at the moment. What I noticed though is that I like a certain kind of restaurant -- normally I go for stylish cafes or restaurants that offer dishes that I would consider as comfort food. These restaurants have a very relaxed ambiance where I would enjoy brunch, lunch or afternoon tea with my mom/sister/girl friend and/or a nice and quiet dinner wit...

I had a good day yesterday.  Wanna know why?  It's because I finally was able to talk to my sister who was away most of the time these past months working on a really hectic project. She has been almost incommunicado since she began with the project and boy were we all counting down the days till it finally ends. Anyway, it's over and I can get to talk to my sister anytime I want again! Hooray! I really missed her, you know. *sniffle* Speaking of my sister Pan, did you know that whenever we travel together, we have this little tradition of dining at a Japanese restaurant with rotating sushi? It began when we were kids in Hong Kong and it somehow carried on when we went to Bangkok together and when she was here in Singapore a few months ago. Thus, a trip is not complete without having this little tradition. I actually attempted to dine at a rotating sushi restaurant on my own when I went to Beijing and the experience was just not as fun. Sakae Sushi is one of the r...

One night, while working late at the office, I blurted out loud: " where can I get good burgers here? " By that I meant, not the fast food kind and more of the ones with thick all-beef patty topped with good quality cheese and sandwiched in between pillowy soft buns. While my office area is perfectly located at the heart of what I'd call a food mecca , all I can see around are soup kitchens, a hawker centres with all the local dishes and a couple of Asian eateries here and there. A colleague tried to help by giving me a couple of must-try burger joints but none of those he mentioned were accessible by foot. Then, I came across the Two Blur Guys . Taking the same question home, I asked my equally food-loving flatmates where do they go for good burgers here in Singapore and they suggested that we go try Two Blur Guys out. Located at the ground floor of the Orchid Hotel near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, I was able to get there after taking a short 15 minutes walk f...

I hope my blog entry title got your attention. :) Rarely do I boldly call one to be the best...unless they really are the best . I got to say that one reason why I truly enjoy going to work everyday (yes, I'm a nerd that way hihi) is aside from the fact that I love what I'm doing at the moment, I also look forward to lunch breaks. You see, my office is within Singapore's Central Business District and this just means it's literally surrounded by close to a hundred food options! Not even counting Amoy Food Centre which is just a few skips and hops away, our office neighborhood has a good mix of restaurants to satisfy whatever we may be craving for at the moment. From Indian to Italian, we even have a nice French bakery and a delicious Korean bbq restaurant too. The choices are truly endless! One restaurant that I love is Kamal . It's an Indian restaurant that's famous for their Fried Chicken Briyani (around S$5.5-6). I've tried all sorts of briyanis b...