Frannywanny

It's no secret that I love food and friends can testify how I can just go on and on for hours talking about it. So, it is also not a big surprise whenever acquaintances would ask me what my favorite food is or where do I normally go to when I want a surefire delicious meal. The funny thing is, I would sometimes end up a bit stumped on what the right answer should be. I guess it's because I've dined at more a thousand restaurants all over the region and this encompasses a wide range of cuisines too. One time, I really took a few minutes to think about it and the answer simple. I love pasta. There, I said it. If there's one thing that I love to eat in this world, it would definitely be a plate of pasta preferably cooked in an oil-based sauce with mushrooms, cheese, a simple choice of meat and spices. At the end of the day, I realized, nothing beats going back to basic . Pasta, to me, is the kind of dish that I would have whenever I had a long day at work. It's a p...

I have to admit, I was never a bread person. Given the chance I would choose to eat pasta and noodles all day followed by rice. However, as you get older, your preference changes. While I still love my pasta and noodle dishes, I've also learned to appreciate having a sandwich as a meal. What more when I was introduced to all the delicious combinations and bread options there is. I love croissants most especially the wholemeal kind, bagels are also something I'm really fond of and the more unique the bread is, the most inclined I am in trying it. However, nothing beats our local Pan de Sal filled with a wide-variety of spreads one can think of. So, one lazy Sunday, Paul and I decided to check out Tiong Bahru Bakery with my dear Mommy who came to visit us for the weekend. Mommy, as you all know, is a very healthy and simple eater. She doesn't like anything creamy, deep-fried or overly sweet. So, when I told her about Tiong Bahru Bakery , I sold the idea by saying that we...

There are several things that make me feel giddy and excited lately: - When I get to try something surprisingly good. - Whenever I'm going home to visit my family and lastly... - When anyone from my family comes to visit.  Such was the case a few months ago when my sister suddenly decided that she will be visiting me and she'll be staying for a few days! I was so excited as I began planning our itinerary and the places where I will be taking her to try. It's pretty obvious how my sister and I keep a very close relationship. We're a small family of four so we have this "it's you and me against the world" kind of bond not only between us sisters but even with our parents too. I guess my giddiness was so obvious that my colleagues can feel how excited I was when Pan can to visit. From the moment she landed, I wasted no time and the eating quickly began. One Saturday, we told Paul that he can sleep a little longer while we go out for our sisterly bon...

Finally, after buying my two boxes of yummy cupcakes from Plain Vanilla Bakery , I headed over to Open Door Policy where I've made reservations for my Saturday brunch. I got to the door of the restaurant at exactly 11AM making me the first customer to enter that day. If you remember, I've blogged about Open Door Policy a month back when Paul and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary here . While our dinner was pretty good, I had this nagging feeling inside me that a return visit is in order and somehow, I just have to try their brunch menu. So, while waiting for my friends to arrive, I began reading the one-pager menu. Service was superb as always. The moment the server saw that I've settled into my seat, he asked if I want anything to drink. You can actually get some bubbly in the morning but I'm being a goody goody girl and just got a bottle of Fiji water for us to share. Finally, A and J arrived just in time and while catching up with one another, we mad...

Nowadays, I do look forward to quiet weekends. Gone are the days wherein my schedule is packed with errands, meet-ups, eat outs and more. Since I've moved here, my life is pretty much on a steady pace. From what used to be like a fast car zooming at 250kph, my weekends now feel like a smooth ride down an easy breezy road. Somehow, I like it that way. On one of those lazy Saturdays, I set a brunch meet-up with my good friend A who's back in Singapore for the F1 race. It's really cool that A and I still get to keep in touch even more now that we're both miles away from home. Thanks to the power of social media, we somehow get to be updated with each other's lives or at least our whereabouts from time to time. Also, I really enjoy going out for brunch with A and her beloved J. They're such fun couple who's game to try new places and since I was dead set in avoiding the CBD and touristy areas that weekend since I'm pretty sure traffic will be awful, I sug...

11 July 2013 -- Exactly two months ago today, Paul and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We both can't believe how time has flew by so fast! It really just felt like yesterday when we were still busy planning for our BIG day. We can still remember every single detail and moment of that wonderful day. For the past two years, Paul and I would go on a weekend staycation to celebrate our anniversary. This year, we decided to do it differently. Since we're in a new place and there are hundreds (maybe even thousands) of restaurants out there, we agreed to meet up for dinner in one of the highly recommended restaurants along the famous Yong Siak street in Tiong Bahru . Our choice for that evening was Open Door Policy (ODP). Days leading up to our anniversary, we were told by our friend I to make a reservation because the place easily gets filled up. I wasted no time in doing so as ODP luckily has an online reservation system which I find so efficient! How I wish res...

One thing I love about Singapore is that the government gives a BIG importance to food safety and sanitation. Wherever we go, be it a high-end restaurant or a hole-in-a-wall eatery, you'd see laminated colored letter signages on the wall of these food places. These are the sanitation grading that they have received and so far I've been seeing a lot of As and Bs and haven't came across a C yet. If Manila has fast food joints and Jolly jeeps in the Central Business District (CBD), here we have hawker centres which is not only limited to CBDs but can be found in residential areas too. I'm so lucky that there's one that's just a few steps away from my office and this is where I would buy lunch almost everyday. I love the variety yet at times, this can be quite challenging as I couldn't make up my mind whether I'd like to get chicken rice or duck noodles, or perhaps go healthy with some salad or to keep it light with a piece of curry puff with a fruit ju...