Frannywanny

Just a few days ago, I got into a conversation with a colleague. She asked me how many siblings I have and when I told her I just have Pan, my younger sister; she suddenly goes.. "ohhh no wonder! you're the eldest." There have been studies actually that people share similar personalities and behavior with someone of the same birth order. I actually do believe in this. For instance, most of my friends and relatives who are the eldest in the family tend to be natural decision-makers. We think and decide fast, this probably comes with the many years of leading the brood (well I just have one tagging along me all the time heehee) that we are used to being the leader. Most of the youngest in the family, on the other hand, are more carefree and fun-loving. This is not saying that we first borns are boring but it's just that by the time they're growing up, most parents are more lenient and would just let them do their thing. I may be wrong but that's all based on...

Remember my story about this particular Filipino restaurant that my family would frequent on a weekly basis? Just as much as we love Chinese and Japanese food, my family is a huge fan of good traditional Filipino cuisine too. Since the disappearance of Harana more than a decade ago, it has been a while since we've been loyal to a specific Filipino restaurant simply because there hasn't been any that can match up to the taste and quality of service of our favorite Harana . While I truly appreciate modern Filipino cuisine where I like trying deconstructed traditional dishes such as the ones tried here , here and here , my parents and grandparents still prefer Filipino dishes cooked the same way as it was centuries ago. Then we tried Abé , a traditional Capampangan restaurant operated by the LJC Group . We first visited Abé years ago when they opened in Serendra Piazza . Together with my grandparents, we ordered a couple of their house specialties and enjoyed it very much...

It was a lazy Sunday for us when we decided to visit the new Saizen store in Trinoma . Upon entering the mall, it took us a while to locate the store as we later found out that Saizen may be found inside True Value. So better to ask around where True Value is to be able to find it right away. Saizen is one of the retail brands under the Robinsons Retail Group that is part of the Daiso Industries in Japan. It boasts of handy home items all worth P85! What a great deal! Roaming around the store, I am amazed that it carries a wide array of products from... School and Office Accessories Japanese Ingredients Gloves, Scarves and Socks Plastic Organizers Bathroom Toiletries and Toys for the little ones! We spent a good hour and a half going through each item and finally made our choice as we pushed our cart towards the check out counter. We had a total of 10 items ranging from handy travel calculators, Takoyaki sauce, stove-top griller, a new glass, and s...

Our favorite Ice Age friends are back in the wide screen and this time, they're in 3D! Unfortunately, Didi and Chris couldn't make it this week but this didn't stop me, Paul and Jane from meeting up in Trinoma as they launch the newest Digital 3D Cinema . As we entered the cinema, we were given a pair of plastic glasses which we all have to wear to see the special effects on screen. At first, I found wearing the glasses a bit uncomfortable because of my bad eyesight and the fact that the glasses was too big for my face that it kept on sliding down every so often. Trinoma's Digital 3D Cinema technology aims to create a whole new experience of movie viewing by providing bright, vivid visuals combined with crisp, clear surround sound that brings your senses to a different level whether you're seated upfront or at the very back of the theater. And they're back!! The movie was short but it was a good one. Watch as Manny and Ellie await the birth of their cute bab...

**I would like to interrupt my regular blogging for some shameless plugging** For years, Real Living has always looked like this: However, we always strive to make things better and so this year, we are proud to present our new cover look which I think is really pretty Ü To celebrate this wonderful change, Real Living is having a month-long exhibit in three Ayala Malls namely: Trinoma, Glorietta 4 and Alabang Town Center. The exhibit features various rooms designed by our very talented stylists: Coni Tejada, Gwyn Guanzon and Issa Villar. This will run from January 16 - February 15 (except for Trinoma which will end by January 31). How to get there: 1) Trinoma - located at the Ground Floor near Gift Gate and VNC 2) Glorietta 4 - located at the Ground Floor near Florshiem, Marks and Spencer and Rustan's 3) Alabang Town Center - located at the Ground Floor (Home zone) near the Activity Center Hope to see you there!! Related posts: New year, New look for Real Living

If there's one cuisine that I can confidently say that I am most familiar with, it would definitely be the Chinese cuisine . Growing up with a family who loves to cook just as much as we love to eat, my taste buds have grown accustomed to the popular and quite exotic Chinese dishes known to man. There's the crunchy, tasty jellyfish, the salty and expensive bird's nest soup and of course, the fried and sarap-to-the-bones frog legs. Don't get me wrong though, we also have a lot (and I really mean A LOT) of wonderful dishes that we are proud of. Among my favorites are the kiampung (salty glutinous rice with pork and peanuts), the hakao (crystal shrimp wrapped in rice wrapper) and the kapsong (minced pigeon wrapped in lettuce and topped with fried bihon noodles with a bit of hoisin sauce drizzled on top). Too familiar with the Chinese cuisine that I tend to be very picky when dining in a Chinese restaurant. Therefore, I guess it's just normal to have my own doubts when...

I'm sure by now you're already wondering how on earth were we able to consume all those samplers served in just one afternoon. To be honest, I still can't imagine it myself either. With so little time given (yes, 5 hours is NOT enough to fully appreciate the restaurant and its specialties...) we found ourselves rushing through the remaining stops and sadly, failing to enjoy what the other restaurants have to offer. :( Thankfully, just when I was about to give up and is just in need of something sweet to end our food trip, we ended up at Five Cows . From the reaction of my fellow bloggers, it seems like they were also ready for dessert as well. Chatting with the friendly supervisor, we found out that Five Cows offers more than just desserts. "We're not just an ice cream parlor," he explains. In fact they have a long list of hot meals that is quickly gaining popularity. The reason behind this is because the owners want to expand the traditional way of how Fil...

Welcome to TGI Friday's! There was that time, back in the mid 90s, when dining out with the barkada in the newly opened TGIFriday's branch in Glorietta was considered Über cool. We would order a Friday's Three-for-all and a Mushrooms, Chicken, Mushrooms , which is my personal favorite, all to share. These paired with a glass of bottomless iced tea.. and there was also that never ending contest for the boys on who can get the most refills to make their P45 worth it. Sadly, with the rise of more American fun dining restaurants in the Metro, TGIFriday's slowly took the back seat. No more long waiting hours, no more polos (the mint with the hole) served at the waiting area, more restaurant choices for diners and more tables available whenever you'd get that sudden craving for yummy potato skins and mozzarella sticks. Luckily, we were given the chance to be re-acquainted with the TGIFriday's experience during the bloggers' tour in Trinoma and once again during...

They say first impressions last . I've been a firm believer of this even when choosing where to dine out. I easily stay loyal to restaurants that serve quality dishes complemented with the best service. Suffice to say, I rarely would go back to a place where I've had a bad experience or I simply find the food not worth my hard-earned money. Case in point: Back in 2001 when Haiku first opened in Greenbelt 3. I had dinner with my mom and sister there during one of our mother-daughter-bonding sessions. We ordered a huge bowl of soba to share and a platter of ebi tempura. The service was pretty ok, we were well attended to but guess this is because we were the only customers there at that time. However, my mom, who is super sentitive towards salty and oily dishes immediately noticed that the soba was a tad too salty for her taste. Instead of apologizing and offering to replace her order, the chef came out and proudly said "ahh..ganyan talaga yan" (ahh..that's really...

During my visit to Cebu early this year, the first thing that I asked our partners after exchanging Hi's and Hello's was "San masarap kumain dito?" (Where is it good to eat here?) Our partner, who was so accomodating immediately enumerated her recommendations: there's the infamous Sutukil (which I later learned was a big al fresco food court that houses a number of stalls selling barbeques and grills), then there's Krua Thai and lastly La Maison . I was further intrigued by her last recommendation. "Is that a french restaurant?" , I asked, noting the sound of its name. Our hospitable partner told me that it's really more of a casual dining restaurant that specializes in ribs and steaks. Sadly, due to my tight schedule, I wasn't able to try La Maison but promised to do so on my next return. Luck must have been at my side when I found out the La Maison has opened not one but three branches here in Manila. Hooray! Now, I do not have to wait til...

When I think of Greece... ... I see cute white square concrete houses lined up atop a hill ... I imagine symbols from my ancient history classes and the dream of visiting the Parthenon someday ... I drool over juicy lamp chops marinated in the most flavorful herbs and grilled to perfection ... I look forward to watching men and women shouting OPA! as they fire up a sizzling plate of melted cheese Greece is located in the southeastern part of Europe and consists of a mountainous mainland and numerous islands. Although this is situated at the opposite part of the world from the Philippines, we Filipinos are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the food, tradition and culture of Greece when dining at CYMA . During the Bloggers' Tour around Trinoma, we were able to meet Robby Goco , the Executive Chef of CYMA. Talk about being starstrucked! I finally had the chance to personally chat with the man who heads the powerful kitchen team who makes just the best Roka Salata , Saganaki (Fl...

April 25, 2008 (Friday) at exactly 2PM marked the start of my first ever gastronomic experience as a blogger. Thanks to Spot.ph and my dear friend Sophie , who forwarded the invite to me, I joined 100 bloggers as we toured around one part of Trinoma Mall visiting 18 (yes e-i-g-h-t-e-e-n ) food establishments and learning about the story behind each restaurant and trying out their best sellers as well. Thankfully, the event was well organized complete with a very impressive set-up by the registration table. After signing up, we were directed to an area for the briefing. Since I had to play dual personality for that day: part a blogger and another part a Starbucks partner, I found myself running around and up and down for almost 3/4ths of the time. Good thing too because I get to burn off what I eat from time to time. The event took us 5 whole hours but there was not a dull moment because I was able to mingle and getting acquainted with fellow bloggers who share the same love for food! ...