Frannywanny

Who doesn't love pizza? Growing up, this has been our staple during group meetings in someone's home, during a class party or even one's birthday party. Nothing beats the bonding experience as you share a box of pizza with your closest friends. At home, Pan and I would always have pizza for our afternoon merienda back when we were studying for our quarterly final exams. Mommy would leave additional allowance for us to be able to have a box of pizza delivered and this is something we both always look forward to quarter after quarter. To me, pizza is a comfort food. Someday, I'll be a cool mom and have pizza nights with my family. Haha! However, when it comes to pizza flavors, I like the basic ones. The simpler, the better. This has been my motto ever since. Call it fate that Paul actually believes in the same thing. He has been loyal towards Hawaiian flavored pizza which is also one of my favorite pizza flavors equally same with the all cheese or seafood flavored pizz...

I've tried a number of Philly Cheese Steaks in the past but I never really got around to learning about its history. It was until that fateful evening when Paul and I got an invite to have dinner at the Cheese Steak Shop in Makati where we were told of the Philly Cheese Steak story and how it finally found its way here in Manila, Philippines. Given the name, this sandwich originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by a couple who began serving thinly sliced steaks and cheese in a long sandwich bun. Very similar to a hotdog sandwich, the craze about this meaty sandwich spread like wildfire and soon Philly Cheese Steaks are not only available in Philadelphia but in other states all around the USA as well. Take Cheese Steak Shop for instance. It originated in San Francisco 29 years ago (yes, same age as me!) and makes use of authentic ingredients such as their Amoroso rolls and Tastykakes which are shipped all the way from Philadelphia. Here in Manila, we have owner Mai Uy to...

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...

On the 1st day of July, I was lucky enough to be invited to a celebration that was held at the US Embassy in Manila. It was a dinner hosted by Ambassador Harry Thomas as the United States of America celebrated their 235th Independence Day . I arrived early as requested in the invite and my car underwent very strict security check (I think the most strict that I've have ever seen in my life so far) . I was dropped off right at the front door where it was filled with security personnel and ushers ready to assist you. Not knowing where to go next, I just followed the long line which they called the receiving line . In my mind, I thought this would lead to a registration table where I will be meeting J, my fellow blogger who invited me to this very exclusive celebration. Little did I know, as we inch our way closer to the ballroom, I would reach the welcome committee headed by no other than Ambassador Harry Thomas himself. He was a very nice man that I was initially speechless ...

Little has been said about Knott's Berry Farm . This is probably the reason why I also went with basically no clear idea on what to expect and instead just decided to just keep an open mind and heart about it. Thanks to my dear friend K for providing us the tickets, we headed out to Buena Park one Sunday morning ready to enjoy a full day at our first theme park! From the moment I entered, I knew I'll definitely have a great time, sure I may not be the type who would go for the thrilling rides but as we walked around the park and discover every nook and cranny, I enjoyed the sights, sounds and flavor that we've experienced at Knott's Berry Farm ! Here are FIVE amazing reasons why you'll definitely love Knott's Berry Farm:

During the first leg of my US trip, my colleague L and I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine. Irvine, is actually like the central business district of California where tall skyscrapers line up the streets and it's relatively more quiet here at any given part of the day simply because everyone is busy at work. On our first work day, L and I decided to start early by walking around the neighborhood in search for a good place to have breakfast. Thanks to the friendly hotel staff, he directed us towards Specialty's Cafe & Bakery which he says serves pretty good coffee.

While planning for our trip to the US, Paul and I did not expect that we are about to embark on a journey to Burger Land! Everywhere you go, you'll surely encounter a burger stand or a restaurant serving the meatiest, biggest burger ever seen! From the famous In-n-Out, which I will talk about more in detail in my next entries, to the gourmet ones such as Umami Burger where my dear friend Karla brought us for dinner one chilly evening, we had a great time having a taste of all-pure beef with the freshest veggies and soft burger buns. Back in Manila, I'm not really a big burger fan as I prefer the non-meat choices such as Burger King's BK Big Fish or McDonald's Fillet o Fish sandwich however, since I am in Burger Land I have to try these burgers and see why the locals love them so much. As mentioned above, it was a very chilly evening where the temparature was at 8 degrees celcius. We buttoned up, pulled down our hats and shivered our way towards Umami Burger alon...

I love seafood! Nothing makes a meal greater than enjoying fresh seafood cooked in various ways -- from steamed to fried, from baked to grilled whichever way you take you'll surely enjoy your seafood plate. When my cousin invited us to try the much-talked-about The Boiling Crab for lunch last week, I was very excited that I was up at 7AM eagerly waiting for our 12NN lunch date. Thanks to our handy GPS, we got to The Boiling Crab at Rowland Heights just in time. I love the laid-back wharf-like ambiance where vandalism is allowed. Yep! You read it right, check out the walls and you'd see scribbles from customers whether it bears their names or a short message stating their presence in the restaurant. Head to the table and you'd be led to a bear table-top with a wax paper cover. No utensils here as they mean real business about getting your hands dirty to enjoy their freshest catch. All you get is a plastic bib to shield your clothes from the possible mess that you...

Whenever we travel, I look forward to waking up early in order to have a good breakfast. Wanting to just relax and to live the local life, we decided to skip flying to Las Vegas for another exciting yet exhausting day and to just stay in the city to shop, eat and walk around. Our lazy day began with brunch at Denny's Restaurant , a diner that has a lot of branches around the US and even in some neighboring countries as well. It's good that they have a number of value meals starting at $2. We began with a plate of Buttermilk Pancakes ($2) as I was determined to enjoy a plate of all-American pancakes in this trip. However, I was a bit disappointed that Denny's pancakes were not as fluffy as I was expecting it to be. We shared a piece of pancake eat and covered it with creamy butter and syrup. I still love our pancakes back home. We also had Country Fried Steak and Eggs ($9.99) which is a huge platter filled with meat, meat and more meat! Here's what we got: two s...

I call myself lucky because in the rare times that I'd get sent to a business trip..I was sent to the United States. Also, of all the states there is in this country, I ended up flying to California where my Ahia Jeff is based. So, on the first day of my vacation here in the US, I made plans to have dinner with my cousin. I guess being a food-lover runs in our family (in my case on both sides) as Ahia Jeff made reservations at Bouchon Bistro , a popular French restaurant owned by a Michelin-star awardee Chef Tom Keller . Aside from Bouchon Bistro , he also owns the high-end restaurant French Laundry . We agreed to meet at 7PM but traffic was so bad that despite leaving an hour early, we got stuck along the freeway and arrived 45 minutes past 7. Sadly, due to this, Ahia Jeff lost his reservation as it takes one more than a month to get a table here as it's always packed with guests every night. We ended up having dinner at the bar area at the ground floor. Our server was so...

Tonight, L and I celebrated the start of our real vacation here in the US. She's heading to the east to bond with her siblings while I will be joining Paul as we explore cool and laid-back California. Taking the recommendation of our business partner here in the US, he told us not to miss out on visiting Fashion Island in Newport Beach . This area is part of my list as I would love to check out the setting of the hit TV series, The O.C . Although, I'm not a fan nor a viewer of the show, I'd still like to see the place myself. As Irvine is purely a business district filled with tall office buildings, Newport has a different vibe. With huge houses and lush greeneries, it definitely looks and feel like this is the upscale part of the Orange Country. Fashion Mall is HUGE! I'm simply amazed that major retailers would really acquire a huge piece of real estate as most shops in this part of town is almost of the same size as our average supermarket back home. This, I...

Greetings from cold and sunny California! After 16 long hours of trying to keep still and stay as comfortable as we can in the plane, Paul, Leah and I finally made it to the U.S.A.!!! While I'm trying to decide whether to catch some sleep as it's already 3 in the afternoon here and run the risk of staying up the entire evening later or to just withstand the urge to shut my heavy eyelids to be able to enjoy a deep slumber later, I think I'll just share with you how our transit was via Delta Airlines . The Good Things First and foremost, I love the service. We were well taken cared of by the flight attendants at any given point of the flight. I particularly liked one Chinese flight attendant who was very attentive to our needs. Upon knowing that Paul and I are Chinese too, she began speaking to us in Mandarin which I struggled to respond in small broken phrases and relied on my husband to supply the missing words. (Oh, how I wish I took my Mandarin classes more seriously ...

Here we go again! We've packed our bags, double triple checked our documents and printed out our itinerary. We're off to a trip that took only two months for us to prepare and boy, am I excited!! :) I can't wait to see what the USA has to offer! I'll be back soon with more stories and food discoveries to share. So it's goodbye for now! :) See you soon, dear readers. p.s. thanks to my sweet Mommy for the new bag tag! I ♥ it! Signing off, Fran

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...