Frannywanny

Happy Friday!  I'm not going to lie, Friday is one of my favorite days because it means, we're just a day away from the weekend! Who doesn't love the weekend, right? This is the day when I give my twins my uninterrupted attention. We would start the day with any breakfast of their choice (normally waffles for J, pancakes or peanut butter sandwich for L) followed by an hour of doing their homework and in the afternoon, we head out for their swim class! Sunday is more laid back as we would stay home and just laze around the house otherwise, we would go and visit my in laws and spend the day there.  Speaking of the weekend, I suddenly remembered one of the best weekends that we've had this year so far. This was when we had our staycation at Seda Vertis North  and the twins truly enjoyed every minute of it. Of course, they love our comfy and very spacious Corner Suite with an adjacent Deluxe Room as well as checking out the hotel's amenities and the Vertis North mall ...

About 5 months ago, my dad had a bad fall. Actually, he missed a stepped and slipped in the bathroom. Perhaps for any ordinary person, one could easily just stand up and recover with probably just some minor bruising that an ice pack could easily fix. Unfortunately, as we age, so does our bones and for my 70-something Papa, this led to him damaging one of his hipbones. It was so bad that he felt so much pain and given his high tolerance for pain, we knew that something was just not right when he began complaining of the pain even with just very short distance walks. Anyway, long story short -- Papa had to undergo a partial hip replacement and that posed so much risk whether he can recover a.k.a. walk again. Thankfully, his surgery was a success thanks to his dream team (a.k.a. his team of doctors headed by my brother in law E). After surgery, he had to stay in the hospital for a few more days despite his wishes to go home right away as they wanted to get him started on his therapy. Fin...

I'd say that when you look at the F&B industry, one of the easiest yet toughest cuisine to specialize on is Filipino. It's simply because every household has its own version of most of the local dishes from the adobo to pochero to sopas to sisig and to all types of pancit (noodles). I can boldly say that there's probably millions of adobo versions all over the country given that our population is now 104.9 Million strong (thank you Google!). That said, it would really take a lot for you to beat what one may have considered their best adobo/pochero/sisig. But hey, as the saying goes.. "if you got it, flaunt it. " Recently, Paul and I stumbled upon Ombu Kusina  near Timog Avenue. It's at the Ground Floor of Sequoia Hotel as the restaurant also operates as the F&B arm of the hotel. We were invited to try their newest menu items and luckily, some of their best-selling ones too. I've heard of Ombu Kusina  from fellow bloggers when it opened a few ye...

After my Afternoon Tea date with D here in Singapore , we promised each other to meet up once again in Manila over the Christmas break. Given how everyone is normally busy during this time of the year, I was so touched to receive a message from D as soon as we landed in Manila asking when can we meet up for lunch. She surely kept her promise! Isn't she just so amazing? We agreed to meet up after Christmas Day and she told me that fellow bloggers K and C will be joining us too. I've never met K and C in person despite knowing of them and following them on social media for years. I always love meeting new friends so I was so excited for this particular lunch date. D suggested we go to Choobi Choobi  in Panay Avenue which is one of her favorite restaurants at the moment. I've never heard of Choobi Choobi  and after a quick search, I learned that this restaurant originated from Cebu and they're known for their bags of shrimps. Hooray! Guess we were just so excited tha...

For the past few trips back home, Paul and I would purposely leave our schedules open as we would like to allot most, if not all, of our time to family. You see, we normally stay for a week at most and given that we don't really get to fly home on a monthly basis, we would make it a point to bond with our family and bestest friends whenever we can. However, during our recent trip home, we actually found ourselves alone as both families had something planned for the evening. Well, an impromptu dinner date is always good. Since we were already in Quezon City as we spent the day bonding with my Kongkong, we decided to check out Highway Ribbery Grille  as it has been ranked as one of the top 15 restaurants in the Banawe area . Admittedly, I'm not a good navigator so I took a screenshot of the map and showed it to Paul. One look, that's all it took for him to quickly know where we're supposed to head to. My husband is amazing. ♥ For those who are not so good with dire...

I still remembered the day when I first met Chef Myke Tatung . It was to have a joint birthday celebration for my former boss D and a couple of our other colleagues. Working for a food magazine meant being in the company of food-loving people who have that special talent of searching for these hidden gems regardless of where it may be in the world. We had a delicious 4-course dinner in his cozy home in Quezon City. A few weeks after that, I went back with Paul and we enjoyed yet another delicious meal. Since then, I've been in touch with Chef Tatung as he would contribute to the magazine every now and then and we eventually became friends. A few years following that, Chef Tatung told us that he opened a new restaurant in Taguig which specialized in Filipino cuisine . Of course, our team went full force to support him. We have returned a lot more after that and his restaurant has been one of my favorite go-to place up until Paul and I moved to the Lion City. A few months ago,...

On the last day of my ninja-mode visit to Manila, I was able to find a bit of free time in between running last-minute errands. The first person I thought of calling was obviously my best friend L. Of course, I started by apologizing for the very sudden invite but L quickly told me to stop being silly for apologizing and we agreed to meet up for some catching up over afternoon tea. It's funny how a lot of things have changed over the past two years that I somehow feel like a tourist in my very own country. Gone are the days when I can quickly rattle off all the latest or must-tries food places all over Metro Manila. Today, I would rely on my family or my friends to recommends places for us to try. I'm glad though that they all have very good taste in food so that means we get to have endless yummy meals whenever we're back home. L and I agreed to meet at The Bunny Baker . I saw this days before our meet-up when Mommy and I were on our way to Quezon City. The pink cutesy...

Taste is subjective. That's a known fact. So it's highly possible that what may be out-of-this-world delicious for me may just be a-okay for you and vice versa. So, when it comes to getting good and reliable restaurant suggestions, I rely on my favorite food bloggers (listed below) to tell me which restaurants to check out. Such was the case when I was chatting with fellow food blogger Leslie a couple of weeks back. I told her that I'll be in Manila to spend a week with family. Being the sweet friend that Les always is, she immediately recommended a couple of must-try restaurants that's just within the vicinity where I'll be. One thing that I immediately took note of was Oedo Japanese Restaurant . I've been seeing her repeated posts on this restaurant in her Instagram account and for Les to go all the way to Quezon City for this, then that's an indication of how good this restaurant must be. So, for lunch one day, Mommy and I decided to give it a try...

Metro Manila is roughly 600km² big but with the crazy traffic jam that happens everywhere in the metro, every single day, it somehow makes going from one point to another feel like an out of town drive. Since I spent most of my days with Kongkong and Ama in Quezon City, you'll noticed that most of the places that I've visited for this trip is just within this vicinity. Not a big problem there as Quezon City is one of the biggest cities and there sure are a LOT of dining options to choose from. Let me start with my latest find -- Tien Ma's Taiwanese Cuisine . I've actually heard of this restaurant from Mommy who even called me when I was here in Singapore to tell me about their latest food discovery. It must be that good that Mommy couldn't wait to tell me in person, right? Located along the busy intersection of N.S. Amoranto and D. Tuazon, parking may be a bit of a challenge but luckily, we went there for late lunch so it was easy to spot an empty slot. The me...

Lately it has been extremely hot outside. Too hot that I have been avoiding all reasons to go out for lunch and instead would happily eat my homemade sandwich in the comforts of my air-conditioned office. Oh what I'd give to have a tall glass of Halo-Halo right now. This year, someone predicted that the Filipino cuisine will be the next big thing . I'm really excited for this to happen as I honestly feel there's so much for the world to taste and to appreciate about our local dishes. Set aside the famous adobo, we got our laing, pinakbet, the really comforting sinigang, our wake-me-upper silogs and of course, all our pork dishes from crispy pata down to sisig. The Filipino cuisine will surely take the gastronomic world by storm, don't you think? Having said that, I really miss Filipino food at the moment. Despite the many restaurants available, if you ask my Mom about her favorite Filipino restaurants, she will probably name 2-3 in a snap. One of these is Mesa Filip...

It's the new year and I'm busy listing down my resolutions. Obviously, one resolution that never goes away is "to be fit and healthy" . I'm happy though that I've actually took my first step last 2013 when Paul and I began a healthier diet and have been hitting the gym more than once. We intend to continue this good habit for the entire year, this year. Anyway, Paul and I just came back from our amazing 12 Days of Christmas in Manila and we had a great time bonding with our dear family and friends. These 12 days, I must say, we've allowed ourselves to indulge in all the yummy food that Manila has to offer and yes, there were no regrets whatsoever. Right on the 1st day of our visit, we met up with our friends E and soon-to-wed C and K. C suggested that we try Relish in Quezon City and I was all for it as it was definitely something new to me. Parking was quite challenging as Relish shares the same lot as Cerchio, another restaurant. It's a good...

Remember the first ever blog post that my sister Pan wrote here at Frannywanny.com? It was about her Top 10 Tokyo Sights which you can read about here and here . Well, looks like someone had loads of fun sharing her travel adventures with you all that she decided to write more! Today, the one and only Blue Eagle in the family would like to share with you her first ever restaurant review on Chubby Chicken -- a casual university food stop located right across her alma mater in Katipunan Avenue. To make things more exciting, we're also treating one lucky ready to an all-out Chubby Chicken meal worth Php 500!!!  Now, that's my cue to stop writing and to give the virtual stage to my sister Pannywanny. :) It has been a few years back where Katipunan has been my second home, studying at Starbucks, buying last minute items at National Bookstore and having breakfast, lunch and dinners in the different food establishments available. It is, after all, just a foot bridge or a trike ...

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...

Back then, our birthday celebrations would normally be held at American bar and grills like Chili's or Friday's. Those were the days where we would get drunk over bottomless iced tea and fill our tummies with unlimited tortilla chips, chicken fingers and pasta. We're indeed getting older are starting to have a more *ahem* refined and mature taste. Best Friends since 1996! (We miss Cami!) This year, my best friends have been celebrating their birthdays quite differently. It began with Estee's  birthday dinner at Beso Cucina Vinoteka where we traded in our usual bottomless iced teas with a carafe of Sangria. After Estee, it was Trina who turned a year older. We celebrated her birthday at Galileo Enoteca Deli located at the Eastwood Citywalk . I've been to Galileo Enoteca Deli 's branch in Mandaluyong a few years back. I remembered enjoying their cheese and cold cuts platter very much. Thus, I was very excited when Tre told me that we're having dinner...

It has been 5 years since my first visit to Bangkok, Thailand . In fact, that trip in particular allowed us to experience a number of firsts. It was the first time I traveled with my sister without having our parents with us. It was also the first out of the country trip that I took with Paul as well.  That said, it was a first for me to do the full itinerary as I was used to having my parents planning our trips for us. We spent a very short time in Bangkok but despite that, we all had a marvelous time and I was glad that we were able to have a good mix of cultural immersion with major retail therapy and of course, we were able to treat out taste buds to authentic Thai food too . All throughout our 3-day stay, Pan and I ate Pad Thai and drank Thai Iced Tea in almost every single meal. Comparing which outlet was better than the other one, we then concluded that we loved the Pad Thai at Big C which was actually a big supermarket similar to our very own Puregold or Shopwise. Th...

Last week crawled by sooooo slowly that I was really ecstatic when Friday finally came! All the more, I was also so excited to have dinner that day. Why? Well, first was because I couldn't wait to see my college best friend L and I was hoping her baby bump would finally show. The next reason was because we agreed to have dinner at Basil , a new Thai restaurant along White Plains and after reading several blogs raving about it , I couldn't wait to try it out myself. Traffic has horrible that we got there an hour after our agreed meeting time. Good thing, we still managed to get a table despite not being able to reserve ahead of time. The restaurant was packed and parking was very limited but thankfully it went smoothly for us. I'm happy that both L and T were just as excited as we were to try Basil out. I just love how my friends share the same love and passion for food. Basil's ambiance is different from any ordinary Thai restaurant out there. I love how ther...

Ever since I got back from my trip to Seoul, Korea ; I now share the same fascination and love for this beautiful country with my colleague ML. From the pretty cherry blossoms to the food...the FOOD! Every meal was truly a delight and every meal that we had from the corner street cart to the more upscale restaurant all left a wonderful memory for Paul and yours truly. I have yet to share with you my complete Korean adventure. I promise I'll have the out soon... Paul and I loved Korea so much that we are actually planning to go back again next year. Crossing my fingers on that! Meanwhile, I have to satisfy my sudden Korean food craving with what we have locally. Luckily, more and more Korean establishments and franchise have been coming to Manila making it easier for us to have some good Samgyeopsal or a yummy piece of Pajeon at any given time. ML and I headed to Kogi Bulgogi for a quick lunch one day. It was a good thing that we were at the Eastwood Mall for an event allo...

Moshi Moshi Anone, Anone, Anone! A few weeks ago, Paul and I joined The Food Club in yet another foodie get-together, this time at Moshi Moshi in Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City . The restaurant is located right across the Ateneo de Manila University so expect to see a lot of students dining and hanging out in almost all food establishments and coffee shops within the Katipunan strip. Paul and I are not Blue Eagles but since my sister graduated from ADMU school, we used to frequent this place whenever we would wait for her class to end. A lot of restaurants have opened since then. Though, I'm glad that a lot of our favorite s are still around. I really think we should go back and visit them again. Moshi Moshi is located at the 2nd level of the Regis Center , a new building that houses a big Gold's Gym, Bonchon Chicken , Saint's Alp Coffee Shop and a lot more. Basement parking is available but quite limited. It was a good thing that Paul and I were able to get a goo...