Frannywanny

My friend T and I have known each other since the very first day of college. Somehow, we instantly clicked and later on both became part of a group together with my best friend L and 4 other girls. We were inseparable all throughout our university days despite taking different specializations during our junior year. However, just like in any relationship, our friendship has experienced some bumps along the way that we somehow lost touch for a couple of years. I guess we're really destined to be good friends again as fate brought us together here in the Lion City to pick up where we left off. Yay! When you're living far away, you learn to treasure the ones who makes you feel right at home. It's a good thing T and I work close to each other that we make sure that we meet up over lunch at least once a month. During one of our lunch dates, we agreed to check out the much talked about food court at the Asia Square Building. It's the office building of Citibank and I've...

"Let's eat out when you're home!" , this was the SMS that my little sister Pan sent me weeks before our recent visit to Manila. My response was: "Okay, can we try Green Pastures ?" She SMS backed to say: "Galing! I was just thinking of that." We may be miles away but my sister and I sure do think (and continue to talk) alike. I've been hearing and reading about Green Pastures from fellow food bloggers and knowing that this is Chef Robby Goco's newest baby, all the more I was so excited to give it a try. Being a big fan of Cyma and Charlie's , I was pretty certain, Green Pastures will also be a winner. Just to ensure that we get a nice table as we planned to eat there on a Friday night, I called to make a reservation. I'm sure glad I did as the restaurant was packed at 7PM and there was already a waiting line outside. Whenever Pan and I are excited to try a new restaurant, we tend to over-order. Here's our dinner men...

Exactly 10 years ago, I committed to a relationship with a guy whom, to me, I felt most comfortable with. Just like in any courtship, there were those kilig  moments, surprises that left me speechless and revelations that more and more tell me that he could be the one . I guess, of all the things that I like most about him is that we get along really well. Examples would be having similar childhood memories, sharing a similar set of interests and most especially having the same intense love for food. More than being with someone I'm romantically linked to, I found a best friend . He's the kind of person whom I really look forward to spending every single day with. Thus, from that day forward, we instantly became inseparable. As a friend has pointed out, we're our own love team most popularly known as -- Paul & Fran . My old blog post in my now hidden blog. Back when I still call him JP/Jayps short for John Paul On that fateful night when I said "yes" to...

Growing up in San Juan, I've seen how it has slowly transformed from a quiet municipality into a fun and vibrant city. Back then, the only commercial area was Greenhills Shopping Center which continues to be our go-to place to do our grocery, to eat good food and to do some bargain shopping. There were other restaurants and commercial spaces around the area but you can basically count them with your fingers as they weren't a lot. Cafe Ysabel is one of those that has been around for as long as I remember. However, I haven't really gotten around to dining there as I always thought it looked a bit creepy especially at night. Once, Paul took me to Cafe Ysabel for dessert, as their Strawberry Shortcake is to die for, and I really couldn't get myself to go to the loo thus I just forced him to quickly finish our dessert and to take me home pronto. It must be the vintage-feel as well as the dark lighting that reminds me so much of those horror Filipino movies that my yaya ...

Halloween is just around the corner and this is the season of ghost stories and spirit sightings. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I cringe whenever I hear scary stories and try my darnest to stay away from spooky-looking places. Did you know that garlic is said to keep vampires and witches away? True or not, I am not taking chances. Of course, I won't go around town munching on plain garlic as my breath won't only ward away all those spooky elements but even my friends, family and Paul will stay as far away as they could from me too. I'm loading up with garlic in style and the best way to do so is at Mad for Garlic which recently opened a new branch at Suntec City . I heard that Mad for Garlic has also opened a branch in the Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines and I have yet to pay them a visit. Meanwhile, let me share with you the garlic-loaded dinner that I had with my cousins-in-law at Mad for Garlic, Singapore . Dinner began with Mad for Garlic's signa...

Back when I was still in Manila, I got to admit that the local Filipino cuisine was never one that I'd really crave for. As the saying goes: "You'll never know the value of what you have until you lose it..." perhaps a more apt saying would be "Absence makes the heart grow fonder..." Being miles away from home and not having the luxury of eating our local cuisine whenever I want to, I've grown to love it more and more. You have no idea how our eyes would sparkle at the scent of garlicky adobo or how our heart would do leaps and cartwheels at the mere sight of a shiny, crunchy roasted lechon. Thus, whenever we're home, we make sure to make up for lost times with our favorite dishes. One of the highlight of my recent visit was during a private dinner hosted by my favorite "lechon diva" D of Pepita's Kitchen . Note that I was burning with fever that evening but I made sure that I didn't miss this gastronomical experience. Of course...

Meet Chef Him . He's one of Manila's most sought-after chefs who's known for his creativity when it comes to his gastronomical creations. Don't believe me? Here's an example: I met Chef Him a couple of years back as I got him to cater my very first work event for Summit Media. We corresponded via email and the first time I actually saw his work and was able to taste it was during the event day itself. To say that I was impressed would still be an understatement. I literally had to restrain myself from standing beside the buffet table else my guests wouldn't be able to have those delicious risotto balls delicately placed in ceramic Chinese soup spoons. It was THAT delicious. Thus, when I heard that Chef Him was opening his very own restaurant called Nomama , I was one of the first to troop over with friends in tow to try and to show my undying support. How time flies as Nomama is now celebrating its 2nd year anniversary and they're running an e...