Frannywanny

shiok [adj.] : Singlish word used to describe a dish that's satisfying, good or delicious. While the Philippines is literally a foodie melting pot with a wide array of restaurants specializing in all sorts of cuisines from all over the world, Paul and I can't help but notice that there seems to be a shortage of Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants around. It's quite mind boggling though given the number of locals who travel to these two countries on a regular basis plus the huge population of Filipinos residing there too. If you ask me, Singaporean/Malaysian cuisine has a very close taste profile as our local Filipino cuisine perhaps with just more heat and the use of a lot more spices. So imagine how happy I was when we recently discovered Shiok Shiok Singapore Food along Nicanor Roxas street in Quezon City. Coincidentally, we dined there on the 9th of August, Singapore's National Day. What a great way to celebrate our second home's special day. Together with ...

I know the traditional romantic will probably strangle me for saying this but falling in love with food is pretty much like falling in love with that special someone. It's that moment when you had an amazing meal and you can't stop thinking about it. You find yourself talking about it to anyone who'll listen and you can't wait for the next visit to finally happen. A few weeks ago, I just had one of the best meals of 2016. That's quite a bold statement, I know given that the year is coming to a close. Add to the fact that I was down with a bad 3-week-long cough, I clearly wasn't in the best physical condition but wanting to check the restaurant out, I still pushed through and luckily, every single dish made the tiny struggle so worth it. Basil Thai Kitchen  opened it's flagship outlet at the basement of Paragon Shopping Centre. I have to admit that while I've visited this mall a number of times, it was my first time to explore the basement and boy I...

Whenever I think of Germany , the following instantly come to mind : Oktoberfest, yummy German sausages, FIFA World Cup 2014 championship and a couple of really pretty luxury cars (hello Audi and BMW!) . Being a foodie, let us focus on those meaty, perfectly grilled German sausages, shall we?  Looking back, I remember how Mommy and I love visiting Santi's Deli and we would pick up a mix of German Sausages at least twice a month. It's interesting to note that there are more than 20 types of German sausage s, 80% of which I could hardly pronounce. :P However, my favorite is the German Bratwurst which I love having with rice.  Last Friday lunch was spent with two of my favorite local food bloggers at Mr Berlin . It's a relatively-new restaurant located along Shenton Way, within the busy CBD area of Singapore. Mr Berlin specializes in authentic German currywurst which is a very popular snack made out of chopped chicken/pork sausage and served with a rich toma...

Once again, Paul and I visited the west side of Singapore one weekend. Back at Clementi where we planned to do our weekly grocery shopping and hopefully to grab some Baskin Robbins ice cream on our way home. We were hoping to meet up with our friends N and T but sadly they had other plans. Of course, they're such sweet friends that they still sent us a couple of restaurant recommendations for us to try. One of those is Prata Planet . How funny that ever since we moved to the Lion City, Paul and I do enjoy the local Indian fare most especially the 3 Ps : paneer, papadum and prata. O also joined us that day and with the address on one hand and our Singapore Map app on the other, we went out to search for the restaurant. Prata Planet is located a block away from the Clementi MRT station. It's actually at the ground floor of one of the housing estates in the area. It was quite easy spotting the restaurant as it's facing the street. As soon as we settled into our tabl...

It's no secret that my family and I are such big fans of Chef Cecille Chang's Thai Bistro in Robinson Magnolia. I think there was even a time that every single Sunday lunch was spent there as well as our birthdays and even our despedida party last year. It's funny though that we would order almost the same dishes during every visit and still leave the restaurant constantly raving about it as if we just tasted it for the first time. Thus, when Paul and I were to have lunch at Chef Cecille's newest restaurant called Silk Road , we immediately said YES! Stepping inside Silk Road , we immediately knew that this caters to a higher market. I love the pretty, well-lit and very modern interiors which I honestly prefer over the rather dark ambiance of Thai Bistro. Of course, we didn't just settle for a dish or two. What we had was a spread good for about 8 people to enjoy but we were able to finish most of it anyway. Ooops! Lunch began with a bowl of Tom Yum Kung (...

I think the title should actually be, "New Ramen on the (East) Wing!" I'm talking about the newly opened East Wing of the Shangri-la Plaza Mall which Paul and I were lucky enough to visit during our quick return home last month. I can't believe how fast things can change in the span of a month. We were just away for a month and when we got back to Manila there was the new Shangri-la Plaza wing as well as the New Glorietta Mall in Makati. I can't wait to go home and see what's new in the coming months. Given that we only have a few weeks in Manila, of course, majority of our time was dedicated to our families and about 30% of our time were spent bonding with our closest friends. As much as we wanted to meet with everyone, there were basically just 3 meals in a day and 7 days in a week. Nonetheless, we were so happy to see the friends who have been checking up on us eversince we got here. This act may be nothing for them but it means the world to us. A sing...

My family loves Hainanese Chicken Rice. Guess this is because we used to frequent Singapore back then that this has been our staple meal throughout our week-long stay there. Sadly, while a lot of restaurants do offer Hainanese Chicken Rice (HCR), only a few really came close to the real thing . Can't blame them, for one thing perhaps some ingredients used for the authentic Chicken Rice are not available in Manila. Another would be if they would really cook it the exact same way the Singaporeans would when preparing their HCR. Thus, when I heard about this guy named Stevie from Bel-Air, Makati who sells really good Hainanese Chicken Rice , I knew I had to take time out one Sunday morning to order a set from him and to take this home for my family to try. Ordering was a breeze, all I did was to call two days in advance (although I think 24 hours notice is allowed too, I was just so excited haha) and placed my order for a Hainanese Chicken Set with Traditional Rice (Php. 98...

Today is the 1st of February and it's my dear friend and fellow blogger Jane of Between Bites' birthday!!! Since it's her special day, let me tell you about the night when Jane and I went out for a ramen date. Just us girls for a couple of hours of bonding and happy eating. I met Jane over the Internet as I have been an avid reader of her blog since way back. One time, we agreed to meet up for dinner with two other girl friends (hello Sab and Didi !) back in 2007. I still remembered that she brought a container of pasta for all of us to try. That's how sweet and thoughtful Jane has always been. She would really take time out to do things for her friends and loved ones despite her super jam-packed schedule and never-ending things to do. I really enjoy being able to spend time with her as she's one of the most sincere and loving friend that I've ever known. She's a keeper, guys and girls, and I'm so lucky to have a friend like her! Truly someone who g...

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...

One rainy Sunday, Paul and I joined Richard, Irene and our favorite playmate Lauren for dinner. We decided to try Po Suk Jung , a Korean restaurant located in Brgy. Oranbo, Pasig . I've been noticing this restaurant that actually looks like a huge garage from outside ever since I started working in Mandaluyong three years ago. We got there quite early for dinner and were surprised that the parking lot was almost full. Good thing, even without a reservation, we were able to get a good table near the huge TV set that kept Lauren pre-occupied all throughout dinner time. Just with any Korean meal, ours started with a lot of appetizers ( banchan ). Unlike those served at other Korean restaurants where there's a mix of spicy and non-spicy fare; here, they have more spicy appetizers which for me was pretty manageable since I like eating kimchi a lot. My favorite though were the fish cakes. I also love the complimentary egg custard that's very similar to our Chinese home-co...

My ever dearest Papa turned 66 this year! To celebrate, we decided to try Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati as Papa just lovesss Japanese food. Since his birthday fell on a holiday, I made a quick call to the restaurant to make sure we have a table reserved for us to lessen the waiting time. It was past lunch time when we arrived and with our tummies growling loudly we began with a couple of sushi choices that my family loves: California Maki -- I love the plump sweet mangoes and that the sushi roll is well-covered with ebiko however I somehow find the maki roll lacking in filling and flavor. Definitely, Kikofuji or Kimpura wins in this category. Futo Maki (Php. 250) -- My Kongkong loves Futo Maki and having had a dozen futo makis whenever he would go to Japan on business trips before, it really would take a highly skilled sushi chef to wow him with our local version of his favorite rice roll. I'm glad that he enjoyed Nihonbashitei's futo maki which has passed his t...

After enjoying a couple of Thai specialties at Nav with my colleagues last Friday, Paul and I joined our dear friends Richard, Irene and adorable Lauren for lunch one rainy Sunday. This time we headed to Makati excited for our Vietnamese feast. Shameless plugging alert: I've been craving for Asian dishes lately, I guess this is after going through the August issue of Yummy Magazine that features a LOT of yummy Asian recipes *drool* . So..grab your copy NOW! A couple of months ago, Richard and I purchased a coupon each from Metro Deal Philippines . This coupon will allow us to have a four-course Vietnamese meal for two for only Php. 445 at Ba Noi's . What a steal! Since it will be our first time to try Ba Noi's we figured out that given how reasonable the price of the coupon is, it won't be too painful on the pocket should our meal fails to meet our expectations. Let me share with you the dishes that were served to us by Ba Noi's : From the moment we sa...