Frannywanny

This week started at a very sad note. As I opened my cellphone yesterday morning, I was greeted with posts after posts of the passing of NBA Star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. While I'm no basketball fan, my heart sank as I thought about his wife, his 2 other kids and that final moment when Kobe knew that was the end of him and his daughter. As a parent, I'm pretty sure he would have wanted to do anything to save Gigi. Well, I definitely would. If I have to push my kids out of the crashing helicopter with hopefully a safety parachute, I would. Anything just to keep them alive. Apart from that, there's the growing concern on the rapidly spreading Coronavirus. Really, a number of sad, scary moments as we welcome the Year of the Rat. I do hope things will get better in the coming weeks.  When faced with stress or disappointing situations, I turn to food to cheer me up. *sigh* #thisiswhyImfat Seriously though, I have my set of comfort food that never fails to tur...

"I miss this." This was what Paul told me one afternoon as we were driving to an event without the kids. Recently, I learned something new about marriage. No matter how many kids you already have, never forget your role as a husband/wife to your other half. Since I gave birth to my twins, I guess it's pretty obvious that they became the center of our world. Day in and out, we have been so busy helping each other in taking care of them. Add to the fact that we have been quite unlucky in getting a reliable nanny till lately as we finally have Yaya M. Thankful also for my in laws who willingly help us watch the twins as we work and go about our day, Paul and I took a quick lunch date one day. I was also badly craving for sushi and I got to admit that it's hard to find a reasonably priced sushi that's of good quality too. Most of the reputable Japanese restaurants that we got in our area have menu items priced pretty steep. This made me recall one of the lunch dat...

There was once a girl named Mimi who was the youngest in the family and while her brothers used to party a lot in their home which actually was one of the popular house party venues back in the day, Mimi missed out on all that as she was way too young to stay up late and party then. So, as a "gift" for her, her brothers created Mimi & Bros  which is a venue for Mimi (and her entire family and pretty much all of us) to hang out and to party with good food and booze.  Mimi & Bros gives you 9 sauces to choose from After a long day working in BGC, Paul and I decided to go for an early dinner date. I tell you, I could still count the number of times we've stayed out past 6 pm since we had our twins. Don't get me wrong, I love my twins and being their Mommy is truly a dream come true but I got to admit that I do miss those days when it was just me and Paul and our random, impromptu dates. It was just one of those days when we were craving for real good, deep f...

I first heard about Tenya back in 2016 from my good friend D as she was helping me put together my Tokyo itinerary. My friends in Singapore love going to Japan that I can probably name 10 friends who knows Tokyo so well that they can give the best recommendations even with their eyes closed. Thanks to them, Paul and I had spent one marvelous week eating our way around Japan and mind you, we managed to dine at some of the best hole in the wall places thanks to the tips that we got from these friends. I have yet to share with you stories from that trip and I promise to do it really soon. Meanwhile, back in Manila, Paul and I stumbled upon Tenya as we were going around the Bonifacio Global City one evening looking for a place to grab a quick early dinner before heading home. A quick search on our phone led us to Tenya  at the BGC Stopover complex. Okay, I have to admit that I never knew this place existed and boy was I impressed. We're talking about 3 storeys filled with a good mi...

If there's one thing that I missed the most about our Japan trip. It would definitely be the FOOD. The fact that every single meal just leaves us so happy and satisfied. There was definitely no bad meal in Japan and even something as simple as the rice is worth swooning about. During one of those nights strolling along Paul's favorite district -- Akihabara, we chanced upon a small restaurant that's packed to the brim. Well, okay it's a really small restaurant but every single seat was taken by Japanese office men busy eating what looks like a mountain of rice covered in Japanese curry. Ooh lala! We both love Japanese curry and so we patiently queued up. Luckily, turn over was so quick that in less than 10 minutes, we found ourselves comfortably seated at the far end of the restaurant while watching the chefs prepare our food. There's really something about Japanese curry that's so comforting and addicting. The mild spicy note, the totally umami flavor prof...

Perhaps after I finally get over my Japan hangover and I'd stop daydreaming about sushi and gyoza, I would go back to my all-time favorite comfort food -- pasta and pizza. These two have never failed in putting me in a happier mood especially on a very challenging day. I remember how Mommy would make it a point to cook pasta every Monday as she knows that this is definitely not our favorite day of the week. Also, Pan and I have this tradition of ordering our favorite thin-crust pizza during finals week which we would enjoy as an afternoon snack while reviewing for our exams. So, when my good friend D suggested that we go check out Marco Marco in Circular Road after our indoor cycling class one time, I was so game! Marco Marco actually has several outlets all over Singapore and it's a casual dining restaurant that offers a wide array of pasta dishes and pizza flavors to suit everyone's discriminating taste. Each flavor is named after a city or a travel destination so you...

Mommy and Pan came to visit me and Paul a month ago and I tell you, those were the best and most fun days that I've had here in the Lion City. I really love it when family comes to visit. As much as I also love being back home in Manila, it's nice to be able to share bits and pieces of my life here with the people I love the most. Of course, that includes taking them to some of my favorite restaurants, my favorite shopping malls and more. So, first on the agenda was to take them bargain shopping at Bugis . As we were shopping at Bugis+, we chanced upon Genki Sushi . This is a casual sushi restaurant with a really cute concept. We've known sushi restaurants to have the traditional conveyor belt where you can just pull out plates after plates of sushi. What makes Genki Sushi unique is that each other is prepared minutes after you place the order. Given that, you're assured of having fresh sushi all the time.

Pizza is one of those dishes that never fails to bring friends or family to bond. Sure, the mere fact that we would come together for a meal is a good opportunity to connect already but being able to enjoy something delicious from the same box or pan is something else. Growing up, Pan and I would have pizza for our afternoon merienda especially while studying for our final exams. Through the years, pizza has been our comfort food and something we would crave for every now and then. So, when my dear friend I came to Singapore for a short visit and she decided to round up the gang (which means inviting other Singapore-based school mates of ours) for dinner, the unanimous choice was Skinny Pizza . I have to be honest though, after trying about 4 pizza delivery companies here in the Lion City, nothing still beats the ones that I truly love back home . Somehow, the ones here are not as flavorful, the toppings are plenty but still ho-hum and the dough is normally thick and very chewy. ...

After a mind-enriching afternoon spent at River Safari , my family decided to head over to Raffles Shopping Centre for dinner. Not quite sure where to eat, I suggested that we try one of my favorite lunch places -- Osaka Ohsho . I know there's a branch in the Philippines already but since none of them have tried it yet, I might as well let them try the one here in Singapore, right? Luckily, we got there after dinner rush so we didn't have to line up anymore. We were immediately brought to our table where a bright red iPad menu was waiting for us. How cool huh?! No need to ask for the menu, no need to wait for the server to come to the table to get our orders. All we had to do was to flip through the options and to tap on the ones that we'd like to get. The program works just like an online shopping website where all orders goes to a "shopping cart" and when we've completed our order, all that needs to be done is to send it to the kitchen . Within minut...

I ♥ ♥ ♥ SUSHI! Together with pesto pasta , a bag of corn chips and a box of Putong Ube , sushi one of my all-time favorites and definitely my ultimate comfort food of choice too. This is also why I just love dining at rotating sushi restaurants as I really enjoy choosing and feasting on dozens and dozens of fresh hand-rolled sushi and sashimi. Here in the Lion City, my go-to place for good but very affordable sushi is Ichiban Sushi  and its sister restaurant, Ichiban Boshi . I'm not really sure what the difference between the two are as I'd see one or the other in most of the major shopping malls all over the country. Both has that sushi conveyor belt, the same set of bento boxes and donburis and pretty much the same menu. I have this notion though that Ichiban Boshi  is slightly a notch higher than Ichiban Sushi  but I may be wrong. Does anyone know what's the difference between the two? Anyway, whenever visiting VIPs (a.k.a. our dear family) in town, we would alwa...

Do you know the nursery rhyme that goes like this: Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, They licked the platter clean. Sometimes, I feel that Paul and I are just like Jack Sprat and his wife. We can be very different yet at the end of the day, we know that we're truly perfect for each other. Those who knows us both would say that I could talk and talk all day while he can go about a day without uttering a single word. I'm definitely an extrovert while he's Mr Shy Guy. At the same time, I got to admit that I love the limelight and do not mind the attention while he tries his darnest to stay behind the scenes as much as possible. Still, these opposite traits make us get along so well. As the Law of Attraction has long proven -- Opposite Poles Attract. For Paul's 30-something birthday , he made it pretty clear that he doesn't want a big, highly publicized birthday celebration. All he wanted was to have a s...

One night, while working late at the office, I blurted out loud: " where can I get good burgers here? " By that I meant, not the fast food kind and more of the ones with thick all-beef patty topped with good quality cheese and sandwiched in between pillowy soft buns. While my office area is perfectly located at the heart of what I'd call a food mecca , all I can see around are soup kitchens, a hawker centres with all the local dishes and a couple of Asian eateries here and there. A colleague tried to help by giving me a couple of must-try burger joints but none of those he mentioned were accessible by foot. Then, I came across the Two Blur Guys . Taking the same question home, I asked my equally food-loving flatmates where do they go for good burgers here in Singapore and they suggested that we go try Two Blur Guys out. Located at the ground floor of the Orchid Hotel near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station, I was able to get there after taking a short 15 minutes walk f...

Just when I thought we're tried ALL the restaurants in our neighborhood, we were surprised to see more tiny cafes and eateries opening in what-used-to-be-a-fully-residential-area which has now turned into a semi commercialized district. Yay for me! This just means more dining options without the need to go far. After Chow Fun , there are a couple more new restaurants to try and I'll be sharing my reviews on them pretty soon. First off is Tori Box . We decided to try this after seeing that it's finally open after one of my regular mani/pedi sessions at Nail Loft . Slightly hidden from the busy J. Abad Santos route, Tori Box is a two storey cozy-looking cafe that is literally bursting with cuteness! It somehow reminds me of those artsy Korean coffee shops that we visited back in April . From the moment you enter, you'll immediately notice the K-Pop/J-Pop decors with pretty statements on frames, lightbulbs on bird cages, books and plants on the table as decor. I coul...

It's raining very hard as I type this and times like this I love to snuggle in bed while catching up on my favorite TV series or with a good book. This is bed weather after all and how I wish I can stay in under the sheets all day long. The rainy cool weather also makes me want a bowl of piping hot ramen. I was then reminded of a dinner that I had with Paul, my sister Pan and her best friend C at a newly opened restaurant called Kokoro Ramenya . It was upon an invite from a friend to try the restaurant out and we were all so excited as Japanese remains to be one of our favorite cuisines. Kokoro Ramenya is located in the newly constructed Avenue of the Arts Building along Roxas Boulevard. It offers traditional Japanese dishes such as ramen, donburi, tempura, sushi and sashimi and a lot more. I liked the bright and casual interiors making the restaurant look even bigger than it already is. We started our meal with a plate of Gyoza (Php. 155). The wrapper had a good texture ...