Frannywanny

The beautiful island of Boracay will always have a special place in my heart. It's there where I had my first sunburn and literally looked like a lobster for weeks, it's also there were I learned to love the beach life and continued to yearn for it on a yearly basis , lastly, Boracay was also where Paul and I spent the last leg of our 3-part honeymoon at. Related post: 10 fun things you can do in Boracay So, when our government suddenly woke up one morning and decided that "hey, today sounds like a good day to shut down the island." My heart broke and cried together with everyone, who in one way or another, called Boracay their... home . Such was the case of our dear friends N and O. They were our "neighbors" back when Paul and I were doing our mini food business at Mercato Central. We always look forward to chatting with them on a weekly basis and their sunshiney personality would always make a bad sales day much much brighter. Plus, I just love tre...

Despite my short visit home, I made it a point to visit some of my favorite restaurants. True, I have a growing list of new restaurants to try but there are just some times that I would prefer something that's familiar, something that brings comfort, something safe. So, when I was setting a dinner catch-up with my cousins-in-law, I suggested that we go to Hole in the Wall in Century City Mall. If you recall, I've dined there with my family last December but after months of being away, I just have to satisfy my craving for that yummy Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Bad Bird and that to-die-for freshly baked cookies from Scout's Honor . In addition to that, I heard that there were more stalls that opened after my visit so I am definitely heading straight to those. We were a huge group of 9 so you can just imagine the amount of food that went around as we shared all our orders that evening. Let me share with you my top picks :

Have you ever watched the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? Remember scenes when Gus, the dad of lead actress, Toula, would refer everything back to its Greek word origin? While we all know that this was included as a comic relief, it also showed how proud Gus is to be Greek. His character reminded me so much of my own dad. No, Papa do not go around spraying everything and everyone with Windex but he also loves sharing stories about China and what it has created in this world. My dad is mighty proud of our origin and do value the importance of understanding our roots. As for me, I show my appreciation through my stomach. :) It's no secret that I love Chinese food. I love the wide-variety of dishes that you can create with one main ingredient. As Papa would say, the best Chinese chef should know how to cook an egg in 100 different ways. I haven't went past 15 so I guess I have a lonnng way to go. :) Kwong's Provisions was the first stall that my family checke...

It's a great great week, dear readers! No particular reason why but I just made the decision to start the week in a positive note. Given that, I thought of sharing with you one of my happiest discoveries during my recent visit back to Manila. Welcome to Hole in the Wall . Located at the top level of Century City Mall in Makati. I never imagined for such a cool mall to open in this spot as it used to be a mainly residential/office area. At some point, we felt like tourists in our own country as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed as we walked our way to the top of the mall. It's so pretty and I love love love it! For this particular visit, my family went there to have lunch. I've been hearing a great deal about Hole in the Wall from my foodie circle and I knew that I just have to check it out while I'm there. The top level has an al-fresco set-up where you can also find CaliBurger, 12 Monkeys and Andale by Agave. My dad, in particular, was amazed as he slowly checke...