Frannywanny

I've never had a sweet tooth. When I was growing up, there were only two types of desserts that I love -- Ice Cream and Crinkles. I don't even like cookies that much..well not as much as my sister who can totally beat cookie monster any day for as long as she has a bag of her famous cookies on hand. I also do not crave for cakes or pastries as majority of which I find to be way too sweet for me. I guess, loving ice cream is a no brainer. It's the best comfort food and you can have it at any given time of the day. After a meal, in between meals, while watching TV or movie, while nursing a heartache and so on.  I also do not have a particular favorite ice cream flavor as I love trying a variety and my choice also depends on my mood. So why crinkles? For some reason, I've always correlate crinkles to Christmas -- my favorite time of the year. Perhaps, that's when we would regularly get to receive a box or two of crinkles. I love the kind that's moist and gooe...

I got to admit that among all the cake flavors, Black Forest is one of my least favorites. Why? In the past, the versions that I've tried just have this off-balanced flavor of the dark chocolate cake together with the bitter cherry filling plus that diabetic-inducing heavy cream frosting. For my younger self, it was just too... weird. Since then, I've stayed far far away from ordering Black Forest in whatever occasion it may be. This may be one of the most classic cake flavors in the display case but I'd often go with the fruity kinds or the good ol' Mocha Chiffon Cake if I want to play safe. So, when I recently received a beautiful box of Black Forest Mille Crepe  (Php. 2,000) from Paper Moon  for Valentines Day, I proceeded with a bit more caution. First things first, I tasted with an open mind. After all, my last recollection of having Black Forest was 20-something years ago. Things do can change and they can definitely change for the better. I took one small b...

I once said that my Papa is a creature of habit most especially when it comes to his dining preferences. Well, I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree as I would catch myself going through certain routines once in a while. Take for example every trip I make to Cebu City. Three things are for sure: First, I get to eat lechon (lots of it!). Secondly, I have to hoard on bags of chicharon to take home with me. Lastly, I always have to visit La Marea Pastry Shop in Crossroads, Banilad. Such was the case again during our recent visit to the Queen City of the South last December. After having a nice romantic dinner at Maya Mexican Restaurant , Paul and I walked over to La Marea Pastry Shop for dessert! Of course, after all those years hearing my raves about it, it's finally time for Paul to have his own taste of La Marea's Warm Brownie Cup .

The name Godiva has long been synonymous with premium, high quality chocolates. Growing up, I would remember my mom carefully buying her chosen box of Godiva truffles whenever we go abroad and she would take one piece and savor it for sooooo long with her eyes closed to match. I would just watch her with amusement as I would munch on my favorite piece of chocolate bar and consume this within seconds. It was only when I grew a bit older that I realized how precious Godiva chocolates are. With it's history dating back to 1926, Godiva has been creating a wide range of chocolate truffles with different fillings. My personal favorite are still the ones filled with nuts -- macadamia, hazel nuts and praline. I really love the combination of the nut and the dark cocoa. For me, I just love indulging in a piece or two to unwind. After all, chocolates are known to be one of the best stress-reliever too. Look what Paul and I found while shopping in Takashimaya Department Store last Su...

So this is what curiosity can do to you! Inspired by a couple of Youtube videos and an Instagram photo of a friend, I decided to take the challenge and to do the Koala Shake ! So, first thing was to head to the nearest grocery and to get a box of Lotte Koala's March Chocolate Snack . For those who are not familiar with this, these are crackers filled with gooey chocolate! It's pretty good and can be quite addicting. Click here to see how it looks like. To show you how I did the Koala Shake challenge , please watch this short video that I've created:

You know, back when I was a kid, I dreamt of being a newspaper editor. I wanted to be on top of the news and that I would be right at the center of where the action is. With my notebook and pen, I wanted to interview the politicians, big businessmen and even celebrities to have a glimpse of their interesting lives. . Most of all, I dreamt of being able to get a big juicy scoop and to have the chance to run to the printers while shouting "stop the press!" Well, today, that dream will somehow become a reality as I'm interrupting my Macau travel series to share with you guys a yummy piece of good news. Look at my newest discovery -- Ovomaltine Crunchy Cream . Initially, I thought the name was a bit odd as it had two contradicting words attached to the brand name ( Ovomaltine ). How can one be both crunchy and creamy at the same time? It didn't took me too long to get my answer. All I did was to open the jar and there I saw bits of crunchy Ovaltine granules mi...

We're back in Manila for a really quick visit and I was so thrilled to see a couple of surprises waiting for me at home. Here's a quick note of thanks to the kind folks who sent these yummy treats to me! Jollibee Tuna Pie It's lent and I practice abstinence. This means that I stay away from eating meat every Friday. I got to admit though that I've cheated once twice when we were in Singapore. It couldn't help it, the mouthwatering plate of Boneless Hainanese Chicken Rice was calling out my name. Kidding aside, I really tried but was faced with two circumstances that I just had to have that piece of juicy pork/chicken/beef sitting in front of me. Anyway, I hope I'll be able to stick to my sacrifice now that I'm back home at the moment. I was so happy to receive this pail filled with Jollibee Tuna Pie . Aside from the Jolly Hotdog and Burger Steak, this is one of my Jollibee favorites. I'm so happy there's a Jollibee branch in Singapore that...

"No way are we leaving Cebu without visiting La Marea !" This was what I repeatedly told my team from the moment we met up at NAIA 3 for our flight to Cebu up until our last night after our cooking demo. Having had the opportunity to visit Cebu before, one thing that I remembered about my previous trip was the visit to this small bakeshop in Crossroads commercial complex to eat this to-die-for warm brownie cup. I'm not a big chocolate fan but this dessert really blew me away. ML is a big chocolate fan and I was dead set in making her try this hidden gem. We had a very filling dinner to celebrate the success of our event and afterwards we sped around town to buy some danggit and dried mangoes to bring home. Despite feeling exhausted, I'm glad that the team was still game to have some dessert before heading back to the hotel. La Marea is a local pastry and coffee shop in Cebu that specializes in yummy cakes and their famous warm brownie cups. Imagine moist, me...

After having lunch at an Italian restaurant within the Bonifacio Global City , Paul together with our regular food buddies Richard and Irene trooped to Serendra simply to give in to my request to try Chez Karine out. It has been a month since I've heard about this new bakery that recently opened at the Serendra Mall called Chez Karine . Not long after, fellow bloggers have been writing about it making me more and more excited to give it a try myself. It's located beside my go-to cupcake place Sonja's and from the outside I already liked the pretty decors, the clean and bright feel perfectly accented with small cute decors. Inside I was mesmerized with the beautiful pastries! This reminds me of the cute bakeries the Paul and I love visiting in countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan . First off, I ordered a box of French Macarons (Php. 50/piece). They have a take-away box perfect for 7 pieces which allowed me to order one flavor each as Chez Karine exactly has sev...

Look what landed on my office desk one busy day. A box of Chocolates! H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S!!! It seems like someone knows that I need a little picker upper as I've been feeling a bit gloomy these days. I love pretty boxes and what more, a pretty box filled with chocolates. It was so hard to choose which one to try first. Each colored foil is equivalent to a specific type of chocolate be it a Praline ball in Milk Chocolate with Caramel Cream (Gold foil) or Praline Sticks in Dark Chocolate with Orange Cream Filling (Orange Stick). I personally love the Praline Balls in Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut Cream Filling and Cereals (Shiny Orange foil) and the Praline Ball in Dark Chocolate with Coffee Cream Filling (Black foil). Price starts at Php. 480 for the sampler box and they have bigger boxes in 250g and 500g too. Visit Villa del Conte at the 3rd Floor, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, Edsa corner Shaw Blvd in Mandaluyong City. Call them at 893-2575 or 621-6101.

After weeks of consecutive weekend getaways, Paul and I found some downtime this weekend where we were able to wake up later than usual, have longer meals with the family and go out to watch a movie. Given our busy weekend schedules, believe it or not, going out on movie dates doesn't happen that often anymore. *sigh* Which is the reason why I totally get ecstatic whenever we get to really go out on a date...just the two of us spending more quality time together. Yesterday, we headed to the Powerplant Mall to watch a movie. I totally love my husband for giving up watching Dark Shadows over the very girly romantic comedy movie What to Expect When You're Expecting as he knows that I've been wanting to watch this movie since I learned about it months ago (..and after hearing me say, "this movie got an all-star cast in it!" probably a dozen times) . Yay! Thank you Paul for spoiling me. ♥ It was indeed a fun movie with a couple of my favorite Hollywood stars like...

Don't you just loveeeeee breakfast? I really do but I sometimes find it so hard to pull myself out of bed especially during the weekends. Can you relate with me? This is the reason why I totally salute the person who invented the word "brunch". It's perfect! Not too early like breakfast yet no need to wait till 12 for it to officially be considered lunch. Take for example what happened last Sunday. Paul and I had to bring my sister to the airport at 10AM for her to make it to her noon flight. Feeling our tummies grumbling loudly, we headed to Marriott Hotel's Cafe at Newport City to avail of their Sunday Brunch where we, together with other bloggers, were invited as it was their opening day. We were one of the first who arrived and boy I was so excited! The buffet spread was pretty impressive! We were greeted with an abundant display of fresh oysters with sauces and toppings to suit your taste. Across it was the cheese display where I helped myself to...

In Hong Kong, there are only two main things you should not miss to do… to shop and to eat. While we were busy hitting our favorite shops all around Hong Kong, we also kept our eyes open for delicious finds as well. Such was the case of these to-die-for Chocolate Sticky Donuts (HKD $7) from the Little Mermaid Bakery – I remember reading how much fellow food blogger Leslie enjoyed these delicious indulgent donuts during her trip to Hong Kong and I grabbed the opportunity upon finding it near City’Super at Harbour City on our second day in Hong Kong. The case was almost empty and I was lucky to find the last clam-shell with four donuts sitting on the shelf. I grabbed it and quickly marched to the counter to make sure it will be truly mine. Paul was even telling me to ask if we can just get two as four donuts might be too much for us. I didn’t want to bother the sales clerk anymore and told him that we’ll eventually be able to finish it before heading back to Manila anyway. Let...

Pasalubong is the Tagalog term for presents given by someone who just came home from a trip. A pasalubong is normally a native product from a province or a keepsake from the visited destination. Before leaving Tagaytay City , popular pasalubongs would include Buko Pie, Pineapple, Guyabano, Espasol and Langka. On our drive home during our recent visit to Tagaytay, we chanced upon a brighly lit pink signage that says Kesong Puti and Fresh Milk for sale. We have heard raves about Mr Moo's Carabao Fresh Milk and Paul was determined to give this a try. Visiting the store, we found out that they are selling more than Carabao Fresh Milk. In fact, they have a huge blackboard filled with their items such as Pastillas de Leche (Milk Candy), Feta Cheese, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese and even Goat's Soap! Making it an interesting pasalubong stop. We ordered two bottles of Carabao Choco Milk (P36 / 200ML) to share with my sister. Since the ride home will take us a little more than an ...

Today was a very stressful day. Meeting deadlines, running around to coordinate with various departments, working together with the Editorial team, checking proofs and watching out for grammar and spelling errors... all these in preparation for the 10th Anniversary Issue of Entrepreneur Philippines . We're all working very hard on this and we pray that our readers will love it! (So make sure to watch out, check out the surprise that we've prepared and grab a copy as it will surely be a Collector's edition!) I went home with a nasty throbbing headache and all I really want to do is to curl up in bed with my fluffy pink blanket. But that didn't happen...Thank God for giving me a sweet husband who surprised me with a mouthwatering chocolate cake that he bought after receiving a text message from me early today saying... "Hunnie, I'm having a stressful day...*sniffle* :(" He knows me too well..truly food is the best way to brighten up my day. He ...

It was our first Saturday night out after the wedding and boy, were we excited! Thanks to my dear friend N who invited us to an private auction party organized by Chocolate Fire , we headed to Salcedo Village eager to check out the lovely photos of the ever-famous Raymund Isaac and of course to indulge in the delicious chocolate creations that N has been telling me about. The place was packed! As we slide ourselves in, we found N who was waiting for us by the chocolate counter. My eyes widen at the sight of the different chocolate bars available. What caught our attention thought was the huge strawberries covered with chocolate that was being passed around. It was so delicious! Around the store, they have displayed the different chocolate-themed photos taking by Raymund Isaac of local celebrities and fashion models. All throughout the evening, we were given different chocolate treats, sandwiches and drinks while swaying to the music of the bands entertaining the crowd all nig...

Here's something you and your kids can do at home to liven up your day. Try the OREO online game which you can access at www.shareoreo.com . Here are the two games that you can play: Twist, Lick and Dunk! The challenge is to drag the corresponding blocks to the correct empty box labeled with a "?" This is a perfect hand and eye coordination game where you have to make sure you can easily navigate your mouse around the screen. OREO bonding puzzle Given various items found on the screen, you have to be able to click on the corresponding pieces following the conversation between the mom and her child. The goal is to get both mom and child on the table to enjoy their pack of OREO as they Twist, Lick and Dunk! This game may be a bit tricky but as soon as you get the pattern, it is very fun and interesting to play. This is actually my favorite game in the site! Check out these fun online OREO games over at www.shareoreo.com !

Everyone is a chocoholic, in one way or another. For instance, my family loves deep dark chocolates while I prefer the smooth milky white ones. Nonetheless, we have that sudden craving for that bitter-sweet bar of chocolate that promises to take your stress away. We were fortunate to be invited to Xocolat , a lovely chocolate cafe tucked within the residential part of Katipunan in Quezon City. From the outside, it looks just like any of the houses beside it however, one step inside and you will be transported to relaxing chocolate haven. While scanning the menu, we chatted with Xocolat's marketing manager Tricia who also suggested a couple of items that we should try. For starters, we got the Churros con Xocolat (Php. 95), we love having churros as a snack and it's our first time to have this as an appetizer. I love how thin and crunchy Xocolat's churros are. The chocolate syrup won Paul's heart as he literally scraped the saucer clean. I love how it has a hint...

Father's Day is coming this Sunday and Bizu Patisserie and Bistro was able to come up with this amazing gift idea that you can surprise your dad with. Check out these Sugarless Chocolate Cigars (Php. 1895) that comes in 5 yummy flavors! When my friend Audrey offered to send a box over for my dad, I cautiously asked her if these are real cigars as my dad does not smoke. She assured me that there is no need to light it up instead a couple of bites and munches is needed to enjoy. We tried the first cigar last night -- Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut Feulletine and everyone agreed that it was delicious! We're excited to enjoy the other for cigars in the coming days! What I also love about it is that it comes in a pretty hard case! Here's a great way to impress dad on his day! :) Plus get a pair of men's socks from Goldtoe for ever purchase of these yummy chocolate cigars! Bizu Patisserie and Bistro is located at the ground floor of the Promenade Mall, Green...

Today we celebrate Mother's Day . A special day where we are given the chance to thank and acknowledge the only woman who would love us forever and ever -- our Mom. This year, I'd like to say thank you to the three special women in my life... To my Amah , who continuous to keep herself updated with our lives. She's my biggest fan -- from supporting my culinary dreams to being the proudest grandma in her group who would brag about our achievements -- big or small. My Amah is the sweetest person I know, she never complains nor demands anything from us, she appreciates the littlest things that we do and finds joy in the simplest way. Amah, wo ai ni :) To my soon-to-be Mother-in-Law, Auntie Baby . while we rarely get to see each other that often, I enjoy every single dinner spent with her as she continuous to reach out and gives us sound advice. I'm thankful that she welcomed me into her family and I look forward to more bonding moments in the near future. :) Thank...