Frannywanny

Every time Paul takes me out on a date, I still feel all giddy and excited about it. Mind you, we have been dating for more than 9 years already! While we're no longer the college kids that we used to be where sharing a cup of Mocha Frappuccino and a plate California Maki would turn me all lovey-dovey , I still blush and get tiny butterflies in my stomach whenever he tells me to prepare for a date. As we were planning our mini staycation at the Manila Marriott Hotel a few weeks back, we both agreed to just enjoy the hotel's facilities and not to go out..not even for dinner. This just means that we will be having ALL our meals inside the hotel. Luckily, our overnight stay also came with a complimentary dinner at Cru Steakhouse . Yay! It was both our first time to actually dine at Cru except for the time wherein we were invited to try Marriott Cafe's Sunday Brunch which includes crossing over to Cru for some juicy steak and seared foie gras. Remember we had guests ...

From the moment that I got engaged, I simply thought that Paul and I will be able to have more time to spend dating, going out on regular movie nights, enjoying a weekly massage and a lot more. In other words, I never thought that after being married for two years, our schedules would turn from hectic to crazy to crazier! Every weekend, we have deliveries to attend to, a growing business to take care of and a number of functions and parties to attend. That's how our two day weekend run and we don't even have a baby to worry about yet! Our weekends are normally filled to the brim that we truly cherish rare lazy weekends with not a single thing to do. This is the reason why both Paul and I love having impromptu dinner dates that allow us to unwind and to just enjoy a really good meal. A few months ago, we got an invite to we spend a quiet night at Dusit Thani Manila 's Italian restaurant -- Tosca . We've dined at Tosca before, first, for an event for work and second, a...

Oh I just love discovering secret dining places! This is the reason why I immediately grabbed the chance to try Atelier 317 when an offer worth Php. 995 was posted at Deal Grocer . What initially was planned to be a romantic dinner date for two was happily turned into a fun dinner out with my two favorite eating companions Paul and Richard . We had to make a reservation days in advance as the place has only three table thus it has a very limited seating capacity. I've been hearing about Atelier 317 from friends and fellow food lovers, this restaurant is owned by Chef Stephanie Zubiri and is located at a private home in Makati. Thankfully, both Paul and Richard have amazing sense of direction so I didn't have to worry on how to get to our 'secret' destination. We entered Palm Village which is very near Rockwell Center. The streets are quite narrow but following the direction given by the guard, we immediately located Atelier 317 . It's a two or three storey hom...

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...

One thing that Paul and I love about Christmas and about being married is that ever since we tied the knot, we finally can celebrate the holiday season together! You see, for the past 7 years when we were dating, Christmas for Paul means driving to his hometown in Pampanga to celebrate the holidays with his extended family. Whereas for me, I spend Christmas Eve with my mom's side and Christmas Day at home with my immediate family of 4. Not wanting to join the holiday rush and to just waste precious time in traffic, we decided to postpone our annual Holi-date to the day after Christmas where almost everyone is back at work and the roads are free of cars and the malls not that filled with frantic shoppers. So there we were at 11AM right in front of Seryna Japanese Restaurant , our Holi-date venue for the year. What we failed to take note was that the restaurant opens at 11:30 which means we have to wait for half an hour more before we can finally have lunch. Drat! I'm star...

Another year has passed and here we are again celebrating Valentine's Day . For the past seven years, I would excitedly wait for this day wondering what Paul has in store for me. Every year, he would pick me up and surprise (yes, even after 7 years I'd still get surprised) with a bouquet of roses . Paul would bring me to a really nice restaurant, somewhere new to the both of us and we'd enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner. It's a simple gesture but I know it's one that was well-thought of by my ever sweetest husband. This year, we'll be celebrating our first Valentine's Day as a married couple out of town with half of the club as we watch more than a dozen colorful Hot Air Balloons fly up, up and away across the Pampanga sky. A week after that, we will continue our Happy Hearts Day celebration halfway across the globe as we visit friends and relatives and say hello to my dear Mickey and Minnie , this time the non-Cantonese speaking type. For those wh...

Mien-San Noodle House has been around since I was still in Grade School. I remember spending Friday afternoons there with my parents as we enjoy their delicious noodle soup and dumplings. They have been a permanent fixture along Granada Avenue that their bright yellow signage just makes up the over-all look of this semi-commercial/residential area. Not so long ago, I blogged about Mien-San being our go-to place whenever hungry strikes late in the evening . It has been a regular hang-out for guys after a basketball game and families who are craving for some warm noodles before they head to bed. Recently, Mien-San had a little face lift where the little yellow signage was replaced by a bright red store facade signage that spells out M-I-E-N S-A-N which can easily be read meters away. The size of the store doubled as compared to its old located and they have added more dishes to their menu. It's a good thing though, our favorite choices were all still available. For Paul...

A couple of months ago, I was lucky to be chosen to win a romantic dinner date at Restaurant 101 by Pond's . Time went by so fast that Paul and I realized that the certificate was expiring next month and so we have decided to use it right away. It was just timely that we celebrated our last monthsary before our BIG day last Saturday. Overlooking the sentence that says to call 72 hours in advance, I just took the chance and tried to book a reservation barely 6 hours before dinner time. With our fingers crossed, we waited for the confirmation from Restaurant 101 . Luck must have been by our side that I immediately got a reply saying that we may proceed with our reservation for that evening. Yay! Arriving at Restaurant 101 , I was at awe with the grand interiors and the exterior reminds me of old western architecture with huge beams and high ceilings. Entering the restaurant, we were ushered by a nice Korean girl who happens to be a student of Enderun College , the culinary sc...

Paul and I are such big fans of ribs ! We enjoy the tender, falls-off-the-bone type that was perfectly marinaded in yummy barbeque sauce and grilled to perfection. Sure we have tried a number of rib dishes here and there but we are still in the look-out for that perfect ribs platter that will make us lick our fingers clean and leave our stomachs happy. I've been looking forward to this year's Valentine's Day simply because Paul told me he got something planned already. You see, for probably 350 days in the year, Paul will just leave me to choose which restaurant to dine in and to plan our entire day's itinerary. For the remaining 15 days though, which includes Valentine's Day, my birthday and our monthsaries and anniversaries, then he would take charge in doing so. He told me that we will have a fun romantic dinner in Makati and left it at that. The suspense was killing me as I was dying to find out where exactly our Valentine's dinner would be. Despite consta...

As they say... the way to a man / woman's heart is through his/her stomach it's a good thing that Spot.ph came out with this amazing listing of all the Valentine's Day promotions around the Metro :) This will be a running list where I will be adding more entries as we get closer to the V-Day! Romantic Date Places 22 Prime at the Discovery Suites Indulge with 22 Prime’s dinner buffet and Prime rib carving station on February 13, Saturday and February 14, Sunday at P1,400+ per person . Adarna Food and Culture Adarna is giving a 20% discount on all bottles of wine for the whole month of February. A tertulia , ‘PS. Mahal Kita ,” and a love letter reading contest will be held on February 13, Saturday at 7 p.m., wherein guests will be providing the entertainment. Guests are requested to come in Filipiniana attire and are encouraged to share their talents during the program. Songs, dances, poems or the playing of musical instruments are welcome Aubergine Duck Foie gras praline...

Christmas is fast approaching and as more and more people head out to the malls, Paul and I took one Saturday off and drove up to Tagaytay for a short R&R. Tagaytay has been our favorite place and it was actually our first out-of-town destination when we started dating six years ago. Yep! Needless to say, Tagaytay holds a special place in our hearts and not a single year has passed without us visiting this lovely destination down south. We love Tagaytay for so many things... ... the cold weather ... its proximity to home (it's near yet far enough to allow us to take a break from our crazy city life) and best of all, ... the FOOD (from Sonya's to Bawaii's to Buon Giorno's, every trip to Tagaytay brings us to a new food discovery that we happily add to our list of favorites) We drove up to Tagaytay with no definite plan in mind, however we went prepared. Armed with a pack of crackers, a bottle of water, a pack of chips and two cans of Century Gourmet Bangus Fillet...