Frannywanny

With a number of restaurants offering fusion cuisine or those that aims to inject more creativity into their dishes, rarely do we get to find one nowadays that offers dishes that stay as true and authentic as possible to the original version. After a tearful check out from  Somerset Millennium Makati , we decided to still stay in the area for lunch and that's how we got to discover  Tatatito.   You may wonder why were there tears upon checking out. Well, the twins enjoyed their overnight staycation at  Somerset Millennium Makati   so much that they refused to check out and bid the hotel goodbye. We then had to lure them that we're not heading home yet and we will be checking a new restaurant out in the area instead. That somehow stopped the tears from falling. Oh my staycation-loving babies.  Tatatito was just located a stone's throw away from the hotel. Since we went to dine on a Monday, parking was a bit challenging since the streets were all lined with...

Rise and Shine, Manila! I've been meaning to write this entry all throughout Holy Week but the farthest I've went was to edit and upload the photos. We've also been taking the twins out for quick trips to the supermarket, to my Kongkong's place, to the playground..anywhere just to spend more time with our little twin stars before Mommy and Daddy goes back to work. True enough, as soon as Monday rolled in, we've both been so busy catching up with all the backlogs and meeting endless deadlines. What do you know?! It's Friday already and I'm honestly not looking forward to the next two weeks as Yaya M will be gone for her holiday and it means we will be yaya-less for 10 whole days. Don't get me wrong. My twins are adorable and they're so much easier to manage now but when you have a full time job and a million things needed to be done, it's really hard to find time to juggle mommyhood, your career and everything else in between. So, if I suddenl...

It's no secret how much I love Cebuano lechon. Apart from my all-time fave, very sosyal  Truffled Stuffed Lechon , I love the saltiness of the Cebunao lechon and the fact that minimal dipping is required. Apart from this, I love Cebu . The Queen City of the South where you can get the yummiest finds. It's here where I load up on roasted meats, dried danggit (fish) and my ever favorite -- dried mangoes with chocolate. So, when word went around that Rico's Lechon from Cebu will open their first store here in Manila sometime back in August, I was really excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, being full time Mommy to my twins doesn't really make me as mobile as I used to be so even a short trip to the Bonifacio Global City entails a whole lot of coordination, planning and logistical arrangements. You see, every time I visit Cebu, I make it a point to have lechon. I have my go-to Cebu Lechon spot which I would frequent every time I'm in the city. Somehow, I know ...

"I'm craving for Pinoy garlic rice, tocino, egg and atchara..ugh!" This is what I suddenly messaged my Pinoy lunch group at work yesterday. It's the type of craving that you can clearly imagine the food in your mind and you're starting to smell it too. Clearly, I'm missing home and I'm really bummed that my supposed flight home tonight won't be pushing through. Anyway, happy thoughts again..happy thoughts. I got to admit that I didn't grow up eating Filipino food on a daily basis as we got a very Chinese-style kitchen back home. In fact, not so long ago, I wouldn't even consider Filipino cuisine as one of my favorites. Well as they say, " absence makes the heart grow fonder"  and that's how I am towards Filipino food for the past 3 years plus. This is also why we make it a point to visit a Filipino restaurant whenever we fly home. So, on our most recent trip home, we brought the entire family out for lunch at Wooden Spoon ...

Lunch Break! Normally, lunch for me would consist of two slices of wholewheat bread and my choice of veggies or meat that I would tabao  from my favorite soup restaurant beside my office. On other days, I would bring some home-cooked packed lunch or if I want to go healthy, it would be a huge container of salad. Given that I tend to work as I eat, lunch has always been something light and quick for me. It has indeed been sometime when I was able to sit down, enjoy a real good meal and to chitchat a little longer. Well, after a series of stressful workdays, the kind genie (a.k.a. my friend WT) must have heard my plea and he granted me one wish -- to join him for lunch at Melt - The World Cafe in Mandarin Oriental . What makes it event better? The fact that Melt recently launched a 10-day long Filipino Buffet promotion highlighting a wide-array of classic dishes that I miss so much. This got me really excited that I've been looking forward to this lunch since Monday. ...

Yes, you read that right. Cebuano Lechon  here in the Lion City! This just got to be every Singapore-based Filipino's dream come true! It's true, Lucky Plaza has been there for ages and it has been our go-to place whenever we're craving for some home-cooked favorites but even after all those plates of adobo, laing, sisig or bopis, somehow the flavors still have not hit a perfect bull's eye. I often would think it's probably because I have a really picky sense of taste and the fact that my taste buds have been quite spoiled after all these years of being exposed to really good food back home. It sure reminds me of home, that's true, but there's just that lack of authenticity still, I guess. Then, a few weeks ago, I heard the news about a stall selling Cebuano lechon in Paya Lebar . A couple of bloggers began raving about it and even my friend D told me that she's excited to give it a try. Sounds promising! Finally, the chance to visit this side of ...

Lately it has been extremely hot outside. Too hot that I have been avoiding all reasons to go out for lunch and instead would happily eat my homemade sandwich in the comforts of my air-conditioned office. Oh what I'd give to have a tall glass of Halo-Halo right now. This year, someone predicted that the Filipino cuisine will be the next big thing . I'm really excited for this to happen as I honestly feel there's so much for the world to taste and to appreciate about our local dishes. Set aside the famous adobo, we got our laing, pinakbet, the really comforting sinigang, our wake-me-upper silogs and of course, all our pork dishes from crispy pata down to sisig. The Filipino cuisine will surely take the gastronomic world by storm, don't you think? Having said that, I really miss Filipino food at the moment. Despite the many restaurants available, if you ask my Mom about her favorite Filipino restaurants, she will probably name 2-3 in a snap. One of these is Mesa Filip...

Two years ago, I met Chef Myke Tatung . He’s a happy and friendly man who, in my books, bakes the yummiest breads in town. He used to hold private dinners in his home , first doing this every Friday nights only and later extending to the weekends. His menu changes every week and every time I look forward to his announcement over Facebook . What began as a hush hush secret among food lovers the news about Chef Myke’s place spread like wildfire. People were talking about it. Couples would have their romantic dates there. Families would enjoy a delicious evening at Chef Myke’s place as well. Fast forward to a few months ago, Chef Myke opened his new restaurant at Acacia Estate. Given that Taguig is quickly turning into a highly commercialized area with a number of good restaurants here and there, it was just perfect timing and it indeed made perfect sense that Chef Tatung’s Restaurant was born. Chef Tatung has been serving a wide-range of cuisines however for his restaurant he foc...

We only had three whole days in Cebu and with all the meetings, trade checks and a grand cooking demo lined up, the only thing that kept all of us in high spirits was the thought of being able to eat good food for all three days. Of course, I made sure that my team won't go home disappointed so I did my research and had my list all ready. Given our short visit, I wanted to give them a little bit of Cebu's best -- gastronomical-wise. We were able to try two of the best lechon brands in the city, had an amazing night cap while enjoying the best warm brownie cup in La Marea and of course, our celebration dinner just had to be in one of the best local Cebuano restaurants as recommended by fellow bloggers and the Lonely Planet .  This is none other than Golden Cowrie Native Restaurant . Golden Cowrie has been around since 1982 (we're of the same age!) . They're known to offer really good local dishes which we luckily were able to try that evening. The ambiance exu...