Frannywanny

♫  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...everywhere you goooooo  ♫ Here I am again going around town in search of the yummiest things to give this Christmas! It's not a difficult feat as Manila is literally bursting with so much talented home bakers and chefs thus the challenge actually lies in knowing how to best fill your tummy with all these goodies! As I'd always tell visiting friends, be ready to pack in a few pounds during the holiday season as you'll surely be surrounded by all these mouthwatering creations 24/7. During my quick visit to Manila, a bright yellow box was delivered to my home and the packaging was the first thing that caught our attention. The box was created using corrugated sheets and it was just so cute and innovative. As you must have noticed, my family loves pretty and creative paper creations so even before we got to opening the box, we all ooh'ed and ahhh'ed by just checking the packaging out. Now, the grand unveili...

Yesterday felt like Christmas morning.  You know, just when you wake up with excitement in your heart knowing that something good will happen that day and you patiently wait for the day or the hours to roll by until the right  time comes. As soon as it does, you hold on to it so dearly as you wish that the feeling and happiness it gives you can just go on forever.  Yesterday, Paul and I went to visit the first ever Southeast Asian store of the famous Laduree from Paris . I've been hearing about this from friends who has been to Japan and Hong Kong and would talk non-stop about this mouth-watering macaron shop. During my recent trip to Hong Kong though, I had this in my list but was unsuccesful in finding it. As I flew back home, I told myself that the right time will come when I will finally be able to visit Laduree. Well, I never thought that  time would come so soon. Imagine how happy I was when I read a news article announcing that Laduree is opening in...

I ♥ French Macarons.  The first time I tried this was when Bizu opened a branch in Greenhills and my parents brought us there for brunch. After enjoying our plates of Eggs Benedict and Croque Madame, we ordered a bag of colorful macarons which to me, back then, looked like colored cream-filled eggnog cookies. I took my first bite and that moment, my friends, was the start of my love affair with French Macarons. Since then, I've been going around town trying all brands of French Macarons . From Bizu and Bar Dolci to Chef Karine -- always enjoying the excitement that the first bite brings as you always wonder if the flavor is something your taste buds will fancy. Then I met Alchemy . One day, I got a text message from a high school friend asking me if I want to try her sister's homemade macarons. Of course I immediately said YES. I ordered a box of 10 (Php. 355) with a mix of these flavors : Salted Caramel, Coffee Caramel Ganache, Green Tea, Banana Walnut and Dark Choco...

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...