Frannywanny

Truth to be told, I've never voluntarily been to a bar ever in my life. Save for some work-related or a blogging event where I'm normally there before the party hour happens, I've lived all 30 years of my life spending my Saturday nights having a really good dinner in a restaurant, at home or hanging out at a coffee shop. Some might think my life is pretty boring but given a choice to live all 30 years again, I think I'd still do what I have been doing. At least it keeps my liver and lungs healthy and it saves my parents from staying up all night worrying about my whereabouts. Well, if there's one bar that I didn't mind hanging out in...it would be THIS. Welcome to Burger Bar . I first tried this during my despedida lunch with the Publishers Group. My friend and former colleague T took care of ordering the starters and desserts for all of us. All we had to do was to pick out our choice of burger from the list. My choice was simple -- the Rising Shroom (P...

Being Filipinos, our local dishes are highly influenced by a number of other cuisines. We have strong Chinese influence as seen in our Humba (stewed pork), Pancit (noodles) and Chopsuey (mixed stir-fried vegetables) to name a few. Americans have influenced us with our love for steak, ribs and burger. However, I think the most prominent and strongest influence came during the Spanish era. A number of well-loved restaurants that has been around for decades showcase a mix of Filipino-Spanish dishes. Even my family who would feast on a 12-course Chinese lauriat dinner during birthdays and weddings would celebrate with paella, cochinillo and gambas on super special occasions. I remember my last weekend as single girl before I tied the knot with Paul, my mom hosted dinner for our immediate family at Casa Armas in Podium. Both mommy and my Kongkong loves paella and for them, the best one left is Casa Armas as most of the restaurants that they used to frequent have closed shop years ago. ...

Stepping inside Ma Maison in Greenbelt 2 , I can't help but recall a scene from one of my favorite movies -- Julie and Julia . I'm not sure why.. Could it be because of the kitchen set-up with copper pans and dainty-looking tea-cups? The restaurant gives off a very homey vibe that matches the line of European hostel keys that hangs by the cashier's area. Ma Maison , after all, means My House when translated from French. We truly felt welcomed with the delightful service as well as the yummy food. We actually were able to try a lot of dishes majority of which were pretty good that Paul and I found ourselves back at Ma Maison days after. For starters, we had the Escargots Baked with Garlic Butter (Php. 385). I have a confession..in my many years of eating..I've..never...ever...ever...had...escagots. However, there will always be a first time and that happened at Ma Maison. I had not one...not two but three delicious escagots swimming in garlic butter on to...