Frannywanny

A little more than two years ago, Paul and I first visited Calderon --  back then, a new Spanish restaurant located just a few blocks away from our home. From the minute we set foot inside up until we finally tried the food and enjoyed it, I knew that Calderon was here to stay. Our first visit was quickly followed by a second, a third and countless more as we would bring friends and family to try our new discovery out. Even after moving to the Lion City, we would make it a point to go back to Calderon once in a while whenever we're in town. Take for example, my Mommy's birthday party where our entire family took up the second floor of the restaurant and we feasted on Calderon's signature dishes including Mommy's favourite paella, of course. Needless to say, Calderon  has immediately became our family's favorite. photo by Mommy! During my recent visit home, my family and I went back to Calderon for a nice Sunday get-together. Even Kongkong was so excited ...

We all know that Metro Manila is literally bursting with so many restaurants, cafes, eateries and foodie spots found all over the 16 cities and 1 municipality of the region. I've lived there for 20+ years of my life and I can say that I still have a lifetime to go if I seriously want to try at least half of all the restaurants available. Despite the big number, when it comes to dining out with my family to celebrate a special occasion, we would always have just a handful of choices to choose from. Don't look at me. I'm not the only  picky eater in the family! Obviously, my picky taste must have originated from somewhere , right? ;) As the person who frequents the very few places that he loves to dine in, my Dad has quite a growing list of requirements whenever we go out to celebrate someone's birthday or a family milestone. Clean ambiance? Check! Delicious, high quality food? Check! Serves steak or beef? Check check check! So far, Mario's Restaurant has passed...

If there's one mantra that my parents live by, it would be this: "The family that eats together, stays together." Given our busy schedules, we all make it a point to at least have dinner together. At home, dinner time would last for more than 2 hours as we would take this opportuntiy to update everyone how our day went and basically what's going on with our lives. I have to say that having these moments allowed us to stay very close as a family. I guess, this is the reason why I miss my family so much now that I'm miles and miles away. I think of them every single day and most especially during dinner time. A few months ago, I availed the Casa Marcos coupon from Deal Grocer . For only Php. 799 (from Php. 1,500++), we got a paella of our choice and a caraffe of sangria too! We all love paella so this dinner was definitely highly anticipated by everyone. When I told my parents that we made dinner reservations at Casa Marcos , Mommy got so excited as she reme...

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. ...

I have a thing towards neighborhood, hole-in-a-wall food finds! This is most especially when I end up having a good meal there then it gives me that sense of fulfillment and the feeling of success that I've once again found a hidden gem. I think I've been all over San Juan and Kapitolyo, two neighborhoods that hold dear to my heart yet more and more neighborhood restaurants are popping out here and there that it can be quite a challenge trying to keep up with it. Manila is truly a booming wonderland for foodies like you and me! Recently, Paul and I visited Galli Village Cafe , a fairly new restaurant in San Antonio Village in Makati. It was upon an invitation from a former business contact that brought us to this side of town on a not-so-hectic Monday evening. With us were fellow bloggers Richard and Abet and their lovely wives too. I got there famished! Having had a light lunch earlier that day, I felt my tummy rumbling angrily as soon as I saw the llanera of Paella Valen...

Every single time I dine at Mario's Restaurant in Tomas Morato , I can't help but reminisce about my childhood years. The time when I would dine there with my parents and we would order their Grilled Tanigue with Dill Sauce for starters, have our own plates of Caesar Salad and this immediately will be followed by our respective choice of main dishes -- on most occasions I would switch back and forth between the Lamb Chops or the Chicken Parmigiana. Our meals will never be complete without looking at their dessert cart where my sister and I would always choose the gelatin with fruit cocktail inside. Oh how I always feel like a grown-up woman every time we dine at Mario's as I would carefully slice through my lamb chops or fork through my crisp salad. Fast forward a little more than ten years after, I'm back at Mario's this time really as a grown married woman with my husband sitting beside me as we attended a special dinner hosted by Fil and Anton Benitez , the ...

"Hi, I'm Frannywanny and I'm a group buying site addict. *hic*" I have three favorite group buying sites that I frequent on a weekly basis. For me, they all have the best formula : good choices of restaurants + irresistible discounts and promotions All three sites offer the chance for me to either try a new restaurant or go back to an old favorite packaged with an amazing discount that helps me save and keep my wallet on a healthy state. How else can I say no? Recently, I bought two coupons from Deal Grocer that will enable Paul and I to partake in the daily buffet of Alba Restaurante Español -- a favorite Spanish restaurant of ours which we used to frequent with our families to celebrate certain milestones such as Paul's college graduation a few years ago. Admittedly, it has been a while since we've been back and when I bought the coupon, I wasn't even planning to make reservations as I thought the restaurant won't be full anyway. I'm g...

What I love most about the weekend is that I get to dine out with both families. Saturdays are normally devoted to my side while Sunday lunch is spent with my in-laws. It is the time when we catch up on each other’s lives while not thinking about our weekday activities a.k.a. work. Last Sunday, the choice was up to me. Wanting to try Chef Jaume Vinallonga’s Paella Valenciana Set at Barcino , I invited my in-laws for lunch and I’m glad that they were all very excited to give it a try as well. We arrived at the restaurant a little past 12 and we were assisted by restaurant manager JM who took care of our orders that day. The Paella Valenciana set consists of a llanera of Seafood Paella, a bowl of Ensalada Catalana and the yummy Crema Catalana. Of course, we were also served with a glass of Castillero del Diablo red wine. For starters, Barcino served us with their complimentary bread basket with tomato spread . My mom-in-law commented how fresh and sweet the minced tomatoes w...