Frannywanny

I got a confession to make. One that took me years to realize and to fully accept.  Okay, here goes... I can't live without RICE . Wow! That felt so good to put it out there. Well, I'm Asian and I grew up in the Philippines. Naturally, rice has been one of our staple in almost every meal (breakfast included). For years, I never reallly thought that I love it THAT much but living abroad, I would find myself choosing rice over noodles, rice over bread, rice over salad, rice over pasta... well that's still an ongoing debate. Anyway, you get the point. I pretty much can't live without rice. So, when I chanced upon Grilllo at PasarBella in Suntec City and got to try some of their dishes during their opening day, I knew that this is one stall that I'll go back and visit regularly. What's there not to love? Grilllo  specializes in Pan-Asian classic rice bowls with a bit of modern twist here and there. Let me show you some of the rice bowls that Paul and...

3 years ago, Paul and I travelled all the way to The Grandstand in order to check out Pasarbella , the first ever gourmet market in Singapore. Remember, this was where we fell in love with Le Patio 's paella and that's where I discovered Ugly Cakes ' cupcakes too! Admittedly though, the distance from home has really hindered us from frequenting Pasarbella even how fun it really it to be there. Since then, my only wish was for Pasarbella to open a second branch which hopefully will be in a more accessible location. This year, my wish was granted! The second Pasarbella branch opened its doors in the newest wing of Suntec City  and boy was I so happy! I first saw this when it was still having its soft opening and I went around to check out the kiosks present. Luckily, all 14 of them were already fully operational during my first visit.

There's really something magical about enjoying a cup of tea at any given time of the day. On most days, whenever I have a warm mug of tea with me, I tend to zone out from the bustling noise from our busy surroundings and for that short moment, I can feel peace and lots of zen. Thus, I make sure that our pantry at home is completely stocked with tea in all kinds and flavors. Growing up, I love floral-flavored teas like jasmine and chrysanthemum. I remember Papa ordering pots of Chrysanthemum every time we'd have dimsum in Hong Kong. Somehow, this became a staple for me. Eating dimsum is not complete without tea. Later on, we began a weekly ritual of having Afternoon Teas complete with dainty cups and saucers, a ceramic container of sugar cubes and a pretty three-layer tray filled with tea sandwiches and pastries. Since Chrysanthemum Tea is available mostly in Chinese restaurant, this time we learned to appreciate English Teas like Earl Grey, Basic Black Tea and more.  ...

People often ask Paul and I how we're doing in the Lion City . The truth is... we're having a BALL! While others might find Singapore a bit too boring given the size of the place thus the lack of quick weekend getaway options or "happening" places around, I always say that Singapore perfectly suits our personality and lifestyle. Readers probably can see by now that Paul and I are pretty much the laid back kind of couple. We're really happy just spending our weekend at home, hanging out by the pool, meeting up with friends, going to the mall or watching a movie. Of course, there's got to be a lot of eating happening in between. Anyway, so when I heard that there's this nice gourmet market called PasarBella that recently opened a few months back, I've quickly included that in my list of places to visit. After so many failed attempts, we finally were able to visit PasarBella right during Pan's weekend stay. Hooray! Getting there can be quite a ch...