Frannywanny

Growing up, pizza has been one of my favorite comfort food. I guess I've told you about this before  and I hope I haven't bored you out. It's about my regular afternoon snack routine with Pan where we would order a box of our favorite local pizza together with a bucket of mojo potatoes and we have been having this for close to 30 years. This has been our signature sisterly bonding activity and just recently, Pan and I did this again when I was back home for a wedding last January. Yes, not even a fully made up face and my long gown can stop me from enjoying our favorite snack. I have a strong feeling this practice is meant to last a lifetime and we'll continue to have our pizza afternoon sessions for decades to come. I can't wait for Pan and I to also share this tradition with our little ones for them to hopefully love pizza that way we both do. Anyway, since I've moved to the Lion City, I got to admit that I've always been on a hunt for the best pizza...

Whenever I drive myself home from work, once in a while, I'd find myself craving for pasta. As always, my dilemma is where to get good pesto pasta. There used to be a stall at the food court of our office building that sells this..it was pretty oily, not the best quality but I stayed loyal to it for almost a year. At home, this has been my constant request, it used to just be every Monday where Mommy would ask our helper to prepare pesto spaghetti for dinner. However, now we would ask for this almost twice a week or more. Back when I still had Bo (the Basil) , I was planning on making my own pesto sauce. Bo, after all, was very cooperative. He grew to be a very healthy and fragrant basil plant with lots of leaves. However, I became very busy and didn't had the time to source for the other ingredients needed to make my own pesto sauce. Thus, I've resorted to stocking up on bottles of pesto sauces as home. Still, I know nothing beats enjoying a plate of piping hot al dente ...

I grew up learning how to appreciate tea and loving the different tea variants that has entered the market. This goes way back when my family would spend our Sunday afternoon tea bonding with each other at a hotel lobby. While the parents chit-chat, we kids munched on scones, canapes and mini tea sandwiches as we drank cups and cups of tea. At times, we would have dimsum for lunch and together with all of our steamed favorites, we would fill up our teacups with hot tea, be it chrysanthemum, jasmine or oolong. Just lately, you've witnessed how fond I was over a neighborhood milk tea shop where I would make it a point to buy myself a large cup of Hokkaido Milk Tea on my way home from work. This went on for quite some time and I've influenced a number of friends in the process . My tea addiction can be pretty infectious. Before this neighborhood milk tea though, I came across a cute Japanese-looking store at the basement of SM Megamall . It was my sister who first discov...

To be honest, I don't think I have ever tasted Portuguese food , except for those yummy Egg Tarts in Hong Kong that I just had to get before flying back to Manla .Thus, an invitation to try O'Sonho 's newest branch in Eastwood was definitely something I was looking forward to. O'sonho , which actually means The Dream in Portuguese, has a very beautiful story behind it. Owned by sweet couple Cris and Nik Barancik, we were told that it has been their long time dream to open a restaurant. Thus, after coming home from their honeymoon and searching for a Portuguese restaurant here in Manila and realizing that there was none, this couple decided to open one themselves and the rest was history. We were treated to an array of O'sonho's best-seller. Starting off with a soup called Caldo Verde I enjoyed the thick and creamy vegetable soup that tastes very much like spinach but as Cris explained, it's actually made of kale leaves which can only be sourced abro...

It was yet another meatless Friday for me, however this did not stop me from heading over to Cibo at the Shangri-la Mall to enjoy a relaxing dinner with two of my favorite girl friends. I have always loved Cibo for its consistent quality and superb service. In fact, I have my regular set of dishes that I regularly order and it never fails to disappoint me every time I visit. While bonding with my friends K and B, we agreed to order the Patatine con Maionese (Php. 110) otherwise known as Potato Chips with Garlic Aoili as starters. I really love Cibo's Garlic Aioli and couldn't help dipping each piece of crunchy potato chip before taking a bite. Yum! K chose the Fiori di Zucca pizza (Php. 330) to which both B and I agreed to. This is a perfect choice for all seafood and veggie lover! It's topped with squash flower, anchovies and lots of cheese! A very light type of pizza that makes it perfectly ok to take in a slice or two. Finally, while choosing our pasta, I asked K a...

It's no secret how much I LOVEEEE eating Pasta! Browsing through my past entries such as this , this and this , it can be seen how much I love a wide variety of pasta dishes from fusilli pesto to your good old salmon creamy pasta. I guess I got to credit this to my Oriental lineage and background who has instilled the love for noodles at an early age. With that, how can I turn down an invite that simply says "get to know who's the new pasta player in town, try 12 different pasta dishes in one night! " While it initially sounds intimidating, I immediately sent in my RSVP to confirm my attendance. I wasn't really sure what to expect but one thing was for sure, I arrived with an empty stomach to prepare myself for the numerous pasta dishes that we were told that will be served. It's a good thing though that they trimmed the number down to 7 instead of 12. Throughout dinner, our very engaging host made us guess who this new pasta player was. I just gave it a lon...

I remembered a recent interview that I've had with a friend. She asked me what I feel would be the food trend for next year -- I paused for a minute and told her that I feel that people would continue to go healthy . With the rising popularity of healthy food alternatives, organic veggies and of course the ever famous frozen yogurt , I told my friend that I feel that everyone will eventually catch on and live a healthier eating lifestyle in 2010. A couple of days ago, I attended the media launch of Figaro Coffee as they presented the Raspberry Chai Swizzle and the Cinnamon Chai Latte . Partnering with Monin syrup, the team created a new line of healthy drink options to customers who gives top priority to the nutritional content of their beverage. By introducing Chai , which actually means tea in many parts of the world. It brings back the century old history of drinking tea in India where Chai Masala originated. Chai tasting While listening to our friends from Monin tell us the ...