Frannywanny

It wasn't my first time to dine at Cafe by the Ruins . In fact I've been there every single time I visit Baguio and my experience gets better in every return. My first was with my family a few years ago when we went up to Baguio for a quick business trip. Dad wasn't so happy with his all veggies and no meat platter but Mom, Pan and I quickly fell in love with the organic-feel of the restaurant, I think that was also the first time I had red rice. A year after that, I returned with Paul and my former boss D for a work-related trip. My boss introduced me to their Kamote bread and cheese spread which was so good that I even bought a loaf home for my family to enjoy. Every year, Cafe by the Ruins has always been part of our travel itinerary. It's then pretty much a given that I've included Cafe by the Ruins again when we returned to Baguio this time with The Food Club . Aside from Paul and I, our friend Grace was also raving about the restaurant. This definit...

Dear Readers, Allow me to interrupt my regular food blogging to share something that left a really bad taste on the mouth or shall I say a truly traumatizing experience for my sister as she renewed her Philippine Passport yesterday afternoon. A month ago, I personally logged in to the new DFA Passport Appointment System , which I honestly think was pretty cool and modern for our government to have, and took care of scheduling my sister's passport renewal which was set yesterday, January 17 at 130PM. Last night, I repeatedly reminded her to go early as I had a feeling that there might be a line which might cause her some delay for about 30 minutes to an hour. I've read up on the experience of a fellow blogger which made me confident that things over at the DFA has tremendously improved and my sister will be able to have her passport renewed in no time.... ...boy was I WRONG. My sister only took a short break from work to have her passport renewed. She arrived at th...

Last November 24, I received an email from Mr. Ritche Salgado who introduced himself as a writer for The Freeman . Upon reading the first two sentences of his email, I was baffled as to why on earth would he write to me. Reading further on, I then found out that it was an apology email as apparently he accidentally submitted my entry about Pizza Hut's newest pasta line and it was published under his by line. It took me a while to absorb the information that I have just gathered from his lengthy email. He kept on apologizing but of course I just had to see this for myself. Apparently, every article written on The Freeman also gets published online via PhilStar.com so my article was re-published not once but twice and it was under someone else's name. Perhaps the normal reaction here is to get mad, to threaten to sue or at least to complain directly to management. My colleagues have been helpful by offering to give me the contact details of the publisher and to support my eve...

To be very honest, I am currently having a love-hate relationship with Eat-All-You-Can buffets. Being a food lover, dining in buffets is the perfect way to be able to try different menu items without over-ordering and spending a whole lot. However, after trying various eat-all-you-can buffets here and there, I've come to realized that it is also important to choose quality over quantity. Just yesterday, I accepted a long-standing invite from a friendly PR representative who once invited me to try an afternoon dimsum buffet. The said buffet is being hosted by Gloria Maris Podium . Unfortunately, I had to decline her first few invites as my work schedule was pretty hectic then. Finally, I told her that I'm free on the 21st if the schedule is still ok with her. She agreed and so my dimsum date was set. With two fellow bloggers in tow, I arrived at the mall a little past 230PM. We proceeded towards the restaurant and I immediately called my contact to inform her that we were alread...