Frannywanny

Whenever I think of visiting Tagaytay , this place immediately equates to relaxation, comfort and good food. I guess, my parents feel the same way that's why we have been frequenting Tagaytay so much since I was in high school and every long breaks would be spent here. A lot of changes have took place since those days as Tagaytay is now filled with rows after rows of establishments thus giving every visitor endless options on where to stay to where to eat. Unlike before where we would quickly pack our bags and head up to Tagaytay during a long break, this time, we would try to avoid heading there on a holiday unless we plan to spend most of our time on the road.  However, this has never stopped us from having Tagaytay as one of our top destinations whenever we just want a quick and relaxing family break. During one of our weekend trips in Tagaytay, we decided to check out Farmer's Table  which is part of the Raintree Group of Restaurants . Others may not know this nor would t...

One fine day, Paul and I decided to head over to one of our favourite hotels here in the Lion City, Shangri-la Singapore , for a classy lunch. This came a few weeks after that relaxing weekend staycation that we had and since we failed to have breakfast at The Waterfall , we then make sure not to miss out on this opportunity to have lunch there instead. If you still remember, we had our 4th Anniversary dinner at The Waterfall where the Chef was sweet to create a special dinner menu just for us. We went there a few weeks before Christmas so they actually have a holiday-themed antipasti buffet set-up for lunch that day. Don't expect a very wide spread but I can assure you that you're in for a treat as everything was definitely of top quality and I was so impressed with the different combinations that the Chef was able to come up with. My top picks were mostly the seafood-based salads such as the Prawn Salad with a generous amount of chilled prawns and couscous, another ...

I must really be getting old.. ..or at least my vocabulary is.  Working with younger colleagues has broaden my knowledge to a whole new world of words. Ever heard of " LOLs "(laugh out loud), " Hahas " (extremely happy laugh) and the ever famous, " YOLO "? YOLO stands for Y ou O nly  L ive  O nce. Pretty much our dear millenials' battle cry in life. Through I feel that this is a very brave stance as it empowers them to break free from their inhibitions and what ifs and to just be the best person that they can be. As for me, it's all about taking good care of ourselves. Carefully choosing what goes in our mouth as we only live once and we have to treasure every moment of it. That said, I was so happy to finally discover a new restaurant near my office called.. YOLO . To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to give this a try as healthy food doesn't come cheap and given that this serves dishes above my usual lunch budget is one reason why I...

We all know that Orchard Road is the place to go when you want to shop here in Singapore. To borrow a famous tagline, Orchard pretty much got it all for you ! From satisfying your retail needs down to treating your taste buds to a wide-array of yummy choices, this is one place every tourist should not miss out on and for locals and residents here, it's the perfect place to meet up with friends or to do some retail therapy when stress sets in. If you ask me, my favorite part of Orchard Road is within the Somerset district. For some reason, I really enjoy shopping in the malls within this particular area because all of the brands that I love can be found here. Recently, I was invited to a lunch food trail at the Basement 2 of Orchard Central a.k.a. OC where we got to visit three of the newest food establishments there. Our first stop was at  Green Rabbit Crepe and Salad Gastrobar .

Ever since we moved office, I've always been excited to go in work and also to have lunch. This is probably because I'm really enjoying exploring our new neighborhood and so far every discovery I make have been a good one. A couple of weeks ago, D and I chanced upon a newly opened stall in 100AM, our very cool mall that's located across our new office. Named after Japan's high speed train, Shinkansen serves salad and a couple of hand-rolled sushi and sashimi too. The drill is to choose what "size" would you like to get:  Transit  (S$7.50) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce Station  (S$10) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce + 2 Add-Ons Terminal  (S$12) comes with 1 Base + 5 Toppings + Sauce + 2 Add-Ones + 1 Meat Quite simple isn't it? After you choose how you want your Shinkansen bowl to be, you move on to choosing your base -- do you want to have Sushi Rice, Brown Rice, Soba Noodles or Mixed Greens...

I ♥ Salad! On days when I'm feeling really guilty for eating a lot of unhealthy and sinful food I'd then make up for it by having salad on my next meal. However, I'm quite picky on where to get fresh greens as I don't want to run the risk of ending up with a bad stomach or worst amoebiasis . I'm glad though that our local hawker stalls are taking the precautionary steps to practice proper food handling and hygiene all the time. Oh, one of the many things I love about the Lion City. Working in the CBD has its perks. One is definitely the endless food choices available. Since Amoy Food Centre is just a few steps away from my office, this has been my go-to place on days when I'm just too lazy to bring a packed lunch. Let me share with you one of my favorite stalls. Introducing The Salad Corner .

Don't you just loveeeeee breakfast? I really do but I sometimes find it so hard to pull myself out of bed especially during the weekends. Can you relate with me? This is the reason why I totally salute the person who invented the word "brunch". It's perfect! Not too early like breakfast yet no need to wait till 12 for it to officially be considered lunch. Take for example what happened last Sunday. Paul and I had to bring my sister to the airport at 10AM for her to make it to her noon flight. Feeling our tummies grumbling loudly, we headed to Marriott Hotel's Cafe at Newport City to avail of their Sunday Brunch where we, together with other bloggers, were invited as it was their opening day. We were one of the first who arrived and boy I was so excited! The buffet spread was pretty impressive! We were greeted with an abundant display of fresh oysters with sauces and toppings to suit your taste. Across it was the cheese display where I helped myself to...

I'm starting the week right! After having a really tummy-filling hotpot dinner last Saturday and a gastronomic buffet lunch yesterday, I'm giving my tummy a break by having something light and healthy today. Just a quick trip to my favorite Starbucks Coffee store and I get to choose from four of their new salad offerings namely: Southern Chicken Salad, Mediterranean Tuna Salad, Cold Chicken Soba Salad and the Moroccan Chicken Couscous Salad . I was actually able to try all four salads a week ago when my friends over at Starbucks Coffee sent me a few samples to try. During lunch one weekday, I started with the Southern Chicken Salad which gives a twist to the regular Chicken Salad. Served with crunchy wheat bagel crostinis, this one has all-natural chicken chopped and mixed with diced celery, onions, hard boiled eggs and pickle relish. It reminds me of what my Mommy would usually make at home only its served with assorted greens and sprinkled with lots of cheese. I e...

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...

I'm a big salad fan! It's simply because my parents trained us to appreciate eating vegetables at a very young age that a meal at home is not complete without having veggies. What I love most though is having bowls of fresh lettuce and arugula mixed with my favorite ingredients -- kani sticks, chopped sweet mangoes, nuts, shrimps and mushroom! Of course, what makes or breaks a bowl of salad is the dressing! Paul and Mommy loves vinaigrette dressings while I still love the creamy ones. So much for wanting to eat healthy by having salad dinners! I love my Caesar, Ranch, Asian...you name it! Last Friday, while having dinner at my in-laws, I was able to try a new salad dressing that was so fragrant and good that I just ended up having loads of salad and grilled lamb for dinner. It's a Japanese Deep-Roasted Sesame Dressing   and is said to be made of wheat, eggs, soybean and lots of sesame oil! It's from the same company called Kewpie that also makes those delicious ...

Let me tell you about the time when I first fell in love with Sonya's Garden . It was sometime in the early 2000s when my mom brought the entire family to Tagatay for a special healthy lunch. After a couple of wrong turns here and there, my dad carefully drove down a small side street and my mom rolled down the window to keep her eyes out for a small metal signage on the gate. It wasn't easy finding it then as there were no huge banners or directional arrows to guide us. All we had was my mom's memory and a couple of instructions from a family friend. Finally, we found it. We drove into the compound and parked at the gravel lot. My mom called to reserve us a table and after giving our name, we were lead into a small greenhouse-like room where our table was ready for us. The moment we sat down, there was no menu handed to us. However, it seems like a scene out of Beauty and the Beast where the food would start coming out and in our minds we had the song Be our Guest pl...

In contrast to both my parents who grew up somewhere near Chinatown in Manila, I was a Quezon City girl. Exploring the different food spots along Tomas Morato at a very young age was my weekly past time. Even my husband was a Manila boy. Oh how I enjoy it as I listen to their simple childhood stories of them walking around the safer streets of Manila. When I think of Manila I remember my history class teaching us about how life was back then during the Spanish colonization. Pretty ladies in frilly clothes and men in white coats fill my imaginative mind. I remember how my mom would tell us that two horse carriages would bring her to school and back. She was considered privilege by having this type of luxury. It makes me realize how colorful our history really was. Having a mix of Chinese, American and Spanish influences, life back then was more simple, fun yet very colorful. A visit to the Manila Peninsula hotel for a surprise date with my husband just a month after our weddi...

Yesterday, I was invited by my fellow publisher Mello to join her and her editors to visit the Center for Culinary Arts in Eastwood to ignite our inner passion. Despite being so busy, I immediately said yes even without reading the email. It was only that morning when I found out what exactly we will be doing and how long it will take. I've always dreamed to be a chef. Nothing makes me happier than bringing out my creativity on a plate. I love food and food loves me. 'Nuff said. During the introductions made, we found out that the Kitchen Discovery Class is a pre-requisite for all aspiring culinary students of the CCA. Here, the students will be evaluated based on their kitchen readiness and as they will be given the chance to get a better glimpse of what to expect for the two-year diploma course. That afternoon, we just had our session for two-hours but man, it has really ignited my love for the kitchen.I love the kitchen auditorium! It's fully-equipped with all...

I love cooking and one reason why I always look forward to hosting a simple lunch or dinner party here at home is for me to be able to experiment on a couple of dishes for my family to enjoy. Keeping up with the healthy eating trend that is currently being practiced by my clan lately, I whipped up a refreshing Japanese-inspired salad that turned out to be a hit with my dear guests. Here's sharing with you my little masterpiece. Mixed Greens with Garlic Wasabi Mayo Dressing What you'll need: Mixed Greens (different types of lettuce, arugula, etc) Sliced cucumber Fresh or canned Mandarin Oranges (may also be substituted with Mangoes) Kani sticks - thawed, steamed for 1 minute and separate into strips Garlic Wasabi Mayo dressing 1 tbsp wasabi powder 2 tsp water 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic 1) Mix water into the wasabi powder to make a think paste 2) Let it stand for 1 minute 3) Slowly add the wasabi mixture into the mayonnaise 4) Add in the chopped garlic 5...