Frannywanny

shiok [adj.] : Singlish word used to describe a dish that's satisfying, good or delicious. While the Philippines is literally a foodie melting pot with a wide array of restaurants specializing in all sorts of cuisines from all over the world, Paul and I can't help but notice that there seems to be a shortage of Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants around. It's quite mind boggling though given the number of locals who travel to these two countries on a regular basis plus the huge population of Filipinos residing there too. If you ask me, Singaporean/Malaysian cuisine has a very close taste profile as our local Filipino cuisine perhaps with just more heat and the use of a lot more spices. So imagine how happy I was when we recently discovered Shiok Shiok Singapore Food along Nicanor Roxas street in Quezon City. Coincidentally, we dined there on the 9th of August, Singapore's National Day. What a great way to celebrate our second home's special day. Together with ...

Happy National Day, Singapore!  During lunch time yesterday, B, our former intern, came to join us as it was also M's (another intern) last day. B is leaving for the UK in a month's time to pursue her university studies and I asked her one thing -- "What Singaporean dish will you miss when you're away?" She answered "Laksa" in a heartbeat and this got the rest of us thinking too. While I may not be born Singaporean, but having lived here for a couple of years; I know that if ever I leave this beautiful country, I will definitely be missing that delicious plate of Char Kway Teow  over time. So, while I can, I'm stuffing myself with all the delicious local dishes that I can have. Recently, Paul and I went back to Street 50 Restaurant and Bar  and we were introduced to a couple of the additions to their menu. I have to admit that our first "egg-perience" at Street 50  wasn't very memorable as we were not too crazy about all those egg-l...

I've been visiting Singapore so frequently since I was a kid that at some point I would consider this my second home. Would you believe that I've never  had a taste of chili crab yet? Well, for one thing, I have a very low threshold for spicy food and the name of this dish itself screams SPICY SPICY SPICY! I think it's the only local dish that I haven't tasted then. Well, that all changed one fateful evening at Ah Hoi's Kitchen in Traders Hotel . Ah Hoi's Kitchen currently has an ongoing a la carte buffet promotion where you can choose from more than 40 menu items for only S$38+ (adult) / S$19+ per head. This is a great deal most especially if you're dining with a big group because you can order more and have a taste of it all. Each serving is actually good for one so when ordering, do indicate how many orders would you like for them to adjust the size accordingly. We began our dinner with Braised Fish Maw with Crab Meat Soup . Normally, this soup ...

My first taste of Wee Nam Kee was during our honeymoon trip to Singapore where Paul and I met up with our Singapore-based friends for a post-wedding celebration . The restaurant wasn't hard to locate as we carefully followed the directions given to us -- take the train to Novena and cross the street to find Wee Nam Kee . I wrote about our wonderful experience here and to this day, I still daydream about the yummy cereal prawns and Hainanese Chicken that we had that evening. A few months after we got back from Singapore , we heard some juicy rumors that Wee Nam Kee is coming to Manila!  This was confirmed by a dear colleague who's very own brother is the man behind Manila's very own Wee Nam Kee . In other words, we now have a Hainanese Chicken savior. Hooray! Finally, good and authentic chicken rice is coming to our shores! Sadly, hectic schedule and a bad case of amoebiasis restrained me from trying Wee Nam Kee right on its opening month. I died with envy upon he...

I can't believe it has been almost a year since Paul and I flew to Singapore then to Malaysia for our 2-week long Honeymoon. I remembered being welcomed by our friend HK who took us on a fun food trip around the Tekka Market where I had the best tasting Lamb Briyani and later we dined at a Nonya Restaurant where it was my first time to try this type of cuisine. I knew from that point on that our honeymoon will truly be a gastronomical trip. As we get closer to celebrating our first wedding anniversary, Paul and I were invited to a food tasting at Shiok where we relived the fun eating moments that we both had during our Honeymoon. We met Chefs Nicco and Denny who are both owners of the restaurant. They first opened a branch at the Fort Bonifacio and lucky for us Greenhills loyal visitors, they now have their second branch at the food court of Greenhills Promenade . Initially, I thought Shiok means "cheap" as directly translated in Hokkien. It was only after meetin...

As we love to travel around Asia, Paul and I have grown to appreciate the different cuisines that each Asian country offers. From the flavorful dishes of China to the cold fresh sushi of Japan and lastly to the herb-infused meals found in any Southeast Asian country, we enjoy trying and tasting each local cuisine as we believe that it is the best way to understand and educate ourselves about the country's culture. Here at home, we find comfort in a bowl of Tinolang Manok or a plate of Kare-kare with Bagoong. Nothing makes our day brighter by enjoying a meal consisting of any of our Filipino favorites plus a cup of fragrant white rice. Aside from the Philippines, Singapore is one country that's very close to our hearts . This was one reason why we both agreed to fly off to Singapore for our honeymoon and to spend a week exploring the different sights and meeting up with old friends. We loved the peaceful and orderly system of this small country. Nothing also beats the exp...

For the past two weeks, Paul and I have been getting gastronomic hints from The Lion City . First was the surprise package that I got from a college friend who asked us to try out her family's delicious Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe. Then there was that pasalubong from Mom who dropped by Ya Kun Kaya in Ortigas for some delicious Kaya Toast. Lastly, an invite from fellow blogger Spanky to try out Nasi Lemak . Well this was not actually our first time at Nasi Lemak if you remember my first blog post about our 58th monthsary celebration with our new found Singaporean favorites which was followed by a number of family dinners thereafter. It has been a while though since we went back...quite some time that we were surprised to see that they closed down their Tomas Morato branch and later found out that they opened a new branch at Robinsons Galleria! Yay! Much closer to home! Our afternoon began with a brief demonstration by Mr. Tan himself. Using just the essential (yet very...

I guess I've mentioned a dozen times before how much I love Singapore ... both the country and their food. Nothing beats enjoy a plate of Hainanese Chicken Rice, some Char Kuay Teow and drinking a glass of cool Barley Juice. It was another meatless Friday for me again and after attending two events today, I thought of stopping by the newly opened Orchard Road located at the Bridgeway of SM Megamall for a quick afternoon snack. A couple of blogger friends have warned me about it... the food was not that good, they say. Still I wanted to try it out to see for myself. Going around the open-kitchen area, I finally decided to get a plate of Carrot Cake, a roll of Popiah and a glass of Barley Juice. The Barley Juice (Php. 45) came first and immediately on my first sip, I felt that it was very sweet. Not just a little more than the tolerable sweetness but this one could literally send kids bouncing off the walls all night with too much sugar and/or syrup. I pushed my glass aside and ask...

It has been a month since our visit to beautiful Singapore and I still have a lot of stories to tell! If you may have noticed in my earlier entries, I was only able to tell you about my lunch at IKEA and barely wrote anything more about the infamous Hainanese Chicken Rice , my Singapore discovery -- a $1 Ice Cream bar and more! Well, the wait is finally over and I assure you that this is truly Worth the Wait . Allow me to share with you my Singapore food story as published in Yummy.ph beginning today. Worth the Wait Enjoy reading! :)

I'm thankful to have Paul. Where else can you find a boyfriend who would go out of his way to celebrate the special days in our relationship by bringing me to a new romantic restaurant as seen here or who would just give in to my constant pleading to drive all the way to the opposite end of town to satisfy my sudden cravings ? Lastly, Paul never forgets our monthsaries. Yes, we are on our 58th and still we make it a point to celebrate it every month. No fancy gifts though, a simple dinner date is already perfect. Ü This month, thanks to my grandfather who is a certified foodie (it truly runs in our blood, don't you think?), we tried a new restaurant that specializes in one of our favorite cuisines. Nasi Lemak is a Singaporean-Malaysian restaurant located at the tip of busy Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. Entering the well lighted restaurant, I noticed that there are a number of long tables filled with families. Overwhelmed with the wide selection of dishes, I resorted to...

Back in 1990, I had my first trip to Singapore. I guess you can call it love at first step when I immediately fell truly madly in-love with this fellow ASEAN country near the equator. It could probably be because of its clean and green-friendly environment (no trash, no vendors!) , the honesty of the people (this was back in 1990s..have to update this info soon) and the food. It was the best 2 week vacation then as we went around the different tourist sites, shopped till we dropped (the exchange rate was still low back then) , met up with old family friends and lastly tried out the different possible combinations among the following: roast chicken/duck/pork + rice/hofan/noodles. Every meal is truly exciting as we happily mixed and matched our meat with its perfect carbo pair. Since then, I knew that Singapore is the place I want to be in forever . It has been a while since I've been to Singapore. Times have changed and there were quite a number of new attractions available like th...