Frannywanny

It's no big secret how much I love Japanese food. I just can't live without my sashimi and sushi. In fact, I dined and celebrated my 40th birthday at a Japanese restaurant TWICE this year. I think, it's one of those cuisines that I'll never get tired off. Well, the choices are endless as there are just a lot of ways to enjoy your Japanese food. You can have it done in various ways -- teppanyaki, yakitori, teriyaki, deep-fried, raw, with broth, mixed into your noodles or rice and the list goes on and on.  One of our family's favorite Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood is Tomo Japanese Dining . We love this restaurant so much for it's extensive menu options and they also have a coffee shop called Verse Cafe  that's adjacent to it that serves superb coffee and tea drinks. Here's actually a compilation of dishes that we have enjoyed throughout the multiple visits that we have made to these two establishments. The good thing is, you can order from Tomo ...

No matter how short or long our stay in Manila is, what we loved the most are those times that we would spent with our families. I'd say, we're really improving in terms of scheduling our meet-ups as we get to allot more to family and our ever understanding friends would willingly take the brunch or tea time slots. During our recent visit home, we blocked off our Sunday lunch to go out for a nice meal with my in laws. It was also this time when Paul and Achi Jen decided to co-celebrate their belated birthdays similar to how they used to do in the past since their birthdays are two days apart. Achi Jen took care of making the reservations upon my request to try Tomo Japanese Dining  in Araullo Street. It's really a good thing that she made a reservation as the whole place was fully booked that day. We even bumped into our former flatmate C and his family there! My MIL has been there a couple of times so she knows what are the must-orders. Here are some of the dishes that...

"How was your birthday ?" This was the question that I was asked most by friends and colleagues days after the 1st of June. Well, unlike the past years when it was admittedly more festive and loud, my birthday this year was much more private, more intimate yet I had the most important people of my life sending me the sweetest birthday greetings and wishes. What more can I ask for? Luckily, Paul didn't had to go to work on my birthday so he told me that he'd like to take me out for lunch. The best part was, I get to choose where we're eating! Yay! So days leading up to my birthday, I started shortlisting restaurants that I've been wanting to try. Should we go have steak? Perhaps indulge on pots after pots of Chinese steamboat? How about Japanese? Since I'm clearly not over my Tokyo hangover yet so sushi and sashimi was the final choice for my special day. So, off we went to Shin Minori  in UE Square  since I've been hearing so much good things a...

During my quick and very sudden visit home last week, eating out was pretty much the last thing on my mind. For the first time in two + years, I pushed my restaurant list aside and gave 100% of my attention to my family. However, food still has its way of creeping back to get my attention. As we were running some errands at SM Megamall, we chanced upon Ooma Japanese Rice Bar which has been getting a lot of good raves from friends and from my very own sister too. As Pan and I were planning our trip to Megamall, she told me that she wants to have lunch at Ooma so that Paul and I can try it too. We agreed to meet at the entrance of Ooma Japanese Rice Bar at exactly 12 noon and guess what?! I was the first on the waiting list! The restaurant was quite spacious so just imagine that it was immediately filled even before lunch hour. The wait was short though and in no time, we quickly got a nice cozy table for 3. First on the list was the Scallop and Tuna Aburi Maki (Php. 295) w...

As a man of few words, Paul is truly the kind of guy who can keep a secret and a surprise really really well.  Take for example our recent 4th wedding anniversary celebration , who would have thought that he has been planning and saving up for a nice dinner date at Rise in Marina Bay Sands for months leading up to that special day. No amount of hinting or bugging from my end would make him spill the beans. The only hint he gave me was "to eat light for lunch"  on that day. I did was told by just having a bowl of soup and a couple of pork siomais to go with it. At exactly 630PM I sprung out of my office chair and forced myself to close my laptop and to get ready for my dinner date. Work can wait but my date won't be very happy if I kept him waiting. :P We headed to Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands and quickly headed towards the hotel where Paul has made reservations at Rise . Ohhhh I was so excited! After watching an episode of Mega Food in Nat Geo on Marina Bay Sands we'...

I ♥ ♥ ♥ SUSHI! Together with pesto pasta , a bag of corn chips and a box of Putong Ube , sushi one of my all-time favorites and definitely my ultimate comfort food of choice too. This is also why I just love dining at rotating sushi restaurants as I really enjoy choosing and feasting on dozens and dozens of fresh hand-rolled sushi and sashimi. Here in the Lion City, my go-to place for good but very affordable sushi is Ichiban Sushi  and its sister restaurant, Ichiban Boshi . I'm not really sure what the difference between the two are as I'd see one or the other in most of the major shopping malls all over the country. Both has that sushi conveyor belt, the same set of bento boxes and donburis and pretty much the same menu. I have this notion though that Ichiban Boshi  is slightly a notch higher than Ichiban Sushi  but I may be wrong. Does anyone know what's the difference between the two? Anyway, whenever visiting VIPs (a.k.a. our dear family) in town, we would alwa...

I had a good day yesterday.  Wanna know why?  It's because I finally was able to talk to my sister who was away most of the time these past months working on a really hectic project. She has been almost incommunicado since she began with the project and boy were we all counting down the days till it finally ends. Anyway, it's over and I can get to talk to my sister anytime I want again! Hooray! I really missed her, you know. *sniffle* Speaking of my sister Pan, did you know that whenever we travel together, we have this little tradition of dining at a Japanese restaurant with rotating sushi? It began when we were kids in Hong Kong and it somehow carried on when we went to Bangkok together and when she was here in Singapore a few months ago. Thus, a trip is not complete without having this little tradition. I actually attempted to dine at a rotating sushi restaurant on my own when I went to Beijing and the experience was just not as fun. Sakae Sushi is one of the r...

My good friend Bianca is getting married tomorrow. While I'm extremely happy that Bianx and Pao are finally  tying the knot, I can't help but feel a bit of sadness that I won't be physically there to witness this momentous moment in their lives. Oh to be 1,400++ miles away from home. *sigh* Anyway, allow me to dedicate this entry to Bianca as I tell you about our recent dinner together at Haru Sushi Bar and Restaurant -- our last before she officially becomes Mrs. M. Bianx, Kat and I are a trio. We all used to work for the Green Siren a couple of years back and have moved on to new companies since. Both Kat and Bianx were from the same department and our office cubicles were not exactly close to each other. What made us bond was our shared love for... FOOD. It all began with a series of emails sent back and forth until we agreed to meet up for lunch and that lunch led to another lunch...after which, we also had dinner and more dinners thereafter. It has been 5 years si...

My trip to Beijing was really short.  Too short that all days were filled up with office visits, a grand launch party and a quick stop to the Forbidden City. Given that it was my first time in Beijing, China ; I tried my best to soak in everything that I  saw, heard and tasted all throughout my four-day trip. As I was packing my luggage on my last evening, I realized that I haven't shopped for anything! *panic!* Not even my mandatory Starbucks city mug that I always make sure to buy for my growing collection. Thus, on my last day, I invited my Japanese counterparts for a quick morning shopping trip at Wangfujing . This is one place that I took note of after asking my friends K and J for shopping and eating tips in Beijing . I totally can let go of not seeing the Great Wall or the Olympic Stadium for this trip but I'm not leaving Beijing without a short shopping spree at Wangfujing ! No way, José! It was raining on our last day making it very hard to walk around and e...

While Paul and I love going out with our friends and family; once in a while, we make time to just spend a quiet evening enjoying each other's company. One Saturday night, we decided to have dinner out at the newly opened Greenhills Town Center located along Granada which is adjacent to Gilmore and Ortigas Avenue. We've been looking forward to checking this place out as it's located so close to home. Another place to consider when dining out most especially when we want to avoid the Greenhills Shopping Center traffic. Greenhills Town Center is a small commercial complex that houses a number of food establishments like McDonald's, Ha Yuan , Seattle's Best Coffee, Red Buffalo and our dinner choice for that evening -- Sumo Sam . There are quite a number of new food shops that I will make sure to visit in the coming months. Sumo Sam is located right at the entrance of Greenhills Town Center making it very easy to locate. Note though that parking is quite limi...

To celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary , Paul treated me to dinner last Saturday. He asked me to choose where I want to eat and since we were already at the Podium Mall , my stomach and heart led me towards YakiMIX .. (that is after considering Cantinetta, House of Wagyu and other classy restaurants at the ground floor of the mall..kidding!) . Actually, Paul tried to throw a number of other restaurant suggestions my way even mentioning my favorite Arya but I was dead set about trying YakiMIX that evening. We got to YakiMIX at 6PM as we know that it can be pretty difficult to get a table knowing the popularity of this restaurant. I went with very little expectations as I've heard quite a lot of mix reviews from the terrible ones to those who truly had a great YakiMIX experience. Luckily, we didn't have to wait and were quickly ushered to our table nearest to the door. I loved the interiors as I was not actually expecting for it to look like a high-end Chinese restaura...

I was just in Japan for four hours for a brief stopover and I've immediately fell in love with the orderliness of their airport system and how delicious their airport food was. Thus, my heart goes out to the thousands of families who lost their homes, loved ones and basically all of their belongings due to the recent earthquake and tsunami last March 11 that destroyed the island particularly in northern Japan -- Sendai . As I was getting tips from one of my cousins before flying off to the US, one thing that he told me was to try the ramen at the Narita Airport which was located right at the waiting terminal of Delta Airlines . It's fun to know that being a food lover runs in the family and I can totally count on my relatives to give me great tips on what's delicious here and abroad. Paul and I took my cousin's advice to heart and we immediately spotted Tatsu which was indeed located where my cousin told us it would be. We fell in line and got a bowl of Tempura ...

Through this blog, I was able to chronicle how we have been celebrating our Valentine's Day for the past 4 years. First, there was that delicious pasta dinner at Pizzeria Toscana in 2008 and then we went Filipino over at Bagoong Club last 2009. While in 2010, we satisfied our craving of ribs at Tony Roma's . Despite how we would seem to just do the same thing every year, which is to dine out, I always look forward to this red-letter day as I know each Valentine's date is always special with Paul. All the more, I was really excited this year as it will be our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. Before going to bed last Friday, Paul decided that we're having our Valentine's lunch date the next day at Umu in Dusit Thani Manila . Even how much I'd still like to sleep till noon, the thought of enjoying platters of sushi and teppanyaki dishes made me really excited. At 11PM last Friday, my tummy was growling loudly, perhaps it's its way of ...

This particular lunch was set a month in advance when one of our business contacts invited the entire team to dine out. The venue was at 7 Corners in Crowne Plaza . Due to the sale madness happening around the area, we were a bit late for our lunch date and we arrived apologizing profusely to our host. After our HIs and HELLOs he invited us to visit the buffet spread and to start the feast. One thing I learned about buffet dining is to survey the complete spread first and to plot out my route to avoid over-eating. I began from the entrance where the pizza and dessert area were located followed by the fresh salad station and the sushi bar. After this was the long line of main dishes featuring Indonesian specialties as this was the promo for the month. After reaching the end of the buffet line, I went straight to the sushi bar -- my favorite place to start. My mouth waters at the sight of the Philadephia Roll and the numerous platters of maki roll and sushi. While busy...

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...

I remember days before the wedding, I found myself majorly craving for Omakase . Oh how my mouth waters at the thought of its creamy Uni Sashimi and crunchy Seafood Dumplings. Since our schedule has been hectic and we left the country shortly after our BIG day, it took me a while to be reunited with my favorite Japanese dishes. When my good friend A invited me out to dinner to catch up and plan for her upcoming wedding, I suggested that we go to Omakase as nothing beats bonding with your friend over good food. We were both hungry that evening that we ordered a feast! I began with my favorite Uni Sashimi , which I requested that they served extra chilled as recommended by my sister -- a fellow Uni lover. Since A does not eat raw food, she allowed me to indulge and enjoy the plate the Uni all by myself. I love you A! :) As usual, Omakase's Uni is one of the best that I've tasted so far, it's so creamy and it does not have a slimey texture that can become pretty overwh...