Frannywanny

This year is all about FAMILY . It's the first year that we'e moved on from being a married couple to now a family of FOUR. For the past 3 months, we've done everything as a family. With the twins growing at rapid speed, they're starting to insist on what they want and that also means wanting to sleep closer to us and not on their crib anymore. Being fully aware of the dangers of SIDS (new moms, I urge you to read up on this), it's been a struggle trying to get my little L most especially to sleep on her own and not beside me or snuggling close to her Daddy. For several nights it has been endless cries and kicks until one of us would give in. My sweet little J has always been an independent sleeper from Day 1 but he would still wake up at the middle of the night wanting to feed and that's when he would refuse to go back to be let down on his crib. We're working on it and hopefully soon I'll gain back my space on our matrimonial bed once again. Aside ...

So how does it feel to be a "tourist in your own country?" I never thought the time would come when Paul and I actually would feel that way. I guess it's pretty inevitable given that we've been away from Manila for more than 3 years and we only get to fly home at an average once every quarter and during those visits, we would only stay for a week or even less. For a country that's fast developing ( I hope ) and there are just a lot of new retail outlets and restaurants opening left and right, we recently found ourselves lost while navigating around... Bonifacio Global City  -- a place that we used to frequent more than once a week many years ago. Believe it or not, I even had to call my sister to help us find our way out to C5. Unbelievable. Anyway, before our little "lost in BGC" moment, Paul and I had a wonderful quadruple dinner date at the newly opened Salvatore Cuomo  with our long-time friends. I was so excited when A suggested that we try Sa...

When my SIL told me that we will be having our family lunch at COCA which is a Thai restaurant at SM Aura, images of Pad Thai, Thai Iced Tea, Takoh and Catfish Salad starts coming into my mind. I was really excited as I'm a fan of Thai cuisine. We got there just in time for our reservation and I was surprised that the restaurant was empty on a holiday. How odd... Where did all the people go? Well, SM Aura was fairly new when we went so maybe the foot traffic is still quite low. Scanning the menu, both my SIL and I were quite confused as it doesn't have any of our Thai favorites. Asking the server, we found out that COCA is apparently a Thai-Chinese restaurant and there seems to be more Chinese dishes than Thai. No problem then, we were hungry and were pretty much agreeable to anything edible. Thankfully our server was very helpful as he gave us a couple of recommendations. First on the list was the Suki Steamboat Platter which was COCA's signature dish -- Each tabl...

Burgers and Brewskies. By just hearing the name, thoughts of fun bonding sessions with friends come to my mind. It was just perfect that my first visit at Burgers & Brewskies a.k.a. B&B would be with my fellow food bloggers. Paul and I were so excited to go as it will surely be a crazy and happy lunch with these funny, food-loving bunch! B&B is a newly opened restaurant in Burgos Circle and as mentioned in its name, it specializes in burgers, beer and one more B -- buffalo wings! As we walked into the restaurant, we were greeted by the familiar happy chatter of our friends coming from the second floor. The restaurant is quite small so I'm pretty sure it can be crowded on a busy day. It has a very laid back feel reminding me of one of my favorite burger places here in Singapore. It's definitely the place to go after a busy day at work and you're in the mood for good food, a bottle of beer and the right company to unwind with. The menu was pretty extensive...

This year, my friends and I are turning 31! I'm still in major denial that I'm no longer in my 20s and I'm getting inch by inch closer to the big 4-0! Oh nooooo?!?! Well, age is indeed just a number and what matters is you are still young at heart. Agree? Last January, we celebrated Estee's birthday by having an intimate dinner just us girls. We had it at the newly opened Beso Cucina Vinoteka at the Bonifacio Highstreet Central . Aside from ramen, more and more Spanish restaurants are opening left and right. I'm not complaining though as I loveeee good paella and a wide array of tapas. Estee's birthday celebration began with a carafe of Red Sangria to toast for a fun and fab year ahead for my dear friend. I'm no drinker but I liked the sweet and mild taste of the sangria. To go with our drink, we had a couple of tapas to get our meal started. Estee ordered the Gambas (Php. 380) and I have to say that this had to be the biggest gambas shrimp that I...

Whoever created the concept of brunch is, for me, a very wise man. Perhaps, he or (it could also be a she) must be like me. Someone who gives so much important to sleep and while food is equally just as important, a person must not sacrifice one for the other. Readers of this blog probably know by now that there's only one thing that can make me wake up early on a weekend morning...FOOD. However, it really should take a good breakfast spread to make that extra hours worth our while. This is why I truly embrace and love the idea of having brunch . Being able to eat breakfast food at a later time that's closer to lunch. Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch = Brilliant. One Sunday morning, Paul and I took Mom and my sister out to brunch. I've been keeping a list of restaurants in the city that offers really good brunch and as soon as 2013 rolled in, I was determined to give some of these a try. First on my list was probably one that I've been getting amazing raves from -- The C...

Two years ago, I met Chef Myke Tatung . He’s a happy and friendly man who, in my books, bakes the yummiest breads in town. He used to hold private dinners in his home , first doing this every Friday nights only and later extending to the weekends. His menu changes every week and every time I look forward to his announcement over Facebook . What began as a hush hush secret among food lovers the news about Chef Myke’s place spread like wildfire. People were talking about it. Couples would have their romantic dates there. Families would enjoy a delicious evening at Chef Myke’s place as well. Fast forward to a few months ago, Chef Myke opened his new restaurant at Acacia Estate. Given that Taguig is quickly turning into a highly commercialized area with a number of good restaurants here and there, it was just perfect timing and it indeed made perfect sense that Chef Tatung’s Restaurant was born. Chef Tatung has been serving a wide-range of cuisines however for his restaurant he foc...

Quietly tucked in one of the hidden corners of Bonifacio Global City is a bright and inviting Italian restaurant called Tuscano . Upon receiving an invite to have lunch there with fellow foodies Richard and Irene , Paul and I found the restaurant after a wrong turn and a phone call to Richard for more verifications. The restaurant is located at the ground floor of The Fort Residences thus parking is pretty limited. We truly welcomed the Valet Parking service that the restaurant offers allowing us to just hand over our keys to the valet and he'll do the rest. I love Italian food mainly because I love pasta! Luckily, Manila is booming with more and more restaurants that would save you the plane ticket to Italy and still you'll be able to enjoy a good plate of pasta or some freshly baked thin-crusted pizza anytime you want! Still, I wish that Paul and I will one day be able to visit Europe and eat all the pizza, bread, pasta and cheeses to our hearts delight. Someday...someda...

Years ago, I never thought that I'd be able to travel to the United States of America ...this soon. Sure, it has been part of our list, even planned to go there for our Honeymoon but after agreeing that we will discover Asia first; we never thought I'll see the amazing West anytime in the next few years after tying the knot. Well, I guess Lady Luck must have been on our side all these time as I got an invite from a business counterpart to meet them in California late 2010 (that was just around 5 months of being married!) . The agreed schedule was on February 2011 and we got even luckier that both Paul and I were given US travel visas right away. It truly was a fun-filled two weeks spent with our relatives and friends based in California, USA. I really enjoyed bonding with my Ahia Jeff whom I haven't seen for a long time. The same goes for Paul who was able to spend some quality time with his aunt and cousin Jun too. It truly was time well-spent as we tried a couple of a...

After having lunch at an Italian restaurant within the Bonifacio Global City , Paul together with our regular food buddies Richard and Irene trooped to Serendra simply to give in to my request to try Chez Karine out. It has been a month since I've heard about this new bakery that recently opened at the Serendra Mall called Chez Karine . Not long after, fellow bloggers have been writing about it making me more and more excited to give it a try myself. It's located beside my go-to cupcake place Sonja's and from the outside I already liked the pretty decors, the clean and bright feel perfectly accented with small cute decors. Inside I was mesmerized with the beautiful pastries! This reminds me of the cute bakeries the Paul and I love visiting in countries like Hong Kong and Taiwan . First off, I ordered a box of French Macarons (Php. 50/piece). They have a take-away box perfect for 7 pieces which allowed me to order one flavor each as Chez Karine exactly has sev...

This continues my Bonifacio Highstreet Central food review. I really love hanging out at this new wing of the Bonifacio Highstreet complex. What's there not to love about this place? With at least 80% of its tenants being restaurants, I'm just halfway through and I love how a new restaurants pop out whenever I pay a visit. Last week, at the height of my intense preparation for Yummy Eats 2012 , I said yes to a dinner invitation after getting non-stop raves not only from my blogger friends but from a certain colleague as well. As I've mentioned before , my friend T really has great taste in food and after hearing her talk about this new restaurant called 'Cue and their delicious pork chop, I knew I have to put that on the list and schedule a visit ASAP. Paul and I got there a few minutes before our agreed meeting time and we were quickly ushered to our reserved table. 'Cue stands for barbe cue as this restaurant features a lot of really good meat dishes. Defi...

When I first saw Saint's Alp Teahouse along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City, my initial impression was that it was a local milk tea store concept. It was only when The Food Club decided to check it out for our after-dinner snacks and drinks that I realized that it was, in fact, a foreign franchise from Hong Kong with branches also in New York . That evening, I was nursing a nasty sore throat so I had to skip the milk tea and settle for just the snacks available. As they were having their dry run, not all menu items were available then. Paul and I decided that we'll just go back some other time to try it once again. Fast forward a couple of months after, Paul and I joined our favorite dinner buddies Richard, Irene and Lauren at Saint's Alp' s newest branch at the Bonifacio Global City . Richard and I were each given a Php. 1,000 credit which we decided to use that evening. We began choosing from the Rice Entrees and it was a toss between the Honey-Glazed Coffee...

My friend T has been raving about this delectable Salted Caramel Macaron that was so good it has made her cheat on her diet as she couldn't resist a piece...or two...or maybe three. T has really good taste in food so I figured that those macarons must really be THAT GOOD. So one Sunday, my in-laws decided to have lunch at Burgos Circle and right after, I convinced Paul to cross the street and visit Bar Dolci , a dessert place where my friend T got her favorite macarons from. Actually, I just remembered that I wanted to try Bar Dolci and totally forgot about the macarons at first. As we entered the busy store, I was immediately drawn towards the gelato freezer matched with the glass panels filled with names of Bar Dolci 's gelato fans. The rule is they will put a point beside your name for every purchase of their gelato and after x number of cups, you get a prize. I tried a few such as the Salted Caramel , Ferrero (which was yummy, by the way) and the almost sold out V...

As I entered the corporate world, I got to realize how much my mom and I tend to be so alike. The way we think, how we push ourselves to do our best, how we strive to achieve perfection...thus it's no secret that she has been my idol despite the many times we tend to argue and disagree. Someday I dream to be just like her. A successful and well-loved professional in her continuously growing career and a doting mom who has always been there for us 24/7. What a super woman, huh? Despite my mom's hectic schedule, she still makes time to bond with us once in a while. Take last week for example, while waiting for my sister to get off work, Mommy invited me to have merienda with her at Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill . I was excited because there's actually a couple more restaurants there that I've been wanting to check out and this includes Sweet Pea . I've seen photos from fellow bloggers about the cute country-like interiors and knowing that this is the brainchild...

Here's what's been keeping Paul and I extremely busy these past few weeks... We finally took the plunge and opened our very own booth at Mercato Centrale ! It has been a dream of ours to finally have our own business and finally things are starting to fall in place. It has been a tiring yet truly fulfilling three weeks for us and we would like to thank our dear friends and relatives who has been visiting us to show their support! Check out who dropped by and made our selling day brighter:

On our first weekend back in Manila, Paul and I were busy dealing with terrible jet lag. We were up at exactly 6AM and was fast asleep by 9PM. Thus, evening social activities were totally out of the question yet the good side is we get to make the most of our mornings for almost a week and a half. Both wide awake at 6AM on a Sunday morning, we decided to head to Mercato Centrale to check out the weekend market scene. Mommy agreed to join us and off we went to the Bonifacio Global City ready to eat, eat and eat! It was a very warm Sunday morning and after quenching our thirst with Iced Barako Latte and filling our tummy with Angus Beef Tapsilog, Mommy wanted to continue our bonding session somewhere with air conditioning this time. So off we went to Serendra Piazza where we had an early lunch at Mary Grace Cafe . It's funny because I frequently buy from the Mary Grace kiosk in Greenhills but I've never dined in her Cafe. My mom, on the other hand, is a huge fan and she was...

Most of the time, I would bring lunch to work. This is mainly due to three reasons : #1 I am very lazy to go down and look for food... #2 It doesn't hurt to save a few bucks to give me more reason to splurge during the weekends and... #3 I find bringing my own lunch to work healthier as my mom makes sure we eat well everyday. Once in a while, I would request that I will just have a sandwich for lunch. It's when I want to cut back on my fat and calorie intake and when I know I have a busy day ahead. The only problem I get though is that our new cook is no gourmet chef and her sandwiches pretty much consist of bread + filling. At times, I find myself very hungry and all I got was a piece of tasty with a thin slice of ham. No dressings, no greens, nothing. I almost wanted to cry out of hunger. Oh how I miss our old cook M, who would create superb sandwiches that would truly make my day. No matter how hard my mom would teach her to be more creative, we'd still end up get...

We consider our weekend sacred... the only time when we can sleep longer and just relax while watching TV and lazing around the house. Thus, the only time we pull ourselves out of bed is when there's a work-related event scheduled or we're off to a really good weekend market that will make waking up early worth our while. Welcome to the Mercato Centrale at BGC. We first heard the buzz about an upcoming weekend market from fellow blogger Anton's site where he mentioned about the newest developments at the Bonifacio Global City . Fast forward a couple of months after that, we found ourselves joining the crowd as we entered the first tent that houses a number of organic and healthy products that one cannot find elsewhere but at the Mercato Centrale. Frannywanny with Mr. OAP The brainchild of power couple Anton and Rache Diaz,  RJ Ledesma and Mommy Mundo, there are four areas in this action-packed weekend market. Tent 1 is filled up with booths selling organic p...