Frannywanny

Today marks the 12th day of being yaya-less. Well, Yaya M was scheduled to come back yesterday and we have agreed on that. Then suddenly, she could hardly be reached almost all day yesterday and just managed to call me late in the afternoon to tell me that she wasn't able to get a bus ticket because the ticketing office was already closed (well, duh..). I had to do multiple deep breaths to hold my peace and patience as my MIL even called to tell me to just take it easy and be patient with her. Don't get me wrong, I rarely get mad at any of our staff or helper but I really do value agreements and word of honor. I just don't get how some people can make promises which they'll eventually break later on. So. Not. Cool. Luckily, my twins are much bigger now and they can play on their own. They can also take simple instructions so we still can have a bit of breathing time here and there. Paul and I have also attempted to go to the mall without a single nanny and we have s...

If there's one thing that excites me is when I get to dine at a restaurant that retains the good ol' tradition in terms of their quality and taste yet one that is also bold enough to break the stereotype and continues to surprise their patrons with "something new." Take the Japanese cuisine for example. Immediately, visions of delicious and comforting bowls of ramen would come to mind, right? How about if I tell you that recently, I tried one that's served in a sizzling bowl. Yup! It's one thing that probably not a lot of people would imagine to have in a traditional Japanese restaurant setting. Thus, this is precisely what sets Kureji  apart. Situated along Malakas street in Quezon City, I immediately fell in love with the beautiful interiors of this restaurant. It has kept the structure of an old traditional Filipino bungalow-style home with rooms in split-levels and an old-school bodega  (storage room) situated at the back of the house with a few step...

I first heard about Tenya back in 2016 from my good friend D as she was helping me put together my Tokyo itinerary. My friends in Singapore love going to Japan that I can probably name 10 friends who knows Tokyo so well that they can give the best recommendations even with their eyes closed. Thanks to them, Paul and I had spent one marvelous week eating our way around Japan and mind you, we managed to dine at some of the best hole in the wall places thanks to the tips that we got from these friends. I have yet to share with you stories from that trip and I promise to do it really soon. Meanwhile, back in Manila, Paul and I stumbled upon Tenya as we were going around the Bonifacio Global City one evening looking for a place to grab a quick early dinner before heading home. A quick search on our phone led us to Tenya  at the BGC Stopover complex. Okay, I have to admit that I never knew this place existed and boy was I impressed. We're talking about 3 storeys filled with a good mi...

Moshi Moshi Anone, Anone, Anone! A few weeks ago, Paul and I joined The Food Club in yet another foodie get-together, this time at Moshi Moshi in Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City . The restaurant is located right across the Ateneo de Manila University so expect to see a lot of students dining and hanging out in almost all food establishments and coffee shops within the Katipunan strip. Paul and I are not Blue Eagles but since my sister graduated from ADMU school, we used to frequent this place whenever we would wait for her class to end. A lot of restaurants have opened since then. Though, I'm glad that a lot of our favorite s are still around. I really think we should go back and visit them again. Moshi Moshi is located at the 2nd level of the Regis Center , a new building that houses a big Gold's Gym, Bonchon Chicken , Saint's Alp Coffee Shop and a lot more. Basement parking is available but quite limited. It was a good thing that Paul and I were able to get a goo...

My ever dearest Papa turned 66 this year! To celebrate, we decided to try Izakaya Nihonbashitei in Makati as Papa just lovesss Japanese food. Since his birthday fell on a holiday, I made a quick call to the restaurant to make sure we have a table reserved for us to lessen the waiting time. It was past lunch time when we arrived and with our tummies growling loudly we began with a couple of sushi choices that my family loves: California Maki -- I love the plump sweet mangoes and that the sushi roll is well-covered with ebiko however I somehow find the maki roll lacking in filling and flavor. Definitely, Kikofuji or Kimpura wins in this category. Futo Maki (Php. 250) -- My Kongkong loves Futo Maki and having had a dozen futo makis whenever he would go to Japan on business trips before, it really would take a highly skilled sushi chef to wow him with our local version of his favorite rice roll. I'm glad that he enjoyed Nihonbashitei's futo maki which has passed his t...

Wheenever I think of tempura, I remember my A-I (aunt) who simply adores this dish. No visit to a Japanese restaurant would be complete without this on the table and she would make sure that every single tempura would be consumed as she hates to see a good piece of deep fried shrimp go to waste. I think she'll be very happy to hear this news... Saisaki will be having a ONE DAY Eat-all-you-can Tempura Buffet for only P330! That's a steal given that you can eat as much tempura as you want plus you get rice, soup and drinks to go with it. Remember, it will only happen for one day so mark your calendars and see you there!! :)

The month of May always begins with a full day celebration as it is my not-so-little sister's birthday! This year, we had the usual Cha Misua for breakfast as this is a tradition here in our household (yes, even our household cook can cook this very well already!) followed by a full lauriat with my Dad's side and later on a delicious Japanese dinner at Kimpura with my Mom's side. Our family loves Japanese cuisine! We love dining in restaurants that have private Tatami rooms available. Such is the case for Kimpura Greenhills. My sister specifically requested that we be given a Tatami room for her birthday dinner. As soon as her guests were complete, my sister began to order. I'm so happy that she asked me to help her choose as well. Here are some of the dishes that we ordered that evening: Unagi Maki . We were actually debating whether to go for the usual California Maki or to try the Unagi Maki. Apparently, eel won over kani, mangoes and cucumber. This one i...

My craving for Japanese food lasted for the entire month of February! Starting from the yummy Japanese burger and Katsudon dinner at Sango! followed by a laid-back sushi bonding with friends at Omakase , we ended the love month with a relaxed casual Japanese dinner at Teriyaki Boy . We arrived early for dinner but the place was packed! Luckily, the friendly server was able to get us a nice table for two. Our Teriyaki Boy Feast We are regular patrons of Teriyaki Boy and it wasn't difficult for us to choose the dishes that we would like to get in every visit. For this particular meal, I was craving for sushi once again. We zeroed in on the Tempura Tuna Tartare (Php. 135). We were hoping that this will be similar to the Spicy Tuna Salad that we enjoyed at Omakase . Teriyaki Boy's version was not spicy at all. While it consists of tuna sashimi cubes, I felt though that they added in way too much tempura bits that made the entire thing oily. We should have just gotten a plate of ...