Frannywanny

It's the new year and I'm busy listing down my resolutions. Obviously, one resolution that never goes away is "to be fit and healthy" . I'm happy though that I've actually took my first step last 2013 when Paul and I began a healthier diet and have been hitting the gym more than once. We intend to continue this good habit for the entire year, this year. Anyway, Paul and I just came back from our amazing 12 Days of Christmas in Manila and we had a great time bonding with our dear family and friends. These 12 days, I must say, we've allowed ourselves to indulge in all the yummy food that Manila has to offer and yes, there were no regrets whatsoever. Right on the 1st day of our visit, we met up with our friends E and soon-to-wed C and K. C suggested that we try Relish in Quezon City and I was all for it as it was definitely something new to me. Parking was quite challenging as Relish shares the same lot as Cerchio, another restaurant. It's a good...

Remember my search for the best Ribs in town ? It's funny that I first found my favorite rib places in Angeles, Pampanga and as far as California, USA but none yet close to home. My search for the best rack of ribs never stopped though as I am determined to find THE ONE. That perfect ribs place that will allow me to go back to over and over again. Wonder when will my luck strike? Ever since Paul and I tied the knot a year and five months ago, we have been planning to have dinner with our every talented wedding coordinators and host . Since we all live extremely hectic lives, this has been pushed back a million times until last Wednesday when we finally found time and met up for dinner. Jerome , our host, is also a foodie. This is also one reason why we instantly clicked as he's a great fan of the magazine that I work for and our pre-wedding meetings would also end up with us talking about food, food and more food. He was the one who suggested that we try Rub Ribs ...

Every single time I dine at Mario's Restaurant in Tomas Morato , I can't help but reminisce about my childhood years. The time when I would dine there with my parents and we would order their Grilled Tanigue with Dill Sauce for starters, have our own plates of Caesar Salad and this immediately will be followed by our respective choice of main dishes -- on most occasions I would switch back and forth between the Lamb Chops or the Chicken Parmigiana. Our meals will never be complete without looking at their dessert cart where my sister and I would always choose the gelatin with fruit cocktail inside. Oh how I always feel like a grown-up woman every time we dine at Mario's as I would carefully slice through my lamb chops or fork through my crisp salad. Fast forward a little more than ten years after, I'm back at Mario's this time really as a grown married woman with my husband sitting beside me as we attended a special dinner hosted by Fil and Anton Benitez , the ...

I grew up learning how to appreciate tea and loving the different tea variants that has entered the market. This goes way back when my family would spend our Sunday afternoon tea bonding with each other at a hotel lobby. While the parents chit-chat, we kids munched on scones, canapes and mini tea sandwiches as we drank cups and cups of tea. At times, we would have dimsum for lunch and together with all of our steamed favorites, we would fill up our teacups with hot tea, be it chrysanthemum, jasmine or oolong. Just lately, you've witnessed how fond I was over a neighborhood milk tea shop where I would make it a point to buy myself a large cup of Hokkaido Milk Tea on my way home from work. This went on for quite some time and I've influenced a number of friends in the process . My tea addiction can be pretty infectious. Before this neighborhood milk tea though, I came across a cute Japanese-looking store at the basement of SM Megamall . It was my sister who first discov...

My first taste of Banapple was during a recent birthday dinner with Paul 's family. His mom gave me a box of Banapple's signature Banoffee Pie and I just have to say it was love at first bite. Not long after, we ended up having lunch there after running a couple of errands. It was a Sunday and we were surprised to see the place PACKED! It was brimming with families, couples and young students from nearby universities. What I don't get is that, once again, it was a weekend and school has not officially started yet. Luckily, we were able to get a table right away and we were given laminated menus to choose our orders from. Paul's mom mentioned that she liked the Baked Creamy Cheezy Penne (P155). She told me it was delicious and the noodles were al dente. While I still managed to browsed through the menu, my mind was already on the Cheezy Penne and so this was my choice as we reached the counter to place our orders. Paul chose the Migs Gallabergher (Php. 160)...

Age-old saying would say that "Three's a Crowd." However, I would like to disagree as I am actually a part of not only one but a number of trios. Take for example, my favorite work colleagues K and B who, due to our common love for trying out new food spots , became two of my closest friends through time. Then, of course, there's S and D . Despite graduating from the same high school, our friendship began through blogging and continues to grow as we occasionally meet up to catch up on each other's lives. Lastly, my trio with C and E. Though we rarely get to see each other as often as we're all hoping we could (this actually is becoming a joke that we get to meet up only once a quarter) , every single dinner spent with them is still the same. Full of stories, laughter and genuine friendship. Last night, our dinner was set for us to try out Romulo's Cafe in Quezon City. Usually, it is just the three of us meeting up for dinner but this time, we ag...

I don't know why but I never get tired of sushi . This is the reason why I immediately suggested that we dine at Omakase the moment an old college friend and her boyfriend invited Paul and I to meet up. The thought of the spicy tuna salad and the delicious sushi creations never fails to make me hungry. As always, the entire restaurant was packed with happy customers even on a weeknight. It's a good thing that there was an available table for four that can accommodate us. It was a breeze scanning their menu as I already knew what to get. Our Sushi Feast Paul and I decided to share on one appetizer, a sushi platter and a savory item. We still wanted to make our dinner light so we skipped on the rice and noodle varieties. First off was my personal favorite -- the Spicy Tuna Salad . This has a generous serving of fresh tuna sashimi cubes mixed with their special spicy dressing and garnished with tempura flakes and chopped spring onions. I also love the addition of the crunchy or...

Good friends are hard to find...especially those who'll stick with you forever... As I grow up, I've had my share of meeting new friends, keeping the old ones and learning to let go of the bad ones. It sure has its own ups and downs but nothing beats celebrating true friendships that continues to grow through time. It was a rainy Saturday evening and while the weather made it very tempting for others to just stay home and laze in bed, Paul and I braved the unpredictable downpour to be able to have a relaxing dinner with three of our long-time friends and their respective special someones. The initial plan was to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant but after a long wait, we have decided to just move next door...to Cesca , a fine dining restaurant with menu items that seems pretty reasonable. Their menu was simple and since I wasn't in the mood for beef, I zeroed in on their poultry and seafood choices. Finally, Paul and I decided to share to be able to taste two dishes at o...

Passion. This is one thing that I believe that will keep you going no matter what. Take blogging for instance. I've been a blogger for almost eight years now. The first 6 years of my blogging life was centered on a personal site where I poured my heart and mind out into every single word that I wrote. It served as a documentary of my life as a college student and further on as I began to enter the corporate world. Eventually, I became less dramatic and realized that I want to talk about something that I'm totally passionate about -- Food and Travel. Thus, Frannywanny was born. As a blogger, I seek excitement in being able to share my day-to-day adventures with everyone. My heart skips a beat every single time I receive a new message from you, my dear readers. At times, someone would come up to me and ask where do I get the determination to blog regularly and I would simply say that blogging is my form of stress release. This is my way of unwinding after a busy day at work. W...

Once in a while, a girl craves from something delicious and whenever she craves for this it is definitely a must and NOT an option to make sure this gets fulfilled. Just recently, I was really craving for sushi -- oh, I dream of slices of mouthwatering salmon sashimi, the brightest orange ebiko (fish roe) and a huge platter of assorted mini makis. Paul, being the sweetest boyfriend that he is, agreed to drive all the way to Quezon City just to satisfy my sushi craving. Just a word of caution though, when it comes to sushi and eating raw food items, be sure to dine only in reputable restaurants. This is to avoid getting unexpected stomach illnesses or worst, food poisoning. For us, the best sushi can be found in Omakase . We used to be regular customers of their Libis branch and were delighted to find out that they just recently moved to a bigger and better location in Il Terrazzo in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Regulars of Omakase will be surprised and delighted with the new interiors ...

I love yogurt! Way before the popularity of the frozen yogurts a.k.a. fro-yos and those with fruit toppings came about, my family has been a big fan of Nestle's fruit yogurts and BTIC for as long as I can remember. Imagine our joy when the sudden craze over this healthier dessert option came into the local scene. So far, I've tried the best Frozen Yogurt found in the Salcedo Market as well as the creamy Strawberry yogurt of Lulu Belle . After a brief chat with my colleague Becky last Friday, who is also a yogurt fan herself. She suggested that I should check out Yoh-Gurt Froz . What's different about this yogurt is the ice cream-like texture that makes it really smooth and creamy. I've been thinking about it the entire day after our chat and so after a delicious birthday dinner with Paul's family, I sweetly convinced Paul to drive by the Yoh-Gurt Froz store along Tomas Morato. At half past 9, the store was filled with 3 families enjoying their dessert! While waitin...

My sister and I always look forward to Saturday afternoons. This is because we usually make the most of this time to go out with mommy for a short but sweet merienda (afternoon snack) bonding. One Saturday, we found ourselves driving along Tomas Morato in search of a cozy looking restaurant for our weekly bonding session. My sister, who has been wanting to try something new, pointed Kozui Green Tea out to us and mentioned that she has been hearing a lot of raves about it. Since we all love Green Tea, we gladly went with her suggestion. Entering the brightly lit restaurant, I immediately sense a very happy vibe all over the place. A shelf was adorned with cute, Japanese trinkets while their community board has photos of regular customers obviously loving their choice of drinks. We settled at a table by the door that has a semi-circle lime green couch. It took us a while to finalize our order because everything looks so good! Finally my mom and sister each got the Iced Genmaicha Lemon...