Frannywanny

Ladies, who among you can relate to this scenario: Frannywanny : Hun, what are we doing for Valentine's Day?  Paul : Hmm.. oh yeah, where do YOU want to go on Valentine's Day? Frannywanny : ...... So much for Valentine's Day surprises from my Mr. Romantiko. Anyway, for couples who are still thinking of where to go tomorrow, why don't you check out Caffe B at Marina Bay Sands? Paul and I recently discovered this place and it has instantly won our hearts with its delicious and beautifully plated specialties. For Valentine's Day, both Caffe B Restaurant and Caffe B Bar have set menus ready for you to enjoy. Let me start with Caffe B Restaurant : For amuse bouche , we had the Lover's Voyage  which is a very pretty assembly of king prawn with tangy mango salsa and served with homemade croustade and yuzu aoili. It's so pretty and I want more more more! The best way to enjoy this is to pop the entire thing into your mouth in one go. Not very ladylike ...

I can read minds. Yes, I really can! Don't believe me? Hmmm... I can read what's on most of your minds right now. Ready? "How I wish the long weekend can last forever!" Am I right? Am I right? :) Kidding aside, I'm pretty sure most of you share the same sentiments as I do right this very minute. After all, being able to take some time off work and our daily responsibilities is something we all welcome with open arms. Agree? So, a few months back, Paul and I took a weekend off to spend a nice R&R at Marina Mandarin Singapore . We love staycations and we would make sure to have one especially on special occasions. That would mean -- Valentine's Day, our wedding anniversary and if we have a bit more budget and time, our birthdays too. Knowing the Marina Mandarin is one of the most sought after hotels in the city, we made our Valentine's Day staycation booking as early as December and since this day was so close to the Chinese New Year period, I...

There's really something magical about enjoying a cup of tea at any given time of the day. On most days, whenever I have a warm mug of tea with me, I tend to zone out from the bustling noise from our busy surroundings and for that short moment, I can feel peace and lots of zen. Thus, I make sure that our pantry at home is completely stocked with tea in all kinds and flavors. Growing up, I love floral-flavored teas like jasmine and chrysanthemum. I remember Papa ordering pots of Chrysanthemum every time we'd have dimsum in Hong Kong. Somehow, this became a staple for me. Eating dimsum is not complete without tea. Later on, we began a weekly ritual of having Afternoon Teas complete with dainty cups and saucers, a ceramic container of sugar cubes and a pretty three-layer tray filled with tea sandwiches and pastries. Since Chrysanthemum Tea is available mostly in Chinese restaurant, this time we learned to appreciate English Teas like Earl Grey, Basic Black Tea and more.  ...

*SPONSORED POST* It has been said over and over again how the internet has been successful in connecting lives and building relationships. We've seen how it has been so beneficial for people like us who lives thousand of miles away from home. It allows us to keep in touch with our family to the point of making them just a short message or a voice call away. I get to be updated with every thing that is happening at home down to where my parents went for dinner. Take for example the 35th wedding anniversary of my parents which they celebrated two months ago. While I wasn't there with them physically, I saw the dishes that they enjoyed that evening and got real time photos of them blowing their anniversary cake too. At times when Mommy can't get hold of me, she would just leave a short voice message telling me about her day and reminding me to take good care of myself. With technology, the fact of having the South China Sea in between me and my loved ones can easily be negl...

11 February 2014 marks our 1st year anniversary here in the Lion City! I can't believe it has been a year since I posted this update on Facebook. I still remember it clearly, we were on our way to the airport when I wrote this post. With emotions filled with uncertainty, excitement, anticipation and a bit of hesitation (as I didn't want to live more than a thousand miles away from my family), Paul and I opened a new chapter in our lives in a foreign land with just a handful of friends around us.  Look at us now. 365 days after, we are able to smoothly adjust into our new home called Singapore. Slowly but surely, we've mastered the long walks, the public commute and was able to gain new friends too. It was surely a fun year and I have to say, it's simply because we went through this journey together.  Looking back, February has always been an eventful month in our relationship. It may be the shortest month in the year but it's one that brings so...

Kiong Hee Huat Tsai , dear readers!!! Finally, the Year of the Snake is here and I pray that this year will bring more luck and happiness to ALL of us! Today, my family all wore our red dresses and shirts as we celebrate the Chinese New Year . After all, red for us, Chinese means lucky and for everyone else in the world, it's also the color of loveeeeee ♥. It's just perfect timing that Valentine's Day is just a few days away and Paul and I will be celebrating this for the first time in the Lion City. (Yep! We're leaving very very very...SOON! *happy tears happy tears* ) I'm sure restaurants will be bustling with reservations similar to how it has been for the past years. Some couples would opt to celebrate it a day before or even the weekend after just to avoid the traffic. Others would have a really formal 6...7...8 course degustacion meal while some would prefer to celebrate it at the comforts of their own home. Wherever you may be, which ever way you...

There's a new kid in town and she's a hidden gem ready to be discovered. Say hello to Calderon . A new Spanish restaurant located right at the heart of San Juan City . This is a town that has been dubbed as the modern Chinatown . With more than a dozen Chinese restaurants and delis scattered all over this tiny city, it was quite a surprise to see a restaurant serving tapas instead of dimsum perhaps hoping to add some colorful Spanish flair to this very Oriental community. Quite a bold step, if you ask me but hey, change is always GOOD. Take it from me, a girl who is about to embark on a new journey, I began the year with a resolution to be more brave in trying new things. Though I'm not a stranger to Spanish food, there I was together with Paul and a couple of dear friends ready to try what Calderon had to offer. Allow me to share with you the different dishes that we were able to try during the two consecutive visits that Paul and I had in less than a week. To say ...

Love is truly in the air! ♥ Even on my delicious plate of Penne alla Russa (smoked salmon and caviar) from Cibo . Spend this day spreading the love not only to your special someone but to your family and friends as well!! *BIG HUG* p.s. this is me trying my hand at Instagram and other Apple apps. heehee

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 ...

Another year has passed and here we are again celebrating Valentine's Day . For the past seven years, I would excitedly wait for this day wondering what Paul has in store for me. Every year, he would pick me up and surprise (yes, even after 7 years I'd still get surprised) with a bouquet of roses . Paul would bring me to a really nice restaurant, somewhere new to the both of us and we'd enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner. It's a simple gesture but I know it's one that was well-thought of by my ever sweetest husband. This year, we'll be celebrating our first Valentine's Day as a married couple out of town with half of the club as we watch more than a dozen colorful Hot Air Balloons fly up, up and away across the Pampanga sky. A week after that, we will continue our Happy Hearts Day celebration halfway across the globe as we visit friends and relatives and say hello to my dear Mickey and Minnie , this time the non-Cantonese speaking type. For those wh...

Today, Paul and I went to watch the movie entitled Valentine's Day . The story evolves around the lives of different couples and singles as they celebrate this red-letter day . It was a star-studded movie starring a couple of my favorite Hollywood celebrities -- Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Queen Latifah to name a few. While my first impression was that the story is the Valentine's version of another favorite film -- Love Actually, this one is more cheezy, more sentimental but yet again it is because everything happens in that special day where couples get more romantic than ever. As the ending credits begin to roll and I started to wipe a couple of tears away, I began to think about LOVE . That four letter word that never fails to put a smile on someone's face. Everyone wants to be loved by someone, that's a fact. Walking out of the cinema, I saw my newly-married cousin who looks totally blooming than ever. While I was just thinking how happy I am...

Paul and I are such big fans of ribs ! We enjoy the tender, falls-off-the-bone type that was perfectly marinaded in yummy barbeque sauce and grilled to perfection. Sure we have tried a number of rib dishes here and there but we are still in the look-out for that perfect ribs platter that will make us lick our fingers clean and leave our stomachs happy. I've been looking forward to this year's Valentine's Day simply because Paul told me he got something planned already. You see, for probably 350 days in the year, Paul will just leave me to choose which restaurant to dine in and to plan our entire day's itinerary. For the remaining 15 days though, which includes Valentine's Day, my birthday and our monthsaries and anniversaries, then he would take charge in doing so. He told me that we will have a fun romantic dinner in Makati and left it at that. The suspense was killing me as I was dying to find out where exactly our Valentine's dinner would be. Despite consta...

Paul , you sure know the way to a woman's heart... Happy Valentine's Day and Kiong Hee Huat Tsai to everyone! :)

Look what greeted my tonight after spending the entire day taking care of my mom at the hospital? The biggest Toblerone bar that I've ever seen! I can't wait to share this with my grandparents, parents and of course Paul! This is what Valentine's Day is all about, spreading the love to everyone! Thanks so much Toblerone and GMCI! *hugs* Valentine's Day 101 Speaking of love and celebrating Valentine's Day, Toblerone will help us enjoy the day with our loved ones minus the cost. Check out the Toblerone Fanpage where you can interact with fellow fans and chocolate lovers! There's also a gift-giving application that will allow you to send virtual sweet treats to your friends and loved ones. In the mood to play Cupid? Try this cool matchmaking application where you can mix and match buddies online to check their compatibility and romantic potential! This somehow reminds me of my Casio Digital Diary back when I was in Grade School where we can play cupid to friends...

As they say... the way to a man / woman's heart is through his/her stomach it's a good thing that Spot.ph came out with this amazing listing of all the Valentine's Day promotions around the Metro :) This will be a running list where I will be adding more entries as we get closer to the V-Day! Romantic Date Places 22 Prime at the Discovery Suites Indulge with 22 Prime’s dinner buffet and Prime rib carving station on February 13, Saturday and February 14, Sunday at P1,400+ per person . Adarna Food and Culture Adarna is giving a 20% discount on all bottles of wine for the whole month of February. A tertulia , ‘PS. Mahal Kita ,” and a love letter reading contest will be held on February 13, Saturday at 7 p.m., wherein guests will be providing the entertainment. Guests are requested to come in Filipiniana attire and are encouraged to share their talents during the program. Songs, dances, poems or the playing of musical instruments are welcome Aubergine Duck Foie gras praline...

I can't believe we're reaching the end of another month and moving on to sunny summer March! February has been short and sweet. Called the love month, this is when the world celebrates Valentine's Day , a day when couples would give extra time and effort in showing their affection to one another. This year's pre-Valentine's Day dinner was spent in an old Filipiniana house where we sat on sturdy wooden chairs and ate on an equally sturdy wooden table. The specialty? Salty shrimp paste that comes in different varieties! Welcome to the Bagoong Club . Our Club Initiation Paul loves Bagoong as he eats this together with a couple of his favorite Filipino dishes while I, on the other hand, tends to be more picky about it. I guess it is because of his fondness for the shrimp paste that he booked us a table at the Bagoong Club one Friday evening. The service was superb as our order taker patiently introduced us to their best-selling dishes and even gave his personal recommen...

click to enlarge Still not sure on what to give your special someone this Valentine's Day? Check out Eastwood Mall's St. Valentine's Fair from February 8 - 15, 2009 at the Eastwood Mall Atrium. I'm so excited as this is my sister's latest project and the stage sister in me has already set a date to visit the event and show my support. YEAH!!