What's in a (Business) Name? Diez

Oh don't flatter me, you just want some fish balls.

Spotted at SM Naga City, Camarines Sur

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.

Friendly Couchsurfer

We met Nori when he sent me a message on Couchsurfing asking if I had time to show him around Cebu. I immediately said Yes. It was a mix of excitement and fear. This was my first ever hosting a couchsurfer for dinner. We met at IT park and, customary to Japanese, he was there 10 minutes before our meeting time. Since I always want foreigners to taste the Cebuano cuisine, I brought Nori to Chikaan sa Cebu. It was a fun-filled meeting. We talked about ideas, movies and other interesting stuff. We met again, 2 days before his last stay in Cebu, and ate at Mae Krua. We continued our night with a little drinking and more laughs. He liked our beer here, especially San Mig Light. We ended the night dropping the already red Nori at his boardinghouse. He was smiling and thanking us as we parted ways.

What I found about talking with a foreigner is that even if the discussion goes a long way (and sometimes getting lost in translation), in the end, it always wraps up to a good hearty laugh.

This interview was conducted at Mae Krua. We stuck to the topic of travel - I didn't want my new friend to be answering serious questions all night. Without further ado, please help me welcome a good couchsurfer - Norihito from Japan. Clap clap clap!

What made you travel? To meet people in other countries. It's important to know the characteristics and personality of the people. They reflect the culture of a country.

What's a world without traveling? Very scary and dreadful. If people stop traveling, then they won't understand each other especially in foreign countries.

What do you like and dislike about Cebu? Like - People are kind, very hospitable, always laughing (most Japanese do not have that character). Dislike - Sometimes traffic is dangerous. I'm scared to walk on sidewalks. Some sidewalks are scary; it doesn't feel safe especially at night.

How do you find Couchsurfing? Very good. It brings a lot of good experience. If it wasn't for CS, I wouldn't meet other people. My view of the world expands. Without CS there's no difference staying in Japan or Cebu. Each place is really unique.

I hope you learned something from this brief interview. I absolutely had fun and learned something from my first interview session. I'm hoping to add more interviews in the future. Hopefully, with meet-ups with couchsurfers and exchanges with unique people, the interview portion will be a staple in this blog.

The Claypot at the End of the Rainbow

Explore the backstreets of the city and discover pots of gold. In this case, we discovered a pot of clay: One Claypot House.

One Claypot House is a tiny restaurant that can accommodate about twenty people. You can't throw your eighteenth birthday bash here unless you want to feel like it's rush hour on the subway. And if you feel like going to the loo, you have to hold it in or go next door, for this House lacks a toilet. Parking space is also nonexistent so leave your car at home. Other than that, this is an intimate little cube of a place.

There's less than a dozen items on the menu which spares me the headache of having to choose from so many delicious sounding offerings.

We chose the first three things on the menu: Lah-lah-lah claypot, Sawasdee noodle salad, and prawn paste soup.

The Sawasdee noodle salad is cold noodles with veggies, shrimps, and squid. It is spicy and a bit sour. I prefer my noodles hot but this is an exception. Delicious!

The prawn paste soup has chicken and prawn, and is a bit spicy. My tongue was expecting it to be like tom yum goong (my favorite) so I was disappointed. It was nothing like it. Yes, blame it on my expectations.

Of course we had to have the Lah-lah-lah claypot. We were in One Claypot House after all. (Is it called One Claypot House because they only offer one claypot dish?) This one I especially liked. It has rice with chicken, pork, egg, and chinese sausage. Server says it's good for one. I say it's good for me and my date.

One Claypot House
68 Don Gil Garcia St., Capitol Site, Cebu City
0908 279 1498
10AM - 10PM Monday - Saturday


How One Claypot House left Mustachio's pocket with nothing but clay:
Sawasdee Noodle Salad Php 150
Lah-lah-lah Claypot (small) Php 150
Prawn Paste Soup Php 170
10% service charge Php 47

Crazy for Crabs

Crazy for crabs, we headed to Gaisano Country Mall to chow on some crabs at a restaurant on the ground floor called... Crazy Crab!

Though they offer many other fares, without blinking an eye, we ordered crabs (and took a photo of only the menu page for crabs). The first price is with rice, the second one without.

Prepare to eat with your fingers. They do have spoons and forks and something to dig into the shells, but don't you think it is more appetizing to eat crabs with your fingers? :)

Sweet and spicy crab versus Garlic crab

Do not make me compare, I love both! It took us an hour to clean our plate but we wanted more!! I could have licked the shells of all its yummy sweet and spicy and garlicky goodness!

Crazy Crab
Gaisano Country Mall
Banilad, Cebu City
(032) 416 2344
11AM - 9PM Daily


How the crazy crabs pinced money off Mustachio's pocket:
Garlic crab with rice Php 160
Sweet and spicy crab with rice Php 160
Rice Php 12
Calamansi juice Php 25