What's in a (Business) Name? Ciento

Play Eat a game of cards

Spotted in Mango Square, Cebu City

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.

GPSmyCity Giveaway

The GPSmyCity team has gathered thousands of travel articles and city guides written by travelers like you and me and have put all these travel information in one app. With the GPSmyCity app installed on your smartphone, whether iOS or Android, you have the world on the palm of your hand.

The GPSmyCity app can be used offline, therefore, you can read the articles and use the guides without the need to be on roaming or renting a pocket WiFi or data SIM. You can go on a tour at your own pace. By accessing (for a minimal upgrade fee) the GPS-aided map, the places mentioned in the guide will be pinned on the map, tour routes will be displayed, and turn-by-turn directions between places will be provided. No need for paper maps!

I know most of us cannot travel yet because of the pandemic, but with us spending more time at home, now is the time to prepare and research for our future trips. If you have plans to travel to Taipei (Taiwan) or Hakodate (Japan) as soon as it's safe to do so,  you might want to grab this chance for FREE upgrades (to access its GPS-aided map) to these travel articles:

• Visiting Old Streets of Taipei
• Taipei Foodtrip
• What to See in Hakodate in Just Six Hours

The FREE upgrades are available for a week, from November 30 to December 6, 2020. Please click on the link (or links) that interests you and try it out! (If you haven't already downloaded and installed the GPSmyCity app, it will prompt you to do so.)

QuaranEats: Pater Boy

Pater is a Maranao dish of rice topped with chicken, beef, or tuna, and eaten with palapa (a very spicy condiment made with scallions, ginger, and chili). The first and only time I ate pater was when I visited Iligan in 2014.  But I never forgot how good it was that I would always be on the look out for it in Cebu. I don't know how long Pater Boy has been serving the Maranao dish, but I only discovered them while hiding from this pesky corona virus.

Clockwise from top: tuna, beef, chicken

Pater Boy's menu is very simple. Just three kinds of pater (chicken, beef, tuna; Php 40 each) and palapa (Php 95 for a 118 ml jar). The pater comes with a serving of palapa. The pater looks small, but my eyes are bigger than my stomach. One serving was actually enough for me. My mouth wanted more, my stomach said stop. (Warning! Eating pater with palapa will make you want to eat more!) I have always been partial to chicken so if you ask me which of the three I prefer, you know the answer.

Pater Boy has three branches: J. Urgello Street, Leon Kilat Street, and in Bacayan (Talamban). You can go to any of these branches or have it delivered—send them a message in their facebook pages: Pater Boy / Pater Boy Talamban. Delivery is through a third-party service, so there is a separate delivery fee. For deliveries, they accept cash on delivery or payment through bank transfer (BDO) or GCash.

QuaranEats: Indonesian Food by MitaBelle

During the community quarantine, I traveled to Indonesia without ever going out of my house. I traveled through my tastebuds!

I found Indonesian food by MitaBelle's New Cuisine through a facebook group. On the menu are three kinds of boxed meals, two types of desserts (the other, not mentioned in the photo below since it is a new offering, is Nastar, which are pineapple tarts—Php 100 for 20 pieces), and party trays.

We tried the boxed meals and desserts. Each of the boxed meals included yellow rice, mie goreng, and vegetables. The shrimp and tofu boxed meal came with a potato fritter, while the beef and chicken came with sambal (chili sauce). Of the three, I liked the shrimp and tofu best! I also liked the sambal and mie goreng. My brother deems these boxed meals worthy of its price! For dessert, we tried the nastar and dadar gulung. Nastar are delectable one-inch pineapple tart balls. I could eat the pack of 20 pieces in one sitting! Dadar gulung are pandan crepe with sweet coconut inside. The sweet coconut stuffing is just like our bukayo.

Top, left to right: Nasi Kotak Shrimp and Tofu, Nasi Kotak Chicken

Bottom, left to right: Nastar, Nasi Kotak Beef, Dadar Gulung

If you're craving for Indonesian food, contact Mita Fatmarasi through facebook messenger. One day advance notice is required for orders. The orders can be picked up near Sunny Hills/Gaisano Grandmall in Talamban, or you can have it delivered through Maxim or Grab (Mita will arrange the delivery). Mita accepts payments through BPI or cash on delivery. Happy travels (through tastebuds)!

Escape From Camp 14

Escape From Camp 14
Blaine Harden

Escape from Camp 14 is about Shin Dong-Hyuk's life in North Korea's labor camp and how he managed to escape. I have read three books about life in North Korea, but this was the first time I had known of North Korea's gulag or forced labor camps.

Reading about what Shin Dong-Hyuk has had to endure and how people in the camp, guards and prisoners alike, behave felt like a nightmare.

It is disconcerting that such a place exists in this world, but it is something we should all be aware of.

For more book recommendations, please visit Go Read.