With Halloween just around the corner, costume parties and trick-or-treat events can be found all around the metro. A local mall has likewise put up a themed horror park to add to the spooky fun. A new wharf in northern Cebu promises faster inter-island travel for locals and tourists, just in time for the long weekend.
Speed limit for trucks
An incident involving a truck sends soft drink bottles crashing down a highway in Mandaue.
The Mandaue City Council will implement a speed limit of 40 km. per hour for trucks passing through the city. Traffic enforcers will flag down vehicles with six wheels or more if they believe the driver is going too fast.
The move was prompted by the death of a motorcycle rider after a truck driver who was allegedly over speeding hit a lamp post which fell on the victim. Speed limits are already specified under the Mandaue City Traffic Ordinance and the Land Transportation Code of the Philippines. However, the lack of speed guns makes enforcing the law a challenge.
Middle Eastern roasted chicken
Farooj grilled chicken with sauces and sides (Image: Farooj Cebu)
Local roasted chicken gets a Middle Eastern twist at Farooj Charcoal Chicken. Opened last June, Farooj is tucked inside all-day breakfast joint Balai (Brunch by Cafeplus) along A.S. Fortuna Street. Farooj offers whole halal chicken marinated for 24 hours in lemongrass and nine spices which is then roasted on hot coals. Customers can choose from four signature homemade sauces: garlic, Sahara, spicy garlic, and Farooj Special. For sides, they can choose among curry rice, cumin fries, and pita bread.
Farooj Charcoal Chicken is open from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM, Tuesday to Sunday.
Horror theme park
This year’s horror park at Parkmall is set in a warehouse. (Image: Parkmall)
Parkmall has unveiled its attraction for Halloween. For this year, the theme of the horror park is The Warehouse. Patterned after horror-slasher films, the setting is in an abandoned and broken-down building where gruesome events have taken place.
The Warehouse is open from Oct. 6 to Nov. 5, from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM. It is located at the second floor of the West Strip. Entrance is at PhP50 per person.
Chorizo de Cebu
Packs of sausages from Gabriela’s Chorizo Cebu (Image: Gabriela’s Chorizo Cebu)
One of the many take-home gifts or pasalubong items from Cebu that visitors can bring is chorizo de Cebu (Cebu pork sausage). There are many suppliers of chorizo in Cebu, but one that stands out is Gabriela’s Chorizo Cebu. Branding themselves as “Cebu’s #1 hotels and restaurants chorizo supplier,” Gabriela’s takes pride in selling locally made chorizo which has no texturized vegetable protein or extenders. Their chorizo is sold at PhP130 per pack of 19 to 20 pieces. Gabriela’s also sells siomai (dumplings), bola-bola (meatballs), and lumpia shanghai (spring rolls).
Halloween events
Insular Square and SM City Cebu will hold Halloween events for October. (Images: SM City Cebu Official, Insular Square)
Kids and adults alike can join in the Halloween fun at the Happy Halloween! event at SM City Cebu. There will be a costume contest for adults on Oct. 28, 2:00 PM and for kids on Oct. 29, 2:00 PM both at the Event Center. Participants can dress up in whimsical, fantasy, and scary costumes. A trick-or- treat activity is also slated for Oct. 31.
On Oct. 28, Insular Square will also hold Trick or Treat 2017 for kids 12 years old and below. There will be face painting, a magic show, and a costume contest. Registration is free.
New Bogo Wharf
Gov. Hilario Davide III at the inauguration of Bogo Wharf last Oct. 11
Locals and tourists can now enjoy faster inter-island travel from Bogo with the newly inaugurated roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) ramp in Polambato Wharf, Bogo City.
Previously, traveling from northern Cebu to Cebu City took three to four hours, and an additional 12 hours for those going to Samar. With ferries plying the PhP45.7-million wharf, travel time will be cut in half. The port currently services four routes going to Cataingan and Cawayan, both in Masbate; and Villaba and Lapompon, both in Leyte. Lite Shipping also opened a fifth route starting last October 18, offering six-hour trips to Calbayog City, Western Samar.
Closure of Marriot Hotel
Cebu City Marriot Hotel will close to be rebranded as Seda Hotel. (Image: Cebu City Marriott Hotel)
After 20 years in the city, Cebu City Marriott Hotel will close its doors on Jan. 1, 2018. This is after their lease agreement with AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. expires on Dec. 31, 2017.
AyalaLand will rebrand the building as Seda Hotel. It is envisioned to be the biggest hotel in the Visayas by the real estate developer. Currently, another Seda Hotel is under construction at Cebu I.T. Park. Once complete, Seda Hotel Cebu Business Park would be the second hotel in the Visayas for the brand. To date, Seda Hotel has 1,255 rooms in the country.
About Arrah Camillia Quistadio-Manticajon
Arrah Camillia Quistadio-Manticajon is the current content supervisor for the Visayas region of ShoppersGuide Marketing, Inc. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree from UP Cebu. She has previously worked for a business process outsourcing company, a community newspaper, and a global technology company. When not writing, she putters about in the kitchen, baking or testing new recipes.
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