About

Hi, I'm Martin Cherub. I was born and raised in Indonesia, and I've been chasing good food and new places ever since I left.

The name Cherub came from my family pastor, who named me Martin hoping I'd be courageous and create something positive — after Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr. I'm not a reformist or a civil rights leader, but I figured documenting the world through food and photography is a decent start.

The Day Job

By trade, I'm a software engineer. I've worked across telecom, healthcare, food, and — yes — funeral services. That range has taught me to adapt quickly and find creative solutions in unfamiliar territory, which turns out to be useful when you're trying to order dinner in a language you barely speak.

Japan

Japan is my favourite place on earth. I've studied Japanese for nearly a decade and my fluency is... limited. But I can order food like a pro, and honestly that's the skill that matters most. The cherry blossoms, the cities, the convenience stores at 2am — I keep going back.

This Site

Plate & Passport is where I write about the places I've been and the things I've eaten. No sponsorships, no affiliate links — just honest stories about meals and destinations that stuck with me.

Cherub Score

Cherub Score is my personal 10-point rating based on memorability, execution, value, and whether I would go back or recommend the experience to a friend. It is subjective on purpose.

Built with Astro, styled with Tailwind CSS, and deployed to the edge via Cloudflare Pages. Because if I'm going to build a blog, the engineer in me wants it fast.