Random thoughts of restaurants and food in Vancouver, BC!
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It might seem like a déjà vu but, last year, around this time, I wrote a blog post about my mom’s cooking. Since I was in Panama a couple of weeks ago, I thought it might be suitable to write about it again. So, to my mom and all mothers, Happy Mother’s Day!
Would you believe I tweet about this?
Here is a random question: How many of you have visited local landmarks/sites of interest? Let’s take Van Dusen Botanical Garden as an example. How many of us living here in Vancouver have visited it? In my case, well, here, here and here. I am sure some a lot of people haven’t done so because, in a way, we take it for granted or because we might not find it as interesting as, say, tourist. Well, something similar happened to me. When I was living in Panama, I visited the Panama Canal only once and that was when I was 10 or so years old. Ever since, I had absolutely no interest in revisiting it. To me, it is just a pond with murky water where large boats go through from one ocean to another. Of course, that was my perspective of somebody living there/used to live there; for somebody who has never seen it will certainly have a different perspective…
Miraflores Visitor Centre. Sorry, this is the “best” picture of the bunch. Others might not be as good…
Tomate y Amor
Calle 48 and Calle Uruguay
Panama City, Panama
When I went last year to Panama, there was a reason: the wedding of my friend Andrea and her now husband Enrique. If you look at the date of closely, you could easily find out it was around this time when they got married. So, more or less in their wedding anniversary, I took them to dinner. While Andrea was on holidays during those days, Enrique wasn’t. So, despite I was a bit of a foreigner (literally), I took the time to organize where and when. Originally, old schoolmate Jennifer was to join us but things happened and it was only Andrea, Enrique and me. The restaurant I chose? Tomate y Amor.
Ten Bistro
Calle 50
Centro Comercial Multiplaza (location visited)
Panama City, Panama
There always seems to be a cultural flip when people travel from/to different countries. When I first moved to Vancouver, I was really happy to try things we didn’t have in Panama (or, at least things I considered “exotic” back then). For example, I visited one or two Korean restaurants, then moved to Indian, Vietnamese restaurants, Japanese restaurants and so on. Why? Because in Panama, these weren’t mainstream back then! Of course, things have changed and yesterday’s post of Sushi Itto is a sign of that. Of course, since I was out of the country for so long, that meant I really wanted to try the “local” fare, not things I could also find in Vancouver, as well. Alas, my mom was cooking almost every single day for me and my parent’s friends which limited my opportunities of eating out. But, I had a wild card: meeting my own friends. As mentioned yesterday, I went out with GN and the meeting place was a mall where we had a light snack in Sushi Itto. Later that day then, it was time for dinner and the question was… Where? In the end, we went to Ten Bistro; however, believe me, there was a bit of thought process behind it!
Sushi Itto
Locations in the Central America, Mexico, US and Spain
Centro Comercial Multiplaza (Location visited)
Panama City, Panama
Before I go on with this post, I will appreciate if readers first check this really old post. In it, I described one of the first sushi experience in Vancouver; however, I also make mention of my first sushi experience prior to me moving here. That place was Sushi Itto. During this visit to Panama, I decide to go back to check if my experience eons ago still apply and, given I have had my big share of Japanese food in Vancouver, how it fares. Ah, the memories! 
Restaurante Mi Ranchito
Amador Causeway
Panama City, Panama
More often than not, I do not re-blog a restaurant visit. For the most part, in my experience, my follow-up visits are pretty much similar to what I experienced and blogged. However, there are times I do re-visits thanks readers suggestions. So far, most re-visits have been locally here in Vancouver – after all, I live here. However, to “break” that pattern, I returned to Mi Ranchito, I restaurant I blogged about last year! After all, locals suggest this place and, since I was with my parents’ friends, it was a good way to introduce them to local cuisine!
Palacio Rey Kung
Via España y Calle 45
Bella Vista, Panama City, Panama
Probably due to my Tuesday “bonus” post, I am sure some of you might have guess where I was. Yup, I was in Panama City, Panama, once again! Unlike last time, though, where I went by myself, this time, I was with some family friends, whom have known my parents… Well, since I was a toddler! And, because they are mostly “traditional” Chinese, meeting also means going for some Chinese food. Last year, my parents and I went to Palacio Lung Fung, this time, they went to another well established Chinese restaurant there: Palacio Rey Kung.
Note: My parents know the owners and several members of the staff (including kitchen). Given this relationship, some of the dishes and/or the overall experience might not be representative for other diners.
