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?

Chicken with pineapple.

Stuffed eggplants.

Clams in black bean sauce. Nothing to envy from a restaurant version!

My mom can also cook “regular” dishes, like this snow pea with pork dish.

Chicken (and pork) this time with cucumber and tomato.

Again, langostino, this time, cooked with water crest.

Cucumber and tomato egg “omelette”.

Steamed fish collar with black bean.

Panfried oysters.

Congee.

Panfried wonton

Panfried fish with avocado.

Squid chow mein

Red kidney beans with salted pork

“Guavina”, “guabina” or “small eye fish”

Oxtail stew

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…

In this case, my parents’ friends had a keen interest in visiting it. After all, they are not from Panama and it was their first visit. Since I was taking care of them, that meant I was tagging along. So, without futher ado…

A boat just entering the locks.

Passing through the locks…

After the boats align itself to the locks (thanks to tugboats), they are then “pulled” by these.

After the boat crosses the locks, it closes and refills with water.

Almost done crossing the locks…

Done!

Finally, some wacky facts of the Panama Canal:

• There are three sets of locks: Gatún, Perdo Miguel and Miraflores.
• There was a referendum for a third set of locks was passed not long ago.
• It officially opened in August 15, 1914. Yes, it is almost 100 years old!
• Highest fare paid so far? US$331,200, paid by the Disney Magic.
• Lowest fare? 36 cents by Richard Haliburton who swimmed it.

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.

Even if you can’t read Spanish, if you speak/write/read a Romance language, you can easily guess Tomate is tomato. What about Amor? That is the Spanish word for love. According to one of the waiters, the tomato side of the name is because that ingredient adds to the overall taste to the food and love is the passion head chef Zana gives to each of the dishes. And I will have to say that, unlike a lot of chefs whose picture appear in the restaurant site, she is actually in the kitchen! (I was able to see here expediting the orders through a small window). In fact, by the end of our meal, she was making rounds and talking to the customers. When was the last time you experienced this?

Since I was on holidays, I arrived around 7:30 p.m., the time we originally planned the dinner for. If you have been long enough in Panama, one of those things that can really piss you off is how leisurely things work, not to mention the inefficiency. As, similar to what happened in Ten Bistro, I will have to admit that the service was top notch after I walked in. From guiding me to the table, timing, and so on. OK, it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination; however, compared to what I have been used to, service was pretty good! Anyway, while waiting for Andrea and Enrique, I ordered a drink.

I am not that much of a beer drinker; in fact, I seldom order drinks. Once in a while, I will open a bottle of wine (just to consume a glass and a half at most, the rest to be cooked) but that seldom happens. In this case, I ordered this drink because of its silly name: Green beer. Yes, it was indeed green. Makes me wonder if they missed the memo about St. Patty’s day already past… Anyway, either I have been building my tolerance or what but this is a really light beer. In fact, it tasted almost like a herbal soda. I won’t try to give any judgement about this drink given my lack of experience with alcohol.

Now, moving to the actual food. I offered to pay for the whole meal, again, given it was their anniversary. However, because of this fact, I have the odd suspicion they held back on the dishes to order. For example, Andrea was originally going to order a sandwich. A sandwich??? OK, she is thin (according to her, size 5/6?) but, c’mon, a sandwich??? I told them not to hold back – after all, last time, they paid for me… Regardless, after flying all the way, I won’t stop by ordering just the main dishes. So, we started with…

Patacón de pixbae. First, as a reminder of what is patacón, please check mi visit to Mi Ranchito. The twist here is that, instead of using green plantain, it uses a fruit called pixbae (colloquially pifa or piba). In its raw form, this fruit that resembles a miniature version of a young coconut. After it is boiled, that resulting fruit (smaller than a tennis ball) has a starchy, fibrous texture with a bit of a nutty, dry taste. Here, it was prepared with a twist by boiling it in salted water (and normally, it will end here), smashing it and then frying it lightly to crisp it. I will have to say this is quite an acquired taste and, in my case, given I have eaten pixbae in its “normal” iteration, I found it interesting but I will rather stick with the normal version.

Last week, I posted pictures of ceviche but intentionally skipped this one. Here, ceviche de corvina C’mon, you got to admit this looks GOOD!!! While the one I had in Mi Ranchito had a lot more of lime/lemon juice, here it was less marinated in the citric juices, hence it was more borderline a fish version of a steak tartare. In addition to the light citric taste, it also had a coconut taste to it. I won’t necessarily call it ceviche but, regardless, taste wise, it was good….

Complimentary bread and butter drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This was quite a nice touch. The bread was still warm and several types was offered. What really blew it was the butter drizzled with balsamic. Usually we have either butter or olive oil (this later one, usually with balsamic vinegar). However, they mixed it in this case. Normally it won’t be a big deal except the butter was soft and the balsamic vinegar taste was infused into the butter. Ah, the best of both worlds!

Spaghetti en salsa de tomate de la casa con albóndigas de carne angus or Spaghetti in house tomato sauce with angus beef meatballs. I will forgive Enrique for ordering this: his original thought was to order a steak but they ran out of it that day… So, in the end, he ordered spaghetti and meatballs. Truth is, I really wanted him to order something else. The dish wasn’t bad, just that… Well, it is a bit too simple of a dish. The pasta was cooked slightly past my preferred al dente level but, otherwise, it is what you would expect from it.

Risotto De Mariscos y Azafrán or Seafood and saffron risotto. As mentioned originally, Andrea wanted to go for a sandwich. I managed to convince her to order this dish instead, despite her hesitation. As for the dish itself, I know it is orange yellow. A bit too much orange yellow you might say… But, this is mainly thanks to the saffron. And, despite it is not that noticeable, it had a lot of small chunks of different type of seafood. The consistency was quite thick and creamy. If it didn’t know better, you could say it had cream in it! This was definitely a winner.

Once again, remember this picture?

Yes, it is a whole octopus! Or, as per their menu, grilled whole octopus, served with capers and potatoes. It was well cooked, with some bite in it but, by no means, chewy. A contrast from the one in Ten Bistro, yet good in its own ways. The octopus itself didn’t have an unique taste; however, the grill taste was there (which was also balanced a little bit by the mayo). A little bit of an acquired taste but worth a try.

Sorbeto de Maracuyá or passion fruit sorbet. Unlike most girls, I had to really push Andrea to order a dessert. In the end, we ordered this to share between the three of us. I am sure most people have had some form of passion fruit dish but a lot of times its taste is quite standard (similar to that of mango lassi where, regardless of the restaurant, it taste exactly the same). Here, it had a fragrant taste in it, plus it had acidic note. If you like passion fruit before, you will definitely like this; if not, you could still eat it without much complaining. The mint on top, well, just topped it!

While my visit to Ten Bistro was a look from a chef from afar taking a stab at local Panamanian ingredients, ultimately, my visit to Tomate y Amor is a look from a local chef taking a stab at the same ingredients but trying to make it with a more international twist. In the end, I believe it succeeded. Would I come back? If it wasn’t because I can only go to that many restaurants when I go to Panama, I would definitely do so.

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!

Prior to even meeting GN at that mall, we were considering different options. The fact that neither one of us had a car in Panama (while I could rent one, Panamanian traffic is not something I am willing to deal with anymore), plus the fact that public transit is a pain and cabs are another pain in their own way, meant the meeting place had to be somewhere manageable. For her, another important detail was that the place had to be somewhere with A/C – after all, the temperature on those days were ~33C and over 75% humidity! For me, as long as there was a good restaurant, hehehehe. We ended up going to Multiplaza, a local relatively big sized mall with the intent of going to a restaurant afterwards. The problem was that GN was a bit enthusiastic on some American chains! For example, she wanted to visit originally places like Bennigan’s or TGI Friday’s – and I will admit that 10 or so years ago, it would have been fine to me… ^_^;;; By the time we finally chose to go to have dinner, we were a bit lazy to go out of the mall which left us which a limited number of options. Following that initial non-North American chain line of thought, I “convinced” GN not to go to Tony Roma’s and Benihana. And, while my wish to go to a more traditional Panamanian restaurant was partially squashed as well (there weren’t any in the mall), we ended up in a compromise to go to the first non-North American restaurant, non-food court restaurant we could find. And, somehow, we ended up going to Ten Bistro. OK, I fib… On our way there, we pass through two other restaurants; however, (1) We thought they were part of the same restaurant and (2) we didn’t want to sit outside, despite it had cooled down a little bit by then.

I know these two restaurants names (next to Ten Bistro) do not mean a lot to you but, if you watched the Panama episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations…

However, visiting Ten Bistro, has its own share of pros. While in the past I had gone to traditional Panamanian restaurants (Mi Ranchito, El Trapiche, et al), I was also curious as to what would happen when a French trained chef takes the local Panamanian ingredients. Sure, I want my sancocho or ceviche but, at the same time, you want to expand those borders. So, in its own odd ways, I had my share of enthusiasm coming to this place.

Now, it wasn’t GN’s first visit – she went there a couple of weeks prior to my visit to Panama. In her case, she went during an event to that similar of Dine Out Vancouver was going on. OK, just in case to those who are also NOT from Vancouver: During a two week period, local restaurants have prix fixe menu (ranging from $18, $28 or $38 in 2010) to entice customers to visit restaurants. While that sounds good, I have mentioned in the past I have doubts about it. Specifically, the experience in such events does not necessarily reflect what you get in a regular (in our case, weekend) dinner night. With that in mind, we sat down and looked at the menus…

Because of the “snack” we had prior to visiting here, I wasn’t really that hungry so I devised a plan of my own: order two small dishes. On GN’s side, she wasn’t sure what to order either and, eventually I decided for her by choosing a dish I would have ordered had I plan to eat a full meal. However, there was a small problem: they weren’t sure if that dish was “ready” yet (more details in a moment), so the waiter had to go to the kitchen to verify. When he came back, he mentioned it was but, it might not be at its optimum. GN had her share of doubts whether to go for that dish or another she was pondering about while the waiter was checking with the kitchen. Eventually, I “convinced” her to go for my option. But, here is the kicker… After her order was taking and I made mention I wanted two small dishes instead of one, the waiter asked GN if she was interested in another dish (i.e., appetizer), since mine would be served one at a time and she would then have something at the same time. Well, it seems that was the only push she needed, as she ordered it on the spot! Yes, I will admit the waiter did quite a good job selling the menu…

Now, I know I was a bit vague about the dishes so let’s jump to it, starting with GN’s first dish (the one she had originally in mind)…

Crema de Zapallo or cream of squash, though the translation of this name will have a small caveat: that of using “squash” as a generic term, not as a specific type of squash. I managed to have some of this soup and I will have to admit it was pretty darn good. It was quite thick, though not necessarily due to dairy but partially due to the squash itself, as if they used a lot of squash to prepare the soup, blend it and then add some dairy to call it a “cream” rather than add a heavy dose of cream. Not necessarily a complain… Furthermore the squash taste was heightened by a heavy pinch of nutmeg. It could have been borderline overpowering but it did quite a good job.

As for me, I ordered a cold lasagna, with oxtail meat and ravigote sauce. Based on the description, I was expecting something meaty and, from that perspective, it didn’t disappoint. Oxtail meat? Hey, sign me in! Unfortunately, that was the end of it. I won’t argue the meat was tender; however, the dish had a acidic, sour taste to it. Now, it wasn’t rotten or anything like that, instead, it was mostly due to vinegar/mustard in ravigote sauce which gave those tones. While I don’t have issues with eating/drinking bitter dishes/drinks, I found this one way past what I would normally like, hence I didn’t even finish half of it. On that note, when our second dishes were served, our waiter dropped by and wanted to confirm if there was anything wrong… (The dishes were taken away by a different waiter).

GN’s second dish was osso buco (though the restaurant has it listed as “Ozo buco”), which was served with chickpeas. Before going to the meat, the chickpeas weren’t as soft as it could have been and, flavourwise, additional seasoning would have helped a lot. However, I must keep in consideration that we were warned that they were just finishing and additional resting period would have helped. As for the meat, it was a really large serving, not to mention it was fall off the bone. It had a somewhat heavy tomato taste, which I didn’t mind, though I felt something to balance the taste could have helped a lot. Not disappointed overall, though, again, there was a bit of room for improvement.

My dish was sauteed octopus with potato aioli. While dishes like rice and beans is the core of more traditional Panamanian cuisine, given the abundance of seafood in Panama, dishes like octopus this would be something you would see when you go out on a weekend night. And, in this case, it didn’t disappoint – it was the most tender octopus I ever had. Sure, some people look forward to that “snap” when eating octopus but, here, it was as soft as if it could be. OK, no melt-in-your-mouth feeling but it had the texture of shrimp, i.e., a slight inital resistance and then soft afterwards. The potato didn’t do much (it felt like a mashed version of a potato salad) but, fortunately, it didn’t get into the way of the main star.

GN didn’t finish her dish; however, I managed to convince her to order dessert. OK, there wasn’t too much convincing required, after all, girls love their desserts… Last time she was in Ten Bistro, she ordered profiteroles and, for comparison purposes, I suggested it. So, we ordered one to share. If I compare it to the one I had at Bistrot Bistro, I will have to say there weren’t as good. The main problem was that the choux was baked crisp in some parts and, as a result, a bit difficult to break into. GN commented it wasn’t like that last time she had it so it seems there is a bit of consistency issues. As for the ice cream was average but, at least, managed to “soften” the crisp choux pastry. I won’t say it was the best in the world but, at least, it got the work done…

One thing that really (and I have to emphasize on really) impressed me was service. While it wasn’t overly attentive (we had to “chase” them down for the dessert menu), at no times the glasses were empty and dishes were cleared in a timely manner. And the fact that I was asked about any issues because I didn’t finish my dish topped it all. I wanted to mentioned this because, in the past, service was (still is?) one of the main issues in the hospitality industry in Panama. So, from that perspective alone, kudos to the restaurant.

Overall, despite some things went sideways, I like the direction the restaurant takes. Sure, it completely overlooks traditional dishes (there were no rice and beans or ceviche – for the later one, I should have gone to one of the restaurants outside Ten Bistro), it still prepares dishes locals are still familiar with a foreign methods. Granted, the average Panamanian might not go often to this place (think of it as somebody in Vancouver going to Market by Jean-Georges every weekend) but I found it was worth while. Finally, just for comparison purposes, other than the osso buco, which was $15, the rest of the dishes were less than $10.

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!

One thing I realized in this trip is the amount of Japanese restaurants popping here and there. Now, I am not talking about sit down restaurants – there are still only that many. Instead, I am talking about food court stands. I find this a bit odd, considering you might as well have ceviche. I guess it is an “issue” of popularity of Japanese culture and desire to try foreign food.

No tea here…

At least they some disposable oshibori…

On this trip, I wasn’t there by myself; rather, I went with GN, whom I went last year with to The Wine Bar, a local (as in Panama) restaurant. Now, the intent wasn’t really to have a meal here either, instead, it was to have a “snack”. The actual meal will come in tomorrow’s post! Anyway, that meant we would order only that many dishes… GN wasn’t sure what to order and the menu wasn’t too inspiring for me. However, we were seated and a decision had to be taken. So, against my judgement, I ordered…

California roll with tobiko

Yup, the infamous California roll, here with tobiko (fish roe). Now, I know some of your will be shaking their heads for even considering ordering this. Part of the reason was that I wasn’t sure what GN would like/not like so I chose the safest option around. However, the real reason is that it might have been that intent of remember that experience years ago.

So how was it? It was utter crap. There was absolutely no seasoning in the rice that I could taste. Furthermore, it was krab and the avocado didn’t even have a creamy consistency, which I consider an epic fail, considering Panama grows avocado locally (and, no, not the Haas variety)…

Shrimp temaki

Just for kicks, I also ordered a temaki, a cone. In this case, I was given the option for crab/krab or shrimp. To play it “safe”, I ordered the shrimp version. As you can see, it has (two pieces of) prawn tempura and asparagus. It also had a sauce that looked (and tasted) like that composite mayo found in supermarkets. The shrimp was heavily battered and cold, hints of it being prepared in advance. the asparagus was mushy and didn’t really add much to the final product.

$6.60 for a California Roll? $7.50 for a cone???

As I mentioned in my Sushi Robo post, my first experience with sushi would have scarred me for life. For good or for bad, I gave it a second chance and I now enjoy it in a different way. As for this visit to Sushi Itto? It reminded me why I disliked it… And that also explains why GN calls it “The MickeyD’s of sushi”…

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!

Now, there was a reason I wanted to come back. Last time, I did not have my SpeedLight yet and the pictures used the regular flash. The end result? They weren’t pretty pictures. This time, let’s just say I wanted to make sure they will turn out better, hehehehe. Yes, while we did end up ordering similar dishes, we also ordered something else. Without further ado…

Ceviche de Corvina

Remember this picture?

Yup, now THAT is ceviche (specifically, ceviche de corvina; corvina being a fish usually found on the Pacific Ocean). Unlike the one I had in Baru Latino, you could really taste the acidity from the lime/lemon juice here and, to quote my friend, the texture was almost like that of chicken. I so wished I could find it here in Vancouver…

Dish #2 was almejas al ajillo, clams in garlic sauce. The “sauce” wasn’t only garlic based; it also had some butter and ají chombo, a hot pepper related to habañero pepper, which is one of the spiciest hot peppers around. However, there weren’t that much of the later so, it wasn’t that bad. Too bad we didn’t order a side of rice to go along with all that sauce… As for the clams, it is difficult to describe unless you have had it. Trying to compare it to local clams would be difficult but let’s just say you could taste a bit of the sea with each piece.

Moving forward, here is a dish that was also ordered last time: arañitas or squid tentacles. It is fried stuff, what else do you need me to say!

Patacón, or fried, smashed and refried green plantain. Remember I ordered something similar in Delicias de Alicia? This is the way I am used to eating. Needless to say, these were still warm (read: freshly fried). The only “issue” was that they didn’t add some salt as soon as they got out of the fryer.

Calamar al Ajillo – squid in garlic sauce. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the sauce in the clams dish, except it didn’t have the ají chombo, hence it wasn’t spicy. The squid itself was cooked tender so no complains. We had options of one side and we (actually, it was I!) chose yuca, aka, cassava.

In addition to the portion that comes with the squid order, I ordered a second serving. To those who have never had yuca, I will highly suggest you give this a try. It has a starchier, dryer texture compared to regular fries. Unlike fries were a lot of times you need catsup, mayo or mustard, you can have this as is. Yes, it has some unique taste of its own.

Finally, the cost of the meal. Notice one thing: tips were included in the final bill, something that a lot of us are against. At least, for Canadian standards, it is fine – it was 10% (it is the $3.43 line item in the bill above). Given that I have come back, it is needless to say I won’t hesitate to go one more time, next time I am in Panama City. So, if you happen to be a traveller and you are in the city, try to find your way to get there. Even if it is not the food, the causeway has a great scenery. A win-win scenario.

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.

We first went for dim sum. Now, unlike people here in Vancouver and more in lines of really traditional Chinese, we went dim sum for breakfast but, due to time shift and other related factors (Panama City does not observe daylight savings, so it is currently two hours ahead of Vancouver, PDT time zone), that ended up being more on the lines of a brunch. Furthermore, we went on a weekday. Translation? In Panama, average people work really hard during weekdays and enjoy to their fullest on weekends. As a result, during dim sum, we were about the only customers! (Except for one other table). Since the restaurant is well aware of this, they don’t really have much to offer, except those that you would have to make to order. Anyway, here is what ended up on the table.

If somebody tells me they don’t look that good, I won’t argue with them. Given the several factors involved, I would lower expectations a bit. However, even if I compare to the average dim sum found in Vancouver, it might be borderline subpar. While thinking a little bit, there was one thing that hit me and that has to do with something that I experienced myself…

See, most Chinese people who moved to Panama are the old generation, i.e., those who moved out over 25 years ago. That translates into mostly people from Guangdong. However, that influx was not a constant one. While there is still people immigrating to Panama, in now way is even remotely similar to that of Vancouver. As a result, the food cooked there is more on the lines of the old guard type Chinese cooking, not the one you see in Vancouver which is more modern, probably due to the more recent influx of Chinese (now including from places other than Guangdong, including HK). As a result, comparing what we find in Vancouver and in Panama might be comparing apples and oranges… So, if we keep that into consideration, Palacio Rey Kung dim sum’s offerings are not that bad. And, if I compare it to the ones I had last time in Palacio Lung Fung, actually they are quite similar (yes, I am retracting what I said previously about Palacio Lung Fung).

Now, we didn’t only go to Palacio Lung Fung for dim sum only. On another day, my parents chose to also go for dinner. After all, cuisine comparison is always a good thing! However, I did run into a small difficult: It would be a bit difficult for me to give an accurate description of the dishes because, for the most part, I can’t really give you some sort of reference point. But, I will try my best here, OK?

Clams in black bean sauce

If you have had a Chinese black bean sauce dish in the past, you have a starting point. However, because of the clams, there was a bit of that sea taste in it. And, in the case of these clams, they also provide some sweetness to it. Yes, I know that sounds partially contradictory but, believe me, that’s how it worked. Two dishes were ordered: a “regular” version and a spicy version – both tasted equally good…

Fried pork

Think chunks of pork, fried and have some fried garlic on top. There wasn’t too much sweetness on it, though. That would have done wonders.

Langostino

Langostino, sometimes referred to langoustine. While not necessarily accurate, that is how most people call it so, that name has stuck. As for the langostino itself, let’s just say this picture does not to justice to the actual dish. Each piece would be the size of a tiger shrimp but its taste is sweeter.

Guavina or guabina, aka, “small eyes fish”

This final dish is one that I wanted to try last time I was in Panama but, alas, there was none. This is guavina, aka, guabina, aka, “small eyes fish” (the Chinese name in Panama). Because this is a “warm” water fish and given it size, the meat is really smooth and flaky. It is not literally melt in your mouth but you can easily eat it without much effort. The only caveat is that, due to its size, the bones can be an issue. But, if you had it fried… Well, fried bones is good! Anyway, with the soy sauce, which was “cooked” with the hot oil and garlic, it provided that savoury taste it needed.

From a Vancouver’s perspective, dinner would be not that different from some Chinese restaurants in the suburbs – probably a bit above par, considering the availability of some ingredients (i.e., seafood. But, the key here is that, from the local Panamanian perspective, what was served would be an extremely good meal and that is what matters the most.

I originally intended to have this post up for last week Saturday. However, things happened and, well, here it is…

It might be an overstatement at this point but I like to take pictures of trees and flowers. In fact, I think I prefer to take landscape/outdoors to that of people (read: portrait pictures). If somebody would try to hire me to do the later, I will simply refuse. However, in the case of the former, hell, I might do something similar to what Humphrey Bogart’s character did in The Maltese Falcon (take some amount to cover time and expenses). I am digressing here… So, for this post, pictures of trees and flowers in Panama! (Oh, in most cases, I won’t know the name of the tree/flowers… -_-;;;)

The following two pictures are really odd…

No, I do not mean to show litter in Panama (which itself is a problem). Rather, a really odd problem. What happens is that, in tropical countries, if you drop some seeds in a plot of land, the chances it will sprout are really high. In this case, in the city itself, you could find some trees with the fruit hanging there…

My height is considered to be above average for a Chinese-born. I just had to “stretch” myself to reach some mangoes in a tree in an empty lot in Panama…

Your stereotypical “palm tree in a tropical country” picture. But, wait, that is not necessariliy a “palm” tree. See those red things hanging on a side? Those are not young coconuts (which would be really small anyway). Instead, these are pixbae, a tree from the palm family but, unlike young coconuts, the fruits are rather starchy.

This is yet another “fruity” tree/bush you can find on the sidewalks/empty lots. See the yellow fruits? Here, we have nance, which is used to (a) make a liqueur or (b) make a pudding dessert.

While we have cherry blossoms in Vancouver, in Panama, there is the guayacán tree. Almost the exact same effect…

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

(Phrase used in the intro of the original Japanese version of Iron Chef)

I have mentioned a couple of times already that I don’t consider myself a foodie; instead, I am just a person who enjoys food and blogs about it. One of the reasons (I don’t consider myself so) is that I don’t have any formal culinary/hospitality training – with the closest thing to “training” that I have is that from working in a restaurant when I was younger. Given the case, where did I get all my thoughts, perspectives, mindset about food then? One word: mom. Since today is Mother’s Day in Canada, I thought it would be suitable to honour the one person who made me who I am currently. And, to do so, what I ate in my last trip to Panama…

My mom’s stove.

One thing I must say: At home, my mom does 99% of the cooking. If there is any prep work that needs to be done, that would be usually me. My father can barely cook; whenever he does, the end result is usually barely edible. As for my sister, I have the odd thought she can burn water. While I did take some from my mom’s side, i.e., she taught me how to do some dishes, in the end, she only allowed me to cook in a couple of instance… The dishes were simple but, even then, I screwed up more often than not. Oh, well, that was the learning curve… Learning curve for what? Just take a look…

Lo mai gai, or glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves. Yes, my mom knows how to make this! This is something really time consuming as you have to prepare the rice, the filling, the leaves, etc. The filling is a make or break component: not savoury enough and the rice will not “soak” the juices which will then provide an additional layer of flavour. In my mom’s case, she had pork, shiitake mushroom, Chinese sausage and so on. Yummmmm!

This is what I had in one of the noons for lunch. Top right is a plate of lentils. When I mentioned I love legumes and my mom knows that… Bottom left is the plate of almost everything my mom used to make a beef bone soup (Panamanian style). Sometimes, in addition to the usual suspects, like corn, carrots, pumpkin and so on, she add unexpected ingredients – like Chinese radish (aka, daikon). And, finally, to the bottom right, steamed fish with soy sauce. Since the fish was fresh, it was the best option.

We had this for breakfast a couple of times: stir-fried rice noodle roll with some side, in this case, BBQ pork. Oh, about the fork and spoon: my parents did not formally teach me how to use chopsticks (oh, heresy!). No, I know how to use them – sort of. ^_^;;; (But, a lot better than most non-Asian).

My mom can also prepare non-Chinese dishes and here is an example: a shrimp salad. Underneath the shrimps there is avocado, pineapple and tomatoes.

Can my mom make dim sum dishes too??? Errr…. Actually, no, my mom “cheated’ here. What happens is that my mom knows a lot of the cooks/chefs in the big restaurants. So, if she wants something, she gives them a call the previous night and have them prepare some extra. That way, she buys them and cook them at home.

Similar to the veggies from the beef bone soup above; this time, a chicken soup. In the case you are wondering what is that yellow-ish thing at the bottom left (not the regular shaped one – the “other” one), that is plaintain.

Green beans stir-fry. Yup, back to Chinese/Cantonese, hehehehe.

My mom’s version of red kidney beans, cooked with pork tail. Compare it to my version… ^_^;

Shrimp omelette, something my mom seldom does but…

Did I mention prep work? In this case, I was assigned to de-shell the shrimp – which I did on several days for several dishes. In this case, to make this:

Which is the filling used for this:

And what is this? Wonton! Oh, the ones that “look funny” are the ones I made, hehehehe. And what do you do with wonton?

Either boil it…

Or pan fry it!

And, to serve the boiled one, a broth made with mushroom, chicken feet, bones, etc. The bok choy was boiled in this broth and served along with the wonton. Was it good? Of course it was!

And, finally, to show one of the biggest food assets in Panama: seafood. Here, langostino (not necessarily “langosteen”), something similar to black tiger prawn but larger.

And how do you cook it? Keep it simple…

Again, I don’t have any food credentials. At least, with this, I hope to show where I learn what I know! And, mom, I love you!

So far, in all this thread about Panama, I still have not mentioned WHY I went there. Sure, it could have been a holidays but, no, that was not the reason. (Although I had planned to go there sometime in July/August so this made me change plans). Yes, as the header suggested, I attended a wedding. Specifically, AB’s wedding… A couple of months ago, AB called me and told me she was getting married. Her one wish from me: Be at her wedding. Did I mention she is really sweet? Although her family knew me, again from high school, I won’t call myself a close family friend. And, despite me being thousands of clicks away, she took the time to call me… An actual phone call, rather than an email (so prevalent these days)… How can I deny such request?

So, the day after the call, I checked my manager for approval of holidays, booked the flights, called GN, PU and my parents to tell them I was going for those days. That is, I told almost everybody… Except her. How could I? Of course I could! Being a trickster, a BOFH, I did not give her a straight answer. Instead I kept dallying, giving her uncommitted answers like “I have to check with my manager if the holidays will be approved” and then “my holidays haven’t been approved yet” to “Adding 2 extra won’t throw the invitee list of the reception, right?”. So, the day after I arrived to Panama, I visited her, which would then triggered the events mentioned in my visit to El Ranchito. Feel free to call me mean, but she was really surprised!

Now, this being mostly a food related blog, for today’s post, the food of the reception. Before you proceed, I will apologize for the low quality of some of the pictures. As you can imagine, light conditions (for taking pictures) were really poor but, otherwise, the romantic ambiance was there. Can you tell by just the picture below? ^_^

Here is a really hilarious side note. When AB was asking about setting up the tables (you know, who sit where), I told AB: “Aside from your parents and your brother, I think only one or two of your uncles know me. But, just in case, put me in a table where all the guests are from RZ’s side. That way, if I do something really stupid, you can deny knowing me and say I am a guest of the groom”. Hey, I don’t want to embarrass the bride, not to mention some gossiping as to why somebody is taking pictures of the food!

Although I was not given official permission to put a picture of AB and RZ, I think this picture should not pose any problem. Yes, I am zealous of their privacy: everybody else in the party was fair game. That means this is about the only picture you will see of the groom and bride. And now, the food…

Again, I really apologize for the pictures. Although I was able to snap some, for others, given the light conditions and the fact there was a queue (it was a buffet), I only had time to snap one, two at most, picture of the food. After all, I did not want to face a hungry crowd! ^_^;;;

First, a cheese platter. It was mostly cheddar, though I think there were some feta as well. Despite Panama produces enough milk for its own internal consumption, people are not really into fancy cheeses. They will eat it but most won’t appreciate it. After all, blue cheese is usually an acquired taste…

Some salads. The label at the bottom left says “Mediterranean vegetable salad”. Not sure what they meant with Mediterranean but… As for the other platter, it was a broccoli-type salad.

I have the odd feeling most people won’t guess what this is, though the purple could easily give it away. This is a platter of octopus, almost a ceviche (i.e., seafood marinated in citrus).

Rice. Panamanians eat a lot of rice. In fact, if they don’t have some, they won’t be satisfied. Given the light conditions, I don’t think it is really noticeable but the rice is supposed to be green tinted. I can’t say more as I did not have any.

This was supposed to be a fish dish. However, as you can see, by the time I got there, it was empty. They added more not long after I passed by and did not go back. Again, sorry for the blurry picture.

This was a chicken dish, not that you can really tell. Think of chicken breast in a gravy. Again, it was almost done by the time I got there…

Pork nuggets in a blue cheese. They just added this one when I got there, hence, it is still full! ^_^;

And this is my plate, with some other items I did not take pictures of, like beef in wine sauce at the left and some other veggies to the right.

This is my date’s plate. Again, it was somewhat difficult to adjust the camera settings…

The dessert table, clockwise from top: strawberry mousse, black forest, “crunchy caramel triffle”, flan and sopa borracha – a Panamanian dessert. Think of a sponge cake soaked with syrup and alcohol (in the form of rum or seco, a local spirit similar to rum)

And, of course, the wedding cake.

AB, RZ, thanks for inviting me and I wish the best for you two!