FOOD IN PANAMA: Chiriqui

FOOD IN PANAMA: Chiriqui on the Farm…

Think corn. Think fresh fruit and fresh orange juice. Think plaintains and gandules. And think corn again.

plaintains [platanos]

I just spent two weeks in Panama; one out on a farm in Chiriqui and the other in Panama City. Most of the culinary adventures happened in Chiriqui which is a small city close to the border with Costa Rica.

local restaurant

Carne Mechada y Tortilla de Maís

The first encounter with new cuisine was a welcome party for me and my adult grand children [one of which is Panamanian]. The menu was to consist of Tamales and Arroz con Gandules. Sounds simple right? First you pick, prepare, cut kernels and grind the corn to make a paste. Then you find a chicken, slaughter it, soak in boiling water, take the feathers off and then boil it with herbs and spices. Then find the gandul bush, pick and open each pod to pick out the gandules. Now its time to cut up the cooked chicken and semi-shred it to be used as the filling for the tamales while adding some chopped peppers. Next find enough banana leaves to cut into squares to hold the cooked chicken encased in the tamal batter, fold the leaves around an oblong patty of tamal batter, tie this up into little packets and cook in boiling water. The gandules are cooked in a rice and onion mixture. Are you tired yet or just hungry? This process takes all day and the dinner which was planned for 10pm is now being served at midnight when all the guests arrive. This dinner was prepared outside and served family style on a huge picnic table that just arrived in ‘jigsaw puzzle pieces’ in the back of a little truck. It is still 90 degrees and humid! Needless to say, we ate this meal for the rest of the week.

picking gandules

shelling gandules

adding peppers

finishing the chicken for stuffing

the finished product

On the other hand I did have a few very interesting meals in town. The Sopa Mayor Alemán [which somehow translates to German Mayor] was the best I have ever eaten. It seems to have its roots in Chinese cuisine. The broth is clear with fideos [noodles] and pieces of several types of mea including fried pork belly.

Seviche is popular and mine was very fresh. I had the combinaçion of fish, shrimp and octopus.

We visited relatives with a four hour drive each way and the landscape was beautiful. This was exceptionally plesant due to the AC in the car. Stopping for breakfast along the route was great and the restaurant did a lively business. At our destination a dinner of fried fish with arroz con pollo and patacones [what we call tostones] was served on the porch next to the hammock. I had to rest there after eating because I once again ate too much.

¡Adios!

FOOD IN PANAMA: Panama City

FOOD IN PANAMA: Panama City

Stayed at the Crown Plaza for the remainder of my time here. The hotel was fine and quite inexpensive. It was centrally located across the street from the Iglesía de Santa Teresita. This church was very beautiful inside and the crèche quite old.

I ate breakfast each day in the hotel’s dining room with the usual type of buffet. This one had lots of fresh fruit including fresh figs which I grew very attached to. There was an omelet station so I filled up as I did not know what each day might offer in the way of meals. New Year's Eve the hotel delivered a split of Cava to each room. So I had the Salmon from the bar on the night of my departure as I finished my packing for the flight home.

There are many fine restaurants in the city but since it was the New Years Day many were closed. Here are some of my favorites:

Coffee Max was a food truck parked on an interior corner of the city with Astroturf and tables. Very popular but I didn’t eat there and just had a mango batida [milkshake].

Trapiche was also a very popular site especially for breakfast. There I had the Chef’s scrambled eggs and corn tortillas.

The best tapa from the bar at the hotel was the Grilled Octopus in a sauce redolent with capers and served with patacones.

Our New Years Eve celebration was at the home of a relative of my traveling partners. We decided to roast a pig and this took all day. I was not much help but did enjoy watching and giving advice.

in the supermarket [$77]

one is for a neighbor

On New Years Day, we did find one restaurant, Byrut, open which was Lebanese. The food was amazing and the Appetizer Combination was filled with silky flavor. The Baba Ganoush was especially delicious.

In Casco Viejo, the old part of the city, we visited another friend and ate a small café, Café Lo Que Hay where I had the Concolón  Sexy con Salsa de Tomate. This  is also called Concho here but I know it as Pega'o in Puerto Rico. It is basically the layer of rice left on the bottom of the pot after cooking. This is very delicious and the tastiest 'rice cake' available anywhere.

Concolón Sexy