Eating BIG in Panama City

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- The Hub of the Americas

While on our trip to Peru last September we decided to stop in Panama City for a few days on the way back. This was possible due to the fact we had a layover from Lima to Chicago and the airline allows you to stay for up to three days. Panama City was never really on my hit list but we connected there on a previous trip to Buenos Aires and it was so pretty while flying in we said why not and decided to take advantage of the same layover opportunity we took on the way to Peru when we stopped in Bogota for two nights (report coming soon). Let me just go ahead and say I was really taken aback by Panama City. I immediately liked it upon arrival though it helps when you’re staying at what’s likely the best hotel in town which ended up being well worth the stay. What I really loved about Panama City is that it’s multiple destinations layered into one - the modern skyline, colonial history, jungle, a global food culture, and the canal are all packed into a relatively compact city. From a visitor perspective, it’s surprisingly dynamic and easy to explore. You can spend mornings relaxing on an island all your own and evenings dancing the night away on a rooftop bar. As far as the food goes I'd heard Panama City wasn’t a great food town but I ate really well. Here’s how it all went down. 

Pics from Panama City
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Town Square

After we got situated in our hotel room I took a little stroll thru Casco Viejo, Panama City’s vibrant, UNESCO-listed historic district (settled in 1673), known for its, cobblestone streets, and Spanish colonial architecture. You’ll walk by all sorts of restaurants and shops as well as vendors selling everything from magnets to clothes to Raspados. The last of those three sounded really good on a hot and humid day so I tried one from what seemed to be the most popular vendor in the town square who had a nifty little setup as seen above. Raspados are a popular Latin American street food made up of finely shaved ice that’s topped with vibrant fruit-flavored syrups and a generous drizzle of condensed milk. Essentially they’re an amped up version of a Sno-Cone. Not only are raspados extra refreshing but it’s fun to watch them made using a special device that shaves ice from a large block into a cup. The ice then gets a generous squirt of condensed milk and the syrup flavoring of your choice. Common flavors include cherry, maracuya (passion fruit), grape, and piña (pineapple).

Raspado in the Town Square

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Mai Mai

Our first meal in Panama City was at the hip and happening Mai Mai. The stylish rooftop restaurant and cocktail bar is a collabo between two well known Latin American chefs in  two major Latin American chefs in Mario Castrellón (chef behind the famous Panama restaurant Maito) and Mitsuharu Tsumura (chef of Maido in Lima, one of the world’s top restaurants). The name Mai Mai is play on Maito and Maido. It’s located in the Panamá Design Center in the Costa del Este district, which felt straight out of Miami. Mai Mai is located in a strip mall but this one goes up instead of out and Mai Mai is on the sixth floor and there’s both indoor and outdoor bars and seating areas. We sat at the bar outside and had a decent meal as far as the nigiri, the rolls and an order of pork and shrimp gyoza goes. The Kansai Yakimeshi otherwise known as Osaka style fried rice was interesting if not a bit different than I expected. It had an awful lot of egg but “shrimp omelette” was part of the description so maybe it’s supposed to sole that way. The ‘Pesca Anticuchera’ was the meals best dish along with the best piece of cooked fish we had on a trip that also included a stop in Lima. I forget what the catch was but it was similar to grouper and came served with grilled anticuchera sauce and avocado cream.

Pesca Anticuchera at Mai Mai
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Wah Kee

Having arrived on a Saturday we woke up on a Sunday and that means dim sum in Panama City. Aside from the canal itself the coolest thing about Panama City is that dim sum is the standard breakfast in the city. Panama City has an unusually large number of dim sum restaurants because it has one of the oldest and most influential Chinese communities in Latin America. The roots go back more than 170 years and over time dim sum has become as popular with locals of Latin American descent as it is with Asians. When I say there’s a ton of dim sum spots I’m not talking about 10 or 20. They’re found all across the city though for my first foray I went to Barrio Chino aka Chinatown. For it’s there where you’ll find Wah Kee, an uber popular two story dimsum palace. Since it was a Sunday it was bustling with locals but I was seated quickly in their massive second floor dining room and within a minute or two some of their dim sum carts started coming around. I grabbed a trio of dumpling options and stopped there knowing there was more to come. My first thought upon trying the Sui Mai was along the lines of “wow these are really good” and the same can be said for the Har Gow (shrimp dumplings) as well as the beef and ginger. This was some high quality dim sum.

Dim Sum at Wah Kee
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Tallerines

After the dim sum I walked over to a nearby spot across the street and up a block. I had read some encouraging things in the Google reviews of Tallerines (noodles in Spanish). There were quite a few online mentions for the wonton here and that was all I needed to read. Upon entry the place was packed and it's pretty tiny inside but because I was solo the host found me a seat and I placed my order for the wonton noodle soup which was lost in translation. I guess she only heard wonton soup but I wasn’t complaining, once again this was some high quality Cantonese food. I was impressed.

Wonton Soup at Tallerines
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Hong Kong Bakery

I was pretty full at this point but I had also taken a 15/20 minute uber to the area so I decided to stick around for a little more. I walked over to a small strip mall off the main drag that houses a couple grocery stores and Chinese restaurants including Hong Kong Bakery. This place was highly spoken of and said to have some of the better Cheung Fun (steamed rice rolls). I actually had to wait here as it’s so popular with locals but it was worth sticking around for the rice rolls. I tried a plate with shrimp and also a unique to my eye version called “chee cheung fun rojo” aka red steamed rice roll stuffed with crunchy tortilla strips and shrimp. I believe this dish is a result of the Cantonese in Panama but either way it wasn’t something I’ve tried before. I loved both the flavor of the shrimp mixed with the texture of the crunchy tortilla strips. Yet another great example of the Chinese peoples ability to adapt.

Dim Sum at Hong Kong Bakery
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La Casa Redonda

After my dim sum tour I walked it off and came upon a cool looking spot while doing so. I was able to find out what La Casa Redonda is all about with a quick online search where I learned its part bakery, part pizzeria, and part ice cream shop too. This was one of the more interesting places I’ve ever entered and judging by the looks I got it’s clearly not a tourist hot spot. But I know enough Spanish to order and the main reason I went in was because “shakes” are the most mentioned thing online and it was hot outside so I ordered a Batido de Papaya and called an uber to pick me up in the parking lot.

Batido de Papaya at La Casa Redonda
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Peach Fuzz International

Later that day we took an uber over to Peach Fuzz International which is a street side stand known for excellent whole fried fish. We were greeted by the owner Danny upon arrival and were happy to score the last fish of the week (open Thurs-Sun). Lucky us because this was a memorable meal. The fresh fried fish was very good. Exactly what it was escapes me but it was locally caught and Danny’s Hot Sauce is some of the best I’ve had and the perfect match for the fish. So they say this used to be a dangerous area but it’s not as bad now and everybody loves Danny and respects his stand. We chatted NBA basketball and life in the states as he grew up in NYC and is a big Knicks fan. Personally I can’t stand the Knicks but I’m a big fan of Danny, his fried fish, and that kick ass hot sauce of his. 

Whole Fried Fish at Peach Fuzz International
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La Tapa del Coco

I read lots of good things about La Tapa Del Coco and all of it turned out to be true. We had a wonderful dinner here where every last thing we ate was pretty great. La Tapa del Coco is led by Chef Isaac Villaverde and it was originally a food truck before turning into a full service brick and mortar spot. The food focuses on Panama’s Afro-Caribbean communities, especially from the city of Colón on the Caribbean coast. The menu blends Panama blends Caribbean with West Indian, and Panamanian flavors, with lots of coconut, curry, ginger, and the spicy local ají chombo pepper. 

Pork Belly Empanada

The service at the hotel was so outstanding they called to get us a table even though it was booked. Then the service at the restaurant matched that at the hotel. Our waiter recommended I try the pork belly empanada, complimentary, and it was just the start of a really good run of food to come from the kitchen. Next out was their signature dish - Almejas al Ajillo con Coco (clams in garlic and coconut sauce). This was one of those dishes where you nod your head in agreement upon first try. The dish is rich and garlicky with a slightly spicy coconut broth. It’s all about the sauce. Make sure to get some of their warm and fluffy house baked brioche rolls to soak it all up. The cocktails are also of note here.

Almejas al Ajillo con Coco at La Tapa del Coco

Moving along we also got the salt cod fritters which arrived piping hot and were light and airy. An Afro-Caribbean–style shrimp curry was yet another fantastic dish. Because of the close ties to the West Indies this curry was more reflective of one from Trinidad or Jamaica than India or Pakistan. The sauce is rich and coconutty, and slightly sweet and spicy with thin and crisp strips of plantain on top. Lots of flavor in this and the coconut rice that came with it. To finish we had an eye opening dessert simply called Arroz con Mango. The menu description translates to “creamy rice pudding, topped with mango sorbet and pieces of fresh mango with a crunchy seed cookie and an English custard infused with thyme.” I’m running out of adjectives to describe all the wonderful food from here but let me say that I’ve ate at a fair number of highly regarded restaurants in Latin America and La Tapa del Coco is very deserving of it's ranking among the regions best restaurants by ‘The Worlds 50 Best’ website.

Salt Cod Fritters

Shrimp Curry

Arroz con mango at La Tapa del Coco
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Island Escape

The next day we took a field trip to the Panama Canal but not before stopping for lunch with the hopes of missing the typical early morning rush at the canal (it was still pretty busy but without lines). The hotel guy who picked us up from the airport was telling me about his favorite Jamaican places in town and he was Jamaican himself so I wrote down his suggestion of Island Escape. I didn’t realize this until we arrived but there’s a huge Jamaican population in Panama City where there’s said to be more than 500,000 people of Jamaican descent. This makes for a nice Jamaican food scene and Island Escape was a great call by our driver. Of course they were out of the fried fish but the shrimp curry was a tasty backup while the oxtail was fresh and fall off the bone tender with very good flavor.

Oxtails at Island Escape
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Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar

They make some very nice rum in Panama but it’s not as old of a tradition at Pedro Mandiga as one might think. Pedro Mandinga is Panama's first artisanal rum distillery, founded in 2017 in Panama City, creating premium rums from raspadura (unrefined cane sugar) and molasses. Distilled in small copper pot stills, the brand is renowned for its smooth Silver and Spiced rums, featuring tasting notes of caramel and banana, with specialty Coffee and Cocoa liqueurs also on offer. Rum heads should head straight to the Pedro Mandiga Bar in Casco Viejo. This well regarded tasting room is known for its rum tastings on top of cocktails, served up in a homey wood-paneled atmosphere, they have a really good happy hour too. I wish I didn’t wait until the last day to visit this place. Such a chill spot.

Rum Cocktail at Pedro Mandinga's
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La Cantina Del Tigre

After our happy hour drinks we had dinner reservations at Cantina Del Tigre. This place is one of the city’s most buzzed about restaurants and for good reason. It’s a lively spot with a huge open kitchen driven by a really long live fire grill. This is not the type of spot to visit if you’re looking for a quiet night out as it’s loud and buzzing and can be hard to hear for those that struggle with noise. If you do I still suggest visiting just doing so at an earlier hour because the food here is fantastic. I started with an order of the bone marrow which is sliced diagonally and grilled over the live fire and served with crisp bread for spreading. The Marie was perfectly cooked to where it slipped out still piping hot. At just $6 this was a steal. After that came the octopus croquettes which were super creamy with the taste of charred Octopus. For the entrée a dish labeled as Caribbean fish tempura comes served on a luscious Caribbean curry sauce with onion and bell pepper ceviche. The fish was as crisp as I've come across while the coconut curry was sublime. One of my favorite dishes of the trip and it left me wanting to try more but we were pretty full by this point. If I had one more night in Panama City I think I would’ve returned here to try a few more dishes plus another order of bone marrow. Very cool spot.

Dinner at La Cantina Del Tigre
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Restaurante La Bendicion

I took a stroll down to the Mercado de Marisco our last day in town. It's a pretty fish market with tons of fresh fish and quite a few restaurants preparing that fish surrounding the market. Restaurante La Bendicion is across the street and has lots of glowing reviews so I stopped for some ceviche which was definitely the more typical Latin American type, unlike that in Lima. The ceviche here is chopped and served in a Styrofoam cup and served with saltine crackers. It was refreshing after the walk over but ceviche in Peru kind of ruined me in terms of the quality as it's very much a step above the rest. 

Ceviche at Restaurante La Bendicion
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Palacio Lung Fung

Palacio Lung Fung is the definition of a legacy dim sum hall. It's got it all from carpeted floors to fish tanks to carts of dim sum that come around from table to table. If you want that loud, cart-pushing, family-style Cantonese experience this is one of the key spots in Panama City to experience it. Lung Fung opened in 1973 and stepping inside is a real blast back to the past. The interior covers two floors in traditional style, looking like any glossy oversized Chinese restaurant in the world sitting stuck in time. I visited in the afternoon so the carts weren’t rolling but they still had the dim sum menu going. I ordered a few things including the popular Soy Kao Frito which are fried pork and shrimp wontons. I also got an order of Shumai, the Har Gow, and a plate of the Yee Chee Kao as these beef and ginger dumplings seemed to be really popular in Panama City. Palacio Lung Fung wasn’t quite as good as the other spots but it still hit the spot and the setting is sensational. That's it for this trip!

Dim Sum at Palacio Lung Fung
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See ya next time @chibbqking