Nazca21 @ Costa del Este, Panama (Peruvian Restaurant)

It was a Sunday....a day after I arrived. My boss was still stuck in France after a flight delay caused him missing the connecting flight. So that day I went out exploring the restaurants alone.

Chanced upon this restaurant located in the complex next to the hotel.

It was nicely decorated.

And was empty too....So I thought, the food must be expensive here...

There were not many choices since I was staying in a 5-star hotel, therefore all the nearby eateries are kinda pricey. I was hungry....so.....

The menu.....

Even if you don't convert, it is still pricey by Panama standard....

Such price can easily buy 2 set meals at their local foodcourt😅

But heck cares....swipe card and claim company. As long as it is not too overly expensive, the company will not question....hehehe....

I ordered a..............

Corvina a la Chorrillana

which is a traditional Peruvian seafood dish that originates from the coastal district of Chorrillos in Lima. It features corvina, a firm white fish similar to sea bass, served with a flavorful and slightly spicy sauce made from sautéed vegetables and seasonings.

Taste good....abit spicy like Thai/Malay dish....

While i was dining here....the restaurant remain empty....well, i guess this place is meant for tourist/expat. Locals know better place elsewhere.

The bill came to USD16 nett.

After then, I went to 'jalan jalan' abit....across the road to the place where Mr.Nice Guy (now ex-colleague) once brought me before. Some quite 'atas' residential apartments...lol!

But nearby there is some office buildings and banks....

The bank entrance is so sophisticated. It needs some sort of PIN to get thru...

Anyway it is closed...I'm curious on how it works during the daytime. Stood there long enough that people thought I want to rob the bank.

A Chinese restaurant spotted in one of the commercial buildings....

Went there to 'look see' the menu....It has dimsum, roast duck, all sorts of Chinese chop suey, chow mein, general Tso chicken, steamed fish....

BrewMaster

Initially I thought of having fish & chips. So I went to the BrewMaster coz they served large portion of fish & chips at an affordable price during lunch time (11-3pm).

To my surprise, they have recently changed their menu....this time no fish & chips😭

But they have other items at the same price RM16.80++ with free drink (ice lemon tea)

I see which one is closest to my option....ok, Hainanese chicken chop with chips then...

Their version of Hainanese sauce tastes like Bolognaise spaghetti sauce....

Since I like Bolognaise sauce, i don't mind with that😃

RM19.50 nett after service charges and tax.

TK Bakery Crotarts

Bought a few items from TK Bakery.

Walnut chocolate chip cake - Bought this before...it was originally good (few years ago), but now it's lacking aroma, and not much walnuts.

Yam sandwich cake - sweet but very mild (almost undetectable) yam taste.

Egg tarts - ok lah....it's RM3.30 per piece nowadays.

Crotarts - a hybrid of croissant and egg tarts...The egg custard has milky taste. Texture and taste similar to Oriental Kopi egg tarts.

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Tried the McD mushroom beef burger, with add-on RM5 for 3 pieces chicken tenders (promotion with purchase of a McValue set meal)

Mushroom burger tastes like BK mushroom burger....nothing to shout about....The chicken tenders are outstanding, succulent breast meat, perfectly marinated, and encased in a crispy coating. I wish they could extend the RM5 chicken tenders promo but it already ended on last month😅

Family Dinner @ Yang Ming

Family dinner at Yang Ming again.

We ordered:

Claypot tofu with assorted veggies and siu yuk (roasted pork)

Stir fried green amaranth

Marmite pork ribs

Claypot fish fillets with assorted veggies and taupok

[Below] These 2 dishes arrived first....

Do you wait until all dishes arrive then only makan or eat whatever is served first on the table?

4 dishes in total for 5 pax

The bill came to RM140.20 nett. Quite reasonable. We did not order drink coz we brought barley drink from home.

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Only in Malaysia.....

only in Malaysia that the government gave eligible citizen RM100 each for grocery shopping....

and for those who are lazy to think on what to shop, the supermarket has done all the homework of calculating it up to single cent (not even 1 cent wasted) with Combo A, B, C below. Well done, The Store!

They even packed them nicely in a shopping bag (see below the red shopping bag), you can just grab that bag off to the counter.

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Back to Kebun Kopi eatery for their nasi lemak chicken rendang. They have this 'Makan Card' where you spend 9 meals and get 1 meal free. I'm accumulating that to get a free meal😀

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Lunch Set Menu at Midam Korean BBQ.

so far, I've only tried their bibimbap and sundubu jjigae.

Both are quite nice. The owner is a Korean couple.

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My sister went to try the luicha (thunder tea rice) at Hakshan and gave positive review. I just went there on yesterday. Will blog about it next time.

Houmanzi Cafe

Time flies, before we knew it, it's already mid October.

BrewMaster

[Below] Oktoberfest decorations in BrewMaster...

Nope, i wasn't there for the beer, but for their lunch promo RM16.80++ (or RM19.50 nett) set meal of Hainanese chicken chop with iced lemon tea.

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McD

McD is also having promo with RM10 nett for a cheeseburger set meal, from 12-2pm weekday, until 17 October.

I had chocolate sundae to replace the fries...(with no extra cost)

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Houmanzi Cafe

Tried the newly opened noodle place...specializes in pan mee...

Ordered a bowl of freshwater prawns thick pan mee....aka 'sang har pan mee'

I like the chewy texture of the doughy thick pan mee...

The soup has slight taste of Chinese wine, which is nice.

The prawns, however, are not the fresh type (frozen ones), but well, you can't expect much from a RM20.80 nett bowl of sang har pan mee.

[Below] The interior...so red like CNY....

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Pizza Hut

10.10 Pizza Hut promo. I had a regular 'super supreme' pizza for RM14.10 nett

Taste so-so only...not gonna order this again.

Panama Canal

Bought some coffee beans from the local mart in Costa del Este a few days before departing. I should have buy more coz it was good.

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The company sponsored our tickets to the Panama Canal. 

Me & my colleagues from other regions went there on one of the weekday evening. We left the office early and the company driver chauffeured us there....yay! Feels like school field trip 😂😀

Weather was hot, but windy. The temperature is similar to Malaysia, and it hasn't rain for weeks!

Panama canal - one of the greatest manmade-canal of the last century, connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

This is the original canal (aka Panamax Route) which is narrower for smaller size vessels.

The visitors can only watch from the viewing platform.

From afar, there's a bigger cruise ship sailing on another canal for bigger size vessels (aka Neopanamax Route).

'Brisk business' there....the vessels continuously coming...non-stop

The canal uses a series of locks to raise and lower ships between sea level and the elevation of the canal.

Atlantic to Pacific (or vice versa), here is the process:

Gatun Locks – Raise ships ~26 meters to Gatun Lake.

Gatun Lake Transit – Ships travel ~33 km across the lake.

Culebra Cut – Narrowest section, carved through mountains.

Pedro Miguel Lock – Lowers ships ~9 meters.

Miraflores Locks – Final descent to sea level (~17 meters).

I only witnessed the Miraflores Locks process as the others are located elsewhere along the canal. Pedro Miguel Lock is located 1.5km away and is not clear from the viewing platform.

[Below] A picture for remembrance.