Chicharrones

This junk would be unavailable in Malaysia coz it is non-halal. FritoLay deep fried pork rind!

I choose the spicy flavor. A big pack costs USD2.25

It was indeed spicy!

I like the crunchiness of the deep fried pork rind. The cubes are light and airy inside. The texture is similar to keropok, except that it is made of pork rind😁

It was so spicy that I have to standby with glasses of water!

No, I did not attempt to finish it in one setting. That's crazy as it will burn my stomach.

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During the evening on the 4th working day, I 'dated' mr-nice-guy after our working hour.

We went to....ahemm....Westin hotel.

Yes, that blue-ish greenish building on the left (see below picture)

nah, we just passed by there on our way to the mall😉

It was after office hour....hence, there's evening traffic jam. We made a wise decision by walking to the mall instead of taking a taxi or Uber.

the evening rush hour 'scene' in Costa del Este. This part of the city looks like Miami.

More high rise apartment while on our way to the mall. These buildings are located at the coast, facing the sea (Pacific ocean).

There are banks, hotels, offices, malls in the vicinity.

At some quieter streets, u'll see some expats having their evening jog and taking their cute doggies for a walk.

Very close to the sea, but inaccessible. There is no beach. It's walled up.

[Below] There goes our destination - the mall!

known as the 'Town Center' mall. 

It consists of a few blocks, interconnected thru an atrium. At night, there would be lights and water fountains...a very happening place indeed.

Finally, there's a cool place to hang out. After some 20 minutes walk, we were sweating like hell.

Such a pleasant to reach the mall with aircond😂

Luisito Chef @ Costa Del Este

[Below] My office is located in this building. Yes, I go to the office on daily basis, just like pre-pandemic days. This typical office building is well kept and clean. You wouldn't find a single trash on the floor coz it is being housekept a few times daily. I think most Panamanians are conscientious people as they maintain their country well, very much like Singaporean. They respect the wellbeing of others and maintain high social etiquette. Here, you will see people greetings each other, despite being strangers. And many of them behave & dressed decently, despite the western US influences. I was surprised by their cordialness & politeness that is very much like Asians. Personally, i think theirs is a mix of Bhutanese cordialness and Japanese politeness (minus the bow).

Another view from the office, not far behind these buildings is the Pacific Ocean.

The skies get dark at 7pm (very much like our 8pm), hence usually people leaves the office around 5-6 before the skies get dark. 

On the third day, I decided to venture to the other side of shoplots which consist of Japanese & Chinese eateries as well as a Chinese mini market.

This eatery, known as Luisito Chef caught my attention. It is similar to 'dai chow' restaurant which offers chicken, beef, fish and pork dishes as well as rice and noodles.

Pricewise is reasonable by their standard.

I ordered a beef chow mein at USD6.95nett.

here's how it looks like in the restaurant.

It was around 6pm, so it was still early for the diners to come in for dinner.

My chow mein came with a pot of hot Chinese tea. Great!

Generous portion of noodles, cabbage and beef. I believe this portion is for 2 pax although it shows single portion in the menu. They have 'half portion' in the menu too, which is priced at USD5. That should be the correct single portion then. Anyway, it took me some time to eat this. I couldn't finish the noodles. I must remember to bring a container next time. Tastewise, ok la. Very much like home-cooked style chow mein. They provide chili sauce too, which is the sri racha sauce.

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[Below] After this heavy meal, I went back to the apartment and call it a day. But before that, I made a visit to the pool to enjoy the sunset.

The sunset here indicates sunrise in Malaysia....it is at entirely opposite of the globe.

Ok, time to go back home.

Ciao!

Tuesday Promo: McD Fried Chicken Meal @ Panama

On the second day in the office, a kind lady sitting next to me treated me lunch - McD fried chicken! It was on Tuesday promo for only USD5.25nett (usual price is USD7++).

This set meal came with a drink & fries with 3 pieces of chicken. The chicken parts are fix, where you can't choose, but it would be a combination of chicken breast, wing and a thigh/drumstick. Their McD fried chicken tastes somewhat different, it has slight taste of coriander and other herbs. And yes, i prefer this over the usual KFC.

It was a filling lunch!

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[Below] My office is located at 19th floor. Here's the view outside as seen from the office. The area is a mix development neighborhood, with high-rise residential, landed houses as well as offices and hotels. 

The city center is located some 8km away. However, the city skyscrapers is clearly visible from the office.

There's alot of high-rise buildings in the city, their newly developed residential apartment would usually exceed 40 stories.

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[Below] I stayed just right opposite the office - the building is on the left (see below pic). It consists of 42 floors and my unit is at 39th floor. The apartment building is quite new, around 7-8 years.

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I managed to find some frozen Chinese food at the apartment's mini grocery store. Frozen siumai, a packet costs USD4.95.

Yea, it has other types of dimsum too, such as prawn dumpling, wor tip (meat dumpling) etc.

The mini grocery store also sells hot delicacies which includes steamed bun (pao) and siu mai too. My favourite is the minced beef empanada (empanada de carne), which looks like a giant size currypuff. But the filling is very much different than our currypuff.

Here's what it looks like inside...loads of minced beef. Tastes good too. I can eat this everyday.

This giant empanada costs USD1.25nett.

Good Luck Foodcourt @ Skycasino

[Throwback] I utilised my points to claim this meal set. I had this roasted pork rice with only 5 points😁

it came with a cup of hot Chinese tea.

In another meal, I had the chicken chop. It was just so-so, chicken was tough, but can't complain much with a free meal like this.

After trying the roasted pork rice and western food, i tried the noodles on another day. Ordered a plate of wanton with charsiu noodles.

The wantons are tasty. I hope they could give more...3 pieces are just not enough!

LOL, greedy me!

Next time I wish to try the ramen. The shop is located outside the casino foodcourt. Yes, it accepts points too...hopefully it will still accept points when i visited the outlet in the near future.

The ramen looks good from the menu board😋

[Below] A glimpse of the busy and crowded Skycasino at midnite. The LCD graphics on the ceiling changes every minute (rotate from 'daytime' scene to 'dawn' and to 'night'). I was on the second floor when snapping this picture (illegally, coz taking picture is not allowed in casino). The third floor is 'covered' with tinted glass and is only accessible to Gold/Platinum members.

Mee Goreng Mamak @ Kwong Wah's, Pavillion Bukit Jalil

[Throwback] I had a short meetup with friend at Kwong Wah's.

This time, I decided to try out some other items from the menu apart from their usual ABC/cendol.

I ordered a plate of mee goreng mamak with sotong. It came with a half-sized boiled egg. The noodle portion is generous too. It was served hot, fresh from the wok. Tastewise OK, flavorful but slightly sweet. I might order this again, but not that soon. 

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Meanwhile, i tried out Gardenia instant noodles, known as 'numee'

The 'numee' curry flavor is spicier than the Maggi Kari. The Maggi Kari powder has slight star anise taste, however, there is none detected for this.

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[Below] The view facing south with cloudy skies. Picture taken on late April, days before leaving to SG.

La Rosti Trattoria Express

On Monday, I start my first day at the Panama office. The Mr-Nice-Guy, cum colleague and ex-tenant of the apartment, Joe invited me for a lunch with him. So, we went to the restaurant nearby the office, which is operated by a Venezuelan family. Joe is a friendly guy who knows everyone within his 10km radius, and he is very much known by the owner of this eatery too. They speak in Spanish and i just did my ordering by pointing at the dishes.

Very much like 'chap-fan/food court' style ordering, but with western dishes.

[Below] Chicken chop in cream sauce, i think.

I had their set lunch which consists of 2 veggies dishes of your choice + 1 meat dish of your choice + grain/carbs + drink

Here's my plate - Beefballs, some mixed veggies, local rice and a separate plate of coleslaw.

My hearty meal.

This is a set meal (which came with drinks) for only USD10.95 + 7% tax.

The interior of the restaurant. It is run by the family members of mother, father and son (perhaps their relatives as well). Great service, tasty food and nice ambience.

They also serve desserts such as cakes and pastries, but I was too full to try. According to another colleague, their home-baked cakes are excellent.

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This is how the apartment lobby looks like, I pass by this area daily on the way to the elevator.

The recreational area, where there is an indoor gym, swimming pools and multipurpose event hall (for rent by tenants only) 

Well, the facilities are pretty much like a typical Malaysian apartment/condominium standard.

Nevertheless theirs are well-maintained and the area is clean.

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[Below] Me lazying on the comfy couch. Despite a 60 inch TV, it wasn't configured with any local channel, hence I can only watch YouTube TV😂.

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Quick fact: Ground floor is known as planta baja in Spanish. So, the elevator button shows as PB (instead of GF)