Albrook Mall - Second Largest Mall in the Americas

This was one of my weekend outing with Mr-Nice-Guy.

Besides a foodie, he is also a shopaholic, so we went to his fav mall in Panama, the Albrook mall.

Despite being the second largest mall in the America continent, it is still the largest in Latin America.

Opened in the year 2002, this mall has been around for 2 decades and therefore the interior is pretty dull and not as fancy as our malls.

However, it does have some interesting feature such as this escalator.

[Below] The interior somewhat reminds me of 1U old wing building.

The mall has only 2 stories, but it occupies a huge land area. Walking from one end to the other took us 40 minutes ++

The mall comprises of a few supermarkets, a cinema, plenty of departmental stores, furniture & electrical shops, boutiques etc, with a good mixture of international and local brands. It also has entertainment arcade and bowling alley. Me & Mr-nice-guy enjoyed browsing at the furniture as if we are a couple staying together. We both were fascinated with the modern design and were so tempted to buy, unfortunately we are not the resident there😒. We also went to the entertainment arcade to watch people battling with their games like there is no tomorrow😂.

[Below] It is a pet-friendly mall, and shoppers can bring their dogs in. This will never happen in Malaysia.

There are at least 2-3 large foodcourts at both ground and first floor. Yes, they have fast food like KFC, Burger King, Wendy's, Popeye's as well as local restaurants/stalls.

Here are some stalls that captured my attention. It offers set meal at promotional price.

The foods at foodcourts are quite diverse, ranging from western to Asian cuisine.

They have set meals of rice with dishes too.

[Below] Meat/seafood dishes.

Some affordable combo meal sets. Fried fish, fried rice, salad and drink at a reasonable price. 

Salvaje @ Costa del Este

While the project manager, me and mr-nice-guy worked closely together during the week we were in Panama, we also hangout alot after work, especially for dinner coz we are 'foodies'.

Mr-nice-guy, being the most familiar with the place, recommended us to try out Salvaje, a Japanese fusion restaurant.

The interior is impressive.

This is definitely not a usual dining place. I believe it caters more for occasion/event sort of dining. It even has a small stage for their daily 8pm music performance.

The tableware nicely laid out.

We ordered truffled mushroom dumplings.

The dumplings are stuffed with truffle cream. We liked it so much that we ordered another plate.

We also had ribeye angus prime, medium rare. A 'stone grill' is provided to cook the beef if we want it 'done'.

Total bill for this meal came to USD107 ++ tips.

Definitely a pricey meal but it's the experience that matters. Great meal with great companions. All of us are from different continent and we were able to dine out together in this rare meet-up.

TGIF Lunch Promotion - 2 Course Lunch

Recently, I saw an FB ad that TGIF is having a 2 course lunch promo which is only available from Mon-Thurs from 11am to 3pm.

So i made my way to TGIF on one fine weekday. The nearest one is at Pavilion Bukit Jalil. It was quite empty on a Tuesday noon, after the peak lunch hour.

The promo consists of 1 starter + 1 main + bottomless drink for RM35.90++

After placing my order, i have a good look at the sauces available on the table.

There are ketchup, chili sauce, tabasco and mustard sauce on every table.

[Below] My starter - deep fried calamari, served with marinara sauce.

Not long after, the main was served. I had keywest white fish, which consists of 2 pieces pan-roasted perch fish fillet, rice and roasted veggies.

There goes my solo OMAD meal.

Quite a hearty one😀

Total bill came to RM41.65 nett.

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[Below] TGIF as seen from outside of the Pavilion BJ mall.

It was a quiet evening inside the mall too.

The main concourse area of Pavilion BJ on a typical weekday.

It's Monday again, here's a melodious orchestra to cheer up...

enjoy!

Michael's Restaurant @ Costa del Este, Panama

The following week, the project manager who is based in London flew in to meet me in the Panama office. It was our first 'in-person' meet up although we frequently have online meetings together.

For lunch, we both went down to the nearby restaurant. It was also his first time in the country and we both are kinda 'illiterate' in Spanish, as we couldn't read the menu and depends heavily on the Google translate.

We simply walked-in to this restaurant coz it seems decent enough for a lunch dine-in, despite the place being empty. There were no other customer besides us.

There was a lone waitress and a person manning the drinks counter in this 2-storey premise.

I ordered a chicken burrito, which is quite huge and fully stuffed with chicken meat. It was served with seasoned potato wedges and tartar sauce on the side. The burrito was superb with chunks of succulent chicken meat & condiments. 

Since he is a Dutch, we go Dutch for the bill. I paid USD15 including tax and tips for my portion of meal.

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[Below] The evening traffic captured from Ave Centenario, taken while i was waiting to cross the street.

It was one of the fine evenings (without rain).

Lunch Delivery from Alla Onde Uno

This was a weekday lunch where Mr-Nice-Guy decided to order a delivery. I tag along coz i wanted to have something local.

Despite him not being a local (he is from the BVI), he knows well about the Panamanian cuisine. He recommended the arroz con pollo, which is rice with chicken, a well-known traditional dish in Latin America.

It looks like paella but is typically consists of chicken cooked with rice, onions, saffron, and some other vegetables. The rice was served with salad and a deep fried plantain on the side. The rice itself doesn't have strong flavor, very much like paella, but slightly different flavor/taste. There were chunks of boneless chicken inside, covered with shredded carrots and peas.

I had my lunch at the pantry facing the apartment buildings.

He also ordered a Sancocho (for sharing), which is a meat broth/soup with loads of other veggie ingredients. It tastes like chicken soup. But it is very much depends on the type of meat being put into the soup.

Meanwhile he had ropa vieja (served with rice), which is flank steak, a lean cut with long, thick strands of muscle fiber that can quickly dry out when overcooked.

Total price for our meal: USD24.08nett

Lazy Saturday

Saturday was a lazy day for me, and with the hot weather in Panama (very much like Malaysia weather) I don't feel like goin out at all.

Mr-Nice-Guy texted me that he would order some delivery and asked if i m interested to try.

Of course it is a 'Yes' from me!

He arranged to have it delivered to my doorstep...

And when it says doorstep, it really mean right in front of the door!

I thought of goin down to the lobby to pick up my food, but then the delivery woman came up, with the accompaniment of a kind resident who tag her into the elevator, right up to my floor. Such a great service.

Here's the surprise. I don't know what he ordered, although he mentioned about some local grilled stuffs, but as long as it is edible, then it's fine.

USD16 for this box of grilled meats and cassava. There is also salads tucked inside the box. There are 3 types of sauces provided. I guess those are mint sauces, cheese and tangy lime mayo...sort of...i really have no idea, despite tasting it various times. 

The box consists of grilled beef & pork, as well as roasted pork.

It was a great meal. It is meant for 2 pax. Hence i kept half portion for dinner.

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My lazy day in the apartment. This place is so comfy that I don't feel like goin out.

like why trouble myself with the hot weather outside? better stay indoor and keep myself hydrated, although my inner thought kept telling me to go out venture the new place.

The house owner has an exquisite taste in furniture and interior decor😂

When one portion is meant for 2

The other week, i returned to Luisito Chef to try out their fried rice. I had 'char siew' fried rice which came out in a huge portion, with the rice piled up like our 'ais kacang'.

I was shocked to see that and immediately requested the staff to give me a box to tapao half portion of it, knowing that it is impossible for me to finish it.

Even after split into 2 (one to bring home for dinner), the half portion (on the plate) is still alot.

Definitely carbs-overloaded.

Anyway, i finished off everything on the plate, and gulped down that pot of Chinese tea to digest off the carbs!

USD7 for this meal, was very full and felt like a rice bucket😆

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[Below] Showing off my coins....i mean the Panama coins/Balboa.

After some time, i managed to get the full set of their coins, from (left to right):

one cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 25 cent, 50 cent and one Balboa (equivalent to a dollar)

The correct denomination is:

Un centésimo (0.01)

Cinco centésimos de balboa (0.05)

Un décimo de balboa (0.10)

Un cuarto de balboa (0.25)

Medio balboa (0.50)

Un balboa (1.00)

I no longer collect foreign coins ever since my coin book was stolen in 2012. Before leaving Panama, i spent all the coins and left only the one-cents at the apartment.

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Back to my full-loaded-carb meal....

Here's what i did to the fried rice. I stir-fried some cabbages and made an omelette to substitute for the lacking veggies & protein in the meal.

There goes my dinner....