Panama- A seafood haven

Fried red snapper

I spent a week in Panama city during which I had the chance to sample its restaurant scene. The seafood was the highlight, which is perhaps not surprising given that Panama's geography ensures that one is never far from either the Pacific and Caribbean. While I tried seafood cooked in panamanian style for the most part, I also tried it in different ethnic styles.

Lobster and shrimp ceviche

The freshness of Panamanian seafood was such that it did not warrant any elaborate use of spices or herbs. The fish was mostly fried with minimal use of herbs and served with either fried plantains, corn or potato.

If you are in Latin America, it is your duty to partake in the local variant of ceviche. While I cannot say that I enjoyed my experience with Peruvian ceviche, the lobster and shrimp ceviche I tried in Panama City's local fish market was a highlight of my trip.


I also visited restaurants serving ethnic cuisines including Mediterranean, Indian and Spanish. Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant in the city served delicious schwarma.

Tuna with cheese

On the more fine dining end of the dining spectrum, we visited a Spanish seafood restaurant called La Casa Del Marisco where I had one of the freshest tuna dishes ever served with Manchego cheese and a seafood paella.

While I still cannot claim to be a fan of ceviche, and some of the fried dishes I tried left me cold, I cannot recommend Panama enough as a destination for sea foodies wondering how to spend that unused vacation time.

Hunan Taste

10160 Fairfax Blvd, Fairfax, VA 22030

We recently visited Hunan Taste in Fairfax, VA. They have both an American Chinese and Chinese menu. This review refers to items ordered off the latter.

For an appetizer, we tried their diced chicken with nuts and chilies. These kept us satiated while waiting for the entrees, but were otherwise unremarkable. 

Braised duck

The main course included the braised duck in a brown sauce, and a crab curry. While the braised duck (a chef's selection) took some time to cook, the meat was tender and plentiful. Recommended for large parties. The crab curry was delicious, though not overly generous with respect to the amount of crab meat. 

The ambience was decent and the servers ensured that we were always adequately provided with hot tea. For our readers north of the Potomac, there is apparently another location in Maryland. Worth trying at least once. 

Fish Pie

Ingredients
2 fillets of wild-caught Mahi-Mahi fish (You can use any other fish)
1/2 cup butter
4 pods of garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 diced onion
1/2 diced tomato
1 cup of green peas
5-6 small chopped carrots
2 medium potatoes (cut into small cubes)
1 cup of fish stock (I prepared my stock by boiling salmon skin into water)
2 cups of ready-made low sodium chicken stock
2 cups of milk
1 cup of mozarella cheese
2 layers of uncooked Pie crusts
1 cube of chicken bouilon
Salt and pepper to suit your taste
Finely chopped cilantro

Step 1: Saute garlic, diced onion, tomato in butter.

Step 2: Add the green peas, carrots, potatoes (and/or any other veggies) and let them cook in the fish stock, chicken stock and milk for about 30 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

Step 3: Add cheese and stir it into the mixture. Add the seasoning. Finally add small cubes of fish and half-cook them. Add the cilantro.

 Step 3: Roll the pie crust into a round shape and set it in the baking dish.

Step 4: Pour the prepared mixture into the dish.

Step 5: Add the second layer of the rolled pie crust on top and let it bake at 350F for 40 minutes. Make a few slits to let the steam out.

Step 6: Serve hot. 

Cassatt's Cafe

Lamb pie

4536 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22207

I have been to the Kiwi Cafe - Cassatt's Cafe once before. Before my first visit, I was expecting the flavor profile to be similar to that of most British cuisine, i.e. bland. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that many dishes featured South East/South Asian influences.

For appetizers, we ordered the New Zealand mussel and eggplant samosas. These were served with a sweet and spicy tomato chutney and a salad on the side. For the main course, we tried their lamb pie, chicken pie, salmon rolled with sea scallops, and breaded rainbow trout fillet. These came with a vegetable or house fries or tomato chutney on the side.

Pavlova

All of the savory dishes were well-executed. They were simple yet flavorful. My favorite was the pie. The menu featured a few vegetarian pies along with chicken curry and sausage, though the former were not available the night we visited.

Floorspace is limited, leading to potentially long waits. Because of the small size of our party, the manager suggested we eat at the counter, which was surprisingly comfortable.For dessert,we shared a slice of Pavlova, a meringue based Kiwi dessert dipped in a passion-fruit sauce. It was light and tasty.

On the whole, the food and ambience is worth the money and the wait. On Saturdays, they also have live music playing. I have also had the chance to try order from the brunch menu, and it is of similar quality to the entrees. Recommended.

Crabmeat Kofta (Crabmeat balls in a rich tomato sauce)

Ingredients for the crabmeat balls

250 gms of crabmeat

1/4 finely chopped bell pepper
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon garlic paste (I used ready-made garlic chutney that you get with ready-made packets of Bhel)

1/2 finely chopped onion
1 egg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup of Bread crumbs
Oil for frying

Ingredients for the sauce

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 finely chopped onion

4 pods of garlic

1 inch of ginger

2 small tomatoes

4-5 cashews

1 teaspoon each chilli, turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 tablespoons of yoghurt

3 stocks of coriander leaves

1 teaspoon salt (Add more to suit your taste)

A pinch of sugar

Mozzarella cheese (optional)

Step 1: Mix all the ingredients for the crabmeat balls in a large bowl. Refrigerate it for about an hour. 

Step 2: Roll the meat into small balls, dust with bread crumbs and fry them. You could either shallow or deep fry them.

Step 3: Saute onions, and ginger garlic paste in olive oil in a separate pan. Add the diced tomatoes and let it cook until it becomes a thin sauce.

Step 4: Grind the cashews with the yoghurt and add it to the mixture. Add the remaining spices and sugar and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 5: Add the crabmeat balls to the curry, and gently stir the mixture. You can sprinkle mozzarella cheese and chopped coriander on top, if you would like. Serve hot with rice or bread.

Saba - Authentic Yemeni fare in Northern Virginia

Yoghurt salad

3900 Pickett Road, Fairfax, VA

I had the opportunity to visit several Middle Eastern restaurants in the DC metro region. A characteristic shared by each of these establishments was the blandness of the food. However, a recent visit to Saba, a Yemeni restaurant in Fairfax, made me think that I was too quick to condemn the region's cuisine.   

For appetizers, we ordered the shofout, a yoghurt salad with a spongy sour-dough bread on the bottom. It was cold and refreshing. However, the portion was such that a single order could conceivably serve as the sole side dish for a party of five or more. 

Chicken Mandi

Among the entrees, we tried their chicken mandi: chicken cooked in a tandoor and served on a bed of rice and lots of caramelized onions.  We also ordered the lamb haneeth, which featured slow cooked lamb served on a bed of rice. Both dishes were delicious, especially when complemented with the yoghurt from the shofout. If I had one criticism of the entrees, it would be the excessive amount of rice, both in absolute terms and relative to the amount of protein on the plate.

Ma'soob

Finally, we tried the Ma’soob, an item off the dessert menu made with rashoush, bananas, purified butter, honey, and topped with a sprinkling of nigella. Like the other dishes, the Ma'soob was not lacking in flavor and was served in quantities that could best be described as generous, though perhaps too much of a good thing for our party of two.

The decor struck me as authentic, a perception which was reinforced by the presence of many customers who appeared to be native to the region. 

Recommended, though only for large parties.

Depth over breadth

Bonchon chicken

Bonchon Chicken, Korean

7215 Columbia Pike Annandale, VA 22003

The draw of many restaurants is their focus on the execution of a single dish. For certain items with a sufficiently broad appeal, such a strategy can result in significant popularity even if the establishment itself is associated with a particular ethnic cuisine.  Two establishments which have successfully applied this depth over breadth strategy to chicken are Bonchon Chicken and El Pollo. 

Bonchon (translated to Hometown) is a Korean franchise around the U.S that serves made to order fried chicken wings and drumsticks with hot and/or soy garlic sauce. We visited locations in both Annandale and Fairfax. They both offered a delightful dining experience, though we preferred the Annandale's location due to the complementary coleslaw, which is a must if you order the chicken with the hot sauce.  On the other hand, the ambience was a little more refined in the Fairfax location, and the servers a little more attentive. The menu includes a few other traditional Korean appetizers and entrees, which helps if you or someone in your party is not in the mood for chicken. Of these, we tried their vegetable dumplings. They were not exceptional but certainly edible.

El Pollo Rico, Peruvian

932 N Kenmore St, Arlington, VA 22201

We have been customers of El Pollo (Translated to chicken) since we were students due to its location across the street from George Mason's Arlington campus. The sole entree is the charcoal broiled chicken, which is filling and flavorful, though not particularly spicy. The chicken comes in full, half and quarter sizes. The half chicken is priced at $8. Sides include french fries, coleslaw and sauces (a hot sauce and mayo-based sauce). Producing chickens on a mass scale, El Pollo's kitchen and dining space are most similar to what one would expect to find in a school cafeteria. If you cannot deal with this "ambience", a take-out option is available. Recommended due to its lack of pretension, low prices, and delicious food.