Panama - Matseui Sushi

Matseui Sushi

Matseui Sushi is one of the lesser-known sushi restaurants in Panama City, but for me it has always been one of the best. It is a rather old-fashioned place, and could do with a fresh coat of paint, but apart from that, I like it. The wait-staff dress in traditional japanse attire and the sushi is generally very good.

Matseui is now promoting itself on Facebook, seemingly trying to boost their market image, and they have an "Open Sushi" promotion, which runs I think every night apart from Saturday. The deal is you pay $21.75 + 5% and you get all the sushi you want to eat, including nigiri (sushi) and rolls. The fish on offer last night was national tuna (maguro), fresh salmon (make), shrimp (ebi), yellowtail (bojala), snapper (pargo) and sole (lenguad0). For the rolls, you can choose California or Maki style, and you make your own out of a selection of ingredients or choose one of the chef's suggestions.

Everything we ate here was absolutely delicious, and the fish was some of the freshest and softest I have ever eaten. Think melt-in-your-mouth Tuna.

Matseui Sushi is located opposite the Hotel Granada in El Cangrejo.

Panama - Habibi's Restaurant

Habibi's is a great spot on Calle Uruguay, close to the main nightlife action of Panama City. Usually, when I go to Habibi's, it's just to drink a few cocktails, I don't recall ever having eaten there, until today.

The terrace is perfect for people-watching and enjoying drinks, conversation and a hookah with friends. We went at lunchtime yesterday, and with all the construction and traffic in the area, it was quite noisy, but still a nice experience.



We all ordered the same thing, the Greek Salad with Chicken and an appetizer of hummus and pita bread. The pitas are great here, they come to the table fresh from the oven, and puffed up like a ball. The hummus is also delicious, but the Greek Salad was the best thing we ate today. The chicken they use in the salad is marinaded in some interesting spices, and then grilled on a skewer. They take it off the skewer just before laying it on top of the salad. All the ingredients were fresh, and the dressing perfect. Yum!

Panama - Cevicheria Tip Top

Despite the name, when I visited Cevicheria Tip Top last Sunday, there was no sign of any ceviche. The grilled chicken however, which was the reason for my visit, was abundant and perfect.

Tip Top is one of those places that everyone has heard of, indeed it's somewhat of a Panama landmark and every taxi driver knows where it is. This said, no one that I know really goes there. It is, nevertheless, always busy, which is always a good sign.

After four years in Panama, I finally made it, and the chicken was fabulous. I am a big fan of rotisserie or grilled chicken and this is definitely some of the best I have found in Panama.
At only $5.25 for a whole chicken, and lower prices for 1/2 or 1/4, it really doesn't make sense to make it yourself, when a raw chicken costs around $4 in the store here.

Tip Top is located on Via Brasil in El Carmen, just opposite Exedra Books.

Panama - Deli Gourmet

Deli Gourmet has various locations throughout Panama City - San Francisco, Obarrio, Costa del Este and El Dorado. They sell great sandwiches, fresh salads and soups, good Duran coffee and an amazing variety of hard-to-find treats and delights. Anything from Jamon Serrano to Red Onion Jam, you can find it here. It's not cheap, but everything is sooooooo tasty that it's worth having lunch here once a week.

Deli Gourmet, Calle 50, Opposite HSBC San Francisco
Tel: + 507 300-2071
www.granddeligourmet.com