Back towards the beginning of the year, CT and I learned that CT’s Sister’s Sister-in-Law would be getting married in Panama at the end of July. Why Panama? The Bride’s parents live down there now full-time. We learned that Panama has a huge ex-pat population mostly because it is so cheap and the U.S. Dollar is the functional currency down there. Since CT’s whole family is quite close with her brother-in-law’s family, we were all invited to the wedding. Since neither of us had been to Panama before, we decided to spend an extra couple days down there to explore the city and of course, the food. Join us the next couple of weeks as we eat PANAMA!
The morning after our meat-fest at Gauchos, we were up early to head out to the Panamanian countryside for a ziplining adventure. Adventure it was with a variety of buses we took and the 4-5 mile walk into the jungle in the 85 degree weather and 200% humidity. I think we did a pretty good job of burning off the calories from the previous nights dinner and then some. Once we were somewhat back in civilization, we were both pretty starved, especially since we hadn’t eaten much most of the day. All over Panama, we saw these fast food restaurants called Pio Pio, which seemed to be like a Panamanian KFC. There is Pio Pio in NYC, but they are unrelated. We were willing to eat just about anything at that point so we stopped in before catching the bus back to Panama City.
The menu was very similar to KFC in that it had whole pieces of fried chicken, popcorn chicken and the like, along with a few nuances to cater to the local market.
CT got the chicken meal that came with a breast and a large side of rice and coleslaw. It wasn’t all white meat in the breast and had some tasty dark. The rice was pretty flavorful and she raved about it. The cole slaw was nice and tangy. It was somewhat of a mix of a vinegar and mayo based slaw.
CT says: I thought the fried chicken was great, especially considering it wasn’t freshly fried. The skin was crispy and pretty nicely flavored and the the meat was very juicy. I was even more impressed by the rice, though. It was super flavorful and well cooked, with actually veggies mixed in. I couldn’t stop eating it (which is the only reason I didn’t yell at TT for eating all my coleslaw, which apparently he thought was his…). Granted I was both beyond starving and heat-drunk, but I really enjoyed Pio Pio and definitely would be willing to return if I were back in Panama.
Oops! I guess I was “heat drunk” also and appropriated the cole slaw for myself.
I decided on the popcorn chicken meal that came with fries. The chicken and fries were pretty standard, but I gobbled it all up quickly. It definitely tasted a lot better than it normally would have if we didn’t do all that hiking.
All in all, Pio Pio did a good job at staying off starvation for us. I believe everything with an added on bottle of water cost about $9. We had a lot of fun ziplining and recommend you try it yourself if you get the chance. We saw a lot more of Panama than most tourists since we found our own way there and enjoyed that. Although next time I’ll take the manager’s advice and hire a car. Fried chicken was a nice treat at the end of the adventure.
Hungry says
When I first sat the beginning picture, I totally thought about Peruvian chicken and got really excited. But fried chicken isn’t disappointing at all.
TT says
no it ain’t! 🙂
Feisty Foodie says
Peruvian chicken in Peru is more like fried chicken than what’s served at Pio Pio in NYC 😛
Anyway that all looks great! And $9 is fantastically cheap. I agree that walking places in other countries is a great way to see things, but when we tried that in Argentina (to go ziplining actually)… well, it wasn’t the safest thing to do, hahaha
TT says
yea when we told CT’s Brother-in-law what we did, he called us insane especially since he has been to Panama a bunch of times and knows where not to go on your own. I never felt “un-safe” at anytime though. I think the locals were impressed that some Americanos were willing to go all the way out there and travel like they do.
Goats says
I tried that in Jamaica with a friend. 40 hookers chased after us at one point and we had a gun flashed at us, though I wasn’t convinced it was loaded….
TT says
yea I have a feeling that the backwoods of Jamaica is 100x more dangerous than Panama.
T.C. says
I’d only go around town with a friend who is familiar with the country, a tour group, or strictly just stay at hotel/ resort.
It’s not roast chicken but I love FRIED CHICKEN more anyway.
Big fan of hispanic style chicken cracklings too – chicharrones de pollo.
Goats says
TO be fair, I didn’t leave the hotel in Kingston. Even I get nervous when guys with automatic weapons are guarding the entrance….this wasn’t the case in Negril where I want exploring…
KimHo says
Ah, Pio Pio… It brings memories, hahaha! Yes, Pio Pio is one of the “original” chain restaurants in Panama – it pretty much has been there forever! Depending on what time of the day you go, they can also have “frituras”, i.e., fritters or fried stuff. For example, in the morning, hojaldra (fry bread), tortilla (unlike Mexican tortilla, think of a puck-like fried corn masa) and carimañola (similar to croquettes but made with a tuber called ñame). In the afternoon, you can find fried chicken liver, chicken gizzard or chicken heart.
In the past, they didn’t have french fries or chicken “porcorn” but, with KFC, Popeye’s, Church’s, Pollo Campero (a similar fried chicken chain originally from Guatemala which has expanded in some parts of the US), they now include that as well. Rice, thought, does go back a long time.
About security, actually, unless you go to really specific neighbourhoods in Panama (Curundu, El Chorrillo, et al), Panama is safe as long as you observe some basic personal security. You know, don’t overdress, mingle in, don’t walk in shaddy looking streets, visible cash (or big wallet) and so on. The problem is that some of the touristy areas (Panama Canal, Casco Viejo, et al) happens right next to these neighbourhoods and people end up there by mistake. The other “issue” is that, depending on where you go, once they realize you are tourists, they will try to take advantage of you (that happens to me a lot until I talk them back in Spanish, at which point they realize I am “local”). People in the interior are less likely to do that but, in the city, chances are exponential.
Now, here is the one oddity about Panama: the best food happens to be in these “unsafe” neighbourhoods! And, please, please, tell me you guys had “pescado frito”, aka, fried fish. And, no, not from a restaurant! In these neighbourhoods, to make extra income, a lot of the people set up street food stands (a lot of time without licence, so, it is in a way “at your own risk”). An all time favourite dish is fried fish, where they make slits to a ~9″ fish, put some herbs (the more often used being culantro, aka, ngo gai; not to be confused with cilantro), dust it with flour and fried until brown and delicious. Fish and chips? Once you have had some pescado frito, you might not go back!
Mass transit in Panama is a mess. Unless you are travelling on an extremely tight budget, I would follow the advice given to you: hire a taxi driver for a day (and negotiate the $$$ in advance!). It might cost you some $$$; however, it is better than driving through Panama City (during rush hour, it could be as bad as NYC – and then you remember it is hot and humid!). Why not call a cab each time you need one? Because, unlike other cities in the world, Panamanian cab drivers often refuse customers, specially if you are not “in his way”, not to mention they might take another passenger midway. You can easily spend 30 minutes and not get a cab.
TT says
unfortunately we didn’t try any pescado frito. the fish market was the closest to street food we got. we drove by a lot of stands in the cabs, but didn’t stop unfortunately.