Colombia & Panama Food🥗

This blog will focus on the different restaurants and local traditional food that we ate in both Colombia and Panama.

Colombia

Bon Appetít, Jardín

In Jardín we went to Bon Appetít, which was an incredible restaurant, that served such a variety of different dishes. Normally, restaurants that serve such a variety don’t tend to be amazing because there’s so many to cook, but this was hands down one of the best meals we had in South America. We got the spring rolls to share for a starter, which were made fresh for us. Then we both got pasta and noodle dishes, I got the bacon penne with burrata on top and Ned got Chinese rice noodles with seafood, such a contrast of dishes but both were incredible.

Ichiraku Ramen, Medellín

We went out for dinner and found this incredible Japanese restaurant, serving sushi and ramen, which we were both craving. Of course we went all out, getting ramen each before sharing sushi, spring rolls and some random fries on the side. A very filling, but delicious meal, so good it tempted us to order more!

Traditional Colombian Arepas

Colombian Arepas are round, flat corn bread, made from ground corn dough, which are then fried on a hot grill. They are a staple dish in Colombia, served as the same purpose as bread. You can choose all kinds of fillings for your arepas and we tried various different ones throughout Colombia. Ned mainly got meat fillings and I had grilled vegetables, breakfast fillings like avocado or mushrooms. Overall, they were such a handy, delicious meal to grab on the go, very filling and cheap for what we got.

Rosario Islands

We spent two days on the Rosario Istands, which are gorgeous beaches a short boat ride from Cartagena. We spent our days chilling and eating good food. We got baby oysters on the beach, two lobsters, which were delicious and so fresh! The butter and sauce, which they cooked them in made it ten times better! We then got huge portions of chicken, rice and vegetables for less than five pounds. All meals were worth it, so highly recommend spending a day at least on the islands.

Finca Carpe Diem Hostel, Minka

We stayed at this hostel for two nights, which was in the middle of the jungle and such a nice way to stay off the grid. It was quite far from the nearest town, so all our meals we had at this hostel and they did not disappoint. We mainly had dinners here and they were such a variety of delicious meals. The restaurant next door also serves the best desserts, chocolate cake and cheesecake. Both spots make it an overall top place to stay at!

Other Traditional Colombian Dishes:

• Bandeja Paisa, Salento
  Bandeja Paisa is Colombia’s most iconic traditional dish. It is a huge dish packed with all kinds of food, red beans, pork, white rice, ground meat, chicharrón, fried egg, plantain, chorizo, arepas, and avocado. Ned eyed this as soon as we got to Salento so we had to get it and wow was it incredible. It fuelled us up for the whole day and it wasn’t that expensive.
• Fried Goods, Salento
  For Colombian street food, a lot of stalls sold arepas, deep fried empanadas and balls of mashed potato with ground beef. Some days we grabbed a couple of these foods to take with us as we explored.
• La Argella Trout Farm, Jardín
  It was recommended to us to try the freshest trout in Jardín. We both got the dishes with sides and even though it isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing dish, it tasted delicious.

San Blas Islands Food

The San Blas Islands were an incredible six day boat trip sailing from Colombia to Panama. For this trip all our meals were included. We were incredibly lucky with our chefs, who made us three delicious meals every day! We had fresh fruit platters every morning, hot breakfasts, BBQ on the beach. Highly recommend going with Blue Sailing, not only as they are a good company but also because of the food they serve.

Panama

1. Afrodisíaco Italian Modern Kitchen, Panama City (first pic)
   We had the most incredible Italian meal in Panama City for my birthday. We got the mussels to share for a starter, and then had the prawn linguine and chicken tagliatelle.
2. Palmar Beach Lodge, Torro del Boco Islands
   The hostel we were staying at had its own restaurant attached to it, so we ate here most of the time and it was so good! Our breakfast was included in the price of our room, but for dinner we had different meals every day. Our favourites were the poke bowl and chicken curry.