The restaurant’s name means sugar mill in Spanish. One of the owners had kept a legit sugar mill from the colonial times and that eventually prompted the name and the logo for the eatery.

The sugar mill was the main décor element in the restaurant, perfectly perched on an outside corner as if it were ushering patrons in with the best way money could buy: a schooner of icy sugarcane juice called guarapo –one of the most coveted drinks among the residents.

For many, Panama’s national food is the sancocho panameño (Panamanian stew), though for others a plate of rice and chicken is the one that really takes the local cake. The fact of the matter is, though, that the sancocho has ingredients and cooking ways only found in Panama.

Here at El Trapiche, the sancocho is served alongside the main course of the house: the Panamanian Party. Dished out in generous helpings large enough to quench the wildest appetite, this kind of food can be had either at an alfresco decked terrace or inside an air-conditioned room. Its decoration brings back memories of Panama’s countryside shacks. But, what are the ingredients for the Panamanian Party? They are no secret, so here they are in the pages of our publication, the same ingredients used by the chef at El Trapiche.

Ingredients for the Panamanian Party - Ragout and guts (can be replaced with tamales) - Carimañola (wrapped around in cassava dough stuffed with mincemeat and spiced with Panamanian jigote) Jigote is cooked with tiny onions, coriander and red pepper - 2 fried cassavas - 2 fried plantains - 1 pork sparkling - Banana cooked in sugarcane hardened syrup and cinnamon.