Poké @ Panama – Coco Juice Box and Salmon n Tuna Poke

Ok, so this is by far not my greatest picture… I just took a quick shot just to share it with some friends. Where I come from, we don’t have Poké and I’ve never seen it. But what really shocked me is this little coconut ready to drink! Like kid you not, look at the first picture, it is a small coconut with a straw on the side like your favorite juice box or chocomilk… and just as easy there is a little hole on the top where you stick the straw into and voilà! you’ve got yourself some coconut juice. Where I come from, they grab an ax and chop off the top of the coconut for you to drink. If you are feeling adventurous they chop it in half (and some spills, but some stays) and you drink it like it was a sake cup of sorts. Then of course, you proceed to it the inside white part which I was never crazy about. So, I don’t know if this is how all coconuts are and I’ve just been living a lie my whole life, but this surprised me very much! So much I had to share. So, go ahead and share your experiences with coconuts and let me know if this is normal and organic or if just some genius marketing scheme!

Now, diving into the review of this restaurant. As you can see from the picture, it is a food court so nothing fancy guys. I was in the MultiPlaza mall and looking through the reviews in an app called Degusta and I found this fast food Japanese that was highly rated. As you can tell by now, I am a big fan of sushi rolls, so I figured this would be right down my alley. Well, the poké is basically most of the ingredients you would have in a sushi roll, except… it is on a bowl. You have a base of rise and then all the protein and extras on the top. Personally, I am sticking with the rolls. Though I found it to be good, the amount of rice is just overwhelming. I would had been fine with half of it. Also, it was a bit hard to eat because I was just experimenting on what is the right proportions of tuna, salmon and rice in each bite. Reading through the reviews I find I am not the only one thinking they are overfilling the plates with rice which shouldn’t be the star/focus of the dish. Regardless, it was an interesting dish although simple, but I would try it again. I do however, thing I’ll stick to sushi rolls. Somehow, they are more filling and satisfying (well, I mean you can eat all that rice and literally have no space left but not feel satisfied).

Now the real shocker: The Coco Juice Box. I’ve never had coconut water served/presented to me like that. I think it is awesome how it is presented in its natural form, though many questions come to mind:

1. Is this real? Like, is that how they come, or did they drill the whole and just cover it with something?
2. Is it all natural?
3. Does it go bad?
4. Where can I get more?

I mean, honestly seems like storing them would be a hassle but it is so original compared to the boxes or plastic jugs one usually gets. Which reminds me of this delicious apple juice from Martinelli (https://www.packworld.com/article/package-component/closures/martinelli-juiced-about-apple-shaped-bottle). Having the bottle be apple shaped was just such a cool detail. What’s the coolest / most original juice presentation you’ve ever seen?