Ants are everywhere in Nicaragua, especially when you leave a piece of fresh fruit (like what is left of this juicy, yummy mango).
Layha Bistro in Managua
I fell in love with Managua cuisine all over again tonight. I had been waiting to try Layha Bistro since the day I read about the chef, Arlen Siu Sánchez, in a local magazine. We had a great experience. Great wine selection, great Nicaraguan-International fusion cuisine on the menu. There were so many interesting dishes that it was hard to decide.
For starters, check out the avocado and chicken egg rolls. Delicious. Later, we decided on two dishes: one was pork loin in an oriental sauce with risotto and a plantain a la Rosemary. The other was Toetellini Carolina (spinach pasta filled with squash and cheese) and a salad. I have to say that the pasta won the ‘unique flavor’ award. The pork was flavorful but a tad dry for my liking (lean cuts, in other words).
For dessert, apple pie a la mode, a winner as well.
The servers are helpful and sincere…probably being trained but humble and very pleasant.
The decor of Layha Bistro is amazing.
What a treasure downtown Managua has seen born. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 9.
Address: Del Tip Top Los Robles 1c. SO, 1/2c. E (o de la Cocina de Doña Haydee 50 vrs al lago)
Phone: (505) 2267 3170
Crevettes by La Casserole
Well, in my quest to try something new and exciting, we ventured over to Crevettes by La Casserolle in El Viejo Santo Domingo, which I guess can be glassified as fusion cuisine. It’s a small, cozy restaurant with a candlelight indoor ‘patio’ and a main dining area with a capacidad of about 40 persons.
The menú is somewhat limited but includes duck, a few beef selections, seafood plates and pasta. Dishes range from $16 – $30. Portions are small. I liked that…I felt satisfied but not overly full.
The Thai Crevettes (first picture) consists of 6 medium shrimp in a pineapple y coconut soup like sauce. Very tasty! It was garnished with petit pois and sofrito flavored rice.
The Entraña was an excellent cut of very tender steak…just one pass of my knife and it was cut through and through…and might I add very well seasoned. It was served with greens with a honey mustard dressing and a potato/yucca pastel, also very tasty. I washed it down with a cup of house wine (Frontera if my memory serves me well).
Finally Xocolatl for dessert…ok but not that impressive. Presentation was good but it wasn’t so tasty.
The attention and service were good…our waiter seemed a bit unnatural but he knew the menú and offered both solicited and unsolicited suggestions. Good wine cellar. Varied water selections.
Managua has quite a few fine dining offerings now. I don’t think Crevettes is a place I will fall in love with, probably because of the limited offerings. There are only a few things on the menu that I think I would be interested in trying. The chef does have some original ideas but nothing that grabbed on to me and shook me. First impressions can, however, be deceitful. Even so…
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 7.5. It would gain a half point if the price/value ratio were a little higher. You will pay a premium here for something good but not awesome. You can see prices here.
Crevettes by La Casserole
Plaza Mi Viejo Santo Domingo
Managua
Yan Yan Siu
I’ve eaten in a few Chinese restaurants here in Nicaragua. As in many countries, there is a fairly well represented Chinese population and there are a few offerings worth noting. Take a look at some of the others on the right hand side of the blog under food. I will say that Yan Yan Siu is the best I have come across up til now.
We were attended and served by Ramón, a young and gracious waiter. Started off with egg rolls with a delicious duck sauce. Later, I ordered the specialty of the house: Yan Yan chicken (a distant cousin of General Tso’s chicken). My wife ordered Orange chicken (a la Nica style). They were served family style with a bowl of white rice to share.
The ambiance and the quality of food were stupendous. If you are in Managua, Nicaragua and desirous of good Chinese food, don’t hesitate to make your way to Los Robles and eat at Yan Yan Siu.
On a scale of 1 to 10: 8
Dirección: Colonial Los Robles No. 30
Teléfono: (505) 22774844
Celular: (505) 82557035
Check out the menu here: Menu
To see what we ate and the prices, click here: The check
He comido en varios restaurantes de comida china aquí en Nicaragua. Como en muchos países, hay una buena representación de la población china aquí y, como esperaría, hay varios restaurantes notables. Podés ver otras ofrendas del género chino aquí al lado derecho de este blog. Debo admitir que Yan Yan Siu es lo mejor que he encontrado hasta el momento.
Nos atendió y sirvió un jóven mesero llamado Ramón. Arrancamos estas delicias chinas con un servicio de tacos chinos con una deliciosa salsa pato. Después, pedí la especialidad de la casa: Pollo Yan Yan (quizá un pariente distante del plato estadounidense/chino Pollo General Tso). Mi esposa escogió Pollo a la naranja. Los platos fueron acompañados con una taza de arroz blanco para compartir.
El ambiente y la calidad de la comida eran estupendos. Al estar en Managua, Nicaragua y con ganas de la comida china, no pensás dos veces en ir a la colonia Los Robles para comer en Yan Yan Siu.
De 1 a 10: 8
Dirección: Colonial Los Robles No. 30
Teléfono: (505) 22774844
Celular: (505) 82557035
Para ver el menú, pinchá aquí: El menú
Para ver lo que comimos y el costo, pinchá aquí: La cuenta
12/25/12
Flor de Caña Blanco Reserva
If you have tried Nicaraguan‘s Flor de Caña rum, you are probably a fan of this world renowned spirit. In the airport in Nicaragua (and only in the August C Sandino international airport), in many of the duty free shops and for a limited time, you can get a 7 year white rum. It’s a brother to the popular Gran Reserva dark rum with the novelty that it is distilled to a beautiful clear color. It’s flavor? Really good! While the dark Gran Reserva has a slightly sweeter, molasses like flavor, the white Blanco Reserva is a but smoother and has an almost thick characteristic to it (not dry at all).
Nicaraguan Post Office
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| Nicaraguan Postal Service (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The Nicaraguan postal service (Correos de Nicaragua) has improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years. It still has a few idiosyncrasies but, generally speaking, it is fairly efficient and trustworthy (although it is not advisable to have valuables sent to Nicaragua via Correos de Nicaragua to your local post office).
Post offices aren’t generously located in Managua but there are several spread around the city. The smaller cities and towns usually have just one post office. Mail can be delivered to your home (with the unusual and disorderly address system) but most people never get letters delivered to them. It’s not common at all. Those who do regularly receive mail will probably have a P.O. Box (Apartado Postal) as you can see in the second picture. In Managua, the costs are the following: right to a box – C$110; 6 months – C$160. Pretty reasonable, really. Then, they give you a key and all mail (or notifications of packages) are put inside your box for you to get when you want.
How about sending packages? That box in the last picture is a 1 lb. back of coffee sent to a fortunate address in the United States. It cost C$71 + C$10 to certify delivery. Around Christmas time, it will take about a month to get there. At other times of the year, it can take as little as two weeks. Oh, and by the way, you have to put the stamps on yourself…
Click here for more posts about the Nicaraguan postal service.
Nica fridge
When you don’t have a fridge or a cooler, do the next best thing. These bags of ice sell for C$2 in any barrio in Nicaragua. Hollow it out a bit and stick the can in and there you have it! Ingenuity at it’s finest, seen today in the Altagracia barrio in Managua!!!
Gas prices in Nicaragua – Precio de combustible en Nicaragua
People always ask about gasoline prices or diesel fuel prices in Nicaragua. Miraculously, they have gone down in the past few weeks and, considering the devaluation of the córdoba, are at prices not seen for many years. Just remember that those prices are per liter and in córdobas. Today’s date is December 17, 2014.
Hay gente que siempre pregunta sobre los precios de gasolina o diesel aquí en Nicaragua. Como se tratara de un milagro, han bajado en las últimas semanas y, considerando la devaluación del córdoba, han estado en precios no vistos en muchos años. Recordá que esos precios son por litro y en córdobas. La fecha de hoy es 17 de diciembre de 2014.
