dining

A few months back I took a visiting colleague to the Evergreen building, that green structure behind ATLAPA, to sample the fare at the Evergarden. Evergreen is a big Taiwanese shipping company, and the corporation created the Evergarden because its executives wanted the good stuff. Indeed, they did get a very good Chinese restaurant. But alas, the Evergarden was "closed for remodeling," the security guard said.

I was in the neighborhood again to cover EXPOCOMER, so I decided to see if the Evergarden was back in business.

I found that the Evergarden is no more. However, on the Evergreen Building's fourth floor they now have the Golden Unicorn, which is better than the Evergarden was.

At the new place, you get similar tasteful decor and the same sort of prompt service. The prices seem just a bit lower than the Evergarden's were, though somewhat more than Panama's other Chinese restaurants. If you want to blow a hundred bucks on dinner for two, it can be easily done at this place. But then, an order of yang chow fried rice is just $6.

At the Golden Unicorn you can get Szechuan-style shrimp and several other hot and spicy entrees. Those aren't the only Golden Unicorn menu items that are apparently unique in Panama --- I know of no other place where you can get abalone --- but any place that satisfies my cravings for hot and spicy Chinese is a rare treat indeed. I ordered kung pao scallops --- big ocean scallops with hot and sweet peppers and tender peanuts, with just a little non-runny, non-greasy sauce and an interesting and beautiful set of garnishes (no, I didn't eat the orchid blossom). It was $13.50 and worth every penny. (The Szechuan shrimp costs $10, to give you another take on the Golden Unicorn's price structure.)

My dinner met all the tests of excellence in wok cookery. First and foremost, all of the textures were right --- scallops tender but thoroughly cooked, a little crunch to the peppers, peanuts that had been raw before my order was prepared served perfectly tender, neither fried to a crisp nor braised until soggy.

The Golden Unicorn eschews the usual presumption that Panamanians, or gringos, don't understand or appreciate spicy. This was bien picante, maybe not to the most insane of Mexican standards, but spicy enough for a Colon buay with an appreciation for aji chombo. They didn't serve hot sauce on the side. As a matter of fact, there wasn't any soy sauce on the table, either. The menu warns you of things picante, and if you order them they are served that way. The food does not come laden with salty soy sauce, and it never occurred to me to add any. OK, they do have salt and pepper shakers on each table, for folks to make adjustments, but I'm not one to mess with perfection.

One unusual thing about the Golden Unicorn's menu is that I couldn't find any appetizers. No egg rolls, no fried wontons. But a little bowl of steamed peanuts, and another little bowl of fresh pickled vegetables came before the meal. There are a few dessert items on the menu, but served after my main course as a part of the meal was a dish of watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe slices.

The Golden Unicorn dedicates a page of its menu to vegetarian fare, and none of the entrees listed there appear the least bit boring. That, plus the extensive set of seafood options, makes it a good place to go with a mix of family or friends that includes people with different dietary requirements.

Yes, you can order versions of many things that Panama's other Chinese restaurants also prepare. But the Golden Unicorn doesn't do the standards --- they SET the standards.