Raspao and Street Food

The raspao cart is a fixture of Panamanian streets: a block of ice shaved by hand with a plane, packed into a cup, doused in coloured syrup and then finished with a stream of sweetened condensed milk, which is the part that makes it Panamanian. Around it runs the wider street repertoire: hojaldras, fried dough eaten at breakfast; carimañolas, cassava rolls filled with meat and fried; empanadas; tortillas de maíz, thick fried corn discs quite unlike the Mexican kind; and chicheme, a thick drink of cracked corn, milk and cinnamon that is a meal in itself.

What you actually see

• The raspao cart - ice shaved by hand and finished with condensed milk.
• Hojaldras - fried dough, the breakfast standard.
• Carimañolas - fried cassava rolls filled with meat.
• Chicheme - cracked corn, milk and cinnamon, drunk cold.

When to go

Year-round. Raspao carts work through the hot part of the day. Fried breakfast items are sold from early morning and gone by mid-morning. Chicheme is associated with La Chorrera, where a roadside stretch sells it to passing traffic.

Honest expectations

Raspao ice is made from tap water and hygiene at carts varies; the busy ones are the safer bet. The fried items are heavy and the oil at cheap stands is not always fresh. Chicheme is much thicker than visitors expect and is closer to a porridge than a drink.

Nearby

Carts on streets in every town; La Chorrera for chicheme.