Avoid Buying International SIM Cards At Tocumen International Airport Panama

On a stopover at Tocumen Airport in Panama, I noticed that there were a number of SIM Card stalls at the airport which featured roaming in 150 countries! Since, I travel a lot, I always have a global roaming package on my phone and was curious to know how much these SIM cards would cost.

In certain places, you can get really good deals on International Travel SIM Cards however the price that I was quoted shocked me! The price for an International SIM card was going to be US $60 and would provide me limited data with 10-20 days coverage! That is not a great deal in my opinion.

By comparison, I currently pay a little more than US $30 to get global roaming on my phone with 3HK and that covers me for the whole year!

My recommendation for anyone who traveling to Panama would be to avoid getting their SIM card at the airport. The price is very high. Instead buy the SIM Card from the local shops outside the airport which will be a lot more cheaper. You can also look for eSIM options (if your phone supports) that you can buy online and can save you a lot of money.

Tom Mehra

Tom Mehra, an Ottawa-based Software Engineer with a Masters in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas, shares insights on local food spots and top attractions in Canada and the US. He’s also a former resident of the US, UK, and India, and in 2023, his blog was nominated for an Ottawa Award by Faces Magazine. He is also a cat sitter.

tommera.com/

Drinking Cold Beer In The Patio At The Manx!

If you are looking to have drinks in the Patio, then definitely checkout The Manx located on Elgin Street, Ottawa! Initially I was planning to head inside, but the nice weather convinced me to try out their patio instead!

I went for their Manx 20 Stock Ale which I was told is from the Kichesippi Beer Company. It’s a light beer and was served cold, which is how I enjoy my beer.

One thing I noticed is that the service at the place is much better than other bars out there. The server tended to me almost the moment I arrived, and kept checking regularly if I needed anything.

While the patio is located right across the streets close to the intersection, it is not that noisy and can be a great hangout spot for small groups.

There is only limited capacity in the patio and the tables can have 4 people at most though it might be possible to combine the tables (as long as the walkway is not blocked)

Rating – 8/10

Address: 370 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1N1

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Salsa Dance Lessons In Ottawa At Rahim Salsa!

Looking for something to do during night time in Ottawa? Maybe you can try out Latin Dancing at this Community Center that turns into a Dance Studio on weekends!

The Dance Studio is called Rahim Salsa and offers Latin Dancing Lessons which can cover different variations of Latin Dancing like Salsa, Merengue and Bachata. The most simple one out of these and the one that I personally enjoy is Bachata. Anyone can learn the basics in less than 30 minutes compared to Salsa and Bachata which can be a bit more hard to lead/follow.

There is a charge of $10-15 depending on the night however if you are coming late then you might be able to negotiate a discounted rate of $5.

If you have never done Salsa before; I recommend that you come up early as that’s when the beginners arrive and as the night proceeds, the lessons get more advanced followed by a social where you can practice whatever you have learned.

Something that I didn’t like about the venue was that there is no alcohol as it’s a dance studio. So it might be a good idea to do pre-drinking before you head there 🙂

Don’t be afraid if someone asks you to dance or you want to ask someone to dance. There will be a lot of really good dancers there and they can help you get better with Latin dancing!

Rating : 7/10

Address: 275 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K2P 0H8

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Great Vibe And Delicious Tacos At El Camino Ottawa!

If you are on Elgin street, you should really checkout this Taco place called El Camino whether it’s for tacos or just drinks! The restaurant is located in a semi basement however despite that they do have a patio experience as well in case you want to enjoy outdoor dining during summers.

As soon as you enter the restaurant, you will feel that not only does it look elegant but also has a very good atmosphere making it perfect spot to hang with close friends or bring a date. Whenever I have been to El Camino, I have always found it to be bustling.

The venue does have loud music that they play off their record player however it wasn’t deafening and it’s still possible to have a conversation with the people across you easily.

I ended up ordering Beef Barbacoa Taco and Ox Tongue Taco, both of which turned out to be great! The Beef Taco came with a special sauce that added more flavoring to the Taco.

I highly recommend that you try the Tacos with their Spicy sauce that you have to ask for separately. Dip your Taco in the hot sauce for a mouth watering experience! They do have a sweet sauce as well but the Spicy one is the best!

The price of each Taco tends to be on the higher side and can be almost double compared to some of the other places that I have been to however they do have a large variety of tacos to choose from.

It appears that the restaurant has another location opened up at Clarence Street however I haven’t had the opportunity yet to visit that location.

Rating : 8/10

Address: 380 Elgin St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1M9

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Chicken Wings Night At Summerhays Grill

My hunt for finding out the hottest chicken wings in the Ottawa region continues. A while back, I was recommended by someone to try the hot chicken wings at the Summerhays Grill and finally found the opportunity to do so this month.

The restaurant has a number of different flavors for their chicken wings to suit your taste – from BBQ to specialty sauces like sweet mustard, Dave’s sauce and crazy Paula’s but their hottest flavor they have is called ‘Suicide’.

As soon as the order arrived at the table, everyone could smell the amount of heat that was packed in these wings. The Suicide Chicken Wing at Summerhays Grill are one of the most dark red colored wings I have seen and they do deliver well on their name.

I prefer to enjoy my wings so usually go with ranch dressing when eating really hot wings. For these ones, I definitely recommend as even if you are used to hot food, you are going to need something to cool you off a bit!

Trying out these wings and being at a number of other restaurants that offer hot wings, I can definitely say that these are so far the hottest wings that I have had so far in the city. (Though I have had even hotter wings in other places)

Do give the Sucide Wings at Summerhays Grill a try if you are looking to try some really hot and delicious chicken wings. They would not disappoint you! Caution needs to be exercised if you have not had hot/spicy food before.

In case you are looking for something that is less spicy you could either go for their Medium or Cajun wings. Personally, I got to try the Cajun wings and didn’t enjoy them all, so wouldn’t recommend anyone to go for the Cajun Wings.

Rating: 7.5/10 (overall rating – based on vibe, service, food etc)

Business website: https://summerhaysgrill.ca/

Address: 1971 Baseline Rd, Ottawa, ON K2C 0C7

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Good Pakistani Indian Buffet At PakIndia Restaurant In Ottawa

Finding a good buffet spot can be a bit hard to find as such restaurants usually tend to focus on quantity rather than quality. Not this one though!

PakIndia is a Pakistani and Indian cuisine restaurant located in Orleans and is a good 15-20 minute drive from downtown Ottawa. This was my first time going to a Pakistani Buffet restaurant and I had lower expectations from this restaurant (because of it being a buffet). The place does look like an ordinary hangout spot.

One thing that I have never noticed before is that this place serves Rooh Afza (drink), I have been to a decent number of Indian restaurants before and have never seen that drink before at any! Also, I think the last time I saw that drink was more than a decade back!

Their Buffet has a variety of dishes that serve both vegetarians as well as meat lovers! I ended up trying out their lamb and chicken dishes along with some biryani and naan bread but my favorite one of all the dishes was the lamb.

I didn’t feel if any of the dishes were very spicy. They just had the right amount of spice for someone who might be looking to try Pakistani or Indian food.

Also; they did have a limited dessert option as part of the buffet which includes rice pudding and other Indian sweets like Gulab Jamun/Rasgulla.

Since this restaurant offers a halal menu, they do not have any pork options. While the food is definitely enjoyable, the place lacks a bit of atmosphere because maybe they cater more to people who want takeout food. Also the service is a bit limited, so if you need anything you will need to go to the counter and ask for it.

Rating: 7/10 ; Good food! Okay atmosphere.

Business website: https://www.pakindiarestaurant.com/

Address: 4025 Innes Rd, Orléans, ON K1C 1T1

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

5 Pin Bowling Experience At West Parking Bowling In Ottawa!

Didn’t even know that 5-pin bowling existed until recently! Turns out it’s quite a popular variant of bowling in Canada. Unlike regular bowling where there are 10-pins, there are 5-pins in 5-pin bowling and also the bowling balls are a lot smaller than the regular bowling balls.

There are a number of bowling alleys in Ottawa however the West Parking Bowling is one of the closest ones from the downtown area. Pricing starts at $6.50 per game per person but there might be discounts for seniors and kids.

We had a part of about 5 people and even though it was a busy weekend, it didn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to get ourselves a lane without any reservation! Service was also quick and it didn’t take us too long to get our drinks.

This venue reminded me like it was a bowling alley from the 90s. It has a great vibe and if you are looking for things to do with your buddies or even dates then you should definitely head out there!

Rating – 8/10

Address: 1205 Wellington St. W, Ottawa, ON K1Y 2Z8

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Fish N Chips And Drinks at Brixton British Pub!

Decided to go to Brixton British Pub on a Monday Night with my mates. Brixton is located right in the downtown area and is walking distance from the parliament.

As soon as you arrive at the entrance, it will remind you of the London Underground Metro system which has the same sign. However this one is not a subway station, it’s a gastropub and is well known for it’s fish and chips.

Turns out Monday nights are not so busy at this place. There was barely any crowd except maybe a few regulars. I expect that this place gets busy during weekends though as it’s situated in a prime location.

I ended up ordering the Fish and Chips and found it alright for bar food. Nothing impressive but my mates however said that they really enjoyed the Fish and Chips. If you are looking to have a nice meal, this might not the place but if you want to have drinks then yes go for this place.

I think I will come at this place again since it’s quite spacious and ideal for big groups. Would be good if they had any special nights as well.

Rating: 6.5/10

Address: 210 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1P 5C1

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Not Impressed At All With Takeaway Sushi From Sushi Go Plateau!

Last weekend I was craving for Sushi and found this takeaway spot in the Plateau area called Sushi Go. So I decided to get their takeaway sushi and give it a try.

I ended up getting their two boxes of their Sushi Combo which offer a variety of Sushi so you get to see what the restaurant offers and not just judge it based on a single menu item.

While the Sushi’s appearance does look appetizing, I wasn’t really impressed with the taste as such. I have been to other Sushi takeaway spots that offer much better experience at around half the price in the Gatineau area! (Aki Sushi comes to mind!)

I am hoping that the sushi at this venue improves as this is the nearest sushi place near me but I don’t think I would visit it again unless things change!

If I had dined in? Would that have been different? I don’t know!

Rating: 4/10!

Address: 20 Boulevard du Plateau, Gatineau, Quebec J9A 3K7

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/

Where To Get FBI Fingerprints Done In Ottawa-Gatineau?

If you have lived in the United States previously, you might be required to provide FBI Background Check certificate for employment or residence/citizenship related issues.

I had tried to get my fingerprints done by myself but they were rejected because I did not do them correctly. The reason provided by FBI was –

The quality of the characteristics is too low to be used

So instead of doing them myself again I decided to use a provider. In the United States, it is possible to go just to the Police Station and get the fingerprint cards filled but the process is a little different here in the Ottawa-Gatineau area.

You will need to go to Commissionaires – Centretown who would be able to do the fingerprints for you on the FBI Fingerprint Card. The service is a bit costly but considering I did not want my fingerprints rejected again, I decided to use them for getting my fingerprints done.

You might be told that they will scan your fingerprints using their scanner and print them on a page. That is completely fine and the documents are accepted by the FBI.

It is not required to have Ink based fingerprints on the Fingerprint Card for them to be accepted by the FBI. Depending on which service location you are headed, Commissionaires might not be able to offer you Ink based service.

The whole process for me took less than 5 minutes.

Tom Mehra

tommera.com/