We had heard a lot about the food of Peru and, more specifically, of Lima. With the praise that has been given by chef’s such as Anthony Bourdain about the vibrant food scene in Lima, we were interested to taste for ourselves what people were talking about. We talked to the concierge at the hotel in order to get the best recommendations and although there are a few places that serve traditional Peruvian food, it is all about fusion. Of the various fusion inspired foods, Asian fusion was the most popular.
For lunch we had some more traditional Peruvian food, enjoying a chicken with a tangy sauce and pickled slaw on a brioche bun. We also had a steak and avocado sandwich with a creamy mustard sauce. Both were served with Peruvian fries, which are a little different than what we’re normally used to, cut thick, breaded and then deep-fried. It was a lot of food, but truly delicious.
For dinner, we took the hotel’s advise and tried some Asian fusion food. Basically, it is utilizing all local and fresh ingredients and using them in non-traditional Asian dishes. We had to have ceviche as we had heard that Peru prepared it better than anyplace else in the world. It was definitely extremely good, but we haven’t had ceviche in enough places to chime in on whether it is as good as the hype that we’d heard about it before we got there. Then we had a beef stir-fry served with an Asian interpretation of a tortilla. Not only did it taste wonderful, with each tortilla having a different combination of ingredients, but it was visually appealing as well. Unfortunately, we only had one night in Lima before travelling on to Bolivia, so we’ll have to go back to try more of the gastronomy of the city.
