My food journey took me to Peru, where I’m staying for three weeks. My trip begins in the capital Lima and continues South along the coast to Pisco, Nazca and Camaná. After a week along the coast, we will climb to 2300 m above the sea level and visit Arequipa. The week after I’m heading to the Colca canyon and Chivay, the lake Titicaca and Puno. At the end of my journey I will visit Cuzco and Aguas Calientes and of course Machu Picchu. Besides learning about the culture and history, my goal is to try diverse traditional dishes and restaurants, so that I can make a summary about the cooking traditions of this country. 

Starting point Lima

I’m currently in the beautiful Lima. Not a lot of people know, but Lima is one of the top culinary capitals in the world. The quality of the food here is amazing. There are so many delicious dishes you can try that I’m not sure I can try all important ones, but I’m very motivated. One thing for sure, I will need a diet after my trip.

I visited several restaurants in Lima, but I will tell you about two of them. The first one is located in the neighborhood Miraflores – one of the richest parts of the city. The restaurant is called Popular and it has an amazing view to the Pacific ocean. We had a delicious lunch there and we paid about 200 sol (54 euro) for two for a two course meal with drinks.

We ordered Octopus and scallops Peruvian style stew and Catch of the day with shrimp cream. You can imagine how fresh is the fish, coming directly from the ocean in front of you. It tastes great! The octopus dish was slightly spicy and full of flavor.

The shrimp cream in the second one was light and so silky. It was to die for! If you want to accompany the dish with an alcoholic beverage, order wine. Peru is covered with thousands of acres vines that they mostly export to Chile. Peruvian wine though is worth to try. If you don’t want to drink alcohol, order the typical chicha morada, which is juice made of purple corn. I drank a lot of chicha morada during my trip.

Desserts

As every South American country, Peru has many sweet treats to offer. The two desserts that we order were so amazingly delicious that I want to come back for more. Normally I don’t like very sweet desserts, but when it comes to research, you have to do what you have to do. The first dessert was Ponderacion XXL, which is made of very thin fried dough sheets, covered with caramel sauce, vanilla sorbet and fresh fruit. The dough is so crispy and light and it combines perfectly with the sauce. This is definitely a dessert for two.

If you like sweeter and creamier desserts, order Suspiro a la Limeña. It is a sort of light caramel mouse, covered with merengue and a little bit of cinnamon. It was really yum!

Traditional grill

If you are more of a meat lover, then go more traditional way. For under 70 sol (35 euro), you can enjoy a meal for two with drinks. Restaurant Puro Corazón Parillada Peruana serves the national dish Anticucho, which is basically marinaded and grilled beef heart. You can also order Mollejitas de pollo, which is chicken hearts and sometimes livers. It’s a really delicious meal and it’s worth to try.

National drink

Don’t forget to order the national drink Pisco sour. It’s made of pisco – distilled grapes, mixed with lime juice, sugar and covered with egg white. I have to warn you that it’s very addictive. After you try it once, you will order it over and over again.