Puno

Today is a whole day tour in Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is located between Peru & Bolivia and is 3890m above sea level. Normally, I'm picked up at the hotel by a car but I was told that we need to walk to the ferry dock because driving a car today is not safe. What does that mean??

Peru's current president promised to establish facilities to clean the water quality of the Lake Titicaca when he was elected. However, he hasn't accomplished anything despite the end of his term, which is coming soon. Therefore, the residents of Puno decided to protest in order to insist that the current president keep his promise before he completes his term.

Anyway, I walked about 30 min to the ferry dock, which I didn't mind at all. But that was much longer than what the guide mentioned initially...

The first ferry stop was at one of the Uros islands. In fact, the Uros islands are man-made floating islands made with reeds that grow in the lake. The picture below is of the reeds and the inside white part can be eaten. It was very spongy and had no flavor. I guess it's just fibers... A boy on the island was eating reeds like a snack, though.

After visiting the Uros islands, the tour group moved to Taquile island. The lunch was served by the residents. Quinoa soup and trucha (trout) that was caught in Lake Titicaca. Unfortunately, the trout had the muddiness that fresh water fish usually brings. But it seemed very fresh and nicely cooked.

When I finished the tour, the guide told me that the protests will continue to tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow had originally been a short tour in the morning on the way to the nearby airport in Juliaca. However, because of the protest, the streets will be blocked and we can't get out of Puno. So, we need to leave Puno very early before the protesters wake up, like 3:00 am. Well, it's better than being stuck in Puno because I already made plans for tomorrow in Lima...

Because the protesters were blocking the street around the city, the city center was pretty quiet. I was worried that there wouldn't be any restaurants open tonight. Luckily, that wasn't the case. I didn't expect any non-pizza-related restaurants in Puno, but found one French-Peruvian restaurant, which is La Table del'Inka. The restaurant was located in very shady area. Because the city center is much quieter and it was getting darker, I wasn't sure if I should even try to go there... But I'm so glad I did!

One of the two starter is Trucha (Trout) cebiche. I've tried trucha cebiche a couple of times since I came to the mountain area (because they don't have access to salt water fishes). But I decided to give another try because this is French-Peruvian restaurant. It was more like trout tartar and a bit sweet side but the it was full of flavor. I can totally see this dish as French-Peruvian fusion dish.

Another appetizer is quinoa tabouleh with anticucho (skewed beef heart). This was very well seasoned with nice acidity. The anticucho was a bit too sweet by itself but balanced out with the tabouleh.

This is the French interpretation of the lomo saltado. Beef fillet with bourguoignon sauce along with potato gratin. It's more French than Peruvian. In fact, this is totally French. Nonetheless, it was a decent dish.

Another entree is Quinoto, which is a quinoa risotto. The risotto was shaped into a burger. I believe this is a vegetarian dish but it was full of flavors. Very nice presentation also.

Once I get back to the hotel, the tour agent called me to say that we are leaving 4:00am (instead of 3:00am). That's great but hope I can get to the airport safely...

Cuzco to Puno

Today was a travel day - moving from Cuzco to Puno by bus. This bus stops at several spots on the way including La Raya, which is the highest point on the route between Cuzco and Puno (4335m above sea level - slightly higher than Pike's Peak). As I got closer, I could feel a shortness of breath. Every time I dozed off, I suddenly woke up feeling like I couldn’t breathe. Then, I had to take a very deep breaths for a while to get enough oxygen.

Once I arrived at Puno, I started to look for a restaurant. Fortunately, the hotel was in the city center and there were so many restaurants nearby. However, it seems all the restaurants are either pizzerias or Peruvian with pizza and pasta. Possibly because these restaurants are trying to accommodate tourists from different cultures? Anyway, I chose Mojsa. Inside, there are many tourists...

I started from two appetizers, which were pretty good. Then, the entrees are Kankacho (grilled lamb) and Lomo de Alpaca. The Kankacho was too dry and wasn't very well seasoned. It seems the dish was bulked up with a bunch of potatoes. However, Lomo de Alpaca (Alpaca steak) was something to remember. It was very lean yet tender and flavorful. I was expecting some sort of gaminess but it tasted very clean. The accompanied sauce is made with coffee and elderberry, which created an excellent balance of tanginess and bitterness.    

One unique dessert is Coca creme brulee. Unfortunately, it wasn't really creme brulee but more like a soft flan because it's obviously thickened by starch. Creme brulee is supposed to be thickened by egg yolk only. Nonetheless, the flavor is really good. I did taste coca, which is close to green tea. 

I'm not sure if I can find any non-pizza-related restaurants in Puno. I hope that I can find something less touristy tomorrow.

Machu Picchu

It’s Machu Picchu Tour Day! This is the highlight of the trip (other than eating…). I woke up at 5:00am and got on the train at 6:40am. The train is called vista dome, designed for visitors. A while after I got on the train, they provided us a snack: prickly pear (which the Spanish call "tuna roja"), a small banana, nut mix and cake. The prickly pear was sweeter than any that I have tasted in the US. Some of the prickly pear I’ve had before had no flavor, but this was really nice. The small banana had slightly more yellow flesh and a bit more starchy texture. The cake is called choclo and is very well known sweet for locals. A very simple and not so sweet cake.

After 3.5 hours of train ride, 30 minutes of winding shuttle ride on super dusty narrow road, and 5 minutes of walking, I arrived at Machu Picchu. The subject of this blog is limited to food-related events, however, I’m going to make an exception this time because the view of Machu Picchu was unbelievable. I’ve seen several amazing mountain/cliff views. But I had never seen such steep mountains covered by deep green plants.

After I came back to the Machu Picchu train station, I had a late lunch at a French Peruvian restaurant, called Indio Feliz with unique decor. It may be an attempt at Incan style but it seemed more Bohemian / Mexican in taste. I wasn’t particularly looking for a fusion restaurant but thought it would be a better choice than going to a touristy “kind of” Peruvian restaurant with pizza and pasta. I did make a right decision!. It’s a three course meal where I can choose from their selections (5-10 different dishes for each course). 2 appetizer courses are Trujillo melon with elderberry liqueur and Creole soup.

The melon dish is more like a fruit cocktail, not a savory appetizer. Trujillo is a city by the coast, north of Lima. It was very refreshing but didn’t expect anything like this.

The Creole soup had lots of flavors and a nice kick from the accompanying green chili sauce.

One of the two entrees is trucha (trout) with a spicy tomato sauce, The fish was filleted very cleanly and there were no small bones left. The dish was accompanied by homemade garlicky potato chips and veggies, including roasted tomatoes.

The other entree is chicken with ginger red wine sauce. They were both very good.
On the return, the Vista dome (train) offered another unique snack. Nothing fancy to the locals but very "local." Gooseberries, Roasted corn, traditional mixed vegetable salad and a savory pie. The gooseberries had a distinctive tanginess but were the sweetest of those I've had. The corn is different from the kind used for pop corn. Also, it's not "popped", but still light and nicely crunchy. The mixed veggie salad includes carrot, fava beans and cheese. The cheese seemed to me like cheesy tofu (mostly for the texture). The savory pie seemed to have the same salad and probably onion inside. 

The meal ended with orange pie with lemon sorbet and apple pie with passion fruit sorbet. They were both good, I did really enjoy the orange zestiness from the orange pie.

I was lucky that I found this restaurant. I didn't expect any good restaurant in Machu Picchu since this is such a touristy place. In fact I would say this is the best restaurant in this trip so far. 

Since lunch was so late (around 3:00pm), I wasn’t hungry when I came back to Cuzco so I decided to check out the pisco bar which I had noticed the first day. It's called Museo del Pisco. This bar is also a tapas bar, which was perfect for my appetite then. Pisco is a distilled drink made from grapes. The well known cocktail, the pisco sour, is Peru’s national drink. This pisco bar is not just about pisco sours, as they also make their own flavored pisco infusions. By mixing the infusions along with other liqueurs and juices, they create amazing cocktails. The first drink was pisco passion. It was very tasty. The tapas I ordered included Anticucho (skewed beef hearts), grilled veggie pizza,

avocado & shrimp, and housemade prosciutto and cheese paste in pintxos style.

These are all flavorful and well-presented. But what was crazy good was the second cocktail made with prickly pair, called Amelia. It really blew my mind!! This is definitely the best mixed drink I’ve ever had!

Not only did the bartender do an amazing job in making such a fantastic drink, he also created a stunning presentation! I hope the picture above does it justice. He created a very cute character using a gooseberry that appeared to be smoking a rolled up coca leaf. He even lit the end of the leaf to add to the appearance.

This bartender is a soft spoken guy but very attentive and super detailed. I gave him the biggest tip I’ve ever given. He was that good!!

I was angry at myself that I didn’t try this bar when I noticed it the first day in Cuzco; then I could have tried more drinks. Unfortunately, today is the last day in Cuzco : (I had 3 drinks in total, though…)

Sacred Valley

Today is a whole day tour to Sacred Valley with several other stops on the way. After visiting several archaeologically important spots, we took a break at a local empanada shop. Their empanadas are baked in a home-made oven. According to the guide, even within Peru, each region has their own style. The dough of the empanada we had was less flaky and more bread-like than what I usually have in the US.

The restaurant for lunch was selected by the guide. It was a typical buffet for tourists. I’m glad it’s not a buffet with pizza and spaghetti but all the Peruvian foods including regional food. Also, the server brought complimentary pisco sour (national cocktail made with pisco, lime juice, syrup, and egg white). It was quite tangy.

Three noteworthy dishes/ingredient are trucha (trout) cebiche, relleno and oca. Usually cebiche is made with saltwater seafoods. However, the Cuzco - Machu Picchu region is so far from the sea that they use fresh water fish, trout, instead. It was a bit on the tangy side but I didn’t taste the typical muddiness that I often taste from freshwater fish. Probably the extra acid masks the muddiness?

Peruvian relleno is quite different from Mexican chile relleno. First, it’s smaller and the chili they use can be pretty spicy. This restaurant had two relleno, green and red. The red one was quite spicy. Also, the filling was not cheese (queso) but meat and veggies. Pretty good.

When I saw oca, I was so excited. I asked the guide immediately to confirm whether this is oca. When I was a culinary school student, each student had to make a presentation about an unusual ingredient. I chose oca, which is a Peruvian tuber, which looks like a worm and comes with different color. Once cooked, though, the color dissipates. It tastes like some sort of potato but it leaves an unusual tangy aftertaste. This restaurant simply roasted with other vegetables. I was so glad that I could actually taste oca in Peru!

After we came back to Cuzco, we went to a local market and tasted some unique fruits. The orange-colored fruit in the middle of the photo below is like passion fruit but less tangy. It's called granadilla. The flavor is somewhat close to lychee. I loved it.

Pepino dulce - This looks like tomatillo. But the flavor is close to melon.

This fruit is called lucuma. It is very difficult to describe the flavor and texture of the fruit. It’s as creamy and rich as an avocado or cherimoya but the texture is a bit starchy like a cooked sweet potato. The flavor is a bit like vanilla ice cream. In fact, lucuma ice cream is quite popular. I have to try it before I leave Peru.

For dinner I went to Pachapapa, which is one of the most highly rated restaurants in Cuzco. Here, I found a Peruvian wine and tried it. It was a red blend of Cabernet Saugvignon and Syrah. The neighboring countries, such as Chile and Argentina, are getting quite famous for their wine but Peru is not famous yet. There is a wine region in Ica, which is close to Nazca. It was a pretty decent wine.

The meal started with two appetizers, smoked trout causa and a regional soup. The soup was very hearty but it was lacking flavor and seasoning. The causa was nicely seasoned but I didn’t really taste the smoked trout.

The two entrees are pork in red sauce and lamb in green sauce. They are both big but lacking in flavor. The red sauce was just tomatoey and the green sauce didn’t bring any flavor. Disappointing.

Dessert was tres de leches topped with strawberry sorbet. This dessert had a good sweetness level. And the strawberry sorbet tasted very fresh.

A good day with amazing fruits that I have never tasted before. Also, a reunion with oca!!!

Cuzco

My next trip is to Peru. I have always wanted to visit Machu Picchu and taste authentic Peruvian food to see if what I'm having in the US is really traditional or not.

I arrived in Peru last night via Panama City. Just stayed at a hotel near the airport and flew to Cuzco this morning. I was aware of the altitude sickness there and felt something different right after getting out of the plane. It'll be a challenge to enjoy the food while having the altitude sickness, but I'll cross my fingers!

As soon as I checked in to the hotel, the hotel staff welcomed me with coca tea. We can't have coca tea in the US. It's believed to help altitude sickness and known to have a large stimulant effect.

The first meal in Cuzco is at a restaurant called Mutu. A very modern looking restaurant near the plaza. First dish is quinoa crusted chicken with yucca, Peruvian corn and (most likely) yam. The corn is much bigger and less sweet than typical corn. It's more like a starch... This is accompanied by two kinds of salsa, which are pretty mild.

One of the two entrees is chiriuchu, which is festival food to celebrate Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi was yesterday, but many restaurants are still serving chiriuchu today. It is a pile of different dishes on a plate: various roasted meats, such as pork, alpaca, cuy (guinea pig) and chicken along with roasted corn, sausage and fish roe.      

Like other festival foods, it was prepared with simple seasoning. But I felt lucky to be able to taste such a special food during my short stay. By the way, cuy (guinea pig) is a specialty of this region. Pretty boney and not much to eat, though...


The other entree is causa. Although it was listed on the entree section of the menu, it was actually appetizer portion. It is quite beautiful dish. I'm supposed to learn this dish at the cooking class in Lima next week. I'm excited!

For the dinner, I chose Pucara, whose chef is Japanese. Interestingly, the chef makes one of the most traditional Peruvian foods in Cuzco area. I believe the chef is 2nd or 3rd generation (there are quite a few Japanese Peruvians).

The appetizer platter includes hard boiled eggs, potatoes, and crostini with various toppings. The yellow and green sauces are something similar to what I had with lunch. Everything is nicely prepared.

I have to try Lomo Saltado at different restaurants. Lomo Saltado is one of the two most famous Peruvian dishes (along with cebiche). However, Lomo Saltado is not a true traditional Peruvian food: in fact, it's a Chinese Peruvian food. Basically this is a Peruvian version of beef and veggie stir fry accompanied by potato, which is originated from Peru. There must be different variations and I'd like to figure out what's the standard. Based on what I have had in the US, this Lomo Saltado is less saucy and lightly seasoned. I was expecting more soy sauce, though. Overall, it's a good Lomo Saltado.

Aji de Gallina is another popular dish in Peru. However, I haven't had this at the Peruvian restaurants I've been to in the US. So, it was one of the "must-try" dishes. Aji de Gallina is a chicken dish slowly cooked with yellow chili and cheesy cream sauce. Again, it was lightly seasoned, but pretty flavorful. Probably this chef likes less salt?

I'm still suffering from headache due to the altitude sickness. Hope it gets better.....