I knew Peru had good food, but I didn’t know it was good enough to be voted the World’s Leading Culinary Destination 11 times in the last 13 years.

Al Toke Pez, Lima

Yes, my first meal in Peru was at the Netflix-famous, Al Toke Pez.
I was staying at a hostel for the first time, so when someone in the hostel chat asked if anyone wanted to join for lunch, I jumped on the opportunity. There I was, fresh off the plane, with a Spanish man who had a lot to say about everything, which was welcome because he filled in any possible awkward silences.

We each ordered the combinado which was featured on the show and includes ceviche, chicharrón de pota (fried calamari) and arroz con mariscos (seafood rice). The chicharrón was light and crispy, and the ceviche was solid, though I didn’t have much to compare it to. Unfortunately, I barely touched the rice because it was overcooked and I was so full already. For 30 soles, the portion is extremely generous and can easily be shared between two people. Overall, it’s an affordable neighbourhood joint, but I wouldn’t wait in line for it.

Siete Sopas, Lima

Siete Sopas (Seven Soups) is a popular chain that sells a different soup every day, hence the name, and other classic Peruvian dishes. I was lucky enough to visit on a Friday, which is when they serve huallpa chupe, a hearty chicken stew with corn, potatoes, carrot, fava beans and rice. It’s topped with cheese, charred ají amarillo (Peruvian yellow pepper) and huacatay oil. I was genuinely shocked by the richness in flavour after my first sip. If you thought the soup was good, just wait until you try the bread—perfectly toasted, nutty, buttery and fluffy, all at the same time. And don’t even get me started on the canchita (toasted corn), which I ate obsessively throughout my whole trip.

Fruit Stand, Lima

After my delicious soup, I crossed through Parque Kennedy to meet the Spanish hostel guy for drinks. Now, you may be thinking, “that guy doesn’t look Spanish”, and you would be right. He’s peruano de pura cepa and his name is Ludwig. I met him while walking through the park when he waved me over to welcome me to Peru. We started talking about rock music, his antique store and the dark truth behind the cats that live in the park. He then told me that he did free walking tours, so I took down his number before heading to drinks.

The next morning, I was somehow hungover after just two pisco sours, and all I could think of was going to the park for some fresh air. After sitting slumped on a bench trying not to yak, I got up and miraculously bumped into the Spanish guy, who seemed to be journaling before his flight home. I asked him if I should trust a middle-aged man I met at the park to give me a free walking tour, to which he responded, “yes”. And that’s how I ended up in a Papa John’s patio in Centro, eating guanábana and lúcuma with Ludwig.

Tori Pollería, Lima

If you assumed that I took Ludwig to dinner, you would be wrong. He had an antique silver necklace to sell, so I went to get dinner by myself. Or at least I thought I would be alone. It must be something about Parque Kennedy or just my strange knack for attracting older men, but when I walked past a guy promoting his jazz show and told him I would check it out after dinner, he suggested we get dinner together instead. He proceeded to follow me to the restaurant, ask for my instagram, use the restroom and then leave because the food was overpriced. Menos mal as I was able to enjoy my small but flavourful roast chicken leg in peace.

La Lucha Sanguchería Criolla, Lima

My friend Ali finally arrived in Lima to join me, and we celebrated at this popular sandwich shop. Despite the amount of roast pork, the sandwich is pleasantly light with fluffy bread, slices of sweet potato and sarza criolla (onions pickled in lime juice) to cut through the fat. Ali was a big fan of the chicha morada, which was particularly spiced compared to others we had had.

Picarones Mary, Lima

At this point we were starting to feel the onset of some stomach issues, but we couldn’t resist this picarones stand, also featured on Netflix’s Street Food series. Fried sweet potato doughnuts are served with a fragrant chancaca syrup that Ali slurped up to the last drop.

Anticuchería Doña Pochita, Lima

With my appetite at an all-time low, I decided that one anticucho skewer would be enough for dinner. The beef hearts were very well seasoned (maybe a tad heavy-handed), but the texture of the meat and my general queasiness made them hard to stomach. I’ll have to go back and give these guys a fair shot.

Café Colao, Paracas

After our early morning bus ride from Lima to Paracas, all I wanted was a cup of coffee. To my surprise, this literal hole in the wall also had some amazing empanadas pabellón filled with plantain, beef, beans and cheese.

Villa Guzmán, Paracas

While browsing Maps for a dinner spot, I was drawn to this family-run restaurant because of pictures people had posted of their sopa seca con carapulcra. It turns out their menu is rotating, and that day they were only serving tallarines rojos con papa a la huancaína (spaghetti in red sauce and huancaina potatoes). This is when I found out I didn’t like huancaína, a sauce made of ají amarillo, cheese, evaporated milk and saltine crackers—not everything can be a hit. The rest of the meal was very homey, but the star of the show was actually the emoliente, a traditional roasted barley drink.

Pisco Don Pancho, Ica

The Peru Hop bus took us to this very touristy winery for a free pisco tour. I wasn’t expecting much from the food but was excited to see sopa seca on the menu. I only just found out that sopa seca, literally “dry soup”, refers to the spaghetti cooked in a basil tomato sauce and not the stew. The rich, smoky pork stew is called carapulcra and is thickened with dried potatoes. The duo is often referred to as manchapecho, which means “to stain the chest”, referring to the risk of staining your shirt while eating it. I shouldn’t have judged this place because this was one of my favourite meals of the trip.

Wild Olive Trattoria & Guest House, Huacachina

There aren’t many food options in the small town of Huacachina, but if you’re craving pizza this hits the spot.

Bananas Adventure Hostel, Huacachina

Salchipapas is the epitome of drunk food: fries with sliced hotdogs. It’s not what I typically go for, but like I said, the options are quite limited here. What takes this up a notch from mere greasy street food are the Peruvian native potatoes, which fry up crispier than any variety you can find in a “Western” supermarket.

La Cau Cau Picantería, Arequipa

Our tour guide Franco recommended we eat at a picantería, a traditional lunchtime restaurant, in Arequipa. I got the daily special, puchero, which is a beef broth with various root vegetables, while Ali got the roast chicken. The appetizer of sliced tomato and boiled potato with vinegar reminded me that quality produce really doesn’t need much. As we enjoyed our meal and slightly carbonated chicha morada, our waiter Tracy ran around while being scolded by the cooks in the open kitchen (see cover photo), and a busker sang a near perfect rendition of Ciudad Blanca.

Zingaro Restaurante, Arequipa

After seeing the guinea pigs hanging in the Cau Cau kitchen, there was no way I could leave without trying the classic cuy chactado (fried guinea pig). The meat is juicy, reminiscent of duck and pork, and the skin is perfectly crispy, but there isn’t much to eat given the size of the animal.

Cevichería “La Clave del Sabor”, Cusco

My first lomo saltado in Peru was at the back of a market selling artisanal goods and souvenirs. Ultimately, the five-star Google review led me astray as the dish was cold and the beef was dry.

Ceviche Seafood Kitchen, Cusco

This was a fancier restaurant right off the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. Their ceviche was fresh and the leche de tigre was good enough to drink.

Kaymanka, Aguas Calientes

I think the picture speaks for itself, but in case it doesn’t, let’s just say I feel bad for the llama they slaughtered for this. Not pictured is Ali’s bright yellow carbonara with fluorescent pink ham.

Rúcula, Cusco

I put off trying chaufa until one of our last days in Cusco because I didn’t travel all the way to Peru for fried rice, something I can get anywhere back home. In fact, chaufa is just the Spanish pronunciation of 炒飯 (“chao fan”), or fried rice in Cantonese. Good thing I got off my high horse because this chaufa had amazing wok hei (鑊氣), that smoky charred flavour you get from cooking in a wok.

Queso Helado, Cusco

We decided to use our last few coins to get queso helado from a street vendor. Despite its name, it has no cheese in it (we’re not in Colombia after all). It’s an ice cream made with condensed milk and flavoured with cinnamon, clove and shredded coconut.

Altura Café, Cusco

We passed by this cafe the day prior and stared a little too long, which prompted the barista to stick his head out and proclaim this to be the best cafe in all of Cusco. The beans for the pour over were hand ground, and the coffee was indeed very good. It was also the most expensive pour over I had ever had.

Huaca Pucllana, Lima

Ali wanted to go to this restaurant to dine next to the Huaca Pucllana ruins, and I reluctantly agreed even though I was scared it would be an overpriced gimmick. Fortunately, this is not another case of the 360 restaurant in the CN Tower, that is to say overpriced, mediocre fine dining inside a tourist attraction.

Our waiter was super talkative and friendly, but he disappeared after serving our cocktails. After an hour, the effects of drinking on an empty stomach were… quite apparent. The mains finally arrived, and I vaguely remembered the waiter describing my dish, tacu tacu, as beans and rice with a crispy exterior—it made sense as soon as I saw it. Since the dishes were fine dining-sized, we ordered two desserts to finish off the night.

Pastelería San Antonio, Lima

I think it’s safe to say that this bakery has every single possible dessert on the menu. It had a rather European vibe and seemed to be a big hit with the abuelas, who filed in continuously while we were there. I will say that the manjár de lúcuma is the dessert from my nightmares: lúcuma flavoured dulce de leche topped with meringue. And to think that Ali paired that sugar bomb with an extra large glass of passionfruit juice.

Clon, Lima

We were strolling around Barranco searching for suitable lunch spots, when I made eye contact with a waitress at Clon. She smiled at me as if she knew I would be back. Sure enough, after circling around the block for the second time, I suggested we just go back to Clon as it was already 3 PM.

After reading the menu, I was ready to order one of everything, when Ali says she’ll just have a drink. Excuse me? With a menu so amazing, filled with shareable dishes, you’re going to order a margarita? To be fair, it was the strongest margarita she had ever had.
As for me, I indulged in the most expensive lunch I had had in a while (maybe ever): bonito tiradito with leche de tigre and grilled octopus on a kalamata olive purée (something about the fennel fronds really put it over the top). To drink, I went for mezcal, as usual, in the form of a smoky tomato seaweed highball. I would have ordered a dessert too if they hadn’t stopped lunch service.

Panchita, Lima

It was only fitting for my last meal to be the quintessential lomo saltado with a pisco sour. Panchita is all about the classics done right, and they definitely redeemed this dish for me after the one I had in Cusco. The little details like adding choclo to the rice, using yuca and potatoes, and adding fresh fries to the top made this a lomo saltado worth coming back for.

Cheers, Peru, for feeding us so well. My stomach didn’t come out unscathed, but the sheer variety of dishes and the celebration of local ingredients in Peruvian cuisine were well worth the extra (long) trips to the toilet.