Culinary Tour of Lima

After chilling for a couple of hours, we met Kimberly of Lima Gourmet, our guide for a Culinary Tour of Lima.  Our transport was waiting outside, and we met Juan, the driver, and Derren and Sylvana, a couple from Calgary.  We were pleased to learn that there were just the four of us.

Our first port of call, was Cala, a restaurant on the beach with views onto the Pacific.  We could probably have walked from the hotel in less time than it took to drive!

We started with a Maracuyá sour, a cocktail made with Pisco, the national spirit of Peru.  This was served with tulpi, salted sweetcorn kernels.

Their signature dish was Tiralito, thin slices of fish and avocado in an orange chilli sauce.  Delicious!

From there we drove to Isidora, the financial district, to stop at Limanâ, whose slogan is Placer sin Culpa, or pleasure without guilt.  We sat at the bar while Alex gave us a potted history of Pisco and then showed us how to make a classic Pisco sour.

Back at our table, we enjoyed coconut ceviche, a fish from the Amazon called baiche, along with a mushroom slider.

Another foray through the traffic and we arrived at Huaca Pucllana, the name of the restaurant and the ancient Inca site.  This was our main meal of the evening but by then I was too far out of it to make a note of all the courses.  You’ll have to make do with the photos of chicken, beef, lamb and pork.

We had an orange wine to go with the meal, reflecting the owner’s fascination with Sophia Loren!

Our final visit was to Bodega Verde back in Barranco.  It was originally the garage of the rather large house next door, and it specialises in lucuma fruit dishes.  We had two desserts  prepared with lucuma. The one in the little pot was delicious, the pyramid not so much.

And then it was time to say goodbye.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Cuzco, in the high Andes.