Huanchaco

It was my first time eating Peruvian food. I went alone at 5:30 PM on a Saturday, and since it was early, I was able to go without a reservation. After that, the restaurant filled up with reservations and customers who had walked in. After researching Peruvian cuisine, I found out that it's a mix of many ethnic influences, fusing the following cuisines: ・Indigenous (Inca culture) ・Spain ・Africa ・China ・Japan ・Italian It seems that there are particularly many Japanese immigrants to Peru. When I went inside, both the exterior and interior had a Peruvian atmosphere. The menu had the usual regular menu and special dishes that are not usually available. The regular menu is quite long, so I'll only upload photos of the special menu items. Since I went alone, I was curious about the portions, so I asked the staff. It seemed that most of the dishes were large enough to share, so I decided to go for two. One drink is required. Here's what I ordered: ● Chicha Morada Purple corn juice *This is a classic purple corn juice in Peru, often topped with pineapple rind, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and lime. →I felt like I'd had it somewhere before, but couldn't quite remember what it was. Then I realized it tasted like non-alcoholic sangria. It's sweet and slightly sour. ● Papa a la Huancaína Huancayo-style potato dish *Peru is the birthplace of potatoes, and there are thousands of varieties, making this a classic dish. This dish consists of boiled potatoes topped with huancaína sauce and served with boiled eggs. Huancaína sauce is made with aji amarillo (yellow chili pepper), cheese, milk, garlic, and other ingredients. →The combination of the potatoes and spicy sauce was incredibly delicious, and when I added the boiled egg, the flavors complemented each other without canceling each other out, creating a perfect harmony. The spicy sauce was so good that I didn't want to waste any leftover sauce, so I scooped it all up with a spoon and ate it all. ●Arroz con Pato Duck Rice ※This is a local dish from northern Peru influenced by Spanish paella. It's a rice dish cooked with duck meat and herbs. The rice is green because of the generous amount of coriander used, and it's often cooked in beer instead of water. →When I first tried the rice alone, I thought it had a slightly bland, refreshing flavor, but when I removed the duck meat from the bone, shredded it, and mixed it with the rice, the flavor changed dramatically, and I thought it was delicious. I recommend shredding the duck meat and mixing it with the rice. There were many other dishes I wanted to try, but since I came alone I couldn't eat much, and the price was around 4,000-5,000 yen, but if I shared with a friend it would be cheaper per person. Next time I go with friends I'd like to try a wider variety of dishes and share more. All in all, it was a new discovery, like eating creative cuisine, which is delicious and very easy to eat and suits Japanese palates.

We arrived with difficulty and without a reservation, they agreed to serve us and we enjoyed a delicious dinner

Each dish starts at almost 3,000 yen, which is surprisingly expensive.

Not only was the food a truly cultural Peruvian experience, the staff and atmosphere were excellent!