As you might expect, my first few days in Lima have been filled with trying new foods. I can be a picky eater, so this is a challenge, but a welcome one, because so far, I really like Peruvian food. Both orientation days, we ate lunch at a buffet so we could sample a variety of things. (Did you know that in Peru, lunch is the main meal of the day and then dinner in the evening is much smaller, almost a snack.) Here’s a list of things I’ve tried and I’ll try to steal some pictures from google of them for you.
- Pisco – an alcoholic beverage of some sort, I’m no expert. I can’t say I’m terribly fond of it. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste.
- Ceviche – a classic Peruvian seafood dish, fish cooked in lemon or lime juice (not heat) (There has been some argument in our group about what exactly constitutes cooking and so forth, but whatever) I really like it. I can’t eat a ton of it at once, but it’s tasty. (I actually tried this at a Peruvian restaurant in the US but this is my first officially Peruvian ceviche)
- Tuna – again, a fruit, not the fish. The one piece I had was fine but it wasn’t something I’d wish to have again.
- Ají de gallina – a chicken dish with a yellow sauce that apparently has pepper of some sort in it but it’s not spicy. I love it. This will probably become a go-to dish for me.
- Lúcuma – another fruit, I haven’t had the fruit, just things the flavor of it. The lúcuma gelato was pretty tasty, very lightly fruity.
- Milhojas al alfredo – little crackers with a filling. I had a couple at the buffet and they were delicious.
- Tamal verde – also at the buffet – it was a small little tamale, pretty good.
- Chiflas – little crisps made out of bananas, I think. I don’t like bananas but these are pretty good.
- Churros – delicious
- Empanada – a big puff pastry filled with meat that I had for part of lunch with Kitty today. Delicious!
- Jugo de fresa (Strawberry juice) – I didn’t even know they made strawberry juice but this was fresh-squeezed and very tasty. (Basically all the fruits and veggies are fresh here and a lot of the juice is freshly squeezed)
strawberry juice is my FAVORITE. basically a strawberry smoothie. so rico.
ReplyDeleteceviche is great, but i also can't eat a whole plate of it.
lúcuma flavored items are great! plain lúcuma is no so exciting, so stick with the gelato.
i always got confused on the who tuna thing...kept on thinking they were talking about fish...oh well. live and learn. =)