Umami Archives - Page 2 of 7 - In Search Of Umami

Fine and not so fine dining in Lima

We knew already before coming to Lima that for us it would be only a food destination. This was made clear again as soon as we came to Lima that it was not for us... Lacking the beautiful colonial architecture or character of Cusco unfortunately what it didn't lack is the performances of the national sport of Peru- honking... Everyone's driving so a ton of people honking for no reason at all. Music for your ears. That I'm not going to mention what a challenge it is to cross the street having the green light, all the cars were not even slowing down just letting you know by honking how determined they are to kill you if you don't run away. City jungle.

Coming to a new place we always want to taste the local cuisine and that one starts on the streets. And so we started by tasting causas (kind of potato mash normally stapled in two layers and chicken or fish or veg in between) and ceviche (fish in cubes "cooked" in lemon juice). It was not bad and it didn't end up in diarrhea but it didn't blow us away. Far more poisonous was "El Barrio Chino" which is famous in Lima for chifa style of cooking so a fusion of Cantonese and Peruvian. The food we tasted over there was just horrible... Soooo soaked in fat that even KFC would seem healthy next to it and it didn't have any spice in it. As usual almost no veg just because rice and potatoes are vegetables enough... At least we didn't pay much for this food mistake.
Our hopes built up with a visit to Larco cafeteria (yep cafeteria of a museum!!!) which actually sold nice sandwiches and causas (well except for soggy French fries but you can't have it all).

All of that was just a starter for what we were really looking forward to.... Best restaurants in the world:) 3 of the 50 are in Lima so we absolutely couldn't miss that chance. Number 4 was not available unless we made a reservation two months before which we didn't. But fortunately we could visit number 14, Astrid y Gastón. The restaurant is situated in a nice old hacienda and just like usually it's not really well marked so unless you know it's there, you won't find it. We were both blown away by the design, really modern but kind of cosy, home style (And thank God cuz we were both under dressed not to say a bit hobo).

Their service was also spectacular, separate guy from tea, separate guy from water and all of them nice and saying "thank you" and "you're welcome" which is a nice change in the country where those words seem to be out of use. Unfortunately we were not blown away by the starters and mains, not that we didn't like them but they were not as delicious and tasty as we expected from nr 14 in the world. But God the desserts were just smashingly good!!! Firstly I had a Lucuma dessert, a symphony based on a traditional Peruvian fruit of that name which was just spectacular with fresh raspberries and splashes of sauce made with purple corn.

Jandirk went for a white peach dessert which was outstanding as well. Tempted we both decided to try another dessert and so I took the strawberry dessert with vanilla, yogurt and an absolutely yummy wine sauce:) Jandirk took a rich chocolate one with banana and caramel....-) still now thinking about these desserts makes us smile :))))

As Jandirk was not satisfied with only one fine dinning experience we decided to visit restaurant "IK" which was the most spectacular dining experience in our lives and by far. The restaurant looked spectacular, all green and full of plants with windows on the kitchen through which we saw a well oiled machine of working people and a beautiful, traditional mud oven. Even the tables were original with their projections of native ingredients of Peru like coffee, lucuma and Inca berry.

We went crazy with the 12 course tasting menu and o my God it was worth it!!! Everything starting from the service which was really good and fun... For example when I was going to the toilet they would take my napkin to bring a new one with tweezers (never too sterile). But the food, the art, the theater.... Unbelievable and worth every dollar that we spent on it. Every dish had a story, presented native Peruvian ingredient from a different zone either from the Amazon, coast or deep Andes and all of them had a story and taste... They were all one of a kind and absolutely delicious. And so we ate eatable leaves from a branch, spicy (finally!!) Amazonian ceviche, roasted Andean potatoes, Amazonian fish, Amazonian tomato salad, pork belly, corn and we even normally don't like corn, all of the ones we tried at "IK" were unbelievable. In the end we tasted a dessert made entirely from a cocao bean, all if its parts which you normally throw away. And it was an unforgettable, symphony and what food is all about, bitter, sweet, refreshing and simply presented in the bean shell itself.

Afterwards we still got a tree which represented a traditional Peruvian celebration called Yunza. Obviously it had something tiny and delicious like chocolates to eat:) after 4 h of the experience of our lifetime we went to our 6 dollars per bed 14 bed dorm :)) money somewhere saved, elsewhere spent.

How much does it cost to dine in Lima?
The restaurants we have visited and how much they cost

IK restaurant- unbelievable, decadent, truly delicious 12 course menu is 300 soles (83 euro) per person so in total we paid 730 soles (203 euro) for their tasting menu, two drinks, water and a little, delicious bread at the start
Astrid y Gastón- for their not so mind blowing starters and mains and absolutely outstanding 4 desserts we paid 600 soles (166 euro), starters between 48- 79 soles (around 13-22 euro), mains 48- 109 soles (around 22-30 euros), desserts 36-42 soles (around 10- 12 euros), they also have a tasting menu which costs around 110 euro per person
Larco cafeteria- good food in a nice, garden surrounding after a visit to the museum cost us 90 soles (25 euro)
El Barrio Chino- tasteless and almost poisonous meal in the Chinese district cost us 23 soles (6 euro)
Chifa Titi- less poisonous but still pretty tasteless dinner cost us 245 soles (68 euro)

Cassava a la Huancaína

October 8, 2015May 4, 2017
by JD

Cassava is a native South American vegetable that I never knew what to do with, even though I saw it quite often in Dutch supermarkets. The answer came from the Peruvian cuisine... delicious deep fried cassava with a creamy, spicy sauce. Here is the recipe. Yummy 🙂

Cassava a la Huancaína for 4 people (as a starter)

Ingredients:

1 kg Cassava
4 Chillies
20 peanuts (unsalted)
1 small onion
3 cloves of garlic
few leaves of parsley
30 ml whole milk
8 crackers
Oil for deep frying

Recipe:

- Peel the cassava and cook until it is a bit soft (like cooked potato) +/- 25 min
- Cut the cooked cassava in pieces (around the size of Belgium fries) removing the core
- Deep fry the cassava until golden at 180°C

For the sauce:

- Chop the garlic, onion and chillies finely
- Saute the garlic then add the chillies and the onion, fry until soft
- In the meantime crush the peanuts to a paste and put them into a food processor, add 8 crackers, add the sauted garlic, chillies and onion mix, 30 ml of whole milk and the parsley. Blend until smooth

Dip the fried cassava in the sauce and enjoy 🙂

Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu

To get to Machu Picchu you can take a train, walk or do many of the offered treks. Only money is the limit. To go for the Inca trail, which is the most famous way, we would need to book in advance, sell a kidney (or two) and let an old man drag our stuff through the mountains in sandals (animals aren't allowed to carry everything). So that was not an option. By train it seemed just not that special and we wanted to make some effort before coming there. And I wanted to sleep in a tent, just because I have never done it before and I have always wanted to try:) and so we went for the Salkantay trek. It was probably the most beautiful walk in our life!!!

In our group we had three Peruvians who were not really interesed in meeting us, so the usual here in Peru, but at least they didn't want to sell us anything either. Luckily we also had a really lovely Australian-New Zealand couple who were just amazing companions in sweat, rain and pain. First day we walked through an old Inca canal to reach our first campsite in Soraypampa with an amazing view on snow peaks and glaciers around. I was really excited to sleep in the spot, Jandirk was a bit less excited just because he doesn't like tents in general and he definitely likes them even less in freezing weather. Shivering but he survived.
On the next day we reached the Salkantay pass just next to the sacred Inca mountain- Salkantay. It was just amazing, the feeling of accomplishment and satisfacion and the surrounding of snow and glaciers. Just unforgettable. And then going down the climate changed drastically. Out of the sudden we were in the "cloud forrest" full of butterflies, wild plants, orchids and.... bugs. I was absolutely sure that our 40% DEET would make me invisible but there were really many bugs who managed to get me, on their (I hope) suicidal mission.
Through the next days I felt just like in a botanic garden, bananas, passion fruit, avocados, coffee beans everywhere!!! And plenty of suicidal bugs too. On the 4th day we reached the Llactapata ruins on a mountain. There are many theories of what it was, maybe an astronomical observatory or ceremonial spot. But what we know for sure now is that it has an amazing view on Machu Picchu! Absolutely surreal!!! From there we convinced David and Janelle (our fellow couple) to walk with us to Aguas Calientes, the village just next to Machu Picchu. It seemed more of a fair way to get there walking then by train, and way cheaper too. Since walking is (still) for free (rumors say it won't next year) the road is not really a road just stones next to the railroad. But it was still a really nice hike with amazing companions. We reached the village sweaty, dirty but excited. After a cold shower in Aguas Calientes (the irony of the name "Hot waters") we passed out to wake up at 3.50 a.m. to start lining up for the first bus (after a 5 day walk around 2000 steps in an hour didn't sound like an appealing way to get to Machu Picchu). At 5.30 the first bus took off with us on board. It was a free roller coaster ride that made us all wide awake. Up and down, through a rocky, bumpy road and with the speed of light we got there within 20 min. And we lined again this time in front of the entrance.
Honestly I didn't expect much of Machu Picchu. I thought it would be crowded and overpromoted. So I was pleasantly suprised when we entered. Covered in early morning fog it looked mystical and just ingenious. Perfect rock constructions closed between Machu Picchu mountain and Wayna Picchu mountain. Agricultural terraces, temples, houses, storage places everything looked out of this world. And even lamas on the terraces looked just in place. Even the crowds were not that overwhelming as the people just spread everywhere and around 1-2 p.m. most of them disappeared. Probably their bladders were not as strong as ours. There are no toilets on the site because it's sacred (I'm sure the Incas didn't pee or poo at all there) so you need to get out which is quite a long walk and then re-enter and you are only allowed to do it twice. Also you can't eat there so that might be another reason for the early evacuation of the majority. We decided to put our needs on hold which was not as much of a challenge mostly because we were sweating all of our liquids away. Especially while climbing more than 2000 steps to get to the top of the Machu Picchu mountain....
From the top of it we saw how dense the vegetation covering the surrounding mountains is and it wasn't such a shock anymore that the Spaniards haven't found it but we were still shocked that in 1911 when Bingham discovered the site there were few families living there and even farming....
After an exhausting but great day we packed ourselves on the train and then bus back to Cusco. Me already with ideas for new treks, Jandirk in hope to say goodbye to sleeping in tents... At least for a while:)

Touristic circus on the Peruvian side of Titicaca lake

"Marta, Marta comprame" (Marta, Marta buy)-a woman on a reet island tried to sell me all of her handmade treasures. Now I knew why she wanted to know my name when I entered the island....
Uros islands are floating reet islands with a very long tradition dating back to the Inca times (so they say). Nowadays there are few thousand people living on the tiny islands. Incredible construction and persistence to sell. The woman was running after me to try to make me buy her stuff thinking that I had one empty backpack for it and JD had a backpack full of money. To complete the circus to go to another island we needed to get on a cheesy reet boat "Made in China". At least there were actually people rowing it (I saw another one which was just pushed by a motor boat). And all of it tax free, Uros people don't have to pay taxes or have to buy a piece of the Lake that they use....
From Uros we went to see a traditional island called Amantani. Which had nothing special to offer but people for whom responding to "hola" was too difficult. We stayed there with a family who was pretending to speak Spanish responding every question I asked with an answer which was not even related. Obviously they tried to sell us their handmade hats and other shit right after dinner. In the evening they squeezed us into their traditional clothing (yep squeezed as I could barely breath) and took us for a party. It was so ridiculous that it ended up being fun.
On the next day the circus continued on the Taquile island which we saw in a documentary by the BBC. The chief of the village was saying that they work just like in Inca time, no money just community work and help for each other. Probably true because they have enough money from all the tourists that come to see this circus.
I wish I could say that Puno city was nice but it was quite ugly and definately without a soul.
At least we were not sad leaving it behind us to go to Cusco in hope the Inca capital would be a different world.

How much does it cost to travel in Bolivia? Our budget

After Argentina it definately feels like a relief that there are cheap countries in South America! And Bolivia is one of them.
During our 49 days in Bolivia we spend a total of 2329 euro which means that our budget per day was 23.76 euro per person. And that including Jandirk's really intense spanish course for a month:)

Where did we go?

We entered Bolivia from Argentina going first to Tupiza later on a 4-day tour to Uyuni. Afterwards we stayed for over a month in Sucre where Jandirk took an intense spanish course. Later we continued to La Paz and to Copacabana at the coast of famous Lake Titicaca.

How did we travel?

We travelled mostly by local buses which were very, very cheap. In total on buses we spent only 129 euro. They were not very comfortable as Bolivians have a different definition of full so they try to put as many kids and people as possible also when it means that you will have kids and adults in between your legs. But Bolivia is generally small and so the bus trips don't take that long and they are quite entertaining:)

Example: Bus from Sucre to La Paz was 80 bolivianos (around 10.40 euro) and it takes around 12 h, bus from La Paz to Tiwanaku was 15 bolivianos (around 1.95 euro) for 1.5 hour trip.

Where did we stay?

On accommodation we spend 583 euro spending 10 days in private rooms and the rest in dormitories. The differences in prices between the cities were not really that big (night in a dormitory was around 35-45 bolivianos per person so around 5-6 euros). In more rural area accomodation was even cheaper (on Isla del Sol we paid 25 bolivianos per person).

What did we eat?

We spend 652 euro on food, mainly cooking ourselves but we did eat out every now and then (definately more than in Argentina). We cooked a lot of quinoa and fresh vegetables and herbs, all of which are really cheap and easy to get on the local markets. We also didn't deny ourselfes local, extraordinary fruit.
We also went out for a few drinks, not too often and nothing extravagant.
Eating out: eating out is either cheap or super cheap. On Isla del Sol we ate a 2 course menu (soup and for main fish, rice and salade) for 25 bolivianos each (around 3.25 euro), in Sucre main course for dinner would be around 40-50 bolivianos (around 5.2-6.5 euro).

How expensive are museums, tours etc?

On tourism we spent 393 euro of which 344 euro was a 4-day excursion for us both to Salar de Uyuni, going through lagoons, mountains and hot springs. Entrance to Tiwanaku was 80 bolivianos per person (around 10.40 euro). Less known museums like textiles museums are around 22 bolivianos (around 2.86 euro)

How much does it cost to learn spanish in Bolivia?

Bolivia is definately one of the best countries to study spanish. Bolivians speak were clear and slow spanish and it's really cheap to take spanish lessons. Jandirk took an intense course (5 days per week, 4 hours per day) for a month for 363 euro.

An hour of spanish class: an hour of class starts with 25 bolivianos (around 3.25 euro) in local cafeterias and ends around 45 bolivianos (around 5.85 euro) for an hour in a school.

What else did we spend our bolivianitos on?

209 euro went for different kinds of medication as we were both a bit sick and I had an eye inflamation, we also washed our clothes a few times (around 9 bolivianos per kilo so around 1.17 euro). 520 bolivianos (around 67.61 euro) went for our new day pack.

P.S. Exchange rate used 1 EUR = 7.69 BOB

If you have any questions or you would like to take a look at our spreadsheet, let us know:)

Mysterious Lake Titicaca

Going to Copacabana on the coast of Lake Titicaca we were expecting extraordinary ruins, ancient civilizations and beautiful views. What we got were tons of restaurants, propers, ugly buildings and ruins that were far from impressive. But at least climbing on the surrounding mountain provided us with a decent exercise and quite good views of the city.
But no-one goes to Copacabana for the city itself and neither did we. And so we took a boat to Isla de la Luna. On our way we were very focused to keep our heads out of the windows as the whole boat was filled with fumes from the motor of the boat. Possibly the sailor wanted to poison us. Anyway he didn't manage and we reached the island just fine (not counting our stops in order to try to sell more tickets). Time in Bolivia is very relative and so when we reached the island our captain didn't feel like waiting for 2 hours before going to the next one anymore. Kindly he gave us 45 minutes. Running through the tiny island we managed to see it's only monument Temple of the Virgins of the Sun. Magnificent ruins where years ago little girls of around 8 years old were brought to learn weaving, cooking and everything that would be necessary to became a concubine, wife or a sacrifice.

From over there we went to Isla del Sol without buying anything from local ladies which they were not so happy about. As soon as we entered Isla del Sol we had to pay an admission to be allowed to walk on that sacred ground (just like on Isla de la Luna and everywhere else where the Bolivians think they could possible charge for walking). On Isla del Sol we started our 16 km by climbing probably a million stairs, or at least that's how it felt. Escalinatas de Yumani which led us to Inca gardens was probably secretly built to slow all the armed Spaniards down...
The rest of our walk seemed rather easy even though we had to go through people's gardens in between their lamas and donkeys as we lost our way. Going to the north we passed a small village called Challa which by Lonely Planet is compared to Greece because of it's "white beaches". Now we know for sure that the person that wrote it was either never in Greece or never in Challa. But after 14 km we were very rewarded with a charming, small village of Challapampa in the North. Pretty little beaches seemed not to be ment for people as there were mainly pigs and sheep enoying their time. After leaving our sleeping bags and other unnecessary things we went a bit further to see where the sun was born according to the Incas. And we were stunned.... Chincana turned out to be one of the most impressive ruins we have seen so far. Huge with many rooms it showed us that the Incas really knew what's best... Fancy room with a view of course. View on the lake. Spectacular.... Now we are looking forward to what Peru has to show us:)