Lima is a big and generic South American city, a bit dirty, a bit shady in parts, lots of men inexplicably lurking around on the streets during the day. However the food in Lima is really good. Everything else about Lima is not so good, and the city is notorious for being particularly dangerous for tourists. But as usual if you stick to the right areas, such as Miraflores where we stayed, and don’t hang around on the street at night, it’s absolutely fine. Lima is a seaside city so a trip to the raised coastal side of town is a must, however the beach that runs along the main highway is pretty rough, although it seems to be popular with surfers. And the city was far too polluted when we there anyway to consider sitting on a beach. The Barranco neighbourhood is really worth a visit, especially for the Mario Testino museum. And you must eat Ceviche. We chose one of the most well known, La Mar Cebicheria, which was amazing, but ceviche is served absolutely everywhere. Peruvian sandwiches (which are definitely not for vegetarians) are also a must eat. Most importantly we made it to Central! Currently number five on the World’s Best Restaurant list, and Latin America's number one. Peruvian Air may have tried to scupper our plans by kindly cancelling our flight, but the good people at Central came through and secured us a new booking. Hurrah!
Chef Vergilio Martinez, still in his 30s, has been integral to Lima's food transformation over recent years. Working with his sister’s culinary research, he creates Mater menus - explorations of Peru's biodiversity, taking diners on a journey through different altitudes from -20 metres below sea level to 4,100 metres above it. Ingredients come from the Andes, the Amazon, and the sea. We ate things I couldn't even pronounce and are unlikely to ever come across again. Sea snails, sargassum and limpets from -10m, olluco and chincho stems from 3500m, air potato and cassava from the jungle, grown at 2800m, to mention just a few of our eleven courses. It was weird and wonderful, and some of the most beautifully plated food we have ever eaten. Due to Peruvian Air’s screw up ('Oh, I’m sorry, but your flight has been cancelled, didn't you get our email?' No. No we certainly did not), we missed our original table booking and had to sit at the bar. Of course we were very grateful they could accommodate us at all when they normally have a three month waiting list. And of course the food you eat is exactly the same, but service is certainly not. We weren't blown away, which was a bit of a shame, especially considering we were spending at least three days budget on the meal! Comments are closed.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |