As a solo traveler, the goal was to eat local and eat cheap. In finding my meals, I usually check on Tripadvisor for recommendations. And often, I prefer dining at markets/food courts where I fully experience the local flair. Since I travel solo, I prefer eateries serving set meals over platters, since I have no one to share it with. On best days, I go to diners serving buffet style, so I can try more local dishes. Sadly in Cuzco or Ollan, buffet places are not a thing.
Here are some of the memorable Peruvian food and drinks I had during my stay.
Lomo Saltado. This is my first full meal in Peru. Stir fried beef strips marinated with salt, pepper and other local spices. A lunch set of this from a street-side eatery with fresh-squeezed passion fruit juice only cost me 10 soles, which is around 150 php. This meal is from Ollantaytambo. Pero not just in Peru ha, Lomo Saltado is quite common sa Latin. I had this also sa Honduras.
Lomo Saltado is also served with Quinoa Sopas. Originating from the Andes Regions of Latin America, quinoa is a common and cheap carb consumed in Peru. Meanwhile, quinoa is quite expensive here in Ph.
Trivia: You will see a lot of potatoes on Peruvian meals. Potato fries as sides is very common in Peru. In some restaurants, It is even refillable. Growing and consuming potato has always been a part of Peruvian culture since it is easier to grow on high elevations with minimal rainfall. Peru is also Latin America’s biggest potato producer, with a record harvest in 2007 of almost 3.4 million tonnes.
Trusca Frita – One of my fave set meals in Peru. trusca\trout is a local\Peruvian freshwater fish. Taste is very comparable to our local bangus, except that trout isn’t as boney. Best served with corn tortillas and guacamole (avocado spread).
And speaking of fish, Peruvians are also popular with their Ceviche (raw fish salad), but for this trip, I had to pass on it. I avoid raw fish dishes whenever I can.
Aji de Gallina – one of peru’s traditional meals. Marinated shredded chicken, cooked in milk-based sauce. Comparable to our chicken pastel. This one, i got from the public market in Aguas Callientes with complementary quinoa sopas.
Pachamanca – Traditional Peruvian BBQ Pork Rib (Costilar). Pork is not very common in LatAm. As I observed, it is quite expensive compared to beef meals.
Peruvian BBQ is good but is too simple for my tasting, as compared to Tangy and mildly-sweet Filipino BBQ. Their BBQ is served with steamed sweet potato\kamote.
Trivia: Rice is not native to Latin America. It was brought over in the 1500s from Asia by the Spaniards. Today though, rice is also a common carb consumed in LatAm, and Asian travelers are happy with this. 😅
This below is Afritada. Tastes almost exactly the same as what we have here in Ph; A proof of Spanish influence in our daily meals. This one, i got from a random Karinderia outside the train station. yes po, parang karinderiang pinas lang din, except that 2 to 3 lang ulam to choose.
This below is one of several chicken bbq meals I had in Peru, because i seriously like their chicken BBQ. Chicken is laid flat\butterflied, char-grilling both sides. Meat is marinated in vinegar and spices. I believe this is the secret to “fall off the bones” Peruvian bbq. They also have thr mildly-hot, creamy green sauce made of Japapeño and aji amarillo pepper (local\mild). Gusto ko to. Quite comparable to peri peri. This huge quarter set came with unlimited salad and fries, tapos 14 soles lang. Jusko! That’s less than 250 php.
Arrozcaldo – it’s weird to find that their arrozcado is actually steam-cooked rice soaked in chicken soup. Very different from our Pinoy arrozcado where we boil the rice grain with the stock to make a porridge\lugaw. Peruvian arrozcaldo also had potato and carrots and no ginger.
This below was such a memorable dining experience. I had one of the best pork broth soup from a random street-side stall in San Pedro Market,Cuzco. They call the dish Adobo, which intrigued me so much, as it is totally different from our version of the said dish. Our adobo is sauteed, not a sabaw/broth-type. Tbh, this pork broth soup is more comparable to Kansi, like the ilonggo pork soup na medyo sour.
Peru also has Lechon, as introduced to them by the Spanish. History wise, Lechon was a spanish term which meant “suckling pig” which Spaniards would once roast a piglet for special occasions.
I had a free taste of the Peruvian lechon, and I felt it lacked the lemongrass flavour. Philippine lechon is way better. Lemongrass is native to Southeast Asia, btw.
The Peruvian corn tamale. I’ll make a separate post on tamales from different LatAm countries. This dish is quite interesting.
Cheese and cinnamon flavoured Ice-cream. They say this recipe won recognitions. But to me, cinnamon flavoured ice-cream was a No. 😅
Random streetside skewers, Alpaca meat and beef, for only 3-5 soles. They also use charcoal din pero ang griller ni ate kay flat metal bars.
Closing the dinner with a glass of Emoliente – Traditional Peruvian Herbal Tea. Helps in digestion as well as altitude sickness.
