The 'cuy' experience

Indulging in our guinea pig and alpaca dinner.

The 'cuy' experience

Cuy is a local delicacy in Peru, that we were keen to taste in our time here. I was initially apprehensive due largely to the fact that ´cuy´ is guinea pig. After a recommendation from our Spanish school, Amauta School in Cusco, we went to a great little restaurant ´Kusi Cuy´ and ordered the house special - roast cuy. It took 45min to prepare, and was then delivered to our table in all the grandeur you see above. They then whisked it away, and returned it in more attackable pieces with the advice ¨Cuy is best eaten with your hands¨. And the verdict? Muy rico (very delicious). The meat (what there was of it) was juicy and tender. It tasted and looked a bit like a cross between rabbit and chicken, not really light but not really dark meat. It has been stuffed with selection of herbs which added a subtle flavour to the meat. It was really, really good, and served with tamale (cornmeal steamed in a corn husk) and some sort other fried treat that was doughy on the outside and stuffed with meat, spices and vegetables, a little like a Peruvian version of the pork bun perhaps.

We didn´t stop there and, as we were sharing the cuy, we also ordered a serve of the alpaca kebabs, which came as skewered slices of alpaca marinated in something amazing and cooked to perfection, slightly oink and really tender. All round a completely pleasant surprise.  

La comida tipica Chilena

La comida tipica Chilena - the food typical of Chile. We went to stay in Santa Cruz, in the Colchagua Valley wine region about 3 hours from Santiago. Finally what I had been waiting for, some real Chilean food. We had been searching high and low, and small a diner called ´El Rancho`delivered. Pictured here are ´humitas´in the foreground and ´pastel de choclo´in the background. ´Humitas´are cornmeal dough mixed with meat and spices then steamed or baked in corn husks (aka tamales). These little morsels were steamed and very tasty.

´Pastel de choclo´is a maize casserole, with beef or chicken inside. Generally there is the casserole underneath and the corn layer on top all nice and crunchy, however this version had been microwaved, so was a little soggy on top, but tasted pretty good. It had both chicken and beef, and hard boiled eggs, which also come in pastel de choclo but I wasn´t aware before hand. You should probably know, I have a weird thing about food with funny textures eg. eggs, sashimi, custard, anything too gelatinous or mushy. So I dodged the eggs, and the rest was quite yummy. with the chicken falling off the bone in a onion gravy. Aaron had another version in Santiago, which had the delicios crunchy top, but the corn part was really, really sweet which goes against my other food aversion - sweet food with salty food together.

So now you know a little more about Chilean food, and a little more about me. We have just arrived in Cusco, Peru, where local delicacies include Alpaca and ´cuy´which is guniea pig, so stay tuned for the good, the bad and the pushing of boundaries. xx

The delights of Rapa Nui... In pictures

The most insanely delicious tuna empandas.

The delights of Rapa Nui... In pictures

The delights of Rapa Nui... In pictures

Prawns, wrapped in tuna, in tempura batter.

Also pictured are the fresh rolls, served with a little mix of tomato, onion, coriander and chilli that they served everywhere in Chile.

The gastronimic delights of Rapa Nui

I have remained quite silent thus far on our travels as I have been, quite frankly, unispired with the food we have eaten in South America (accepting of course the multiple empanadas we have indulged in, however they will require a more dedicated description at a later date). So when we arrived in Easter Island, my expectations were not very high about the quality we might encounter. And then we indulged in one of the most delicious meals I´ve eaten.
We started our dinner at the Aloha Bar with Equatorian prawns wrapped in fresh tuna, dipped in a light tempura  and served with oyster sauce. They were so amazing, my mouth just watered at the rememberance of them. The prawns were fresh, the tuna locally caught, the batter light and crunchy, and the oyster sauce surprising subtle as a dipping sauce. They were incredible.
We followed this with Toremo, the local fish, it was maybe grilled or lightly pan fried, but was cooked beautifully. Toremo has a light coloured flesh, but with a similar texture to tuna and was just delicious. This was served with taro mashed with cheese and coriander, and a salad on lettuce, tomato and palm hearts (kind of similar to artichokes).
All in all one of the best meals I´ve ever eaten. So good in fact, that we returned there the next night as the god´s had delayed our flight back to Santiago for some reason, I am sure it was to give us a second go at Aloha.
This time, the tuna empanadas so begin with. Nice chunks of fresh tuna, onion, and herbs wrapped in thick crunchy pastry. Devine.We then had the toremo again, but this time rolled up, stuffed with spinach and bacon, and served on ratatouille style vegetables with a creamy prawn sauce. The sauce was quite rich, and with an obvious lack of prawns, however still very tasty. A fantastic way to cap off our stay on the Island.
(Photos to follow due to some current technical issues) xx

Parrilla at La Dorita

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In the beginning, there was meat...

So we finally arrived in Buenos Aires, after 28 hours travelling, 1 near missed flight, 1 "we don't have a seat for you", and many "lo siento,no enspanol"s we have managed to outrun the jet lag and survive day 1. We also had our first 'parrilla' experience... The Argentinian grill. Dinner tonight was at La Dorita in Palermo. An old school grill restaurant that got fuller and fuller as the night went on, as did we. Our menu: tres carnes (3 meats)- beef sirloin, pork something or other, and possibly both beef and pork flank (we aren't entirely sure). It was pretty good, though some cuts were a little fatty and some a little overcooked. The sirloin was best in both our opinions. My favorite morsel was probably the side dish of a buttery, fluffy mashed potato with fresh spinach mixed through, a dish I will definitely replicate at home. The Grilled mixed veggies (pumpkin, peppers, ? Ocra, more potato, eggplant) were also very good, as was the botella vino tinto we washed it all down with. A very pleasant beginning to our trip.
Until next time, happy eating!
Holl