I figured I wouldn't write about my day! Nina left his morning so I comforted myself by sleeping in. By the time I woke up it was rainy and dreary and I was...well, sad and lonely. To cheer myself up I'll write about my lovely Chinese-Peruvian food experience of a few days ago, complete with many pictures, probably too many. Because in this case, really pictures are worth 1000 words.
First of all I just want to point out how odd this looks when compared to Peruvian decorations. Yes, we're all familiar with the "Chinese lamps" and Asian-looking female characters stuck to the windows, but somehow it just appears a good deal stranger when it's not planted next to a sombrero and margarita-glass stickers. Second, I want to point out how faded that sticker is. Cusco is quite close to the equator. All of those things you see about the sun being stronger there, well, they're true. The sun is VERY strong. As this lovely lady would attest.
I'm not at all certain why this picture was taken. But at least you have a clear idea of the way the dining area looked. And if you can read the menu, great! If not, you're just missing about 50 plates of every combination available: fried chicken and rice, vegetables and rice, seafood and rice, vegetables and seafood and rice, sweet and sour chicken and rice, fried chicken and vegetables and rice...and a lot more that I am lost to explain. As is, I don't know what they meant in English.
I honestly have no idea what the lime was for. We put it in our soup. It was good, but I think next time I may not squeeze those limes quite so heartily... Still, I loved every last bite of the soup because it tasted remarkable similar to the Korean-Chinese soups I grew to love in Korea. Complete with a single mandoo. (If you don't remember what that is, you can always go back and find a certain blog post entitled "Making Mandoo." Worth the time.) The limade finally came at some point after the appetizer, per usual for Peru. But they were both worth the wait.
As I mentioned, I loved the soup.
Then the entrees arrived, after a really surprisingly short wait. They sat and got cold while we finished our soup. But we left the rest of the appetizer for dessert. Smart move, actually because it made a perfect finisher.
Now, the interesting thing about these Chifa places beyond how much variety the menu has, and how huge the the meals are, is how tasty they are. It wasn't just a dousing of soy sauce, or your normal Peruvian rice. (Yes, they eat rice every day there too.) It wasn't just fried flour wafers dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce. No, the rice is called chaufa, it tastes like no other rice, or dish in Peru. And each of those choices on that menu, is made separately, with its own ingredients. In short, way better than American-Chinese food.
I bet you can't guess which one was mine...
But really, just in case you can't, here's a hint: I am not a fan of fried food, and like a loony, I really love vegetables. There was some seafood in there, or so the menu said, but to me it just seemed like a giant pile of delicious healthiness.
And just in case you can't tell, the last interesting fact about this Chifa food is how fast it all disappears. It's like some kind of magic. It's there, and then it's gone! And the agent of this change is left feeling very fat and very happy.
First of all I just want to point out how odd this looks when compared to Peruvian decorations. Yes, we're all familiar with the "Chinese lamps" and Asian-looking female characters stuck to the windows, but somehow it just appears a good deal stranger when it's not planted next to a sombrero and margarita-glass stickers. Second, I want to point out how faded that sticker is. Cusco is quite close to the equator. All of those things you see about the sun being stronger there, well, they're true. The sun is VERY strong. As this lovely lady would attest. I'm not at all certain why this picture was taken. But at least you have a clear idea of the way the dining area looked. And if you can read the menu, great! If not, you're just missing about 50 plates of every combination available: fried chicken and rice, vegetables and rice, seafood and rice, vegetables and seafood and rice, sweet and sour chicken and rice, fried chicken and vegetables and rice...and a lot more that I am lost to explain. As is, I don't know what they meant in English.I honestly have no idea what the lime was for. We put it in our soup. It was good, but I think next time I may not squeeze those limes quite so heartily... Still, I loved every last bite of the soup because it tasted remarkable similar to the Korean-Chinese soups I grew to love in Korea. Complete with a single mandoo. (If you don't remember what that is, you can always go back and find a certain blog post entitled "Making Mandoo." Worth the time.) The limade finally came at some point after the appetizer, per usual for Peru. But they were both worth the wait.As I mentioned, I loved the soup.
Now, the interesting thing about these Chifa places beyond how much variety the menu has, and how huge the the meals are, is how tasty they are. It wasn't just a dousing of soy sauce, or your normal Peruvian rice. (Yes, they eat rice every day there too.) It wasn't just fried flour wafers dipped in sweet-and-sour sauce. No, the rice is called chaufa, it tastes like no other rice, or dish in Peru. And each of those choices on that menu, is made separately, with its own ingredients. In short, way better than American-Chinese food.I bet you can't guess which one was mine...
But really, just in case you can't, here's a hint: I am not a fan of fried food, and like a loony, I really love vegetables. There was some seafood in there, or so the menu said, but to me it just seemed like a giant pile of delicious healthiness.
And just in case you can't tell, the last interesting fact about this Chifa food is how fast it all disappears. It's like some kind of magic. It's there, and then it's gone! And the agent of this change is left feeling very fat and very happy.
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