We started out our day with another complimentary breakfast on the penthouse level of the Hotel Runcu. This time I had Andean cheese/olives, alfagores and cornflakes with quinoa with my scrambled eggs, pesto potatoes, coffee, fresh squeeze orange juice and tea. Andean cheese is much different than most cheeses and closely resembles feta being that it is dry, robust in flavor but sponge-like in texture. It has a salty, briny flavor that isn't overpowering, but that is delicate enough to be eaten alone yet can stand up to being put in between two pieces of bread. Andean cheese is made with cow's milk not goat's milk like most feta's and I highly recommend you try it esp. if you are a cheese head like me. Alfagores are like two shortbread cookies with gooey carmel in between and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. They are heavenly little bites that give you a quick sugar rush in the morning which I enjoyed very much. Every day after trying alfagores, I always looked for them on the dessert menu as we didn't have time to visit any pastry shops.
First stop of sightseeing was the Museum Larco. It has over 3,000 artifacts on display and in storage. The amazing thing about this museum is the ability to go into the storage area to see how artifacts are catalogued and stored. This is a truly behind the scenes of a working public museum. The interesting thing about this museum is its collection of "naughty" artifacts depicting very graphic and very sexual acts. They do house their "naughty" collection in a lower house separate from the main museum so the regular part of the museum and storage area are still family friendly. I would budget at least 2-3 hours to explore the museum and the grounds as in front of the lower house they have a perfectly manicured lawn and gorgeous flowers that are great for photos.
Lunch was the highlight of my trip. We were lucky enough to get reservations at Astrid y Gaston, one of the world's top 50 restaurants.
We started with a Pisco Sour, the national drink of Peru and Pekin Cuy. Cuy for those who don't know is guinea pig. Yup, guinea pig, like the pet. We had it served two ways. The first way was crispy cuy skin in purple corn crepes similar to Chinese Peking duck. The skin was crisp like bacon and mild in flavor and smelled like duck. It was very lean with almost no fat on the skin. The purple crepe was made with the Peruvian purple corn and softer than a traditional crepe yet chewy. It was absolute heaven to have the lightly salted, crispy skin in a soft, chewy and slighty sweet crepe. The second way was confited meat in lettuce cups similar to Chinese lettuce cups made with pork. First off, who doesn't like anything confited? Confit is when you cook meat in its own fat over slow, even heat. It made the meat tender and juicy without being greasy. It's one of my favorite cooking methods. The cuy meat was juicy and mild. It was not fatty as I had expected it to be but had a flavor similar to pork with the texture of lamb and the juiciness of medium rare prime rib. With the lettuce on the outside, it gave it a freshness and lightness that was the perfect harmony for the meat.
Next up was our main courses of Paiche, an Amazon fish and Lomo Saltado, the national dish of Peru. Paiche is the largest South American freshwater fish that can grow up to 200 pounds. Lomo Saltado is marinated strips of beef sirloin with red onion, tomatoes and parsley and served with papas fritas (french fries) and rice. Paiche was flaky like Chilean sea bass, buttery like grilled hamachi and juicy like copper river salmon. It was firm yet soft and melted in your mouth. Usually I am not a fan of fresh river or big fishes but this one tasted amazing. The lomo saltado was the best I have ever had. The quality of the meat was on par with any steak house. The meat didn't eat need a knife to be cut, it was that tender. When you took your first bite, the flavors of the sauce and all the sides literally burst in your mouth. It was an amazing bite of salty, beefy goodness. The second bite was only better and more tasty. If this is what traditional lomo saltado is, I would eat this every day. It was heavenly beefy goodness and I don't even usually like beef!
Lastly to end was the dessert course. I am not usually a dessert person but at fancy restaurants I'm willing to share one. We ordered the bananas in carmel sauce with coconut tapioca and goat cheese ice cream. The coconut tapioca texture mixed with soft, sweet bananas topped with the carmel sauce was to die for. The gooey carmel was not too sweet or too sticky. The bananas were cooked but still firm. The coconut tapioca was chewy yet mild and not heavy like traditional coconut dessert items. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the goat cheese ice cream as it was flavorless and not sour as I had expected but strangely sticky sweet with a chalky after taste.
After that we were given a gift box of homemade treats. They had my favorite alfagores in regular and coca flavor, Peruvian chocolate macaroons, pineapple and chica fruit jellies and Peruvian chocolate and coca truffles. I couldn't eat the fruit jellies since I am allergic to pineapple despite having a deep obsession with jellies. I didn't like the chocolate macaroons which were not crisp and light like traditional French macaroons. They were soggy and gooey, overall unpleasant. I did love the alfagores which they brought two extra ones for me since I didn't like the macaroons and couldn't eat the jellies. Finally, the chocolate coca truffles were amazing. They melted in your mouth and had the perfect dusting of dark chocolate on the outside.
It was still early for dinner so we went across the street to the JW Marriott to have a drink. Make sure to dress nice as most of the guests are in sport coats and nice attire. Also if you look too touristy you may not even make it to the lobby as it is controlled at the ground level. We ordered variations of Pisco Sours, got some plantain and yuca chips and took a seat near the window overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The manager of the bar area came by and chatted with us. When he found out we were going to head to Cusco the next day, he brought us a care package of coca tea, sugar, disposable cups, napkins and spoons, all complimentary. We weren't even guests of the hotel and I was extremely touched by the Peruvian hospitality. This was the first time I noticed how proud Peruvians are when you come to visit their country. They really roll of the red carpet whether they are a taxi cab driver, server, manager of a top hotel, etc. They want you to leave with a good impression of the people, country, culture and cuisine.
Next up was our final meal in Lima. We wanted to eat where the locals ate. We found some random place called Super Rueda near our hotel to try. Every time we drove or walked past it, it was always packed with locals. There was no English menu and with my limited Spanish (3 years in high school), we stood there trying to figure out what to order. Luckily, the waiter there spoke English and was more than happy to explain the menu and give us recommendations. We both ordered the house special tacos, my friend had the all assorted meat and I had the vegetarian. The waiter asked me several times, are you sure vegetarian? I had enough meat at lunch and was hoping for something lighter during dinner, instead I got a monstrawsity that was scary to even think about picking up to eat. The highlight of the meal was the homemade pickled turnips like root vegetable that added a crisp sourness to the heaviness of our taco. The yuca fries with the garlic sauce was the best part of the meal. The garlic cream sauce was light and super garlicky, perfect for the bland and crispy yuca fries. It was the perfect marriage of flavors and textures, something the taco's should take note of. Post dinner, it was an early night as we had an early flight to Cusco the next morning. Sorry folks, no party stories for Lima.
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