Woman’s Day New Zealand – September 02, 2019

P

eru’scapitalcity

is knownforits

beaches,impressive

streetartand

friendlylocals.But

thefoodis a highlight.Here

arefiverestaurantsnotto

missinSouthAmerica’s

culinarycapital.

1

Kjolle

Foodfansmightbefamiliar

withKjolle’ssiblingrestaurant,

Centra,famedforowner

andchefVirgilioMartínez’s

appearanceonthehitNetflix

showChef’sTable, andregular

placingsamongtheWorld’s

Top 50 restaurants.Lastyear,

Martinez’swifePiaLeon– Latin

America’stopfemalechef–

openedKjolle,namedaftera

Peruvianflower.It’sasbeautiful

asthenamesuggests:All

100%Peruviansourcedlight

wood,waitersinwaistcoats

andstonetables.Overlooking

theheftypricetag(wepaid

roughly$300perperson),it’s

worththemoneytoexperience

Pia’splant-basedmenuwhich,

likeatCentral,reliesheavily

onnativePeruvianproduce.

2

Dhaasu

Sunshineyellowwalls

anda red-neonsignmarkthe

entrancetothistinyIndian

canteen,situatedoffthemain

dragnexttoa Metropolitano

stationinthehipster’hoodof

Barranco.There’sonlyroom

foraboutsixpeopleata time,

butwitha takeawayoption

there’sa constantstreamof

deliverymenpickingupand

droppingoffduringpeakhours.

Don’tmissthebutterchicken

withitsstreets-of-India

authenticbutter-filledsauce

that’snotoverlysweet.Happily

too,there’splentyherefor

vegetariandiners– something

Peruoftenfallsshorton.The

chickpeamasalais certainly

wortha tasteandthebreads

areallcookedinanauthentic

tandooroven.Dhaasuis the

realdeal.

3

Siete

Sieteis exactlythesort

ofcharminglocalrestaurant

everyneighbourhooddeserves

• a short,inexpensivewine
  list,roughwoodtables,ample
  naturallight.I’dwagerthose
  wholiveclosebypopinabout
  oncea weekfora fewsmall
  plateswhiletheychatwith
  theeffortlesslycoolwait
  staffandvintagevinylsspin
  inthebackground.It’ssmall,
  butfeelscosyratherthan
  crampedthankstocleverly
  positionedtablesandspillover
  barseating.Everythingis
  designedtoshare– butif
  youdon’thaveroomforthe
  popularchocolatepudding
  afterthejuicyprawnsdripping
  withbutterandgenerous
  bowlsofhouse-madepasta,
  simplysettlefora negroni
  nightcap– thebartenderreally
  knowswhathe’sdoing!

4

Blu

RegularstafftripstoItaly

influencetheflavoursand

qualityatthisbreezyBarranco

gelateria,wherethestoryof

eachmajoringredientis

displayedonthecabinet

wherethey’restored.The

shopclearlypridesitselfon

usingasmanyingredients

fromPeruandwiderLatin

Americaaspossible,soit’s

easytogeta tasteforwhat’s

goodlocally.Not-to-miss

flavoursincludea simplemilk

blend– creamy,luscious,and

refreshing– anda tangy

passionfruitnumber,which

hasa subtlesweetnessthat

keepsyougoingbackformore.

5

Merito

Mygoodness,canthese

twocook!JuanLuisMartinez

andJoseLuisSaume– the

Venezuelanchefsbehind

Merito– focusonsimple

ingredients,deftlytreated.

Everythingonthemenu

takesa turninthekitchen’s

coaloven,poweredusing

carobtree– a NorthAmerican

evergreen– whichresultsin

a shortlistofsimpledishes

toshare,allwitha hintoffire

andsmoke.Thesignature–

andyoumustn’tmissthem

• areVenezuelanflatbreads
  calledarepas,madeusing
  groundwhitecorn.They
  comewitheithera meaty
  ora fishyfilling(bothare
  great),a littlebitofsalad
  anda patofburntbutter.
  Toeatthem,scoopoutthe
  middleofthebreadand
  leaveit onthesideofyour
  platewitha lickofbutter
  ontop,thenwedgethemeat
  andsaladintothecrust.
  They’reverymoreish!

5

Takey ourtastebudsona Peruviantour

Getthescoop!Thissmooth

chocolateicecreamfrom

Bluistheperfecttreat.

Turnuptheheatwithan

authenticmasalacurry

andnaanatDhaasu.

GonaturalatKjolleand

sampleasnackfrom

plant-based its

menu.

Travel

most delicious

places to eat

TEXT: KATE RICHARDS. PICTURES: GETTY IMAGES.

74 Woman’s Day