Aside from the fact that we had to go through Lima to get to the other places in Peru we wanted to visit, we wanted to spend a little bit of time in Lima to explore their food scene. I had heard great things about the food in Lima and about their diversity in cuisine. In order to find out more, we signed up for a walking food tour of Miraflores, the neighborhood where we were renting an apartment for the week.

Our guide, Thomas, met us and one other man from Holland to show us around and give us a taste of the city. We made five total stops, but since one of those stops was a market, we got to sample multiple items from the different stalls.

Stop One: Parihuela

Our first stop was at Cebecheria, a locals-only type of place with the menu written on a white board just inside the door. Our dish here was called parihuela, essentially a seafood soup. The bowl was loaded with fish, shrimp, crab, calamari, and octopus, all covered in a slightly spicy thick tomato sauce. A small crab hung off the side although mine was too small to offer much meat. Parihuela got it’s name from two words meaning “stop” (pari) and “smell” (huela). The wives of the fishermen used to make the soup and its smell was so fragrant that they would invite people to stop and smell the soup, usually then leading to a sale.

Parihuela soup, full of seafood and a little bit of spice!

Stop Two: Ceviche

The second stop on our tour was for something I had been wanting to try in Lima, ceviche. We had tasted ceviche in Mexico, Belize, and Ecuador and I was anxious to see how Peru’s ceviche differed. We sat down at Huascar and received a small dish of fish ceviche, covered with corn, onion, sweet potato chips, and Tiger’s milk. The ceviche tasted light and refreshing and was different than the styles we had tried in other countries. On the table for us to share, instead of peanuts or pretzels, was a small bowl of canchita – corn that has been dried and lightly fried. Ever since tasting this type of corn, it has become my new favorite snack in Peru to have with a beer.

Our first taste of Peruvian ceviche!

Stop Three: Fruit, Juice, and Sauces

The market, located just outside of Miraflores, was home to numerous stalls selling all sorts of food. Thomas led us first to a fruit stand where he selected different local fruits for us to try. Cutting each one into thirds, we tasted gooseberry, grenadilla, tuna (the fruit, not the fish!), an island banana, and a cochito banana. Each one was different and unique to Peru. After tasting different fruits, we headed to the juice stand to try a mixture made from lucuma, the national fruit of Peru. Jon and I both agreed that it tasted a bit like a sugar cookie or biscuit that had been blended into a juice, with a hint of honey. Within the market, our final stop was a stall selling all sorts of spices and sauces. Using banana chips as a conduit, we sampled six different sauces all used regularly for dishes in Peru. These ranged from peppery and spicy to garlicy and more herb-based.

We tried a handful of different fruits at the market, including this one that had snotty seeds in the inside!

We tried a juice made from lucuma and it tasted like cookies or biscuits in drink form!

Stop Four: Lamb Stew

The fourth stop on our tour was a busy restaurant occupying two stories of a building, called Restaurant Samantha. For our main dish (as if we hadn’t already eaten enough food!), we split a plate of lamb stew accompanied with rice and beans. The dish reminded me of a little bit of the Middle Eastern food I would eat so often in Detroit, but with a Peruvian twist. To drink along with our meal, we tried chicha morada, a sweet juice made from purple corn, pineapple, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.

Chicha morada – a juice made with purple corn, among other things.

Stop Five: Chocolate

The last stop on our food tour was for dessert at, where else, a chocolate museum! As part of our tour, we each received a small dish of a mix between an ice cream and a mousse. We had also elected to take part in a chocolate workshop after our tour where we had the opportunity to create our own chocolate treats. We chose between milk and dark chocolate for our base and then could add in any other treats we wanted to our molds. My mold contained 11 slots in the shapes of alpacas, Peruvian men, and Peruvian women. Jon selected a mold that had three larger slots in the shape of a Inca god. We each filled our molds with milk chocolate and treats inside – almonds, peanuts, cocoa nibs, Oreos, krispy bits, sprinkles, and coffee beans. The molds went into the fridge to set and we walked with our guide through the small museum to learn how chocolate is made in Peru. At the end, our chocolates were wrapped in a small bag with a ribbon for us to take home and enjoy. Spoiler alert – they were delicious!

Hard at work making our chocolate bars!

Somebody was excited to receive our final chocolates!!

We thoroughly enjoyed the food tour of Miraflores as it gave us the opportunity to try dishes that we would not have ordinarily ordered on our own. My favorite part was going into the market to try the different fruits and I have since discovered that I really like gooseberry! Jon enjoyed the chocolate museum and his sweet tooth was thanking him later for the treats we got to take home with us! This was a great introduction to Lima and to the different dishes available in Peru.

Thomas, our guide, cutting up some fruit for us to try at the market.