Peru #FoodPorn + dining at Maido, the 8th best restaurant in the world!

What is Peruvian food?
I'd describe it as diverse, with signature dishes such as: Ceviche, lomo saltado, and guinea pig,

ranging to simple cuisine such as quinoa, corn, and soups. One day, I ate a simple lunch of soup and trout, and the next day I ate at the world's 8th best restaurant in Lima. Below are some highlights of what I ate:

Tapas: Cicciolina in Cusco. A Supervising Deputy Attorney General recommended this place to me, and although not traditional Peruvian food, this was a nice and not terribly expensive meal. A tapas sampler, extra scallops, and dessert was only $26 US total for lunch for two. The tapas sampler featured prosciutto, salmon, anchovies, scallops, and interesting sauces and flavors. The best was definitely the bbq'ed scallop (on the seashell)- the sauce was so good.

I also tried this lemongrass ice cream and brownie dessert, which was beautifully presented with sugar art:

Chicha: Peruvian food in Cusco. Overall, this was one of the best dinners of the trip. Local Cusco-style ceviche was probably the best I had in Peru, the tamale was tasty, and the Alpaca had great texture.

Corn was huge, and all the veggies, condiments, and of course the fish complemented each other.

This tamale was so soft, and the meat was tender. The veggies were a nice contrast.

Alpaca with quinoa. Almost like pork or chicken. 

Kusikuy: Guinea pig (cuy). 

It tasted like gamey chicken. Honestly, you could probably get this anywhere around Cusco. Be prepared to wait 30-50 minutes for them to rotisserie. 

They cut it up after presenting it to you. The weird part was definitely the little ribs.

Inkazuela: hearty soups in Cusco. This was one of my favorite lunches- a chicken coconut curry that had just the right amount of spice and warmed the soul. 

Aji de Gallina: A local Peruvian that is basically chicken curry. A simple dish, although I prefer Asian curries.

Lomo saltado: it's Peruvian take on stir-fry, beef with french fries, onions, and bell peppers. The sauce is almost like teriyaki.

Steak: Yuraq. Steak was around $12 for a decent, juicy tenderloin. Peru isn't a bad place for a steak lover, maybe Brazilian BBQ in Brazil is a true meat lover's dream!  

My last dinner in Peru was at Maido, a Japanese/Peruvian fusion restaurant in Lima which is the 8th best restaurant in the world. I made reservations 2 months in advance for the Nikkei experience,  which had 12 courses: 

1) Snacks

Mashua, chicken liver, duck hear, chalaca

Ocopa

Aji negro chawanmushi 

2) Poda Ceviche

Sarandaja cream, catch of the day, shallots, aji limo, cjulpi corn, nikkei leche de tigre

3) Sudado (sin reduction) - MY FAVORITE

Rockfish, sudado reduction (yellow soup/sauce not pictured), and and seaweed

This was the best cooked fish I've had in my life

4) Cuy-san

Guinea pig, cauliflower cream, garlic and rocoto cream, torikara sauce, Pachacamac greens 

5) Nigiris

Scallop with uni cream (left) and toro (right) 

Usually I love fatty tuna, but the scallop + uni was AMAZING

6) Gindara Misoyaki (Black cod miso)

Miso cod, crispy Bahuaja nuts, apple gel, Porcon mushrooms powder

I almost like Nobu's version better, Maido's had a bit too much going on for me

7) Cabrito Dumpling 

Baby lamb, beans foam, creole sauce with loche, northern style cilantro and chicha de jora sauce

8) Beef short Rib 50 Hours 

Native potato cream, crispy rice, cushuro. (caviar)

Signature dish - very rich and heavy, almost too savory for me

9) Sea Urchin Rice 

Chiclayo rice, Atico sea urchins, avocado cream, wan yi, baby corn.

My second favorite dish. I'm not a huge Uni fan- but this was so delicious I couldn't stop eating it. From texture to flavor, it was just like my taste buds were singing from delight. I devoured this in 2-3 bites.

10) Theobroma Cacao

Granadilla with mandarin sorbet, mucilage foam, cacao nibs, lucuma ice cream, raspberries.

The better dessert out of the two. The rock was made of sugar, I ate a bit of it! 

11) Theobroma Bicolor 

Smoked ice cream from macambo seeds with shoyu, crunchy nibs, sugar coated macambo, camu camu, goldenberry and mucilage.

It was weird.

12) Box with mochi and pancake

Maido had some of the best seafood I ever had, and it was a very good experience, even if it was pricey (but not insanely priced). Unfortunately, I had diarrhea that night, which maybe is a metaphor for my Peru trip.