Chifa

  

When I was growing up, I had a Chinese friend who spoke fluent Spanish but Cantonese with an accent. I knew she was born and raised in Peru and her brother was the Honorary Consul representing that country. It never occurred to me that there had been a significant connection between Peru and the Chinese until I read about Jose Garces opening a new restaurant which would highlight the uniqueness a cuisine born out of two totally different cultures with considerable histories. He named the restaurant with the phonetic pronunciation of the Chinese words for eating a meal.

The design of the interior reminded me of an upscale opium den done 21st century. Many bloggers have already dissected the food since the restaurant opened last summer but few have taken the time to study the intricate decoration with the little touches around the place.

Enjoying a Rogue Mocha Porter while waiting for the many small dishes coming. “The food comes in small bits and are meant to be shared…” I hate that when somebody lectures me how I should eat my food when I am hungry and want my own very big mount of food just in front of me.

The complementary bread.

It arrived just in time when I was ready to start chewing on my napkin. Three small bun-like balls of bread with a thin layer of crust sprinkled with what looked like minute pieces of melted cheese served warmed. I have heard so much about this bread before this visit. It was fluffy, indeed delicious, and extremely additive. The restaurant had to downsize this bread after its initial opening since too many people were filling up with it before dinner. The dipping sauce was made with Sriracha sauce, guava butter, and Peruvian black vinegar. Awesome was not a word good enough to describe it. I was at one point eating it with my fork until Tourist Tree told me to stop.

Scallion Pancake.

They had a very interesting slightly mushy consistency inside but a crispy crust outside. The pancakes were served with slightly pickled cauliflower which cut into the greasiness nicely, and small pieces of crispy peanuts and what I believed to be ginger sauce drizzled over. This is a dish that need to be eaten piping hot. The pieces get soggy and hard when cold. I would call this dish “interesting”, not something that I would order again. They were definitely not the traditional flaky scallion pancakes from the old country.

Pork Belly Buns.

Grilled tender pork belly glazed with hoisin sauce, topped with pickled daikon and carrot togarashi mayo, sandwiched between two pieces of pillow soft bread. This combination of taste and texture was simply delicious and much additive. The Tourist Tree compared it to eating the traditional Peking duck, gone upscale and with pork belly instead.

 
 
 

 

 

Desayuno.

Braised oxtail with an egg and tissue-thin bacon pieces on top, sitting on a piece of arepa bread. The panca emulsion was made of roasted black pepper and tasted slightly sweet. I really liked the thinly sliced bacon that added dimension and texture to the dish. Unfortunately, the dish did not wow me despite its taste. May be nothing tasted just quite as good after the pork belly buns.

 
 

 

Duck Noodles.

Duck wontons with slices of muscvy duck breast in a “Peking” broth. The wontons were made with a thicker skin much like the qweilo version but they had consistency more like raviolis and were done al dente, nicely holding the ground duck meat inside. The clear broth was excellent with its depth of flavors and heavy dose of soy. The pieces of breast were tender, tasty and could stand on their own very well without being part of a dish.

Aji Mushroom.

Mixed mushroom in aji cream sauce under a thick flaky pastry cover. I loved the pastry and the different textures from the variety of mushrooms swimming in this light cream sauce slightly enhanced by the aji pepper. Personally, I could use more heat in the sauce and I definitely did not like the small pieces of tofu and potato in it. They were more of a distraction than enrichment to this dish.

Congee.

Ginger congee with glazed veal cheeks, Chinese broccoli and red chili. The veal cheeks were awesome! They were soft. They were tender. The sweetness from the glazing on the meat played very well with the slight kick of the ginger in the congee. The dish was presented to us with the meat in the bowl, with the waitress pouring the congee into it at the table. OK, that’s too much drama!

 

 

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Banana Picarones.

Pumpkin banana funnel cake, honey anise lace, spicy peanut sauce, banana sorbet. Everything that Tourist Tree likes in one dish (except the anise) and it’s a dessert! The honey anise lace was more a crisp. The sorbet was not too sweet; just the way I like it. The peanut sauce was awesome. Just give me a spoon. I can eat it straight out of a container, thank you! This slightly strange but interesting combination worked very well with the pumpkin banana funnel cake which itself was pretty awesome!

 

The Treat.

I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.

The Treat.


I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.