Stories

Astrid + Gaston: The Journey

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Astrid + Gaston: The Journey, El Viaje

Astrid + Gaston: The Journey, El Viaje

My trip to Peru last September included a long list of food destinations, such as the Mistura food festival or Chez Wong’s secret ceviche hideaway. But I also really wanted to visit Astrid + Gaston, not only because Gaston Acurio’s restaurant was recently ranked number 1 in South America and number 14 in the world by San Pellegrino, but also because their tasting menu “El Viaje” was about a journey from Italy to Peru, and the theme of cultural fusions always fascinates me. So when I was able to get lunch reservations for two, I immediately invited my uncle, who shocked me when his first response was no. Why wouldn’t someone want to eat at one of Peru’s most famous restaurants? You clearly haven’t met my uncle.
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Chez Wong’s Secret Ceviche Hideaway

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Javier Wong, cooking at Chez Wong

Javier Wong, cooking at Chez Wong

Lima is famous for its huariques, secret hideaway restaurants with no signs on the door, often in a barrio where you would least expect to find good food. Somehow you heard about one, maybe a friend had eaten there, they’ve managed to make a reservation, but you drive past it several times because it’s a nondescript house in the residential neighborhood of Santa Catalina that is overcrowded with auto-repair shops. This is a place you would never find by chance, and if you are fortunate enough to have lunch here, this is a meal you will never forget. This is Chez Wong’s secret ceviche hideaway.
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London Calling

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Lunch at Ceviche UK

Lunch at Ceviche UK

About a month after attending the Mistura Food Festival in Peru, I found myself on a plane to Spain to do some culinary research. After all, Spain is one of the cultures that has profoundly influenced Peruvian cuisine and I wanted to explore it further. But somehow, or more precisely due to a delayed flight, I was faced with an unexpected 7 hour layover at Heathrow airport in London, England. How did I spend that unbearably long layover you ask? I took the next train into the city and headed straight for lunch at the first Peruvian restaurant in the UK, Ceviche. So, before returning to writing about my trip to Peru, let’s take a little detour across the pond, and let me tell you about London Calling, the Peruvian way.
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Mistura Food Festival

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Mistura — I heart Pisco

Mistura — I heart Pisco

The first time I saw the trailer for the documentary about Mistura, I was choked up by the truth it conveyed: Peruvians, more than anything, love their food. Love. So you can imagine the emotions I felt as I walked into the festival for the first time, a world of colors, smells, sounds, and tastes, waiting for me. It only took me two years, but I finally made it, and this is how I spent my day at Mistura.
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Lima Love

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Lima Love — Graffiti Art in the Streets of Lima, Peru

Lima Love — Graffiti Art in the Streets of Lima, Peru

Let me tell you about Lima, and the magic in its streets during the winter. The magic manifested the moment I arrived from San Francisco, as the airplane dipped through the clouds that covered the entire coastal City of the Kings, as if entering a world that is off map, that can only be found if you know its secret location. With no rain, and little sunlight, days and nights can be cool, but no matter where I was, it was always time for a cafe con leche, a savory bite, a sweet treat, or a Pisco cocktail that warmly welcomed me to the city where I was born.
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