HAL 2019 World – Day 12 Lima, Peru – Part 2

February 3, 2019 Paul Groves

Today was our second day in Lima and today’s excursion was entitled “Market To Table: A Taste Of Peru”. 

We started with a visit to one of the local farmer’s markets (called “Minka”).  It consisted of two huge buildings each capable of holding up to 3,174 people.  However I don’t think you’d want to be there if it was that crowded.  The buildings are divided into departments like fish, meat, vegetables, etc., and then subdivided into stalls with each vendor’s name prominently displayed.

Our first stop was the fish market with fish caught fresh this morning. There were at least 20 or more vendors and a great variety of fish and crabs to choose from.  Some vendors were cutting squid into rings while others were chopping a variety of fish together making a fish mixture for soups/stews.    If you purchased a whole fish, you could pay just a little more and have it cut into fillets. 

Next up were the vegetables.  Row after row of some of the best produce I’ve seen were there.  Some I’ve never seen in the local market such as purple corn.

Further down the aisle was the meat department.  All the meat was being butchered as we watched.  All the vendors had great choices.  The chickens had a yellow color because they were all corn fed.  Some of the venders were happy to pose for us.

On to the potatoes and onions.  All of our guides made it a point to tell us that Peru had the most varieties of potatoes of any country. Looking at the stalls you can certainly believe them.  Also here were a great variety of peppers.

Lastly we went to the fruits department.  Again a great selection of delicious looking food.  We saw many of the same fruits here that we saw and tasted in Trujillo (Day 10). 

When we arrived the market was pretty empty but by the time we left it’s was crowded with local shoppers.  I felt kind of bad because we seemed to be in the way a lot but they didn’t seem to mind us being there.  By the time we left the market we’d been there over two hours.  It was on to lunch!

We drove about 1/2 hour to another section of Lima called “Miraflores” which is one the expensive areas of Lima.  We arrived at our restaurant called “El Señorio de Sulco” one of the up and coming places in town.

We were there for a cooking demonstration first, then for lunch eating the dishes they had prepared during the demo.  Before lunch we were served a “Pisco Sour” (Perry can make you one if you live at Oakridge) as a welcome drink.  Lunch consisted of “Cebiche de Pescado” (fresh fish marinated in lime juice with red onion, garlic paste, coriander, and salt), “Causa Limeña” (potatoes, lime juice, yellow chili paste, avocado, and a freshly made chicken salad), and, “Lomo Saltado” (beef tenderloin stir fried with red onion, tomato wedges, and cooked in soy sauce and red vinegar) with white rice and French fries served on the side.  Desert was rich creamy pudding with a flavor similar to Dulce de Leche.  Excellent meal!  We all left the restaurant very sated.

Our last stop about 1/2 hour later was at a tavern called “Antigua Taberna Queirolo” in the San Miguel area of Lima.  We were there for a quick drink then back to the ship.  Paul had another “Pisco Sour” while I had a “Chicano” (a mixture of Pisco, ginger ale, and lime juice.) I guess we didn’t look full enough from our lunch so they served us sliced chicken and pork sandwiches as well.

So well-fed and well-soaked, we made it back to the ship!  Another great day.