Food Glossary: Chuno

This (not so appetising) food is a freeze-dried potato which is common in Bolivia and Peru, as well as being found in other South American countries.  (on the above picture it can be seen with pork)  I have read various bits about the history of this food but one particular piece that interested me was that the slave mining workers in Potosi, Bolivia, were almost exclusively fed chuno whilst the rich invaders enjoyed the best of everything from around the world.  Potosi, was once one of not only South America's, but the world's richest cities.  Quite ironic given that Bolivia is now one of the poorest countries in South America.

The 'cerro rico' - rich hill, was the reason for Bolivia's wealth.  It was a mountain where silver was discovered and consequently mined by slaves from across the world.  Even today there is still a saying in spanish, 'valer un potosi' - 'to be worth a potosi' (or a 'fortune').  The mine town is now famous for the horrific conditions that miner's have worked under and still do in the cerro rico.  The average age of a miner is around just 40 years and many contract diseases such as silicosis from the poor conditions they work under.  As a tourist you can actually go into parts of the mine to gain some kind of insight into the terrible conditions people have worked in and still do.

Today, chuno can be found amongst street vendors and in markets, which is where I tried it and it certainly seems popular amongst locals.  However, I did not see it on a menu in any restaurant in Bolivia whilst there, perhaps highlighting that it remains a cheap, not massively nutritious source of food for many Bolivians.

Food Glossary: Salteña

Salteña actually originate from the city of Salta in Argentina, however, Juana Manuela Gorriti, who historians claim first made the Salteña, was exiled to Bolivia.  Her family endured extreme poverty and came up with this recipe in the early 1900s in order to earn a living.

It is a type of empanada different to those we had become used to and so fond of in Columbia and Ecuador.  It is slightly sweet and typically contains peas, meat, potatoes, egg and then other variants such as raisons or olives.

They are a typical morning snack, with many people eating them for breakfast.

Review: Kiosko #19: ‘Pamela’ – Copacobana, Bolivia

Lining the sea front in Copacobana bay are multiple kiosks selling trout, the fish of the area.  As you stroll along the owners will try to convince you that their kiosk has the freshest and best trout of all!  We went with Kiosk #19 – Pamela’s.

As you can see by the photos you can eat trout in most imaginable ways!  We sampled a couple of ways and as it was quiet enjoyed watching them prepare and cook our food.  The kiosks are very basic and small but a lovely way to enjoy the sunset over the bay whilst eating cheap and lovely fish.

Review: Hotel La Cupula, Copacobana, Bolivia

After spending a fantastic few weeks in Ecuador we flew to Bolivia (as unfortunately we did not have time to also visit the sites of Peru).  We spent our first few days in La Paz organising our tour of the Salt flats and then decided to head to Copacobana at Lake Titicaca for a few days and stay at the Hotel la Cupula.

Lake Titicaca is (by volume) the largest lake in South America, is located on the border between Peru and Bolivia and is absolutely stunning.  We stayed in a great budget hostel/hotel on the hill overlooking the town of Copacobana with beautiful gardens.  The hotel has a restaurant attached to it so on arrival we ate there and enjoyed the stunning views.  The menu is varied and interesting, the staff and very friendly and the food when it arrived was tasty.  We also had a pitcher of fresh orange juice which was delicious.

The restaurant made amazing sandwiches which you could also order as a packed lunch if you were going on day trips around the area.  We did this after tasting how good the food was!  I also sampled the fruit museli from the breakfast menu which was huge and very satisfying.

In addition to a great restaurant the hostel has a kitchen available for those who wish to cook for themselves.  The kitchen is lovely, as it is set in a cottage building overlooking the gardens.  We cooked for ourselves in here with food bought down at the food market and had a fun evening.

If you don’t stay in the hostel then its definitely worth visiting the restaurant for the spectacular views and delicious food.

Review: The Brownie festival, Dirty Sanchez, Quito, Ecuador

After returning from an amazing week exploring the Galapagos islands we returned to Quito and were reunited with our good friend Euan.  After chatting lots and having a great lunch we wondered past a café where a brownie festival was going on…clearly we could not miss this event!  We spent the next few hours ‘brownie tasting’ the 9 varieties available which provided an entertaining and tasty afternoon.

Local baker Maria Elisa Balarezo has been baking brownies for 20 years now but this is the first time she has ran an event like this.  She currently sells the brownies at the Plaza Foch as well as at Dirty Sanchez.I had a quick chat with her (in espanol : ) !) which you can listen to as part of the video entry!

Brownies deserve to be taken seriously and so as a panel we put together a marking system and set about finding the best brownie there.  Each option was marked out of 10 for texture and flavour as well as general comments.

Results:

	Taster 1 (James)		Taster 2 (Euan)		Taster 3 (Me!)		Taster 4 (Eric)		TOTAL
	Flavour	Texture	Flavour	Texture	Flavour	Texture	Flavour	Texture
Amaretto	9	9	8	8	9	8	9	9	69
Plantain	9	7	6	8	8	9	7	7	61
Cinnamon	7	10	9	8	8	9	3	5	59
Coconut	6	8	8	8	6	6	8	7	57
Raisin	8	7	7	7	8	8	4	7	56
Vanilla	6	6	7	6	4	4	5	5	43
Hazelnut	7	6	7	5	5	4	3	5	42
Cognac	5	5	5	4	5	5	5	7	41
Almond	4	3	7	4	3	3	6	7	37

I hope you enjoy the video accompanying this blog – I decided that written words could not do this event justice!



Please let me know where the best brownies are that you have tried!

Review: La Ronda, Quito, Ecuador

La Ronda is one of the oldest and most historic streets in Quito.  This small lane displays Quito's spanish colonial background and was once the home to some of the most influential people in Quito due to its proximity to the river.  Since the 1970s restoration work has taken place to preserve this street as well as change its image and reputation as one of the most dangerous areas in the city.  It is now home to many restaurants, galleries and tourist shops and is well worth a visit to sample the canelazo drink, yummy empanadas and to step back in time and imagine what the city was like in the 18th century.

Food Glossary: Almuerzo

If you travel in South America, then a common meal to see on boards outside restaurants is the 'almuerzo'.  Translated it means lunch and that's exactly what it is...a set lunch!  This really is a great way to eat as its cheap, usually good and tasty food.  You always have a soup first (which are ALWAYS good), then a main meal which usually consists of a meat or fish, rice and salad or veg, then a small dessert.  Sometimes you get a juice included also.  The most we paid for an almuerzo on the trip was $3.50 and the least was $1.50 so you can see they really are great value.

Food Glossary: Casado

Casado is a typical Costa Rican meal available, and popular, for either lunch or dinner.  It is really yummy and a cheap meal and one of my favourite discoveries on my trip to Latin America.  The word 'casado' means 'married-one' and the dish gained this name by customers requesting a typical home cooked meal (similar to one their wife would prepare) which generally included gallo pinto, or separate rice and beans, plantain, meat, salad, possibly a tortilla or potato salad.  You MUST try!

Food Glossary: Empanadas

Empanadas are one of the greatest inventions in food history!  They are such a great snack and when in many South American countries they are available EVERYWHERE!  These cheap and tasty delights are pastry parcels (similar to a pasty) and filled with either meat, egg, vegetables, tuna, cheese, ham or a combination.  We had really nice ones in Columbia, Ecuador and Argentina.

Empanadas originate from Spain, and the name comes from the verb 'empanar' - meaning to wrap or coat in bread.  You can find either fried or baked empanadas and can also buy ready made pastry circles to create your own.  Stay peeled for my post on how to cook your own empanadas.

Food Glossary: Choclos con queso

A popular drink in Ecuador and Columbia is hot chocolate with cheese inside.  Being both a chocolate and cheese lover I had been looking forward to trying it, and for a while when I ordered it they had sold out!  Finally I was able to try and it was definitely goooooood!  The small chunks of cheese were similar in texture to mozzarella so they melted a bit but were stringy which makes it quite fun to eat/drink too!

Review: La Mama Negra – Latacunga, Ecuador

Back in time for the annual Mama Negra festival in Latacunga we had not prepared ourselves for the event…the streets were FULL of people everywhere, who were simply drinking and drinking!  It was quite a contrast to the festival in Cuenca where there had not been much alcohol and plenty of families were around.

We had a wonder around the town and festivities before deciding to eat in the restaurant named after the event: La Mama Negra.  We had read that you could find the best Chugchucara food here so wanted to see if we agreed.  The restaurant has interesting décor inside and was busy with locals.  We ordered a couple of Chugchucara dishes to share and all enjoyed.  It was definitely not as good as the Pastoria restaurant just outside the town, or those we had eaten up at the Otavelo Animal Market, however, it was still good food.

Review: Cloud Forest Hostel, Chugchilan, (part of the Quilatoa loop) Ecuador

Whilst driving the ‘Quilatoa loop’ we stayed overnight in Chugchilan at the Cloud Forest Hostel.  We were one group of 3 guests staying there…it being off season so we had our pick of the rooms!  It’s a great little find and the staff are really helpful and friendly.

Your food is included in the very reasonable $10/15 a night and we were even more pleased when we were served a 3 course evening meal!  Not only was there a lot of food but it was lovely home cooked healthy and yummy food.  Our starter was an amazing soup, followed by fresh salad and vegetables, rice and really great fishcakes.  The desert was a freshly baked biscuit from the cabinet we had spotted earlier!  We also selected some nice wine and after dinner drank the wine, ate many more of the fresh biscuits and played cards.  Meanwhile the place livened up with locals from the village visiting, playing music and chatting away.  It was a really nice atmosphere and place to relax and prepare for our morning walk and afternoon drive.

The next morning we were given a breakfast which was also included and after our walk we decided to buy another bowl of soup and the remainder of the biscuits for the drive!

Review: ‘raw chicken café’ – Zumbahua, (part of the Quilotoa loop) Ecuador

 

After spending an evening in Latacunga we departed for a road trip around the famous ‘Quilotoa loop’ which is a round route starting about 95 km south of Quito through small villages, past the Quilotoa volcano crater lake and stunning, changing scenary.  Many people take as long as 2 weeks around the loop and hike it, but we were limited with time so drove the route, stopping at various places to have a look, eat and a bit of walking.

On day one, we stopped for lunch in the small village of Zumbahua.  This village is really small and cute and has a lively central square where locals congregate.  We stopped at the main square and selected a local café at the top corner of the square which was full with locals.  I don’t have the name of the café, but as you can see by the title of this piece, I have nicknamed it ‘raw chicken café’!  This is due to the crates of raw, dead chickens sat beside us as we ordered our food - the almuerzo!  I have to admit I was a little put off but the food that came out was really really tasty and at least the chicken was fresh!

We attracted attention being sat in this café, and on the way out I tripped on my flip flop hurting my ankle.  The owner of the café ran out and demanded I take a seat whilst she proceeded to ‘treat’ my foot!  She massaged and rubbed muscle rub into it for me and was very sweet!  It was also amusing that when I left she suddenly demanded $5 for her work!  I was happy to give it to her and this café has certainly remained in my memory!

In conclusion if you end up in this village look out for this café at the top right hand corner of the square, the food quality and price is there, and you will have an experience eating amongst the locals.

Review: Marisqueria – Latacunga, Ecuador

After a day of driving through the stunning scenary of the southern highlands of Ecuador from Cuenca, we arrived in Latacunga in the central highlands region in time for dinner.  We had read that there were many good chugchurra restaurants, however, most had already closed so we stumbled across a small restaurant with a grill outside which smelt really good and decided to go for it.

It was a very simple restaurant, no menus, simply pork or beef, with potatoes or rice.  This made things easy!  I went for pork as I have found the pork to always be really tasty in this area of the world.  Being able to watch your meat being grilled and smell the aroma’s of the meat is quite special I always think, however when you are really hungry it makes the hunger even stronger!

When the plate arrived it looked great.  It was the first time since leaving the UK that I remember being given boiled potatoes with a meal which was quite nice!  There was also a corn on the cob – also the first since leaving the UK, which is strange in a region where corn is so prevalent!  It was a nice change to have it served in this manner though.  The onion/tomato salad was a tasty condiment/accompaniment to the pork and in addition the meal came with a sausage which was really tasty.  The meal with an orange juice came to a whopping $3 – you cant really beat that!  My friends all chose the beef which 2 of the 3 said was a bit fatty, however, they still really enjoyed, so this place gets a thumbs up from us!  Not only did it have great, cheap food but we also got to watch Bridget Jones’ Diary whilst we ate!!

Review: 'Bad Thai' @ the Eucalyptus Café – Cuenca, Ecuador

I had been craving either Indian or Thai for a good few weeks, so imagine my excitement on arrival in Cuenca when I both read about the Eucalyptus Café and wondered past and read the menu and reviews of the restaurant.

It is celebrated for its international cuisine, and the lonely planet encourages travellers to treat themselves here.  So that’s exactly what we decided to do.  After a couple of days of great Almuerzo’s and street food we arrived at the café for a drink, meal and cards and with high expectations.  It took just a couple of minutes for me to decide on the Pad Thai as it is one of my favourite meals.  My friend, Euan ordered the vindaloo curry.

Whilst waiting for the food I had an amazing mojito so I was getting my hopes up even more about a great meal….then it showed up.  At first glance I thought they had made a mistake as it did not really look like Pad Thai as I know it.  My first mouthful confirmed that it was a bad choice.  I tried to give it a go and have a few more mouthfulls but nothing was changing, other than my opinion of the venue.  It was so bad that I had to leave the majority of the meal.  So, you’re probably wondering why it was so bad?  Well, here goes:

1. No peanuts – instead sesame seeds (not an ingredient typically used in pad thai)
2. It did not taste like tamarind had been used as the base for the sauce, but rather a more Chinese noodle tasting dish
3. The chicken was overcooked
4. The prawns were cold
5. No spring onions
6. Hardly any proper pad thai noodles, and instead over half the meal used white, very thin noodles (polystyrene like in texture)
7. No eggs

Need I continue?!

The waitor serving us was very friendly and asked if there was a problem when he saw that I had barely touched the meal…I explained the reasons and he was very apologetic.  He returned a few minutes later and offered me a free drink for the inconvenience…this was a nice offer however, I had expected (and would have preferred) to be offered a different meal or for them not to charge for the pad thai.  I decided to have another mojito as that had been good, however, when the bill came I noticed I had been given a cheaper mojito drink so the value wasn’t really the same!

Euan’s meal had also been disappointing, certainly not a usual vindaloo!  I was surprised and disappointed that the chef did not make the effort to come and speak with me himself or explain perhaps that they cooked their own variation of pad thai!?  It makes you wonder if they really care whether customers are pleased.

Despite the location being beautiful, I would not recommend this as a place for travellers to eat at…perhaps they are being too ambitious with such a varied and large menu.  In addition it was a pricey option and when you’ve eaten such great street food and £2 almuerzo’s it makes you wonder why a chef would put dishes on the menu that they cannot execute!