Hot medicinal drinks are prepared at various colorful carts parked at key spots at the crack-of-dawn in the wonderful market of Belén, Iquitos.

The base is “emoliente” a hot gelatinous drink make form boiling medicinal herbs and flax seeds. You can choose to add Maca (the mighty Andean Adaptogen Superfood or, as it’s commonly marketed “Nature’s Viagra”) or fresh Aloe Vera (a virtual goldmine of Phytonutrients and loaded with enzymes and a brilliant internal beauty product)

It takes a few minutes to prepare each drink, and another few minutes to cool it down. Yes, it’s like drinking slime- but it is sincerely delicious.

El Refugio de Santiago

When the gray Lima sky is no longer tolerable, a short road trip to sunny Lunahuaná is always a bright idea. Throw in finger-licking gourmet regional food with classy cocktails make with exotic fruits, and you may decide to stay overnight.

El Refugio de Santiago in Lunahuná is run by Fernando and his wife Silvia. The pair make the entire experience exceptional as their heart and soul is in every corner. Fernando has created a true oasis including his innovative country style restaurant, his orchard growing hundreds of fruits and medicinal plants and plenty of space to throw down a blanket after lunch to look up at the blue sky and very possibly see a rare bird fly by…

Relax, you’re in the sun! Time to order a tuna sour..a ridiculously delicious cocktail made with purple tuna, ( a cactus fruit) and Peruvian pisco of course.

The menu features fresh local ingredients and herbs grown in the Refugio’s own “huerta” all with culinary and medicinal value. Each dish has been designed to bring a balance between flavour, texture and history.

This dish is named Andean Sashimi and is a highlight of the menu.  Fresh trout is marinated with lime, ginger and soya and garnished with capuchinas, a type of caper that they grow and pickle.

Delicious fresh water shrimp from the Cañete river.

If you are going to try the famous Andean dish “cuy” yes, guinea pig to you, try it here. It is deboned which for me is essential to enjoying cuy. It is served with crispy skin and juicy flavorful meat and topped with gorgeous spiced onions, outstanding!

Fernando also sells liquors flavored with local fruit, jams and pickles.

It was taken about a year ago on my first visit to a restaurant I had read about and needed to experience for myself. With my experimental and enthusiastic best friend in the passenger seat beside me, we finally found El Encuentro de Otani in the back streets of Chorillos. It is known for it’s simple settings and Nikkei food.
Whenever I hear of Lima restaurant serving Nikkei, or better yet, a “huarique” serving Nikkei, I go!

*huarique- Best translated as “a whole in the wall” or “an understated restaurant with a reputation for mastering at least one or two dishes”. Once considered eateries in less inviting neighborhoods, Huariques are more popular than ever. Most Limeños will boast about the one only they know. The most popular ones are always packed, hard to find, and usually unmarked.

*Nikkei- is the term given to emigrants from Japan and their descendants. In Peru it is more commonly used to describe Japanese-Peruvian food. Japanese immigrants in Peru date back to the late 19^th century. With fish being a principal ingredient in the Japanese diet, especially raw fish, the staggering amount of fresh fish found off Peru’s coast make this a culinary match made in heaven.