I was on a business trip a few months ago in Lima, Peru. This was second visit in the past year and had noticed quite a few restaurants named 'Chifas'. I asked my client about this and they explained that Chinese food is extremely popular in Lima and they even have a Chinatown. I was a bit skeptical but my client insisted that it was very good and that we try it out.
Well, we ended up for lunch in Lima's Chinatown and I was amazed! The chosen restaurant was 'Salon Capon' which is considered one of Lima's top dim sum restaurants.
(sorry for the poor pics, I used my Blackberry Perl camera):
Right away, my perception started improving as I walked past the front and see roasted ducks hanging in the deli/take out section! Pretty authentic, it can't be that bad if they have this:
We walked upstairs to the main area and another surprise, the typical round tables, lazy susans, teapots and dim sum carts.
I checked out the menu, it was interesting to see Chinese characters next to phonetic Spanish translations:
I don't speak Spanish, so I let my clients order... first up is the egg rolls, very nicely fried and tasty:
Next up was the shrimp dumplings (haw gow). Very good, once again I was surprised since I was expecting some type of dumbed down version to fit local tastes. But it was on par with the dim sum places in San Gabriel, California:
And orders of pork dumplings (sui mai) which is another standard dim sum dish:
Then a plate of barbecued pork (char sui). A little leaner than usual, but tastes exactly the same:
And a plate of fried rice. I really like this one:
An order of shrimp in lobster sauce, something I don't normally order but once again was very good:
Stir fried fish filet with shitake mushrooms and snow peas:
Overall, I enjoyed the meal and was pleasantly surprised by the quality and authenticity of the food. It was a wonderful experience!
Regards,
ED-209