Peru: Qori Chaska, Cusco Miscellanea, and Reading the Fine Print!

When Oscar picked us up on our return trip from Machu Picchu, he had some great news for us. The Missus was enchanted by Cusco, and we needed to stay an extra day, in order to spend some free time, and we also had a very special dinner planned. From the very beginning Oscar told us not to worry, he'd take care of everything. And, as always he came through for us. We knew that Rumi Punku was booked solid, but Oscar had made arrangements for us in another hotel, and also changed our flight out of Cusco. The Missus was thrilled. It was pretty late by the time we arrived at Plaza de Armas....we made Oscar drop us off there, he had already spent so much time.... Instead of wandering around, we decided to grab dinner at a restaurant we noticed on Triunfo....

We had passed by this little restaurant at least five or six times, and I had some reservations about it. I tried to think of the Cebiche de Trucha, Trout Cebiche, a classic Andean preparation, rather than the "Hamburguesa con Papas Fritas"(burger and fries). Still, we didn't quite know what to expect, as we walked down the hallway....

We walked into a bright and clean Mom and Pop restaurant, and was seated next to the one other couple in the place. The couple, or at least the young man was very ummmm, "interesting". First off, he chain smoked his way through dinner, secondly, he, how should I put this, was rather flatulent, he cut a few pretty loud ones during the time he was there. Yes.......poison air from two ends! Well at least the 放屁were more of the "Sound and the Fury", rather than the "Silent but Deadly" type. We wondered what his dining companion thought. I'm guessing she was used to this, since she remained totally oblivious. Luckily, they were almost done with their main course, and we just had to deal with dessert! And they were gone by the time our food arrived.

The menu at Qori Chaska is pretty large, and varied, and there were also 3 course meals for s/12(4 bucks US) available as well. We placed our orders and some Pan(bread) arrived.

As with most of the bread we had in Cusco, this was on the dry side. There was a slight sweetness to this version though.

The Missus started with a bowl of Sopa de Quinoa (s/8 - about $2.65):

The Missus adored the rich chicken stock combined with the earthy-nutty flavor of Quinoa. The fava beans and potatoes was the "cherry on the top" for Her. She enjoyed this so much, that we've made this 4 times since we returned from Peru.

The Cebiche de Trucha(s/10 - approx $3.35 US)

When we ordered this, the nice portly Gentleman made sure to tell us "picante?", to which we replied, "si, picante por favor..." This version of cebiche was on the "dry" side with regards to the Leche de Tigre (cebiche marinade). The flavor was a bit more fishy and milky than I enjoy, and though on the chewy side, the Missus thought it to be pretty good.

I ordered the 3 course dinner (s/12 - $4 US). For me this was a two course dinner, dessert consisted of tinned fruit so we told them to forget about that part.

For the first course I ordered the Aji de Tarwi:

Tarwi is an ancient legume, that has a flavor mildly reminiscent of soy bean. In this case it is pureed and mixed with cheese sauce, much in the same manner as Aji de Gallina. I expected this to be on the cheesy-salty side, but is was not. The texture was thick and hearty and the flavor was mildly milky, but very mild.

For my main, I ordered the Trucha a la Chorrillana:

I've had different versions of this dish, with fish that is usually sauteed or fried, and topped with a nice mix of  sauteed onions, peppers, and tomato. In this case, this nicely fried and seasoned trout(trucha) was served with the sauteed condiments on the side. That onion mixture was really tasty...the Missus kept picking at it! I don't know if it was an altitude thing, but the rice was hard here as well. Still this meal was well worth 12 soles. We had a nice night of sleep with thoughts of another full day in front of us.

Qori Chaska

Triunfa St, Cusco.

Cusco Miscellanea:

We really didn't have much "free time" our first few days in Cusco, but when we weren't watching "El Mayor" and the other denizens of Cusco, we spent time in a few different areas. We would visit this little shop on Saphi Plateros (aka Gringo Alley), where you will run into armies of people trying to sell you stuff.

This little shop made terrible coffee, but our favorite Lucuma Ice Cream (s/2):

This version wasn't too "eggy" or "custardy" in flavor for the Missus. I enjoyed it because it wasn't overly sweet.

The Missus would take Her (our) ice cream, and walk down the street to this intersection:

Have a seat, and wait for an accident to happen! You see all the streets are a bit offset, and one of the streets is coming down from a hill, and all those crazy drivers!

Luckily, we saw no accidents, but once a car stalled...and suddenly 3 Police Officers appeared from nowhere and helped push the car to the side of the road!

We also spent a few free moments around Plaza de Armas, Cusco's bustling central plaza.

You never know what's going to happen..... There we were minding our own business, when we heard music and chanting. And wouldn't you know it:

It was a political "demonstration"......

Usually we'd be a bit "concerned" when something like this would happen. But here in Cusco, it somehow seemed quaint, a bit exciting, and somehow normal. Check out the "band".

Being used to the press "mob" in the US, with huge cameras and microphones, the Missus found the press corps "cute". I'm guessing that the camcorders are the "network press", and the tape recorders are the "print press".

I love this photo of a Police Officer helping out a couple by taking photos of them on Plaza de Armas.

She worked really hard trying to get the perfect angle.

Read the Fine Print!:

Bottled water is an absolute necessity in Peru, whether to drink, or to brush your teeth. We went through tons of bottled water, and I had an early lesson on "reading the fine print". We went to a mercado and bought an 8 pack of bottled water. The cashier asked us a question in Spanish, and at that time the Missus didn't understand what she said(by the end of the trip the Missus would've understood, she has a knack for learning languages), so we just went "Si...si" paid for our water and left. Here's what the bottle said:

Con Gas means "with gas" (sparkling water), and they are not kidding....it is "muy con gas"! I non-chalantly popped the cap off one of these bottles...and had a free bath of "agua con gas". Believe me when I say, I checked every bottle of water I bought from then on!

Comments

[nhbilly]

How much gas can you guys handle? LOL Talk about rude!!!!! What happen to common decency. Seems like you guys had a 50/50 hit and miss but overall I doubt you would trade that in for anything else I would assume ;-). I hope by next year I can travel with a buddy of mine to Cusco ,Peru. Did I mention he's Peruvian?

[Reid]

Kirk,

Mmmmmmm, ice cream! I don't believe I've had this flavor before.

[Captain Jack]

I had a similar experience on my first visit to Germany. "Mit gas" was quite a surprise upon first taste.

[Kirk]

Hi Billy - The Missus is really good at holding her breath! ;o) You'll have a blast in Cusco...two little words to remember; Chicharroneria & Pincanteria!

Hi Reid - Lucuma has a very distinctive flavor, it is quite good.

Hi CJ - Whew....I thought you were going to write about flatulence! he-he-he. Man, that bottle just about exploded in my face.