On selected Friday's, Don't Stop Living brings you a featured food. This series of Friday's Featured Foods will be chosen at random from the countless dishes, meals and snacks I have tried as a global traveller. First up, I head back to my time in Peru and the day I tried Guinea Pig, known locally as Cui.
Having been mind blown by the epic sight of Machu Picchu and having just finished the four day Inca Trail, we were all in good spirits. It's a magical place. Our tour guides invited us for lunch in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes in Peru. We were meeting at 3pm. It was Christmas Day. I was hungry and was hoping to try some local food.
As a child Christmas Dinner was always a special occassion. It was nice that I could visit the church in Aguas Calientes before heading to Chaski Restaurant for the Peruvian Christmas Dinner, with a difference.
I had never eaten Guinea Pig in my life so I was looking immensely forward to it. Apparently Ecuador and Peru are the main places you can eat guinea pig - somewhat a delicacy. I love trying new food, but if I don't like it, to be honest I don't always finish it!
I had two options for my Christmas Guinea Pig - either Roasted Guinea Pig ( Cuy al Horno) which is served with potatoes, salad and cheese or Stewed Guinea Pig ( Pepian de Cuy) which is topped with peanut sauce and served with potatoes and rice. Both cost 55 Soles. I was delighted to hear that I would be having potatoes on Christmas Day, and because I used to eat Roasted Turkey, I went for the Roasted Guinea Pig.
The Guinea Pig arrived in full on the plate, if you check out the photo you can see the head and all. We raised a glass in our Inca Trail group and got stuck into the food!
OK so I tried the roasted guinea pig, but how was it? Well I really will try anything once, but I will not always try anything twice. It was nice and a good feed for my Christmas dinner but it's not the sort of thing I would want to eat regularly. It was well cooked and if I had to compare it - I'd say it tasted a bit like chicken. The meat is hard to find, especially in big chunks and you have to pick at the bones. But I did it and I almost finished it. It was then time for a few more celebratory beers after completing the Inca Trail. If you are in Peru, the guinea pig is worth a try. It might be your only chance!
Having been mind blown by the epic sight of Machu Picchu and having just finished the four day Inca Trail, we were all in good spirits. It's a magical place. Our tour guides invited us for lunch in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes in Peru. We were meeting at 3pm. It was Christmas Day. I was hungry and was hoping to try some local food.
As a child Christmas Dinner was always a special occassion. It was nice that I could visit the church in Aguas Calientes before heading to Chaski Restaurant for the Peruvian Christmas Dinner, with a difference.
I had never eaten Guinea Pig in my life so I was looking immensely forward to it. Apparently Ecuador and Peru are the main places you can eat guinea pig - somewhat a delicacy. I love trying new food, but if I don't like it, to be honest I don't always finish it!
I had two options for my Christmas Guinea Pig - either Roasted Guinea Pig ( Cuy al Horno) which is served with potatoes, salad and cheese or Stewed Guinea Pig ( Pepian de Cuy) which is topped with peanut sauce and served with potatoes and rice. Both cost 55 Soles. I was delighted to hear that I would be having potatoes on Christmas Day, and because I used to eat Roasted Turkey, I went for the Roasted Guinea Pig.
The Guinea Pig arrived in full on the plate, if you check out the photo you can see the head and all. We raised a glass in our Inca Trail group and got stuck into the food!
OK so I tried the roasted guinea pig, but how was it? Well I really will try anything once, but I will not always try anything twice. It was nice and a good feed for my Christmas dinner but it's not the sort of thing I would want to eat regularly. It was well cooked and if I had to compare it - I'd say it tasted a bit like chicken. The meat is hard to find, especially in big chunks and you have to pick at the bones. But I did it and I almost finished it. It was then time for a few more celebratory beers after completing the Inca Trail. If you are in Peru, the guinea pig is worth a try. It might be your only chance!
About the Author:
Check out the marvellous Backpacking Inca Trail guide from this awesome travel website which gives you the easiest way to hike the Inca Trail
0 comments:
Post a Comment