Sunday, September 12, 2010

MISTURA

FOOD FOOD FOOD! We went to this absolutely GINORMOUS fair full of the best food in Lima. Literally! The people who organize it invite the very very best restaurants and food stands in Lima to sell their food in la Mistura. I am told that it is quite a prestigious compliment if you are invited. Anyway, it is a five day event held annually. I don't know how many tens of thousands of people go to eat but it is an awe-inspiring number. Everything is contained in one huge park and you have to buy a ticket to enter. Once inside though the plates of food are quite inexpensive (like all food in Peru). I don't know if I already mentioned this or not but food is a vital part to the culture of Peru. Every region has its tipical plate and eatting is definitely one of the most important activities of every day. The dishes are also a whole lot more complicated to cook... Preparing almuerzo can easily take 3 hours of chopping, stirring, spicing and frying. Anyway, the entire event of Mistura is dedicated to the foods of Peru and is just another example of the importance of COMIDA! So, here is the rundown of our five hour stint of what felt like continuous eatting.

We (Mom, Dad, Twinzies, Max, Adri and I) started out exploring the stands and stalls on the right side of the park. This is more like a convention center with samples and demonstrations of different kitchen appliances, new foods etc. We entered one huge tent that was dedicated entirely to CHOCOLATE! Yum yum yum :) Definitely had the best samples. There were also tents for Pisco (the national drink), coffee, and potatoes. I'm pretty sure that Peruvians are the most proud of their potatoes. They have over 400 varieties and serve potatoes and rice with EVERY SINGLE dish... Anyway, one of the coolest demonstrations was this new frying pan made from volcanic rock that doesn't need any oil or butter ever. You can burn plastic or milk or sugar and it wipes off without a problem. INCREDIBLE! All the stands had samples and before we had even started eatting I was feeling kinda full. It's like Costco :) You can go and eat lunch without buying anything.

But then we found ourselves a table and sat down to the business of really eatting. They have hundreds and hundreds of plastic tables set up in the center with all of the restaurants around the outside. The whole event is really well organized and flows surprisingly smoothly considering the number of people there. You buy tickets so the restaurants don't have to deal with cash and the lines are too long either. Each restaurant has their 3 or 4 best dishes and I'm sure there was well over 400 different dishes available. All considered the very best in Lima! So you can imagine it was difficult to choose... We bought lots of different plates of food and shared them at our table so everyone got to taste some of everything :) Yum Yum Yum. I took a photo of each one and wrote down the name. Felt kind of like a fancy food taster with my little notebook and camera. hahaha They were all delicious!!!!!! I even tried Cuy Picante which is basically spicy guiney pig. A specialty from the north.

So, it would be an understatement to say that I left Mistura feeling full. But even more than the delicious food it was just fun to be there. The atmosphere-full of energy and happy families. I loved watching the people, seeing new foods, listening to the music, and of course taking photos. I don't know if I can really describe how it feels to be at Mistura. I guess it's about the same idea as Apple Blossom but 100 times the scale. And the food is quality too. :)

Buenas Nocheeeeeeeeeeeees from a well fed chica :)

3 comments:

  1. Spicy guinea pig??? Tastes like chicken?

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  2. I wonder if chicken tastes like guinea pig...

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  3. Hi Chelan - I am just getting caught up on your blog. It is wonderful to read how much you are liking it and how good your Spanish has gotten. You have done so much already! We went to the Lima church with all the bones on our first day in Lima and, I think, to the Larcomar and Malecon on our final day. We are down to one child as of today. Jimmy went to Boston on Aug. 24th, Willie came back from Germany on the 31st, and headed back to CA tody.

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