Alex, Jacob and I returned to Arequipa from our trip to Puno, Bolivia and Chile for a couple of last days with our friends. We had an afternoon bus to catch to Cusco and plenty of time for one last amazing feast with our friends. We had been meaning to try the famous LA Palomino restaurant that was a mere two blocks from our apartment in Yanahuara but we had been waiting for the right special occasion. It's one of the more expensive restaurants in the city and known for its typical Southern Peruvian cuisine.
We went with our good friends Sam and Julitza, and were met by Connie and Thijs. While we were crossing things off our Arequipa list last minute, Jacob and I decided to try two of the most famous Arequipan dishes, Chupe De Camarones (Shrimp Soup) and Cuy (Guinea Pig).
Photo credit to Jacob on all this.
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| Julitza and her big gulp of chicha |
The shrimp soup is seasonal as it's only legal to fish for shrimp at certain times of the year to prevent over fishing. This means, when it's shrimp season, they are massive. The soup was enough to fill both of us but we saved some room for the Cuy.
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| Chupe de Camarones |
The Cuy came fried whole on a plate. The look of this was far from appetizing. It's not often you eat a rodent after looking it in the face. We took turns taking our first bites for photo ops. I really can't tell you how gross this experience was. It turned my stomach way more than my sheep head soup experience in San Camilo. It was tough, stringy, greasy and difficult to gnaw off a good piece without feeling like a zombie. I'm glad I tried it and crossed it off the list…but never again.
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| Fried Cuy |
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