Peruvian food in Sydney

[kleph]

Awrite Sydneysiders. I stumbled over this article about a Peruvian immigrant to Australia Pedro Otiniano who has a little restaurant in eastern Sydney, La Cocina (The Kitchen).

This article (http://www.theworldfeast.com.au/features.php?featureID=30&archive_cultureID=58) has the info on it.

He says he fixes Carapulcra, which is a simply divine wintertime stew. And, from the menu in the picture, it looks like he does Cordello ala Parilla (grilled lamb ) as well as Pollo ala Aji (chicken in a pepper sauce). I imagine he also will do my personal favorite anticucho (grilled beef heart) and if by some divine miracle he actually cooks Parihuela (a concentrated fish stew) run, do not walk to try it out.

From the sound of it, this guys sounds like he does this stuff right. If you would like to try a cusine that is a little different from the norm but simply wonderful, you guys should organize an outing to check it out.

La Cocina
103 Avoca St, Randwick, NSW 2031.
They are open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mon).
Ph: (02) 9326 4344

[Scumbag]

Ive eaten at Incas - a Peruvian restaurant in Enmore (which is in inner western Sydney)

And it was delicious!


http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Australia_and_Oceania/Australia/State_of_New_South_Wales/Sydney-1869538/Restaurants-Sydney-Newtown_Enmore_Petersham_Restaurants-BR-1.html

[kleph]

here is the link (http://www.smh.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/lo-cocina-peruana/2006/02/07/1139074207596.html) to the review of the place in the sydney morning herald that ran in february. so the place should still be open. (the reviewer is embarrassingly ignorant of the cusine though. i feel kind of bad for him showing his ass like that)

[tomsyman]

What, no Coy (guinea pig)?

[Scumbag]

Im sure the place is great,

But I dont have a car so getting to Randwick from Newtown is difficult, and I have around 150 restuarants / cafe's within a 5klm radius of my house so sadly I dont think im going to dine there it any time soon.

[ms edeity]

I have been fortunate enough to visit La Cocina Peruana. It was trully divine.
I had the Cordero a la Parilla.
Mmmmmm.

[imp]

Mmmmm sounds grand! :D I think i'll be checking this out. Thanks Kleph! I loves a good stew.

[kleph]

the one thing you have to try is ceviche. it has become a fashionable entree in some quarters but it is a far cry from the real peruvian deal. i explain it in some detail on my cooking blog (http://www.kleph.com/cook/2006/03/ceviche.html) but essentially it is fish that is marinaded in lime juice - the acid "cooks" the meat. ask if they make it with real peruvian limes (which they call lemons here but they don't have lemons in peru so it can be confusing) which have a very very high acid content and make the dish very distinctive.

that acidity can be a bit strange the first bite but then, with a swig of beer, it is downright divine. there has never been a better summer afternoon at the beach dish invented.

and then freak out the waitress and demand real peruvian beer such as cristal or cusqueña.

[kleph]

if you are looking for a bit of background on peruvian food before you head out for this place give a peek over at the Peru Food (http://perufood.blogspot.com/) blog. it is a great english-language blog on the cusine of peru and some of the places i call my stomping grounds.