Eating Ceviche in Lima, Peru

Our food mission on a Saturday afternoon in Lima, Peru was to find some of the best Ceviche in the city. After a recommendation from a friend, we headed over to Restaurante Punto Azul with nothing but raw fish on our minds. Ceviche, what some consider to be the National dish of Peru, is basically raw fish cured in citrus juices (lemon and/or lime) enhanced with chili peppers (known as ají or aji). For us, it is liked an enhanced form of sushi or sashimi. Well, we didn't exactly stop there. With eyes much bigger our stomachs we ordered Causa, deep-fried assorted seafood and a decadent dessert washing it all down with a sweet purple corn juice called Chica Morada. We totally over-indulged and left the restaurant with bulging bellies. Overall, our entire feast of feasts cost 118 Soles which is just under $40 USD. We'll be back again before we leave Lima in a couple of weeks.
Ceviche can also be splled cebiche or seviche.
Eating Ceviche in Lima, Peru Travel Food Video Transcript:
So it is lunchtime here in Lima and today we are at a local restaurant in Miraflores. It is called El Punto Azul and we are going to be trying the Peruvian national dish Ceviche.
And judging by how packed this place is I have really high expectations. We had to come and sit up on the second floor.
Our food has arrived. I couldn't be more excited. What do we have? Yeah. That was certainly worth the wait. So right now we have Ceviche over here and it comes with onions, sweet potatoes and also giant yellow corn.
And look over to this side and we have something called Causa. Which is made with yellow sweet potato and there is some kind of seafood in the middle.
You know what - that almost looks too cute to eat. It is shaped just like a fish.
So the big question. What is Ceviche? It is actually a seafood dish. It is raw fish and it is cured with lemon juice and it is also served with a few spices and some onions. So I'm taking my first bite. Mmmm.
That is so good. I think it is better than sushi honestly. That is amazing. Second bite. Nice and lemony citrusy. So good. And now I usually have to tell you this but please leave some for me too.
So for my first bite I'm going to try mine with some aji. Oh, go easy on that.
How is it? It's just so amazing. For me it is like enhanced Sashimi. Just all of the preparation they put into that sour sauce is just so good.
One thing I've absolutely been loving since we've come to Lima is this giant sized corn. These kernels are massive. Check it out. Those are big.
Okay, so our next dish is Causa. Let's dig in.
I almost feel guilty eating this it is so beautifully presented. Look at that. Sorry, little fish. Sorry.
That is seriously good. I can taste a lot of different ingredients there.
So the big mystery over here is we're trying to decide what is actually in this dish. Okay. And what do you think? So Causa, it is made with yellow mashed potatoes. I asked for the one that comes with seafood and it also looks like it has some avocado and mayonnaise. So it is really tasty.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
And for our drink we're having something that is called Chicha Morada. And it is a juice made from purple corn. Very tasty. Highly recommended. This is the best I've ever had. Like they've put some extra spices and ingredients. It has got a real kick to it. I don't know what is in it but. It is really sweet and really refreshing. Especially on a hot day like today.
Well now that we've finished all of the fish we're left with nothing but lemon juice. But the good news it tastes delicious. It's amazing. You know what it kind of tastes a bit like Tom Yum. Tom Yum soup from Thailand. This sauce down here.
I have no idea what we were thinking ordering a third plate of food. Like this is just ridiculous. We're already full. What have we got? I think we went a little overboard. This is basically breaded and deep-fried seafood, so there is a little mix of everything. We have some pieces of fish. Some shrimp. And other things that I just don't recognize so we'll have to go for it. Take a bite and taste it I guess.
And what are those? They look like giant potato wedges? Well, this is called Yucca. And it is kind of like a root or a potato. It is very fiberous and you eat it like French Fries basically. This is a fried Yucca. It looks starchy. Yeah.
I really like these.
This is part of our Travel in Peru series. We're making a series of videos showcasing Peruvian culture, Peruvian arts, Peruvian foods, Peruvian religion, Peruvian cuisine and Peruvian people. All things Peruano. The best of Comida Peruana.
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All photos and video taken by Samuel Jeffery (Nomadic Samuel) and Audrey Bergner (That Backpacker).
Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network