Tough post to write at any time of the day! As most of you may know, we’re foodies through and through so it’s an apt post for the year end as it’s a big passion here at SippingCoconuts! We LOVE our food!
We have covered 6 countries since we started travelling in September and we’ve had some amazing food that truly deserves a spot on this blog! So I present to you, in no particular order, the best food we have had whilst on our grand adventure in 2019!
Chakruna Native Burgers in Cusco, Peru was recommendation to us by one of Ms.K’s Salkantey Trek buddies and gosh, what an amazing discovery! The alpaca meat was so tender and it was served with rustic fries (the best we’ve had!) and a selection of salsas – tomato and herb salsa, the classic mustard, garlic mayonaise, Cusco’s signature green picante, the standard tomato ketchup and the classic mayo. If you’ve got a need for spice then ask for their spicier picante. Absolutely divine. We ate here twice and craved for it countless number of times!
Restaurante Estaladiço in Porto, Portugal. This has been the most amazing roasted pork we have had, in our lives! Even by Mr.C’s standards as this food is a staple in the household fairly often. Yet another testament would be the fact that Ms.K doesn’t even like roast pork! Mind-blowing and we got this from a recommendation of a fellow house-mate from our AirBnB. Talking to fellow travellers can really uncover some hidden gems!
Awesome empanadas at the Central Market in Santa Cruz, Galapagos. Mind-blowing. Made and fried on the spot and you get to choose the filling you want (pork, beef, chicken, prawns). Add some coleslaw to it if you please and a collection of salsas, especially the avocado salsa. The empanadas are massive! Here is where I spent our life-savings, every single day. It’s the closest to Karipap and I LOVE KARIPAP! Yet another recommendation from our fellow travelers who turned into such great friends that we’ve continued to meet in Peru and keep in touch with throughout.
Related: Best Travel Moments in 2019
Pulpo @ octopus with garlic and olive oil at Lisbon, Portugal. We had this dish at many places in Portugal but Petisqueira Conqvistador takes the cake. So amazingly tender and bursting with flavour.
This dish is a winner almost everywhere we have it as it’s so flavourful! Arroz con Mariscos has been a gift to us and this dish at Marisco na Praça – Marina comes up tops. Actually every single dish we had here was mouth-watering actually – check out the pics at our Amazing Food in Lisboa post!
We had a short time in Barcelona but we managed to squeeze in this random find that served up simply delish Paella! Hotel Restaurant La Ciudadela. Trust us, this is truly awesome! A couple of years back, when we did go to Barcelona for the first time, we ate at the famed 7 Portes and it was fit for a king. This, to me, is very close but Mr.C actually thinks this was better.
If you only have time for one place at Barcelona, make it Pinoxto Bar at Marcado de la Boqueria. Everything is great, I promise. The braised beef cheeks in particular doesn’t look great, I know. Eat this while it’s hot and its combination of taste and texture will take you soaring. Oh my, it’s really tough writing this post!
Sóngoro Cosongo at Lima, Peru. It’s right next to the Puente de los Suspiros @ Bridge of Sighs. Now I do not eat funny stuff. No, only plain meat. However this dish is transformational. Anticuchos de corazon @ beef heart. Absolutely tasty!
Mareas Ceviche y Mas at Puno, Peru. Mr.C and the boys tried this in Puno while I was back in Malaysia. The dish you see here is a chicharron y ceviche combo but the seafood chicharron really stood out. Super crispy and flavourful mix of prawns, squid, clams and what seemed to be abalone.
Cuyeria Sabor Moqueguano at Cusco, Peru. Cuy is pepared either al horno (baked) or chactado (fried). Once you get past the presentation (some of you might not, like me!), then enjoy your meal with the chica morada. It’s great there as it’s fizzy! By the way, go for the chactado, you will thank me later.
Related: Going Ga-ga Over Groceries in Australia
Yet another recommendation because we were not shy to ask. Nuna Raymi at Cusco, Peru has the most enticing alpaca steak. Everything else we tried was amazing as well and the Pisco Sours were strong and good! Did I mention there’s a kiddy playroom as well so you can let the kids run wild while you have a fabulous dinner and a couple of drinks, uninterrupted.
CORDILLERA Vinos y Fuegos at Mendoza, Argentina. Best asado platter we have had, so far. The owner / chef is a little shy but he was very attentive and took real good care of us. This was half of the platter, they serve the second half later so you get to eat the entire platter hot. Beat that.
Bife de Chorizo at Bodega Lopez, Mendoza in Argentina remains the best steak we have had to-date in Argentina and we’ve had a lot!
Tatu Carreta at Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Puerto Iguazu being a town right where the mighty Iguazu, Parana and Paraguay Rivers meet creates interesting opportunities to try some exotic river fish. Many restaurants in town offer pacu, surubi and dorado on their menus. At Tatu Carreta, we had a grilled surubi fish steak and it was just amazing with the accompanying potato rosti and bell peppers.
Aqva Restaurant at Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. The menu boasted handmade fettuccine. I’ve never tasted fettuccine that was this delectable and distinctive. It was so soft yet had a springy bite although the picture portrays none of this! This fettuccine has ruined all other fettuccine for me and has me seriously thinking about making my own when we’re back!
Right: Caayucayari (mate based which is yet another national icon here) :crème brûlée of yerba mate, caramelized cassava with roasted almonds & yerba foam and cointreau.
This was at Aqva as well. We’ve not been deprived of dessert on our trip. I have a sweet tooth and the kids are, well, kids. This place served up some gourmet desserts using local ingredients, so wonderful!
Any Asado and Parilla place at Buenos Aires, Argentina. Grilled Provolone (type of cheese). Absolutely divide.
Genghis Mongolian Grill at Buenos Aires, Argentina. Completely unexpected meal for us but ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS. Cheap as well, this was 365 Argentinian Pesos / SGD8.22 for a huge plate of noodles. I wish we took a picture of the bowl filled up with raw ingredients we chose ourselves that the chef then proceeded to cook on the Mongolian style hotplate. It was filled to the top with meat and vegetables and tofu and pineapple. SO GOOD!
Right: Octopus and King Crab. To die for.
La Casa de Los Mariscos at Ushuaia, Argentina. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing these two dishes were. We walked into a random restaurant on the streets of Ushuaia and as we were taking a look at the menu, the owner walked by with two plates he was serving to the table behind us. He stopped by our table to show us the restaurant’s special which was not on the menu. We ordered on the spot, we needed no further convincing. Turns out we had a rare codfish called Black Hake that is difficult to find. Lady Luck, thank you 😉
Public Service Announcement! Eat your vegetables folks, always!
I feel rather bad about this post when I think of our meat consumption. It’s been on our minds for a long time now to reduce our meat consumption. More and more, we are aware of how much meat we are eating on this trip of a lifetime versus when we are back in Singapore. I do not write it off at all that one day we would be consuming significantly less meat. To assist in that journey, I even have an app idea. So if any of our readers want to make this app a reality, please do reach out to us!
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