HCM City’s reputation of having the most vibrant and diverse culinary scene in the country is further retrenched by La Chola de Lima – a restaurant that specialises in Peruvian food. Nomad Quynh tucks in with gusto.

Years and years of cultural blending between its indigenous population and immigrations from Europe, West Asia and Asia has lent fascinating flavours to Peruvian cuisine.

In HCM City, there have been several South American restaurants that served a few famous Peruvian dishes, but La Chola de Lima has stirred up things in a big way.

Located inside the famous food lane at 74 Hai Bà Trưng Street in downtown HCM City that is home to luminaries like The Refinery (French bistro), Au Parc (Mediterranean) and Propaganda (Vietnamese), La Chola de Lima was scheduled to open a long time ago. The construction of a nearby building delayed the opening until early this month.

The restaurant is quite spacious with two floors. There are sitting areas and a bar, and a big balcony on the second floor where you can organize private events. There is also a live DJ on the weekend who gives the place a really fun South American vibe.

The menu is straight-forward and easy to understand even for people not familiar with Peruvian cuisine. There are three main sections for food: Criollo – dishes with Spanish and West African influences made with Peruvian ingredients; Chifa – the culinary fusion brought in by the Chinese; and Nikkei, where Japanese cuisine meets indigenous culture.

For starters, we ordered the Ceviche – one of the most famous Peruvian dishes. It usually consists of bite-sized pieces of white fish or seafood, marinated raw in lime juice and chilli. Not in the mood for seafood, we went for a vegetarian version with palm heart, avocado and tomato. At VNĐ90,000, the portion was a bit small, but all the ingredients were fresh and blended very well to create a really good flavours.

Next, we tried a few different Anticuchos, which are basically skewers. You can choose between chicken, beef, prawn or squid. We got the chicken and beef, each portion comprising two skewers at VNĐ90,000. While the beef was decent, the chicken was amazing – very tender and flavourful. I will definitely order this one again.

Our next dishes were from the Chifa genre. The Lomo Saltado – Wok Beef (VNĐ175,000) is a Peruvian staple, made with sliced beef that is stir-fried with garlic, onion, cumin powder, etc, and served with fries and a bowl of rice on the side. The beef was very tender, and together with the vegetables it made the whole dish perfectly balanced.

Another Chifa dish we tried was the Wanton frito (VNĐ75,000), made with shrimp and pork. This is a good snack with a crispy crust and fresh tasty ingredients.