Food Tours · Tour

Twelve Snacks from Barrios Altos to Chinatown, Lima

Twelve things, and the list is the reason to book: choclo con queso, chicha morada, papa rellena, ceviche, siu mai, min pao, anticucho, picarones, jugo de lucuma, pan con chicharron, emoliente, and whatever exotic fruit is in season. The route explains Peru as much as it feeds you. It starts on Jiron Cusco, goes through Barrios Altos for the ceviche, and then into Chinatown, which matters, because chifa, the Chinese-Peruvian cooking that came out of nineteenth-century immigration, is one of the two great hybrid cuisines this country produced, and the siu mai and min pao are where you taste the seam. Then the Central Market for the anticucho and the picarones, and Chinitos in downtown Lima for pan con chicharron, which the operator will tell you is the best in the city. It finishes with free time in Plaza San Martin. A pisco sour at the most famous bar in Lima is offered as an extra, for eight dollars, and is not included. Three and a half hours. Up to fifteen people, in English or Spanish, with a certified guide and a queue pass at the busy stops. Bring your passport, a clear photo of it, or your Peruvian entry document, because a driving licence will not do and without one you pay the 18% VAT on top. There is a safety briefing and a form to sign before you start. Not suitable for wheelchair users or pushchairs, because of the route.