I was to meet up with friends for a late dinner at
Machu Picchu, a Peruvian restaurant in Somerville today, but as I was hungry, I decided to stop at
Royal Punjab, an Indian restaurant in Cambridge,
getting the Lamb Madras (Cubes of lamb sauteed with curry leaves, mustard seeds, coconut, and red chilli. Includes basmati rice),
which was actually pretty good, the lamb being tender as well.
When I arrived in the
Union Square area, I still had some time, so I decided to check out
Machu Chicken, another Peruvian restaurant in the area which I had mistaken for Machu Picchu at first glance.
I was tempted to try the chicken here, but as I had more to eat later, I decided to settle for the Anticucho Peruano (beef heart marinated in aji panca, a slice of boiled potatoes and Peruvian corn)
and the Alfajores (Peruvian pastry filled with Manjar Blanco (caramel).
Really flavorful, and perfectly cooked for beef heart. The cookies were exceptional as well, and I wasn't expected such a big portion.
At the final restaurant itself, I realized that my friend had also made the same mistake of going to the other Machu restaurant instead.
Apparently that happens all the time, according to the owner of Machu Picchu.
When everyone arrived, we got Roasted Peruvian corn for starters,
the Ceviche la Pescado (raw fish marinated in lime juice and served with sweet potato, toasted corn, boiled corn kernels and rocoto pepper),
the Cau Cau (Stew of the Incas, serving of beef tripe with side of rice)
and the Choros a la Chalaca (Peruvian style mussels topped with spicy lime sauce).
The fish itself wasn't too fresh and a little on the sour side, while the tripe was a little strong in smell too. The mussels were not bad though.
Overall, comparing the 2 Peruvian places, I actually prefer Machu Chicken, even though I never knew of its existence until today.
No comments:
Post a Comment