CHIFA by Iron Chef Garces

Parihuela

I was so enamored with Iron Chef Jose Garces at Garces Trading Company, that I took some of my coworkers to another of Chef Garces' restaurants, CHIFA—a hybrid of Peruvian and Cantonese cuisine. A little history on the Peru-China connection, according to the CHIFA website,  when Chinese workers "came to Peru in the late 19th century, they brought their cuisine with them. Over the years, they adapted their foods to work with Peruvian ingredients and incorporated native South American cooking techniques."

The food is served tapas style primarily—small plates. And our group of 6 ordered a lot of food to share and to hoard for ourselves. What did we order?

Pulpo

• BBQ ribs with a char sui glaze
• Spicy garlic ginger chicken wings
• Mussels with a broth of coconut, lemongrass, and Thai basil
• Lobster bowl with noodles, rocoto cream, bacon, parmesan, and green peas
• Red Curry with jumbo lump crab and coconut
• Chaufa with oxtail—essentially an oxtail fried rice
• Salt and pepper shrimp (which our group found to not be very good with the head and shell on)
• Thai beef salad
• Pulpo—rock octopus with a ginger gastrique
• Lomo Saltado—braised beef with potatoes and stirred vegetables
• Yuca fries with a red chile mayo and a chimichurri sauce (highly recommended))
• Parihuela—a ciopoino-esque dish pf lobster, clams, mussels, and scallops

Amazing meal along with excellent drinks. I had a Pisco Sour which is a Peruvian brandy and lime juice.

I'd easily give CHIFA a 5 stars. I don't pity CHIFA, I just pity the fools that don't have an opportunity experience it.