Sydney’s first chifa restaurant, Folklor, is a culinary love letter to the Chinese Peruvian fusion cuisine of owner Luis Guzman’s childhood.

Guzman moved from Lima to Australia more than 13 years ago, but the memory of walking to his local chifa restaurant and sitting down with a comforting bowl of chaufa (fried rice) and bottle of Inca Kola (a golden, citrusy soft drink) persists.

“Growing up, it was the norm to go out and eat chifa food at least once a week,” Guzman says. “It was simple, and homey, and I missed it a lot.”

While Chinese Peruvian cuisine is incredibly popular in Peru (there are more than 500 chifa restaurants in Lima alone), it was seldom seen in Sydney until this week, when Guzman and executive chef Hector Chunga opened Folklor at Walsh Bay.

It is the pair’s second venture, following the success of Peruvian restaurant Warike in Surry Hills.

Chifa emerged in Peru with the arrival of immigrants from the Guangdong region of China in the late 19th century. It is the fusion of Cantonese and Peruvian cuisine, often marrying the Chinese cooking techniques of their homeland with easier-to-find Peruvian ingredients.

“It’s sweet, sour and smoky, often cooked on a wok,” explains Guzman.

The 100-seat restaurant is dark and moody, inspired by the hidden bars of the Lima’s bohemian Barranco district. There are murals on the walls, a crown of cherry blossoms over the bar, and colourful LED lighting.

“We have made it our mission to share chifa with Sydney because it’s something special and close to our hearts,” Guzman says.

“We want to share our culture and our history with people. Not just the food and the drink, but how this cuisine came to be.

“There’s more to Peruvian food than ceviche.”

At Folklor, there’s kamlu wanton (fried wontons topped with a sweet tamarind sauce and charsiu pork); tallarin saltado (stir-fried noodles, similar to chow mein, using a Peruvian steak sauce); and Guzman’s favourite, the chaufa Folklor (fried rice with sweet banana, egg and chicken marinated in fermented soybean sauce).

The menu also features a selection of nikkei, or Japanese Peruvian, dishes. Guzman recommends the wagyu a lo pobre, a nigiri roll with MB8+ wagyu, anticuchera (red wine vinegar and aji panca chile) sauce, quail egg and banana.

The fusion theme continues into the drink list, with house cocktails made using Peruvian, Chinese and Japanese spirits.

For those unfamiliar with the dishes on offer at Folklor, staff are on board to help. For weeks, they’ve been trained to educate diners about each menu item and the history behind it.

“We want our guests to enjoy an amazing culinary experience, leave wanting to know more about Peru and its culture, and perhaps travel there one day as a result,” Guzman says.

Open Tue-Fri 5-10pm; Sat-Sun noon-3pm and 5-10pm

Shop 7/16 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, folklorrestaurant.com.au