Lima, Peru: A gastronomy tour of Lima's cuisine

Chef Virgilio Martinez in the kitchen.

Don't eat breakfast. Regardless of what you're told, regardless of how good the buffet at the hotel looks, it's worth bearing this mantra in mind: do not eat breakfast.

Because what is to follow on this day is a moving feast, an onslaught of cuisine so tasty and filling that a mere one stomach won't seem like enough. There will be fish, raw and cooked; there will be potatoes; there will be bread; there will be pork; there will be rice; and there will be plenty more, easily enough to justify the skipping of breakfast.

Because this is Lima, the capital of Peru, the rising star of the world food scene, and it's time to eat.

Tiradito at Central: A spicier take on ceviche. Credit: Ben Groundwater

Unwisely, I have begun with breakfast. It's served at Hotel B, a smart boutique lodge in the trendy Lima suburb of Barranco. There are little muffins on offer here, platters of fruit, eggs and cold meats. I'm trying to just graze but failing miserably.

I'd spoken earlier to Greg Carter, the managing director of tour operator Chimu Adventures and my gastronomic guide for today, and he'd been adamant. "Yeah mate, have breakfast," he'd said. "It's pretty good at that hotel."

Fine. Except now it's 9.30am, I'm feeling pretty full, and my day of Lima dining proper is about to begin.

Peruvian cuisine, as varied as the country's landscapes.

How will it begin, you ask? Maybe we'll ease in with a light snack. Some fruit, or a slice of bread.

Except we won't. I'm meeting Greg over in Miraflores, one of Lima's fancier suburbs, at a restaurant called Dona Paulina. It's a new branch of a traditional old eatery, a legendary place among Lima residents that specialises in a favourite morning meal: sanguche de chicharron.

Or, fried pork sandwiches.

Bread at Central. Credit: Ben Groundwater

These sandwiches at Dona Paulina are huge, hearty bread rolls filled with onions and slices of spicy pork rib meat that have been boiled and then fried in their own fat. They're absolutely delicious, and by the time I'm done eating one I don't feel like I'll ever need another meal again.

Greg just laughs. "Come on mate, plenty more to go. Let's check out the market." Groan. By now you may have heard a thing or two about Peruvian food. It has been championed by world-renowned chef Ferran Adria. It's spawned its own celebrity cook in the form of Gaston Acurio. And Lima itself boasts two of the top 20 restaurants in the world.

Peruvian cuisine, as varied as the country's landscapes – mountains to desert, beaches to volcanoes – is big news. Tourists are now coming not just for hiking and sightseeing but for eating as well. And I plan to do as much of that as possible.

Outside Dona Paulina, Greg is hailing us a cab, directing the driver to the suburb of Surquillo, and the market that bears the same name. This is a bustling, working market, a network of provedores selling fresh produce brought in from around the country.

There are potatoes – hundreds of varieties of potatoes. There are fruits from the Amazon, fresh meats from the countryside, fluorescent jars of preserved vegetables, cobs of corn in dark purple hues. Fortunately we don't have to eat anything here, rather just take in the scene, the burble of Limenas doing their daily shop.

And then it's time for coffee. Back in a taxi and back to Miraflores as the two of us go in search of a good cup. That's not too hard to find in Lima, and we settle on Havanna, an outdoor café in the clifftop Larcomar shopping centre, a precinct with views over an ocean that's often shrouded in mist.

Greg and I drink coffee while we discuss our approach to lunch. After having sampled "real" Lima cuisine in the morning, we're going to step things up for the midday meal, dining at Central Restaurant, recently named number 15 in the world.

If chicharrones are the best of basic Peruvian food, then Central is the best of what it has become. This is haute cuisine at its finest, a showcase of traditional food finessed to the finest degree by chef Virgilio Martinez, one of the new darlings of the Lima scene. The choice we have to make today is whether to go with Central's gigantic tasting menu, or scale things back with simple a la carte.

By the time we make it to the restaurant and order a couple of pisco sours, we've decided to take the smart approach of the latter option: a couple of starters and a couple of mains, dishes like shaved foie gras with beef carpaccio, and seared octopus with lentils. It's one of the best meals I've ever eaten.

By the time we lurch out of Central a pact has been made: it's time to go home and sleep off some of this food.

Greg and I meet again later, once twilight has enveloped Barranco, in a place called Canta Rana. This is another traditional neighbourhood eatery, although one that splits its obsession between two of this continent's great loves: food, and football.

Hundreds of sports photos line the walls – just as many football scarves dangle from the ceiling. We take a seat at one of the old wooden tables and order up a storm: ceviche, that most Peruvian dish of fish cured in citrus juice; tiradito, a spicier play on ceviche; and tacu tacu, a filling seafood stew served on rice pilaf.

From there it's all we can do to lurch down the road to La 73, a bar named after the bus route it's situated on, for a final drink in this great city. We opt for chilcanos, pisco-based cocktails with ginger ale instead of lime.

We also order a final bite to eat: pulpo a la parrilla, or grilled octopus, a specialty of the house. It ensures I'll be going nowhere near the breakfast buffet tomorrow.

The writer travelled as a guest of Chimu Adventures

TRIP NOTES

visitperu.com

GETTING THERE

LAN Airlines operates seven one-stop flights each week from Sydney to Santiago, Chile, with onward connections to Lima, Peru. Return economy class fares start from $2767. Go to lan.com.

STAYING THERE

Chimu Adventures offers three-night "Lima Stopover" packages that include accommodation at Hotel B in Barranco. Prices start from $960, and also include airport transfers, a city tour, a visit to the Larco Museum, and lunch. See chimuadventures.com.au

EATING THERE

Chimu Adventures' 10-day "A Taste of Peru" package includes cooking classes and meals at some of the best restaurants in the country, plus visits to Cusco and Machu Picchu. Tours are guided by a Peruvian chef. Prices start from $2450, including accommodation and transfers.