Sabor Peruano

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"‘Fusion’ cuisine hardly reveals the brutal histories it masks — and the Peruvian tradition of chifa belongs here. Brought to Peru by Guangdong labourers to be slaves, they left an indelible mark on Peruvian cuisine and many of these dishes can be found on Sabor Peruano’s menu: darkly sweet and acidic lomo saltado, a beef stir fry dense with soy, vinegar and onions. Better still is the seco norteño, a slow-cooked stew of beef and potato, coloured ditchwater green-brown by the aggressive use of coriander. The non-chifa dishes are well worth ordering too — ceviche is fresh, well-cured and bracingly acidic as part of a trimarinero, while anticuchos come correct as tender parchments of beef heart, marinated with the sting of aji amarillo. The same subtle heat turns up in the humblest and maybe best dish: a starter of papa huancaina, a simple dish of boiled potatoes served cold in a pool of custard-coloured sauce made from queso fresco, aji amarillo and milk." - Jonathan Nunn