More often than not, I have an itch to try something out, especially when it comes to food. Living in Pasig, I am just near the Podium mall and I really wanted to try out their offerings in terms of new restaurants, and what caught my eye was Cocina Peruvia. This restaurant is not exactly new, as it previously opened in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Now that it has opened in Pasig, I get to experience Peruvian cuisine as managed by Chef Him uy de Baron.
Cucina Peruvia
Ambiance
When it comes to food, Peru adopts a lot of influence from other countries, some even from afar. Such influence include, African, Spanish, Italian, the Chinese, and even the Japanese. As such there is no shortage for such recipes to mix and match ingredients and cooking methods that make Peruvian food such a delight to try.
Once I was inside, I was greeted with architecture that you would normally see in a Mexican restaurant, with high wooden chairs being plentiful and common. Make no mistake, Peruvian culture is very much influencing the style of the restaurant, and it is beautiful.
Menu
Cocina Peruvia offers mutli-cultural cuisine, from adobo to rice porridge, from nachos to pasta linguine, if you are one with a big appetite, I am pretty sure that you would be right at home as they all sound enticing. But are they really good? As per usual, we had a large order to get the most out of the offerings that Cocina Peruvia has in store for us. What we ordered are as follows:
Our appetizer was the Ceviche Nikkei, which was raw jack fish, crispy salmon, topped with coconut milk and spritzed with citrus juice. Seeing all of those ingredients may make you doubt how good it could be but I took the plunged and was surprised by how balanced it was, but maybe it’s because I love fresh ceviche.
Brochetas de Lomo Y Pollo was a must-try for me, a variant of a chicken kebab that is common in Peruvian gastronomy.
Adobo Peruvia is the Peruvian take on the classic Filipino dish, with the pork belly being drowned by cream and salsa sauce, which actually makes it work. I couldn’t get enough of the white sauce that I may have ended up finishing all of it.
Each of us also ordered a Parilla platter, where you can choose:
• Grilled chicken
• Pork belly
• Salmon
You also choose whether you want rice, fries, or chips as carbs on the side. Overall, if I would suggest choosing pork belly to get the most bang out of your buck. Because you might be overwhelmed by the menu, I would suggest ordering the Parilla platter if you have difficulty in choosing what to eat. It is best for family get-togethers and dates where you can try most of them, otherwise you can choose to get individual orders if you prefer to eat alone.
With Valentine’s Day in the horizon, they have a promo where if you order any of the three in the Parilla platter, it comes with a free order of Coco Sour drink.
Coco sour is a cocktail with a mixture of the local Filipino liquor, lambanog. This makes it taste a hint of citrus and a delight to take a sip!
Lastly, for dessert, I picked chocolate pudding and it was super good (being a chocolate lover, this was no contest). I also tried the maize (corn) panna cotta, which reminded me of a maja blanca, and while it was also great, I would have done away with the bits of dried fruit toppings. While I love chocolate, the maize panna cotta has merits in its own way of taste.
Overall, if you are an adventurous foodie, I would recommend giving Cocina Peruvia a visit just to get a taste of Peruvian culture.
Address: Fifth Floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
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