Aguas Calientes: Happy Indians and Chifa food

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: Politically incorrectness and good food have a direct correlation

The Main Square

I feel like I am at Epcot when I take the bus down from Machu Picchu to Aguas Calientes. The main strip of the town seems to picturesque almost artificial. There is a river raging and vast bridges spanning over it. The streets are suspiciously clean and the town square has 2 statues of Inca-like people and people posing with them making moronic gestures that question if natural selection is still in effect. In short, Aguas Calientes is a tourist town. Walking down the main strip you are ambushed by waiters urging and practically trying to drag you into their nearly empty restaurants promising you free wi-fi, pisco sours and pizza. If I had more time I probably would actually try the pizza here. There is something about pizza in Peru I un-scientifically noticed that they love it here and it is quite a seller. Navigating around this town and finding good food for a respectable price is hard. Before coming here, trying to find any restaurant recommendations was near impossible but even in a tourist hot spot, not everyone is demanding tomato Bolognese and spaghetti. So for my one day in Aguas Calientes and my first meal, I went to Indio Feliz. 

Has to be good, the dude is smiling!

I have come to accept political correctness is not a big thing abroad so the name translating to “Happy Indian” did not faze me that much. What did faze me was the décor. It was like walking into a flamboyant pirate bar. The interior design was nautical and the only thing that seemed Peruvian was the Peruvian flute music playing in the background. It was the first time I heard “Killing me Softly” done up Peruvian flute style, it was quite soothing but I like the original better. Despite the décor, it felt cozy and after trekking the trail for the past couple days, it was comfortable enough for me to decompress and get a good meal.

Food Porn after the jump!

Cusco Day Uno Part I : Market eating frenzy, sugar rush, alpaca and more!

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: My Spanish may suck, but I know pork in every language

Peru was my first solo trip that I have taken. I have traveled to other places on my own but this was the first time I did not plan to meet anyone on the other side. I went to Peru to hike/trek the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu and it was one of the most rewarding experiences in my life so far. The food was amazing and I met so many people despite the language barrier (me having horrible High School Spanish). This will be a multi-part posts that will be mixed in so here we go with part I: Cusco Day Uno. 

After a flight from Newark to Lima and spending a lovely evening in the Lima Food Court, I took an early flight out to Cusco, which is like the unofficial base camp for anyone that is doing up the Inca Trail and . After a hilarious flight courtesy of Peruvian Airlines (the pilot failed to mention we were landing and I think 30 seconds before we touched down, the flight attendants were scrambling to sit down, get tray tables and seats up) I had a quick taxi ride to my hotel Rumi Punku. Although they offered a complimentary breakfast and I slept all half assed in the Lima Airport, I was hungry and I took a quick shower, changed and went to the market to eat.

I love markets because are pretty much guaranteed to eat well and for a good price. I have visited many markets and this was one I thoroughly enjoyed and spent a lot of time going back to. First off, this is mainly run by women, they were cooking, selling, butchering and ran the whole show. It was sectioned off too in which there was a meat section, fish, veggies, cheese and of course the cooked food section. I ate a lot of things in this market and during my time in Cusco, probably accounted for 40-50% of my diet here. Many would see this as a bad idea and I was advised by many not to go and eat at the market. I like to think that I am pure awesome retarded and I do not have a regular Gringo stomach like others. However, when it comes to eat in a market or in a non-restaurant setting here are some rules that I created for myself. Volume is better, like do not eat from the random lonely dude or lady because you feel bad that no one is there. You won’t feel bad about them later when you are on the toilet later that night and you did it for some probably crappy food. If there is a line of people, or there is a lot people eating there, you have a better chance of not getting sick. High turnover rate generally means food needs to replenished and is general fresher. Also I avoid raw veggies (no salads) and stick to the meats and the fried stuff. In my experience, these very basic rules kept me out of trouble.

Mercado food Pronz after the jump