Lunch in Lima

Ceviche

While for many the focus of 2012 was the Mayan Calendar prediction, the culinary world’s attention was instead drawn a few nations south to Peru – and in particular, towards their national dish and drink of ceviche and Pisco Sour. Both are on the menu some 10,000 miles away at Ceviche, Shanghai’s latest and arguably best venture from Peruvian chef and restaurateur Eduardo Vargas. Unlike his earlier restaurants Chicha and Azul, Ceviche is a lesson in ‘less is more’, where but 20 odd seats and a to-the-point menu keep the focus on what Vargas does best: authentic dishes cooked from family recipes.

Vargas’ Pisco Sour is a point of pride, each made to order with a tangy hit of acidity and topped with delicious egg-white froth. His menu is filled with Peruvian staples including three kinds of the namesake dish, anticuchos (traditional meat skewers) and causas (potato dumplings), plus sharing plates like seafood salad and paella, and signature caramel flan for dessert. Perfectly complementing the home-style cuisine is the restaurant’s living room-like décor, which features colourful painting-adorned walls, wood floors and even a faux fireplace. Make yourself at home with the power of pisco!