The Japanese are not the only ones who have mastered raw fish. Peru has for centuries eaten uncooked seafood as ceviche, a bracing and refreshing mixture of fish chunks tossed with lime and chillies. At the new El Bodegon, a young Peruvian chef serves both classic Peruvian recipes and those with a Japanese and Chinese-influence, the legacy of generations of Asian immigrants to the South American nation. El Bodegon’s owners were partners in Ceviche, Eduardo Vargas’ just-shuttered villa dining room, and they’ve also recently launched the classy Ô Théâtre cocktail bar.
El Bodegon’s raw fish dishes including ceviche el Bodegon (70RMB) and tiradito del pescador (55RMB) are both fresh and lively. One comes piled with crispy squid tentacles which contrast deliciously with the cold fish, while the other is a long plate of thin fish slivers pooled in a tart-spicy citrus dressing.
El Bodegon’s entrees are hit and miss. The strongest is the panceta de cerdo (80RMB), a crispy roasted pork belly with a sticky, fatty inner layer, served over mashed sweet potato, but the chef’s version of Peruvian classic lomo saltado (120RMB) with beef chunks and sweet red and yellow peppers lacks punch in the thin sauce. The same dish across town at another new Peruvian purveyor, Chala, is superior with bolder flavours and bigger, juicier beef chunks.
The kitchen’s desserts are few but each of them shines. The seemingly simple cornstarch cookies (alfajores, 30RMB) filled with dulce de leche and dipped in chocolate or grated coconut are improbably delicious, while the cheesecake moderno (50RMB) and the mousse de chocolate (45RMB) are both supremely decadent. These sweets are worth a stop-in just for dessert, or make it a buffet and take one of each, paired with a Peruvian cocktail or two.
