Discovering Calle Capon and Chifa in Lima, Peru

---

Since the late 19^thcentury, the Chinese people brought their culture to Peru through architecture, gastronomy, and many other areas when they immigrated as contract laborers or “coolies” as they were called. Before long, they had their own communities and their culture began to mesh with that of the age-old Peruvian culture. As the two cultures came together though, the Chinese were not the only one to benefit, and as a matter of fact the Peruvian culture took a few very important things from the Chinese. Today Chinese cuisine as well as inspired arts and dances crowd the streets of Calle Capon, Lima’s main Chinese district.

One of my favorite parts about taking South America vacations and traveling to new places is learning and seeing how different cultures blend to make up the modern culture of a place.

When I stepped out of the taxi, I could feel the weight of all the people staring at me. As disconcerting as it was though, it still gave me a great sense of happiness to know that I was about to experience a part of the true Peruvian culture. It isn’t a tourist attraction, yet Calle Capon and the Chifa, or Chinese restaurants that scatter the streets, are a big part of the culture in Peru. This influence has mixed gracefully with the local Limeno culture to make a new and different kind of culture that brings out the best of both sides. This is especially true in the area of gastronomy. Although the Chinese influence is a bit stronger in this part of town, it is a local cuisine that many locals come to enjoy on a regular basis.

As I started walking, it became immensely noticeable how popular this part of the city was. Locals from all around Lima filled the wide streets along with the residents of the district, who were either attempting to sell me a cheap handicraft or rushing past me with their carts filled to the brim with vegetables and other food. Shops of all kinds were scattered in between the genuine Chifas and were filled with everything I could possibly have needed. From cheap plates to party supplies to pirated movies, if one place did not have what I was looking for then the next place did.

Although chaotic, I could not help but notice that there was some order to it all. The type of shop or what it sold organized the entire district. For example, I could buy cookware on one street, while only block over I could get a new puppy, an iguana, or my favorite, a turtle for 15 Soles (about 5 dollars). The only thing that remained unorganized was the population of street vendors. Wherever I went people would try to sell something that I really would never need. My partiality was towards the vendor who was selling rat dolls. Although not real, they sure looked like it.

After looking through five or so different streets of shops, I decided to settle in and find a nice restaurant to sit down in. I returned to where the taxi had dropped me off and found a restaurant that looked good. In reality they all looked delicious but some were more expensive than others.

Once I sat down and ordered a few dishes of different types of meat, rice, and egg rolls, and when it came out, I dug in. I have had Chinese food many times while in the U.S., but this was an entirely different story. It looked and tasted phenomenally, and with every savory bite I tasted a cluster of different flavors clashing together to make one explosive taste. Something that I have noticed is that Peruvian chefs are very talented at is that they do not solely rely on the taste of the meat like many restaurants in the U.S. do, but instead, many of the local dishes let the flavor of the meat and the fruits or vegetables in the dish clash together, and let the food do the rest. The Chifa restaurant that I went to perfectly exemplified this type of gastronomy and had clearly mastered it.

I'm now excited to see the next place Machu Picchu tour package takes me to.

---