I’m back home from my trip to Canada, so I get to share the food I love to eat right here at home! Recently my dad took me to a Peruvian Chinese fusion restaurant at the Krate called Pisco Express where we pigged out on a bunch of absolutely delicious food. The restaurant is super tiny like all of the businesses at the Krate, but unlike many of the restaurants there, the food service was quite fast and the food was great quality!

First, we got the causa de pollo to share as an appetizer. I’ve never eaten this before, but I was immediately attracted by how bright it was. It almost looks like a little cake! It’s got three layers: the top and bottom ones are made of Peruvian mashed potatoes mixed with yellow pepper and lime juice, and the middle layer is a chicken salad with avocado. Yellow pepper sauce is drizzled all over the top. The dish is unexpectedly cold when it hits your mouth, and it has a smooth texture similar to a thick cake. The dish’s flavors were more subtle—the chicken salad was creamy, and overall it had a tangy flavor. It also came garnished with cooked corn kernels that were satisfyingly crunchy and had a smoky, nutty flavor.

For the main course, we split lomo saltado. (This was supposed to be my dad’s dish but I kept sneaking my fork over and eventually I ate as much as he did). This is a classic Peruvian dish that you simply can’t pass up on if you like steak. It comes with sautéed pieces of steak, tomato, and onion served over rice and french fries. This is a dish that’s super salty and savory, but even though I’ve got a sweet tooth, I love this. The fries had a nice crunch and were perfectly salted. The steak was very tender and juicy. The veggies were flavorful, a little acidic, and still crunchy after sautéing. When you get every ingredient on your fork, that’s the perfect bite!

Lastly, I got a Peruvian empanada. Empanadas are a comfort food for me, so I’m picky with what kinds I like. This one was so pastry-like it was practically a dessert! The empanadas I usually eat are fried, but this one was baked, so it was more doughy and didn’t have that crispy, fried outer texture that most empanadas do. It wasn’t made of corn flour, either, but wheat. (I personally prefer wheat flour empanadas). When you bite into it, the dough is surprisingly soft and sweet. Then you taste the beef inside—savory, hot, and melt-in-your-mouth. This was the one of the best empanada I’ve had to date!

The menu at Pisco Express is so long—I plan to return to try more, and I will definitely get another one of their empanadas!