O’Lima Celebrates One Year of Splendid Peruvian Cuisine

Peruvian food is definitely having a moment right now. People around the world are starting to appreciate this South American cuisine that is rife with hundreds of varieties of potatoes, hearts of palm, ceviche, stir-frys and Japanese influences. One place to find this is in Bay Harbour’s elegant O’Lima restaurant, where Chef German Gonzales, does all the classics, and lots of twists.

The must-have Pisco Sour is on point, as is his variations like the Passionfruit Sour (made with pisco, egg white, lime juice) and Piscoroska (pisco, meddled lime, sugar, club soda). Once that is down the hatch, check out the menu of Peruvian classics served with a twist. The Ceviche a la Brasa (specially grilled ceviche) is one such dish in which he presents ceviche, very, very gently grilled to spectacular results.

Entrees are well-priced, light and made with a lot of flavor. One such dish is the Quinotto Andino, which is a quinoa risotto with shrimp drizzled in white truffle oil. This is fusion at its best. The fusion comes naturally to the chef, who lived in many different places and has cooked in all types of kitchens from French to Chinese. His expertise shows in the succulent Pulpo a la Parrilla, octopus grilled to perfection and presented in a fashion that is almost too pretty to eat.

There is a list of more than 20 entrees that show Chef German’s creativity with Peru’s classic stir-fry, Lomo Saltado, reimagined by first slow braising the beef, bourguignon-style, and then adding the traditional elements of onions and tomato ($28) and a Pato Magret, a Canadian duck breast dish that consists of a special Aji Amarillo glaze (that took Gonzalez years to perfect), which rests atop a bed of huancaina-dressed risotto ($29). A Fiocchi de Pera is perfect for the carb-lover, filled with gorgonzola cheese and pear, then drizzled with a chicha morada sauce, derived from the authentic purple corn Peruvian beverage ($26)

Desserts are unique too, from the Toblerone Tiramizu to the Passion Fruit Mousse, they are not to be skipped.