Chicha

I’ve been hearing A LOT about Chicha since its opening and it seriously feels like everyone has either already been, or is planning to go. Chicha serves Peruvian food and claims to the Hong Kong’s first and only Peruvian restaurant. Although the owners and executive chef aren’t Peruvian, they enlisted the help of the Peruvian consulate general to embark on a two week eating tour of Lima to ensure that their food is authentic and up to par. Now that’s dedication (and a fun business trip)! Chicha takes over the old spot of Chez Patrick and exudes a warm and social vibe. The front of the restaurant is lined with floor to ceiling windows which allow for people/street watching and the tables are long tables communal style. The seats are dark leather and the walls are dark red with some interesting decorations such as wooden masks. Although I enjoyed the atmosphere, it was obscenely loud and I was getting really agitated because I was meeting my girls C and T for dinner and it was literally impossible to hear each other and have girl talk without severely straining my ears and my throat. The owner was incredibly nice and accommodating though and switched us to another table near the bar which was much quieter than the main dining area. Service was very friendly and prompt, each waiter had a lovely smile on their face and the owner also had a nice sense of humor when he tricked me into thinking my friends left when I first came into the restaurant and inquired about the table!

Sea bass Ceviche with Choclo, Sweet Potato, and Red Onion 

This dish was recommended by the owner and unfortunately it was not that well received by us. The chunks of sea bass were a bit too big and the all the elements just did not go well together. The flavor was quite strong and definitely woke you up, but we felt that it was slightly one dimensional in that it was just quite sour. It would be nice to have some more spices or just another type of seasoning to make it more well-rounded. The Choclo (corn) was a special type that I believe is popular in South American, the kernels are larger and it is denser and starchier than the corn we are used to eating. It would also be nice if some tortilla chips were provided to eat with the ceviche because it was a bit overwhelming to eat on its own. I am no expert on Peruvian food, but our table thought this dish was only ok. 

Crab Claws with Sweet Potato and Parsley

You all already know how I feel about parsley… yuck! After scooping away all the nasty little sprigs, I was amazed by the generous amount and size of the crab claws. The crab claws were very meaty and have been conveniently unshelled for optimal savoring. The sweet potato was a nice sweet compliment to the dish and the sauce was creamy and went well with the flakey crab meat. Although this dish was not something I would specially go back to Chicha for, the flavors were nice and the amount of crab was definitely a great value for money!

Fish Tacos

YUM! These fish tacos were absolutely delicious! Now THIS is something that I would specially return to Chicha for! One major problem with fish tacos that I’ve noticed is that the pieces of fish were often quite measly and the taco would mostly be consumed by other components such as lettuce (maybe I’ve been eating really bad fish tacos…).  At Chicha however, the fish pieces were large, chunky, and crispy. The outside was deliciously crispy and the insides still maintained that tender flakiness, the fish was also flavored well and was not masked by the vegetables and vibrant salsa. The succulent pieces of fish were topped with crunchy lettuce slaw then smothered with an absolutely delicious mango and tomato salsa. The mango salsa was the perfect complement to the fish, it was sweet, tangy, and just was sunshine on your tongue. This scrumptious taco is then topped with a squeeze of spicy mayo which is just the cherry on top of an already amazing taco. All these lip smackingly good components are then stuffed into a crunchy hard taco shell. This is a MUST TRY and I will be back for more. 

None of us were that hungry so these were the only dishes we tried. Although I was not blown away by some of the dishes, you can tell that a lot of heart and passion were put into the food and this restaurant and I am definitely eager to return to try out more of their dishes!

Chicha

26 Peel Street

Noho

Central

Hong Kong