Eating On The Cheap
I was spending between s/.12 and s/.30 on each meal, so Joel showed me where to go for lunches and dinners under s/.5, including a soup entrada and a drink... the mercado. Every town has at least a couple, a market that sells everything cheap. Smelly, noisy and wet, but they usually have an area to eat.
In Máncora, Joel and I usually ended up eating at a small kitchen near the mercado, run by a lady we referred to as La Señora. Blue plastic table cloths over wobbly tables and the cacophony of chickens hidden just from view, it was an easy place to spot. Sometimes there would be a dreadful ruckus from the chook pen, and we knew what was on the menu for the next meal. Scruffy dogs circled the tables, looking at us imploringly, and cats sat at the space between our feet, mewing their most pathetic meows. But meals cost s/.4 or under, were decent, filling, and best of all, the fish was always fresh.
Because La Señora didn't serve dinner, we would search for a place to eat on the main street of Máncora. A middle-aged man we called Señor Chino had a kitchen set up by the road on his trolley. He was a stocky man with a weathered face and a toothy smile. He would whip up a pollo saltado in five minutes before our eyes as we sat at the trolley under the fluorescent lamp.
Sometimes, when we weren't up for a big meal of Señor Chino's, we would go to a house a few doors up the street for burgers. With a grill outside, it was easy to take away or eat on the run, but we always sat inside where there were a few tables and mismatched chairs over an uneven wood boarded floor. Our usual was the hamburguesa royal, with its paper thin cheap mince patties made excellent with the sauces, fried egg and soft bread rolls. Even after a cup of coffee or tea while watching Mexican soap operas on their television, Joel and I would part with only s/.3 each.
As if coastal food wasn't already cheap, Joel took me into the jungle where food is fresh and plentiful. At the mercado, we would have a small chicken roll and fresh juice for s/.1,50, which is about 60 Aussie cents. It was particularly filling after asking for a yapa. A yapa is a free top up, which got us half to a full glass of juice for nothing.
Lunches and dinners would set us back about s/.3 for a juane (rice tamale), a meat portion of some kind, a piece of yucca or plantain and a drink. The food in the jungle was especially delicious.
La Señora
In Máncora, Joel and I usually ended up eating at a small kitchen near the mercado, run by a lady we referred to as La Señora. Blue plastic table cloths over wobbly tables and the cacophony of chickens hidden just from view, it was an easy place to spot. Sometimes there would be a dreadful ruckus from the chook pen, and we knew what was on the menu for the next meal. Scruffy dogs circled the tables, looking at us imploringly, and cats sat at the space between our feet, mewing their most pathetic meows. But meals cost s/.4 or under, were decent, filling, and best of all, the fish was always fresh.
Señor Chino And The Royals
Because La Señora didn't serve dinner, we would search for a place to eat on the main street of Máncora. A middle-aged man we called Señor Chino had a kitchen set up by the road on his trolley. He was a stocky man with a weathered face and a toothy smile. He would whip up a pollo saltado in five minutes before our eyes as we sat at the trolley under the fluorescent lamp.
Sometimes, when we weren't up for a big meal of Señor Chino's, we would go to a house a few doors up the street for burgers. With a grill outside, it was easy to take away or eat on the run, but we always sat inside where there were a few tables and mismatched chairs over an uneven wood boarded floor. Our usual was the hamburguesa royal, with its paper thin cheap mince patties made excellent with the sauces, fried egg and soft bread rolls. Even after a cup of coffee or tea while watching Mexican soap operas on their television, Joel and I would part with only s/.3 each.
Jungle Food
As if coastal food wasn't already cheap, Joel took me into the jungle where food is fresh and plentiful. At the mercado, we would have a small chicken roll and fresh juice for s/.1,50, which is about 60 Aussie cents. It was particularly filling after asking for a yapa. A yapa is a free top up, which got us half to a full glass of juice for nothing.
Lunches and dinners would set us back about s/.3 for a juane (rice tamale), a meat portion of some kind, a piece of yucca or plantain and a drink. The food in the jungle was especially delicious.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Don't forget to choose Name/URL from the drop down menu if you are not logged in.