I Ate Guinea Pig. Twice.

I’m still recovering from an incredible trip to Peru, but I will make this short and sweet by showing pictures of the two instances of cuy that I came across and explain.

On the first night in Cusco, we went to a local place where we proceeded to order every single local Peruvian dish on the menu, including alpaca and cuy. I felt more guilty about eating alpaca (which tasted like a tough smokey lamb) than the guinea pig with its tomato hat. The cuy skin was very tough and rubbery; the meat was thin and boney. After a few bites, I passed it on.

Traditional Roasted Cuy

On our last night, we somehow managed to get into the esteemed Astrid y Gastón, where we ordered cuy again, but peking-style. And let me say, if this was the way it was always prepared, I would eat it every day. Maybe this is due to it tasting like a fattier version of peking duck, hoisin sauce and wrapper included. Whatever the case, I can’t speak highly of Astrid y Gastón, its food and its hospitality to a group of harried-looking backpackers recovering from a 4-day hike.

Peking Cuy at Astrid y Gastón

Of course, I am no way diminishing the food we had on the Salkantay trail. Our cook on the hike was incredible and the food was nothing short of hearty and delicious. Check out the rest of the photos on my Flickr!