House of Pisco

Woop woop! It's 2017! Let's start this year off with a post on one of my favourite restaurants from 2016 - Harley House. You may remember that once upon a time, Harley House was Mexican-Chinese fusion restaurant La Chinesca (I visited once on an invite), and since then they've changed the name and specialised the menu on Peruvian cuisine, with a strong focus on piscos (woohoo!) and grilled meats (also woohoo!)

Harley House

Pisco Sours - Mango & Berry - $19 ($12 during happy hour!)

Speaking of delicious sour things, I've tried a couple of their ceviches and really enjoyed them. Hot tip: the ceviche mixto de mercado is a very generous serving! Good for sharing.

Ceviche Mixto de Mercado - Mixed local white fish, prawns, squid, octopus, tiger's milk - $28

The yellowfin tuna ceviche special we tried on another visit was much smaller (I imagine because yellowfin tuna is more expensive than the mixed seafood in the other ceviche), but was still very good. From memory it came with a mango sauce, the sharpness of which contrasted well against the rich, oily tuna.

Tiradito of the day - yellowfin tuna ceviche - $24

The rompebocas (small plates) section of the menu has a lot of great drinking food - the crispy fried chicken wings and empanadas are both well worth ordering.

Alitas de Pollo - Deep fried chicken wings, masterstock, ranchero tomato sauce - $18 Empanadas - corn & queso serrano - $9 each Chipa with Chia Seeds - tapioca flour cheese bread, bocconcini cheese - $12

My favourite, though, is the chipa with chia seeds, which we order every time. Similar to my beloved pão de queijo, these are chewy little cheesy breads made of tapioca flour.

Chipa with Chia Seeds - Tapioca flour cheese bread, Bocconcini cheese - $12

Let's take a look at the meat! The spatchcock a la brasa (i.e. Peruvian rotisserie chicken, made with spatchcock) was smoky, juicy and tender. And it came with bonus potatoes - win win.

Spatchcock a la Brasa - Marinated in beer, garlic, ginger, spices - $26

Asado con Hueso - 72 hour slow cooked beef short rib, Huacatay salsa - $40

The asado con hueso (i.e. "with bone") had a great crust (or bark) on the outside, and was incredibly tender, falling apart at the prod of a fork.

Soooo tender

The churrasco beef is different but equally delicious - rather than being slow cooked, this one is a grilled sirloin steak, cooked medium rare and sliced into thick slabs. I've had this one a few times and it's always great - perfectly cooked, well seasoned and with a great char.

Churrasco – 300G Grass fed sirloin, Huacatay salsa - $30

Ensalada Vegetariano - grilled corn w/ cauliflower purée, grilled watermelon, heart of palm, sweet potato, coriander, cancha, yuca & jalapeño - $17

Warm Beetroot Salad - Beetroot & raisin emulsion, baby beet, purple carrot, watermelon radish, red vein sorrel - $14

Papas Fritas - Hand cut chips, ají amarillo mayonnaise, ranchera sauce - $10

We don't usually order dessert, but when we brought our friends An and Adri here for a birthday gift, we couldn't not order a few sweet things! My favourite were the picarones - sweet potato and pumpkin donuts, in a sweet plum syrup.

Picarones - Sweet potato & pumpkin Peruvian doughnuts, plum syrup - $14

Alfajor de Chocolate - Chocolate shells, shortbread, dulce de leche - $12

The alfajor de chocolate didn't look like any other alfajor I'd ever tried before (sah fancy!), but the familiar combination of shortbread crumbs and sweet, sweet dulce de leche was very tasty.

Suspiro Limeno - Dulche de leche, seasonal fruits, meringue - $14