When you are traveling one of the most exciting things is the food culture of the country you are visiting. I have been to countries where I found the food a bit boring (like Cuba - not a lot of spices there) and others that gave me a pleasant surprise (like Malaysia with their mixed food cultures). My impression of Chile started off quite good. The food in Eco Camp was great and we enjoyed great 3 course dinners every day. My expectations of the food in Maitencillo was therefor quite high. As a beach village I was expecting great seafood and fish dishes.
The cabin that my friend and I rented was located next to one of the most popular restaurants in the village, so that was the first place we tried out. The food was OK, not great, but not bad either. Then we tried the restaurant that was famous for the best ceviche in town (a South American dish that is slightly different made in each country). I couldn't eat more than a third of it. I just didn't like it. We took in second dish and I could eat it, but didn't really enjoy it. At this point we got bit worried. Was there any great food in the village?
We checked the internet and found that besides of "our" restaurant (that belonged to our cabin) there was another one that was highly recommended. We decided to go there for dinner. This time we chose a dish from their "Recommended" page - their Frutti de Mare. Again - we were very disappointed. It was hardly eatable. This was not the way to enjoy the wonders from the sea just next to us.
The next morning we decided to check out the local fish market. We had decided to cook our own dinner. We walked around and then approached the fishermen that we felt gave us the best first impression. My friend Maria, who speaks fluent Spanish, did the talking. Even if I didn't understand that much of the discussion I got the feeling that the fisherman took an immediate liking in Maria. He was showing her everything and was eating everything, raw, in front of us just to proof how fresh and good it was. Maria even tried some herself. We ended up buying mussels, sole, scallops and much more. Suddenly we had spent more money on the fish market than we would done in an restaurant. But the plastic bag with fish and seafood that we carried with us was very heavy. Then we spent the next hour buying all other things that was needed to create a fantastic dinner. In the end the whole food shopping tour took us more than 2 hours.
Maria checking out the fish market
Big mussels
Our Sole files' in preparation
In the late afternoon I went for a jog and Maria started to prepare dinner (yeah - she spoiled me.) At dinner time we then enjoyed mussels as entree and sole with all scallops, shrimps and other seafood for main course. We finished it off with fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries together with ice cream. And BOY what a great dinner it was. Everything tasted like something from heaven. In the end I could hardly move, since I had eaten too much. But we still hadn't finished it all. We had a great lunch the next days and could even offer the neighborhood cats a great feast.
Birthday Celebration Dinner
Dessert
Those mussels are certainly hugeeee !!!!
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