It was a pleasure having Bianka Kamber (@biankakamber) at our Queen Street West location and experiencing Brasa Peruvian Kitchen for the first time! During her visit she learns about Peru, Peruvian cuisine and the imported Peruvian ingredients we use in our warm bowls & fresh salads. She also got the chance build the Chifa Short Rib Bowl.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE: 
 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoN1EmwuWsr/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Jay: Hi guys. I am here with Bianka today and this is her first time here at our Queen and John location. How do you like it so far?

Bianka: So, so cute. I said it has a very New York vibe, which I like.

Jay: How much do you know about Peru?

Bianka: I've never been. Um, and I don't think that we have a lot of Peruvian restaurants that I know of in the city.

Jay: With Peru, they’re known for their vibrant colors and their textiles, their clothing—

Bianka: When I think of Peru, I think of meat-based dishes and barbecued stuff and ceviche and that's really <laugh> the first thing that comes to mind. So I'm really excited to try this.

<Jay & Bianka walk towards the ingredients displayed on the service line>

Bianka: Those, those little guys are my favourite.

Jay: The sweety drop peppers?

Bianka: The sweety drop peppers. Are those Peruvian?

Jay: They are Peruvian, yes! They're also known as the Inca Red Drops. And it's a nice combination between tanginess and sweetness.

Bianka: They're so good…

Jay: You haven't tried any of our bowls before?

Bianka: I've not tried any of them. The one that stood out to me the most was the short rib, one because I love red meat.

Jay: Yes.

Bianka: And two because I feel like short rib is something you'd find in like an upscale restaurant. So I was really taken aback that that was on the menu and all of the ingredients in that sounded really good. So I think that I wanna try the short rib bowl. So let's do it.

<Bianka begins rolling up her sleeves>

Bianka: I'm gonna roll up these guys.

Jay: Roll up them sleeves!

<Jay & Bianka begin to create the Chifa Short Rib Bowl>

Bianka: Smells so good.

Jay: So first up is the mixed—

Bianka: Greens and then we're gonna put—

Jay: The warmed season rice.

<Bianka carefully places rice into bowl>

Bianka: Did I do that good?

Jay: Yep, you're good. You're gonna love the rice. It's like nice, soft, fluffy! And then next, we go into the chifa right here.

Bianka: Oh my gosh, that looks so good.

Jay: They do have hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce and a little bit of gravy from the actual beef itself. Chifa is a Chinese Peruvian fusion.

Bianka: That's so cool, I did not know that. I'm liking this already cause I love the Asian flavours too.

Jay: Here, I'll do the honours cause I'm like…you can tell that I'm salivating.

Bianka: That looks was so good.

Jay: And then we get onions. There we go. Tap, tap, tap!

Bianka: <laugh> And then we have all these wonderful flavours here. <looks at the displayed toppings>

Jay: Yeah so next we get the broccoli.

Bianka: Okay.

Jay: And next we got the Salsa Criolla. It is pretty much used either as a side dish or also a garnish to Peruvian dishes.

Bianka: This looks absolutely delicious.

Jay: And then next we've got sweetie drop peppers.

Bianka: Oh my fave! This is literally gonna bring me back. I love t

he way these pop in your mouth and they're so full of delicious sweet but like that tangy flavour. Very exotic. I didn't even know that I'd find this here.

Jay: So now we go straight into the hot rocoto lime dressing. The rocoto is a type of pepper, which is native to Peru and the lime helps balance out the heat. Did you wanna do the honours?

Bianka: Sure. <drizzles hot rocoto lime dressing onto bowl>

Jay: Alright. I would recommend using our signature Brasa sauce.

Bianka: <Drizzles Brasa Sauce in Bowl> Okay, I'm like salivating.

Jay: There you go and Bianka has her Chifa Bowl ready!

Bianka: I had so much fun.

Jay: What would you say was your big takeaway?

Bianka: So I had absolutely no idea that there was Asian influence in Peruvian cuisine and I absolutely love Asian food. And the two marrying together sounds so good. And I can't wait to taste my bowl. This is like torture having it right there. <laugh> Where's my fork?

Bianka: Okay, I think I got a little bit of everything on here. 

<Bianka takes her first bite into the Chifa Short Rib Bowl>

Bianka: It's so, so good. It tastes like a home cooked meal. The flavours are super rich. There's so much in every single bite. Like most times I eat a meal, I'm like, oh, that didn't do it for me. You need to get something else. No, every single bite has like a different punch of flavor and I, I love it.

So, so good. The meat is delicious. It is so tender. The dressing bomb. I'm a very hard food critic. Good job Brasa, you guys killed it!