Food, glorious food!

As a country colonized by Spain, there is a high presence of Spanish culture present through language, dance, music and of course food. I immediately found the culture of lunch as the main meal of the day to be quite foreign, but the incorporation of the siesta proved to ease us into this foreign practice. Our host mother would serve us a fairly westernized breakfast of fruit, cereal and toast, and she also organized our less substantial dinners. La cena consisted of jamon y queso for the greater majority of our three months in Quito, and to this day I have trouble consuming the humble ham and cheese sandwich. The main meal of the day, lunch, was an extravagant affair usually consisting of a three-course meal. Following the starter of a soup was a meat-based dish with salad, vegetables and every bean known to man. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so many beans in my life. This was all topped off with a combination of fresh juice, fruit and usually some kind of pastry to end the meal on a sweeter note. The culture shock was less prominent in the type of food, but in the fact that our main meal of the day was prepared by our household maid. That’s right, I said maid. I never did quite get used to the fact that we had someone serving us and cleaning all our things, it was all a bit bizarre. 

On sundays our host mother would spend some quality time with her relatives, so we were left to forage for our own meals. We did throw a few dinner parties, where I did majority of the cooking due to my roommates innate ability to burn all the things, however we were often quite lazy and visited our favourite local café The Magic Bean. With one of their two locations conveniently situated below our apartment building it became a frequent meeting spot for us and many of our fellow antipodeans who all lived within 10 minutes walk. The staff came to know us well, and we fell into a routine eating their ‘Po-boy’ sandwiches, jam packed salads and their ridiculously cheap choc-chip pancakes (always worth the extra calories).

Although the majority of our diet was typically Ecuadorian we did manage to explore quite a bit of the local variation of foreign cuisine, especially in the tourist area of La Mariscal or ‘Gringo town’. Some of our personal favourites included the bohemian La Boca del Lobo and the cheeky natured Uncle Ho’s. La Boca del Lobo is worth a visit for the colourful architecture and interior design alone, especially considering the prices are quite steep in comparison to regular Quito prices. We did only visit twice, deciding it was more of a special occasion restaurant, but if you’re looking for a bit of splurge this is the place to be. Not to mention its instagram potential, this is definitely the kind of place that would give your friends travel envy. Uncle Ho’s on the other hand was a Vietnamese restaurant started by two men with a combined heritage of Irish, American and of course Vietnamese, serving up a selection of Vietnamese favourites with a side of Thai and Ecuadorian delights. The service was what really made the restaurant, with the added bonus of their mischievous ‘I love Ho’s’ t-shirts for sale. Needless to sale I’m the proud owner of one of those shirts, though I would definitely recommend you size up in the ladies styles as they’re quite a slim fit.

One of the most bizarre Ecuadorian delicacies I encountered was the eating of guinea pigs. I didn’t dare try it, mainly because of the method of cooking them that kept them completely whole, which overall unnerved me. My friend Alex did however try them, and he said they weren’t too bad, though I can’t say I was completely convinced.

I’d have to say the culinary highlight of my Ecuadorian adventure was similar to many of the other countries I’ve visited, which was the street food. I love the experience of ordering something on the side of the street and watching it cooked in front of me. Not only is it often a safer option when it comes to possibilities of food poisoning, it’s also a great way to get the freshest, and in my opinion the most delicious food. Street food was everywhere in Ecuador, and I found that the more rural the location, the better the fare. One of my personal favourites for street food was a surfing town along the Ecuadorian coastline called Montañita. We happened to be in town during a national public holiday, which meant we had a bit of an adventure finding hostels (though I still remain strong on my stance of not pre-booking in majority of circumstances, as our booked hostel turned out to be a nightmare and we easily found another), but it also meant that there was an amazing vibe of celebration throughout the town. There was an abundance of street food through the centre of town, with a great deal of touristy fare, however we made a beeline for the same stall every time. Their main options were marinated meat on a stick and corn roasted in front of you then coated in your choice of what I can only guess was some kind of yoghurt, amongst a variety of sauces, and then rolled in cheese. I’m not going to lie, even as I type that out it doesn’t sound incredibly appealing, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the most amazing flavour combinations I’ve encountered yet. Another perk of Montañita we lovingly nicknamed ‘cocktail alley’, which was essentially a street leading you to the beach, lined with small vendors selling fresh fruit juice combinations with the option of added alcohol (which we of course obliged, with the maximum paid being around US$3.50 for an enormous serving). The last remaining standout for food in Montanita was a quaint vegetarian café by the name of Café del Mar, which had a homey interior and served the most amazing vegetarian lasagna, amongst a selection of other meals and desserts. Worth it for the cute couches, book exchange and delectable medley of vegetarian options.

¡Hasta Luego! 

-Melissa