Welcome to my “Central and South America Food Saga“!
In Bolivia and in Chile, even though meat was still available, we ate a lot of fish. Good: a break from the arroz con pollo!
Food in Bolivia is quite basic, and there aren’t many supermarkets (if at all). Sanitation isn’t the country’s strong point either, and even though there were many food stalls in La Paz, I skipped on those. However, Copacabana, on the shore of Lake Titicaca, had some of the best fish I have ever had. The popular trucha (trout) can be served al limón (with lemon), entomatada (with tomatoes), al ajillo (with garlic), a la mantequilla (with butter) etc. Typical side dishes include rice or potatoes, with a small salad — not bad!
We stuck to our fish diet in Chile, which has some great seafood thanks to its extensive coastline. Some popular dishes are made with squid, soleidae (sole), albacore, codfish, hake, corvina (salmon), congridae (conger)… Fish can be frito (deep fried in batter), a la plancha (grilled) or al horno (baked).
A great place to eat in Santiago is the Mercado Central, which emphasizes on pescado (fish) and mariscos (shellfish). There are many restaurants and eateries within the market building and the food is cheap, fresh and tasty. Don’t miss the paila marina, a big seafood stew!
wow, amazing stuff there. So vivid, so awesome!
Mmmm, I’ll have the Chilean mussels and the Bolivian trout please. It all looks wonderful. You mentioned squid. Did you have any, and how was it prepared.
I have had both octopus and cuttlefish that were very good. At least no cow heads today.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I see that your title is in Spanish. I am attempting to learn some before we return to Mexico in December. Your blog looks very inviting and interesting. I don’t care for many fish dishes but we did make pigs of ourselves on shrimp in Mexico. We fish for salmon here as we have one of Canada’s largest Sockeye runs into the nearby Babine Lake so we have a steady supply all year.
Fish…healthy choice !
Looks delicious !
I love fish! Too bad fish here are expensive! I don’t understand, Denmark is surrounded by seas, so? *shrugs shoulders*
I love fish! Now I want have one of these fish dishes for dinner. It all looks wonderful.
I have to admit I love ‘exploring’ all the different types of fishes when I visit the fish monger 😉 I saw you have a mussel there 😀
I really like fish, but I am terrible at remembering names of fish or being able to identify them on sight. Sigh… I’m just like that with flowers and plants, too.
Coming from Norway, you know I’m pre programmed to love this post. What wonderful seafood and how many wonderful way to prepare it. Your lunch with clams looks delicious and even trout! I would have loved to taste the paila marina!
I love baked fish, but the other ways sounds great too.
@sir jorge – Do you like fish as well? Products are very fresh.
@Tulsa Gentleman – I haven’t had squid… I must admit I’m afraid of the texture, more than the taste.
@Vic Grace – Canadian salmon is really yummy! Spanish is quite easy for me because I speak French, and the two languages are quite similar. It’s great you are learning it, makes communicating and interacting so much easier.
@Sidney – Yes, it was probably my favorite food.
@the writer – It is weird. I had always though Nordic countries had cheap fish!
@Soleil – Enjoy! It was great.
@shionge – We used to eat a lot of mussels in France, it was quite cheap. Not in Canada though… I missed it.
@Gail at Large – Oh, I’m the same! Besides, I like all kinds of fish, so I don’t really care what I order.
@RennyBA – WE had some great fish in Finland last summer and I assume it is as good in Norway – lucky you! You would love Chile.
Sorry you just visited an ugly an sad city of Bolivia.
30% of my country is Altiplano, the rest is Amazonia, and you could´t belive how diferent they are.
In the Amazonia you can discover a beautiful, bright and happy Bolivia.
In Santa Cruz you find a supermarket at every arrondisement.
Excuse me, but La Paz is not Bolivia, just a little part of it.
Sorry you just visited one city in Bolivia
The Altiplano of Bolivia is just the 30% of the country, the rest is Amazonia, you can discover a bright, hot, green and happy Bolivia in the East.
And you can find a supermarket or two in every arrondisement you go =) in Santa Cruz, the capital of the bolivian Amazonia. Better luck next time, and visit us, we will be waitin for you, you won´t regret
You are absolutely right!
We did experience some frustration in La Paz, hence the post, but I didn’t mean any offense. Bolivia is still a beautiful country and I hate to generalize.
I’d love to visit the Bolivian Amazonia!
I don´t feel offended at all, I know what you are talking about, I lived in La Paz one year.
Nice Blog¡¡