fun foodie events

When I first arrived in Santiago, it didn’t really seem to have a big culinary scene. Certainly, after the wide range of “puertas cerradas”, restaurants, parrillas and great bars in Buenos Aires, Santiago’s line up paled by comparison.

But, after much research, more time to get to know the city, and advise from people who had been around a lot longer, more options started to bubble to the surface. And not just the range of restaurants to try out, but in particular, those events that take place outside the standard confines of a restaurant.
The many different iterations of “cena escondida” (hidden dinner) events.

Creative chefs who either don’t have their own permanent space, or want to use it a little differently, and try something new, without a standard menu that only changes once every couple of months.

There are Chilean chefs who want to honour traditional recipes with quality produce, or take quality local and produce something creative, sometimes testing the boundaries, based on what’s fresh and in season. There are chefs that have come from abroad, putting their own creative spin on the wide range of available ingredients. The common underlying factor is that they want the freedom to express themselves through their food, and produce a quality product which, for the consumers, is great news.

Most of the events are based on shared tables, making it suitable for solo diners but, of course, it is always nice to go with someone with shared interests so finding some fellow foodie friends here was a big bonus!

It’s not as easy to keep up with what’s going on in these circles as it is to walk past your local restaurant and see if they’re open. Many a time a local has asked me “but, how do you know about these things?”. It’s really a case of keeping “an ear to the ground”, and social media and word-of-mouth goes a long way.

So, despite my initial reservations upon arriving in Santiago, I now find there is such a wide variety of events that it’s sometimes impossible to keep up and, for the budget and the waistline, I can’t get to all of them. Still, it’s great to seek out something new and interesting, and treat ourselves once in a while, definitely something I love about living in Chile!

Plaza Peru

Another of my favourite outdoor places, Plaza Peru is a little oasis nestled in the middle of one of the busiest business districts of Santiago.

A large, city-block sized park, with some play equipment for kids, lots of park benches and plenty of shade, it’s a great spot to take a break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

On Wednesday’s, they host a small organic market, and have free yoga classes.

I often meet a friend there for lunch after an English class, either buying a nice baguette from a nearby bakery or, if I’m organised, bringing a salad from home. It’s always a popular lunchtime meeting point for people from the surrounding businesses, or Nannies with kids from the neighbourhood (sometimes, you even see the kid’s actual mothers!).

It’s a little piece of peace in the middle of the day, and one of the things I like about living in Santiago.

South America

Or “location, location, location!”

Let’s face it, I’m not just living in a new country, but also a new continent, which brings with it a variety of different places, people and culture, and fantastic opportunities to explore.

It’s not like I’m on the move all the time like last time I visited South America and covered 7 countries in five months. I work and have some form of daily/weekly routine that keeps me in Santiago most of the time.

But living here allows me to get out from time to time, and get to know places that would be s o f a r away if I was still in Australia.

I have managed to see a little more of Chile, flying up to San Pedro de Atacama when a friend visited, taking a road trip up the coast and into Valle de Elqui with another visiting friend, and another road trip south as far as Valle de Maule with another friend. These latter two trips obviously incorporated some wine and, indeed, my interest in that field has also led me to explore, in depth, many of the wine regions around Santiago.

I saw a lot of the rest of Chile when I was here last time, but I’m sure the opportunity will come up at some stage to revisit more of this beautiful country.

But there is, of course, also opportunity to get out to see a little more of the continent.

Last August, I took a truly-foodie trip to Lima with fellow-foodie-friend Fernando and, in addition to seeing some of the city’s sites, experienced the great range of Peruvian food, from the street, to China Town, to the city’s top two restaurants. Although I would have liked to have seen the sun sometimes (Lima is notoriously cloudy), the trip was delicious, fun, and worth the extra 5 kilos!

Over New Year, it was great to be able to take a friend up on a very kind invitation to spend some time on his country property in Uruguay. After finding some reasonably priced flights, a group of four friends enjoyed a relaxing time together, sharing home cooked meals and exploring the coastline and surrounding areas. Those of us who were visiting, albeit for a second or third time, got to know a different part of country and enjoy seeing it through the eyes of someone that had lived there for 10 years and knows it very well.

When a Buenos Aires-based friend managed to get a free apartment for a week in Mendoza, I was able to find a very reasonable flight (US$140 return – cheaper and quicker than the bus) and join her and another friend for a girly week of wineries and restaurants. With the exchange rate very much in our favour, it turned out to be an indulgent week with a relatively cheap price tag.

So, I’ve managed to get to know some places a little better and it’s great to be able to jump at these opportunities, which would be so far from reality back home, when they arise.

This year, I plan to see some places that I’ve never been before, both of Chile (e.g. Easter Island), and abroad, like Colombia.

Although flights here are not cheap compared to Europe or the US, where competition is more intense, good offers come around and I will be keeping my eye on them to see what other opportunities present themselves.

So, I don’t just love living in Chile, I love living and experiencing all that a whole new continent has to offer!

Cerro San Cristobal

Cerro San Cristobal perches above Santiago, and is another popular spot for exercise, by bike riders, runners and walkers alike. There is also a cable car to get you to the top if you’re feeling less energetic, or you can drive up in your own car.

The hill makes a great weekend workout and, after climbing the steep paths to the Virgin that stands at the top, you are rewarded with a view over all of Santiago. Unfortunately, it also the best vantage point to see exactly how polluted Santiago can be at times, which you sometimes don’t notice as much at street level.

The locals are out in particular force on the weekend, and I swear that some only make the effort in order to drink the ridiculously sweet, yet refreshing, “mote con huesillo” at the top, a local specialty made with dried peaches, sweet juice, and a good serving of “mote”, a kind of barley.

When I take the hike, I don’t usually carry my camera, or any valuables for that matter, as it can be unsafe. There are stories of robberies on the sometimes secluded trails, and particularly if you are there late in the day (which I’m not, Dad.) Unfortunately, that means not many photos from the top!

It’s great to have Cerro San Cristobal close by for the occasional weekend challenge, and to see so many people making the most of the great outdoors, making it one of the reasons that it’s one of the things I love about living in Chile!

Valpo

Valparaiso is Chile’s biggest port city and, before the Panama Canal, was thriving. Now, it’s still an active, if less-busy, port, but the city now thrives on tourism.

The lower part of Valpo is built on reclaimed land from the sea, and the surrounding steep hills are filled with colourful, tightly packed houses – all different colours because they were apparently originally painted with whatever leftover paint was available after the ships had been painted.

Another unique characteristic of Valpo is the “elevators” that carry people up the hills, for about $200 pesos (40 cents). Many of the elevators are currently under repair, but a few of the main ones still operate.

I visited Valpo for the first time when I was here five years ago, stayed a couple of nights, ran around and saw the major “tourist attractions” (including one of Pablo Neruda’s houses), got debilitating food poisoning from something and, when I was able to, went back to Santiago.

No wonder that, when I got back to Santiago last year, I wasn’t really in a hurry to go back to Valpo. I went to the beautiful Casablanca Valley (which is on the way) a number of times, but never bothered to go any further than that.

My next trip to Valpo eventually came about after living in Santiago for 7 months, when some friends were visiting from Argentina and we took a day trip on the bus. I went again shortly afterwards when a bestie visited from Australia, and we spent a day in Casablanca before continuing on for an overnight stay in Viña del Mar, and an exploration of Viña and Valpo the following day.

Each time I go, I discover a little more about Valpo and love it a little more. Sure, at ground level, it’s still a port city – grungy and dirty and at times, a little shifty. But there is beautiful architecture and interesting life and, hit the hills and (as touristy as they are), they are an open-air gallery of beautiful street art and lovely hidden art galleries that you can explore for hours.

There are also great restaurants and, in a case of third-time-lucky, I finally got to “Pasta e Vino” with some visiting Aussie friends, and have been back twice since!

It’s quickly become probably my favourite restaurant in Chile and, yes, I’ve been known to take a Sunday trip to Valpo just to have lunch there after fantasizing about their corn gnocchi with carne mechada. Yum!

If you have a car, great, but it’s a cheap and short 1.5 to 2 hour bus trip from Santiago, and you don’t have to worry if you have a couple of wines at lunch.

So, now, I’ve come to think of Valpo less as a place that you go to show visitors around, and more as a nice day trip from Santi to get out-of-town on the weekend, eat well, and spend some quiet time exploring the meandering and colourful side streets and their resident galleries. It’s almost like the Melbourne equivalent of Daylesford, without the spas.

Valpo, you have definitely become one of the things I love about living in Chile.

girl, exploring

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