Canchita Peruvian cuisine – exploring Latin American food in Dempsey with a vegetarian menu

Peru has consistently been voted as one of the world’s best culinary destinations. Showcasing the diversity of Peruvian cuisine in Singapore is Canchita, a restaurant situated amidst green foliage in the charming enclave of Dempsey Hill. The relaxed and warm-lit setting offers an inviting vibe to the diners.

Helmed by chefs Daniel and Tamara Chavez, the food at Canchita beautifully blends Peruvian and Mexican flavours and authentic ingredients that appeals to all palates. The menu is mainly split into bites, ceviches, main courses and desserts.

Patacones are a very popular side dish in Latin America. They are made from green plantain slices that have been fried, smashed, and fried again. At Canchita, the flattened plantains looked like flowers, and had a crisp and cracker-like texture. The guacamole on the side was a nice touch, adding richness to the plate. Highly recommended.

Peru boasts of having around 4000 varieties of potato in the region. So it was a no-brainer to order a potato-based dish in a Peruvian restaurant. The dish consisted of roasted potatoes, aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli pepper) sauce, fresh cheese, black olives and toasted almonds. The warm potatoes contrasted perfectly with the slightly spicy sauce and it made for an interesting appetizer.

The causa is a layered dish with the top and bottom layers consisting of mashed potato mixed with lime and aji amarillo. Between these layers is a filling consisting of varied items. This vegetarian Causa Verde contained avocado, fava beans, tomatoes, onions, halloumi cheese, olives, and parsley mayo along with crispy chips on the top. This is definitely an option to try to understand the diversity of ingredients used in Peruvian cuisine.

Chaufa is a widely consumed fried rice dish having its origin in the Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine. The Arroz Chaufa at Canchita had a story to tell, bringing out the flavours of baby corn, asparagus, radishes, capsicum, and smoked chilli mayo in this rice dish. The rice was moist enough and can be eaten by itself without any added condiments. Highly recommended.

Alfajores are sandwich cookies made with dulce de leche filling. They were silky, smooth and melt-in-your mouth shortbread cookies that were just so hard to resist! Easily my favourite dessert of the meal! If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll find this dish to be just delightful.

Chocolate and banana in desserts go well together. The chocolate chilli cake with a hazelnut crunch and caramelized rum banana turned out to be a decadent dessert, especially for chocolate lovers.

Tres Leches is a light and airy sponge cake, and contains three different type of milk. Go for this only if you like milky desserts.

The passionfruit mousse tasted like a palate cleanser after those vibrant flavours in the meal. The mousse was light and the mango was refreshingly cold.

The customer service at Canchita was very good, and the staff is very attentive to customers. They are available to help with a pleasant smile. The wholesome vegetarian menu and the ambience makes it a perfect choice for special occasions. If you want to experience authentic Latin American flavours and have Peruvian vegetarian cuisine in Singapore, then Canchita is definitely worth visiting.