Missenscène

It wasn’t my idea. One of my best friends is a foodie. She knows all the best places to go.

We’ve been wanting to try Mo-Chica for a few weeks now. Tonight, we finally tried the delicious Peruvian restaurant. (Actually, it’s not a restaurant. It’s one of many places to eat at the Mercado La Paloma food court near USC).

Mo-chica’s chef,  and Lima native, Ricardo Zarate worked as a chef at high-end restaurants prior to opening this diamond in the rough.

Chef Zarate goes to the fish market daily to obtain fish for his ceviche del dia as well as  the menu del dia. We actually got to meet the chef,  as he came out as food was delivered. He told us to enjoy the meal.

We started with causa del dia, which is a Peruvian potato salad. It was so good. See photo above. It had yellow potatoes, crab, avocado and a very yummy spicy sauce.

Then we had the most delicious ceviche in the world. Today’s fish was Red Snapper. But, the chef also uses sushi grade tuna to make this dish. At only $5, it was such a great deal.

Four our main course, we shared Lomo Saltado made with Shrimp.  It was also very yummy.  It’s basically a stew-type dish with rice and french fries.

And for desert, we had carob mousse. It tasted like coffee candy–but so much creamier. It was soooooooo good.

If you’re ever in the downtown Los Angeles area, you must try this new Peruvian restaurant.

Visit the official Mo-Chica website for more info, photos and menu.

I took a few more photos of Mo-chica below.  The food was beautiful, and it was absolutely fantastic.

This is where you eat.

This is where you order.

The sauces that came with the lomo saltado.

The cute logo was hand-stamped on all the napkins and order number plaques.