Some of the highlights of last week's eating was to try some traditional Chilean favourites. First is the empanada, which is like a cornish pasty really, but they traditionally stuff it with beef, onions, boiled eggs, and olives (empanada de pino):
I also tried the Chilean heart-attack-on-a-plate, lomo a lo pobre, which is a steak accompanied by fried onions, chips, and two fried eggs. We actually had it at an Argentinian chain popular in Chile, and the steak was soooooooooooooooooooooo very good, even though the South Americans tend to overcook it to medium/medium-well.
However, given the geographical positioning of the country, the Chileans also eat a lot of fish. We were lucky enough to visit the port and beach towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar at the weekend, both popular hang-outs of Santiagoians. Here, we tried a Chilean seafood chowder, paila marina, which had abalone (!), scallops, prawns, and conger eel:
Most of the group actually opted for the Chilean version of fish and chips at this restaurant, and just chose the fish at the top of the page (menus invariably all in Spanish), not knowing it was conger eel. Some flinched when told, but most enjoyed it (yay!). The flesh is much less oily than the eels back home though, much meatier like a monkfish.
And of course, the reason I am actually here is to build a house, so I really should write about that. We were finishing a half-built wooden house for a single mother Valesca, and her child Martin, and here is the finished article! It sits on an extremely pretty plot surrounded by flowers, and we donated the paint for them to have it yellow :) It only consists of two tiny rooms (you can barely fit a double bed in each), but it will provide some much needed space for Valesca and Martin.
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