Chifa Hou Wha — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

Disclaimer (skip this paragraph for food only review): I went on mother's day with my fiance. There was an hour wait to sit, we were sat in the section of a server handling a 20+ person table, and everyone (bussers and servers) was running...actually running back and forth to bring food, dishes, silverware, glassware, drinks...it was chaos. We both work in restaurants in the US (yeah, f* us for traveling on mother's day), so we know the struggle. Therefore, we are willing to overlook sitting for about 15 minutes with no service initially and about a 20 minute wait to get our tab, although I think that is more to blame on the ownership as there was only 1 or 2 Visa swippers. So, if this had been any other day, I would give a 3 star due to service or lack thereof.

Jarra de limonada: GET IT! No bs, one of the best limades this side of a Sonic slushee in a 100°F Texas summer.

Pisco Sour (pictured in front of limade) and Piña Colada: strong drinks, well executed.

Sopa Wantan: the chicken broth was superb but the wonton and steamed chicken were bland. The cabbage sponged in the broth and was a gratifying bite. Sipped the broth to the bottom and contemplated getting another bowl.

Pato Peking: the duck was tender and the skin well rendered so it soaked up the sweet soy sauce nicely.

Chaufa de Camaron: nicely prepared shrimp fried rice with generous amount of shrimp tails. Well seasoned and paired nicely with the duck.

Not pictured: Siu Mai-steamed dumplings were seasoned well but overcooked as the filling was a bit tough. They serve soy sauce, chili paste and hoisin tableside but I asked for a side of vinegar (traditional complement to steamed dumplings) and was pleasantly surprised they had black vinegar. Also had the Chung Queen-eggrolls which were great but filling was uneven. A few bites were just crispy wrapping.

Although the service staff was swamped on Mother's Day, the kitchen was a well oiled machine. There were some missteps, however, the main dishes were well flavored and executed. Once we placed our orders, food came out very fast even though they were serving just as many take out orders as they were dine in guests. Kitchen staff for the win!

The Chinese food in Lima has been an odd find but gratifying. It has certainly evolved to fit the Peruvian palette but it is nice to see the fusion of two very distinct cultures. There are cheaper options in Chinatown near the historic district in Lima and even down the road, but the restaurant itself is elegant and the main course dishes are hard to find at the run of the mill chifa...

The experience was mediocre for such an expensive place. First of all, they seemed short staffed, all waiters paid little to no attention and were rude and barely responded when spoken to. Second, they brought me the wrong cocktail and told me that was what I ordered, when I told them that wasn’t it, the waiter brought it back to the bar and when he came back he said they’d ran out of the drink, which meant they tried to sell me a drink I didn’t order. Third, their AC was blasting with the draft hitting us directly. This made us rush to eat because our food was getting cold in less than ten minutes and it was the worst, as I get indigested when I eat fast and made the food taste awful. The food quality was alright though , but nothing special when compared to other Chifas in Capon that are way cheaper. Atmosphere was bad, some people were obnoxiously loud and annoying next to us, but that seems to be the trend in this country nowadays, and this comes from a Peruvian living abroad. People in Peru sometimes seem unaware of how rude they are in...

Shame! This restaurant is very nice, very popular, and most of the food is excellent, EXCEPT their mushrooms are total GARBAGE! I didn't see them come out of a can but they sure look and taste like they came out of a can and they are prominent in many dishes. How is this possible with such a fine high end restaurant with an expert chef in a country where excellent fresh mushrooms can be bought everywhere? I sure can't figure it out. Its like going to a fine Italian restaurant and being served a can of Spaghetti-Os. I say shame on the chef. She/he should be embarrassed. I sure would be. As far as the service goes, our server was very good and very polite but simply not available as the place was busy and understaffed. If we needed something (extra sauce and the check) I had to wave at random wait staff from a distance who would then signal to our waiter that we needed something after a long wait. The above issues are easy to fix, hopefully it will happen as this is a great restaurant with...