I love trying out the different dishes and drinks that each country has to offer. You learn so much about the culture of a country through their food and drinks.
- I think the one drink that Chile is really famous for is that they produce great quality wine. The wine in Chile is quite affordable and I learned that even a cheap bottle can taste very good! The best place to try great Chilean wine is definitely at one of the many vineyards that surround Santiago! I had the opportunity to visit Cassablanca winery where they produce a boutique wine. This was an amazing experience as we got to walk through the vineyards and into the wine cellar. After learning how they produce these lovely wines we got to enjoy a wine tasting in front of a lovely fireplace! The wine here was absolutely fabulous!!
- I have never even heard of Pisco Sour before I came to Chile. It is liquor made with grapes as its basis from the northernmost Chilean valleys. This drink is then prepared with lemon juice and sugar and served in a champagne glass. I think it is lovely!! It smelled and tasted a bit like a margarita!! I went out for a lovely seafood dinner in the Lastaria district of Saigon and was lucky enough to actually get a complimentary glass of Pisco Sour with my dinner.
- Chilean people LOVE sandwiches and have the weirdest filling combinations I have ever come across.I tried Chacarero which was a chicken burger with tomato and NOT lettuce but GREEN BEANS!! Yes, green beans and all of this was covered with mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard!! I opted for eating the green beans separate before enjoying my burger, the combination was just a bit too weird for me. Its quite interesting to see what other cultures see as “normal”! A Chilean hot dog or Italiano as they are called here in Santiago is served with salsa, avocado, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard! I think this was the weirdest tasting hot dog that I have ever eaten. It could have done with a little bit less mayonnaise! I ordered an Italiano burger the one afternoon and really enjoyed the avocado added to the burger after I got rid of the mayonnaise! I have now learned that the Chileans love mayonnaise and eat it with nearly everything!
- I went to La Piojera one of the largest traditional pub restaurant in Santiago. This historically popular bar is famous for its meat dishes and its traditional drink called Terremoto which means earthquake. This drink is made with pipeno wine and pineapple ice-cream. We got one to share and it was so sweet that we could hardly finish the one drink. I can vouch that it is sweet but also very strong and even half a Terremoto made me feel a bit tipsy!
- The drink Mote con Huesillos ended up being as interesting as the name! This is actually a traditional summer drink made with boiled peaches, wheat, water, sugar and cinnamon. I tried ordering one at a restaurant close to Plaza de Armas and was informed that I would only be able to get it in summer. I was then lucky enough to find one in a supermarket. It was quite good and tasted a bit like ice tea. I didn’t like the wheat part that much though but do think this would be a very refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day!
- I really love Chilean Empanada’s!! It is close to a pie but the dough is not flaky. The traditional Chilean Empanada is filled with pino, this is ground meat, onion, olives, raisins and a boiled egg! I tried this and it was good but not my favourite filling. I loved the empanadas that were filled with cheese and olives or seafood! I ended up having an Empanada either for dinner or for lunch nearly every day!
- I think my favourite Chilean food is Sopaipillas. They are made of fried flour and served in many restaurants as snacks. I love the Sopaipillas that you can buy from some of the street vendors that line the busy streets of the Bellavista district. I often stopped here after work on my way home and had a freshly made Sopaipilla while watching people hurry on past. The Chileans would add ketchup and mustard to theirs but personally I thought they tasted better plain!
- There is a half Chilean, half Spanish dish that a lot of people said I should try. Pastel de Choclo is a corn pie made of corn paste, meat, chicken, hardboiled eggs, olives, raisins and a bit of sugar mixed together and then baked. I tried this dish at a little local place close to Plaza de Armas. It was not the best thing I have ever eaten but the experience was definitely worth it. The place I ate it had a very unique way of preparing it. The olives still had pits in and the chicken inside the pie was still on the bone! Was fun eating it though.
- Chileans love sweet things and especially “manjar” or dulce de leche ! It is traditionally made by slowly and gently cooking pure (normally non-homogenized) milk to thicken and reduce the volume, and gradually adding sugar and they eat it with everything! I had the chance to eat a croissant filled with this sweet substance and it was lovely!! There are biscuits filled with manjar but my favourite was definitely the churos! They were freshly made by some street vendors and then filled with manjar, it is absolutely delicious!!
- I had the opportunity to try Ceviche at the Central fish Market in Santiago. It is a seafood dish popular in the coastal regions of Chile. The dish is made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices, such as lemon or lime and was served with chopped onions, salt, and coriander. I really enjoyed trying this dish and doing so in the fish market where I knew the ingredients would be fresh was an excellent experience! I would recommend this fish dish to anybody who loves sushi!!
I have really enjoyed my culinary exploration of Santiago and think Chile offers something to everybody’s taste!
Janaline's world journey 
Looks like you love experimenting with food! everything looks so yummmy and full of calories 🙂
LikeLike
Hi! I don’t want to come across as a snob, or over critical or anything negative but having a chilean father and having been living here in Santiago for a year now I understand it better and I thought I should correct some of the info on your post.
1- “italianos” are a type of hot dog. Hot dogs in general are called “completos”. and the reason Italianos are called italianos (italians) is because the toppings have the same colour as the Italian flag!!!
2- An essential ingredient in Sopaipillas is pumpkin, which is blended very well with the flour but if you think about it besides the taste its what gives it its bright yellow colour 🙂
3- The pipeño wine used in terremoto is NOT made from the pepino fruit. Its in fact made with grapes like all other wines, the difference is its made with ordinary grapes and only fermented for a very short time.
Everything else is absolutely correct and between us, I agree 100% in the strangeness of a sandwich with green beans!
And once again sorry for all the corrections but I know I would like it if I had someone explain all the foods to me when I travel!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. As a stranger to the country and all its customs it is quite useful getting an insider view on things.
LikeLike
Hi, I’m chilean I’m very happy for your post. I have to say that you made a mistake. Pipeño is not make with pepinos, is make with grapes. Is a cheap wine. And Italian completo, hot-dog, is called like that because it has 3 colors: green (avocado), white (mayonaise) and red, tomatoes 😉
LikeLike
Thank you. That is cool that the hotdog is so named because of its colours.
LikeLike
Wow The Sopaipillas looks yummy… I’m drooling
LikeLike
They were delicious!! I had them for a dinner a couple of evenings!
LikeLike
The fish markets photo gave me a laugh I imagine him shouting “Don’t shoot.” the photos tell the story so well.
LikeLike
Thanks!! Had a fabulous day at the fish market and as usual people are very reluctant to let you photograph them so I had to snap this photo quite fast!
LikeLike
Good one!
LikeLike
You look like a FANTASTIC travel companion – trying all the city has to offer. Will definitely be referring to this post if I am ever headed to Santiago.
LikeLike
Thank you for that lovely compliment!! Its always great to meet people who like to travel the same way I do!
LikeLike
Every culture has their unique way of using ingredients common to them. This is a very interesting journal. Thanks!
LikeLike
Thanks Bebs. Yes I think each culture has something unique that they do with food and I love learning about a country through these small differences!
LikeLike
This looks like such an amazing experience!
LikeLike
Thanks Lindy. It was definitely an amazing experience and I learned a lot bout the Chilean culture during my stay in Santiago. Think a lot of what I learnt was through their food and drinks!
LikeLike
I love reading about culture through food, what a great post!
LikeLike
Thanks! I think that you learn a lot about a country through their food!
LikeLike
That view from Andes looks really great! 🙂
LikeLike
It was an amazing view!! Eating crepes while looking out over the Andes mountains was definitely a high point of my Chilean adventure!
LikeLike
Yay! food post! Always so interesting 😀 Especially around breakfast and dinner time :-p a Sopaipilla would taste good right now!
LikeLike
Sopaopilla’s are great!! Think they would be excellent around dinner time with some meat!
LikeLike
wine and icecream!! Now that’s something dreams are made of!!! 😀
LikeLike
Drinking Chilean wine in Chile on a winery was definitely one of my dreams come true!
LikeLike
I think I need to book a flight to Chile. I’m hungry now.
LikeLike
The food in Chile is quite good and they have such a wide variety of dishes that I am sure you will find something to your liking!
LikeLike
Never have Chilean food before, and since I love mayo on everything, I think I can survive in Chile 🙂
LikeLike
Think you would love their food then!! I think Chilean food is quite tasty, and dont forget to try the drinks they have on offer!
LikeLike
I should not have read this right before bedtime… now I’m starving!
LikeLike
Oooh, the food in Chile is interesting and good! At night I usually crave something sweet before I go to bed and unfortunately Chile has a very wide range of sweet things on offer! Most of them are new for me and this gives me a great excuse to try them all out!!
LikeLike
I’m packing my suitcase…I’ve got such a sweet tooth, and Spain’s just not up to scratch when it comes to desserts.
LikeLike
A great peek inside the culture of Chile. Thanks, Janaline!
LikeLike
Thanks Ruth! Had a lot of fun tasting all the strange and new dishes, especially tasting their traditional drinks!! At the end I did realize one thing, Chileans definitely have a sweet tooth!!
LikeLike
And that’s hard to adjust to if you’re not used to it. In the southern part of the United States, they drink what’s know as “sweet tea.” Well, if you don’t know that and you order iced tea expecting unsweetened, your first sip is a bit overwhelming. I imagine it’s the same for you with some of these foods and drinks in Santiago.
LikeLike
wow! amazing ! I hope i someday get to explore Chile too!
LikeLike
Thanks Mohanag, Chile is an amazing place to explore! It is beautiful and has such an interesting history and culture as well! You will not be disappointed.
LikeLike
I think you and I have the same excited drinking face 🙂
LikeLike
I am always very excited at the prospect of trying new and weird drinks!
LikeLike