Our two nights and days at the Relais et Chateaux Titilaka were an experience we shall remember for many many years to come so fondly. Located approximately an hour south of the major city in the region, Puna, The 14 room lodge is located on a small isolated peninsula jutting out into Lake Titicaca with surrounding native Aymara villages, that still retain an amazing amount of native culture that we were able to discover.
The views from the rooms are amazing with huge glass windows overlooking the lake and the food is absolutely some of the best we have had here in Peru. For my first lunch I had a truly amazing local quinoa and fava bean soup that was out of this world followed by local grilled trout from the lake.
Dinner was even more impressive starting with a Alpaca Carpaccio with balsamic reduction, rustic pesto sauce, quinoa and arugula salad with dehydrated gooseberries and Brazil nuts. At first I tasted the dehydrated gooseberry sauce and thought the dish too sweet, But then mixing in the arugula and other ingredients in one byte made it one of the most delicious carpaccios ever.
Will started with the Green Asparagus with Andean pink salt butter, parmesan shavings and poached egg which he declared lovely.
Samuel chose the Southern Peruvian salad with whole corn, grains, fava beans, local cheese, red onion and black olives.
He and I then split the Quinoa and avocado salad, Which both he and Will had actually had at lunch time and declared amazing.
Wines are complimentary here as is all the alcohol and all the tea, all the coffee and all the amazing meals that are given constantly all day long, so I enjoyed a Peruvian Blanc de Blanc blend from Tacama of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier, while Will had a Mapu Reserva Chard from Argentina.
He and Samuel were feeling very full and both ordered pizzas for their main course, Samuel of course went for the plain Margherita while Will loved the asparagus bacon and quail egg.
For my main course I went heavy with Lomo Saltado, a delicious tender beef tenderloin strip with onion, tomatoes and chiles, fried yellow potatoes and traditional rice. The rice was plain enough to avoid, the potatoes were delicious and the meat was melt in your mouth fabulous especially with the Tacama Seleccion Especial of Petite Verdot and Cabernet which we had already had several times on the trip.
For dessert, the boys skipped and I had a simple mango sorbet with a lemongrass sauce around it and a simple coconut crisp cookie in the middle.
It was light and refreshing and the lemongrass sauce reminded me of a kind of slightly spicy fruity creme anglaise.
Off to bed for early wake up calls as we had an 8 hour excursion to visit isolated islands on the Lake the next day.
There are some Facebook pictures and they also include our fabulous lunch on the island of Taquile, about an hour away by boat from the hotel but as if civilization had not reached it in a couple of 100 years. The folks here have solar panels to heat their water and give them a bit of electricity but it's a simple way of farming life and we had a lot of great fun learning about their traditions.
Back at the hotel of course there was a grand dinner....
Our second dinner was even better than all the other meals where I started with a trout ceviche which they serve on the side what is called a chilcano, which is basically a trout shooter with spicy vinegar salsa. The ceviche itself was loaded with roasted purple corn and again that amazing trout from Titicaca. A side note is that today all of the trout served from the Lake is Canadian trout which was imported decades ago and is eating up all of the local fish, so it's one of the few fish that is allowed to be taken from the Lake.
Samuel started with the rustic Mozzarella and tomato salad with basil and black olives which he said had the saltiest vinagrette he's ever had although he seemed to like it. Will had the Quinoa and fava bean Andean chowder which I had the day before which just has to be one of the best dishes they make here.
For main courses will chose a simple Burger with bacon and egg although the fries were cold and Samuel had than gnocchi with rustic pesto sauce.
My Duck Magret with Andean gooseberries, yellow chili sauce, potato gratin and green beans was truly a spectacular dish and the best duck I've had in the country.
Samuel disappeared while we'll had a brilliant Quinoa Creme Caramel and I had a chocolate souffle that while it came out more on the less cooked side I truly loved.
It's sad to know that we're leaving early tomorrow morning as we have truly enjoyed the 2 days here at Titilaka and Lake Titicaca... it's an amazing experience;off to Colca Canyon next.
