I hope you all had a great Easter break, whether it was Thursday – Sunday, like in Peru, or Friday – Monday, like in the UK!

4 days is a nice little mini holiday and I spent the majority of mine eating. No surprise there then.

One of the places we visited was Naruto. It’s this great little Japanese restaurant that serves a damn fine ramen soup.

We’ve been meaning to try this place for a while, and holidays are always a good excuse to go out to eat! I also knew we would probably be eating a lot over the weekend so we thought a good soup would do the trick.

The front of the restaurant is plain black with their logo and gives nothing away.

But inside is a whole other story.

I love the use of anime and manga characters from Japanese culture, they absolutely bring the place to life.

Bright colours, bright lights and Japanese lettering all help to give a Tokyo feel to the place! So fun!

The ramen soup comes in two sizes; a large for S/26 and a smaller one for S/19. There are also 4 different kinds of the ramen soup to choose from.

We went for a large miso ramen to share alongside a bowl of their recommended dish ‘katsudon’.

The soup arrived and it looked amazing.

Soft but slightly sticky ramen noodles floating inside a perfectly seasoned and savoury miso broth. Sweet sweetcorn, a soft boiled egg (with the yolk cooked to perfection for the soup, so it didn’t run out but it wasn’t completely hard either), beansprouts, and a big slice of pork all helped to make this dish beautiful!

As soon as you eat it, you know that this is what you have been needing all day, without even knowing it.

Then the katsudon came to join the ramen party.

Slices of juicy breaded pork, onions and beaten egg (a little like an omelette texture) cooked in a slightly sweet sauce and placed on a bed of sticky Japanese rice. Amazing, and no wonder they have it on their recommended list. You have to try it.

We also followed up with some gyozas. These are steamed little parcels filled with pork and veggies and then finished briefly on a hot plate or flat griddle to crisp the bottoms. I unfortunately didn’t manage to get a photo but if you check out the menu page (Carta) on Naruto’s website here, they are top centre!

These were probably my least favourite dish out of the three, although they were still very tasty. They didn’t have as much of a flavour kick as the other dishes, but they are supposed to be dipped in a mix of soy sauce and vinegar. Maybe they hold back on the flavour of the gyoza so that the sauces finish them perfectly. Whatever the case, they were still a good little dish to finish the meal (or as a starter too).

We washed it all down with a bottle of Japanese beer.

This was a different beer from Asahi, that we had not tried before, called Select Amber Lager and it was delicious. Refreshing and light but with a great flavour from start to finish. It was certainly not watery.

However, we also noticed that almost every table was drinking bottles of Aloe Vera (S/5).

We were intrigued and ordered it to see what the fuss was all about! I know Aloe Vera is very good for your insides and immune system, and my mum swears by drinking it every morning to fight of illness and to keep your body in good check. This drink was a mix of aloe vera, honey and citrus among a few other ingredients and was extremely tasty. If you try it, do not be freaked out by the bits floating in the slightly thick liquid, I believe they are part of the aloe vera! It is smooth and sweet but with a slight tang from the citrus and is a good partner to the food.

All in all, I left feeling very good about myself. Japanese food is exceptional for leaving you satisfied and full, but not at all heavy. The only problem now is that I want to come and eat lunch here everyday!

Love. Love. Love.

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Naruto – Japanese Food // Av. Aviacion 2982, San Borja (a couple of blocks north of San Borja Sur)