[Aliso Viejo] [Peruvian] Inka Mama’s

Inka Mama’s
26741 Aliso Creek Rd #E
Aliso Viejo,CA 92656
(949) 360-6263
http://www.inkamamas.com

My aunt and cousin came to visit from San Jose. They came down to South OC with my parents to visit us since they've never been to our house before. I decided to take them to Inka Mama's for lunch because none of them had Peruvian food before.


Salad

We ordered 5 lunch special entrees to share. Each entree came with soup or salad. We got 4 of their famous cilantro soup and 1 salad. I forgot to take picture of the soup, but you can see one from last time. Everyone thought the soup was really good. We were glad we only got one salad because it was pretty bad. The vegetable itself was alright. It was the salad dressing that made it bad. The salad dressing was way way way too sour. Seemed like they added too much red wine vinegar. It was so sour that we all took one bite, and nobody touched it again.



Inka Special ($7.45)
Chicken sauteed with minced onions, peas, carrots, and french fries in a spicy yellow chili & garlic sauce. Served with rice.

Inka Special is a chicken dish. The chicken was a bit dry, but the wet french fries was really good. We kept on calling the yellow sauce "curry", but it tasted nothing like curry. I think it was color that made us called this dish "curry" chicken. The sauce was slightly spicy, and good with rice.


Chaufa de Pollo ($7.45)
Chicken fried rice prepared with scrambled eggs and green onions.

Chicken fried rice had good flavor. But just like the other chicken dish, the chicken was dry. We kept on eating the fried rice, but left lots of chicken uneaten.


Lomo Saltado ($8.45)
Strips of steak sauteed with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and french fries. Served with rice.

Lomo Saltado is Inka Mama's most popular dish. The steak tasted much better than the chicken. the sauce was delicious. Love the french fries with the sauce.


Cabrito Norteno ($8.45)
Our famous lamb stew cooked with cilantro, garlic and Inka wine served with rice, beans, and marinated red onions in lime juice and cilantro.

We all thought Cabrito Norteno was the best dish. The lamb stew was really tender and flavorful. The white beans had lots of flavor as well.


Ajiaco de Mariscos ($9.45)
Mixed seafood seasoned in a spicy garlic chili sauce with diced potatoes and cilantro. Served with rice.

Ajiaco de Mariscos was a mixed seafood dish. There were shrimp, fish, and lots of calamari. I thought there was too much sauce and too little seafood. The sauce had good flavor, but it was quite thin and watery. I think I prefer my sauce a little bit thicker.

After trying Peruvian food for the first time, parents, aunt and cousin all thought it was just alright. I also thought Inka Mama's food was just ok. Peruvian food from LA, especially Mario's, tasted better I think. Also Inka Mama's portion was on the smaller side. We easily finished everything and didn't feel all that full. At least they get to try Peruvian food once, but I don't think they'll interested in having it again.



After lunch, I took them to Laguna Beach. They loved it there, and kept on saying how lucky I am to live so close to Laguna Beach. I am! :-)