So this is the third day of our trip and we are on our way back to the airport so that we can fly to a town called Puerto Montt. This is almost two hours by air further south from Santiago. It is in the middle of the Lake District, home to some great outdoor adventures, many Volcanoes and also the best Salmon Farming in the world. We will get to go and see the plant for one of the larger salmon producers in Chile, AuquaChile. While we are there we plan to make a stop at the famous Angelmo fish market. Here I expect to see and taste some local items that I have never tried before. So here goes.
Our flight was delayed so we got in about and hour behind schedule. After a quick stop at out hotel we loaded back into the bus and headed to the fish market at Angelmo for a stroll amongst the fish stalls as well as a little lunch. We were not disappointed; the fish was cool, fresh and some varieties that I have never seen. There was the famous Conger eel, smoked mussels and clams, salmon and sea bass. There were a couple of stands that had produce as well but fish dominated. It was really cool walking though the stalls and just checking out what was fresh today. We made out way to the restaurant and it just got better.
We finally got seated in a private little room, I mean little. There were 11 of us and this room was probably meant for 8 comfortably. The real kicker was that there was a little kitchenette attached to the room where a few women cooked your food as you ordered it. It was wild and I have a photo below. Our host, Andreas did the ordering selecting the local favorites. We had fresh Razor Clams with Parmesan, Local King Crab with Mayonnaise, crab cake (this actually was more like crab dip in a clay pot) super tasty. They also prepared fresh abalone the same way as the crab. And then finally came the fresh fried Conger Eel. Wait till you see what it looks like, there is not doubt that you would not want to taste something that looks like that. But we did and it was amazing. So fresh and flavorful, not fishy at all and super moist. This was served with some chilled poached potatoes, fresh mayo and fresh lemon. It was really good, I have to admit it. Of course we had to start the meal in the traditional manner and toast with a Pisco Sour, then we ordered a little white wine to wash down all that great seafood.
Next it was off to the salmon processing plant. We all boarded the bus and headed out. For some reason I was looking for one of our crew and low and behold he was not on the bus. Fortunately we were only a couple of blocks away, a quick turn around and sure enough there he was looking for the bus. Ok loaded up now, we headed for AquaChile for our tour. We walk in and the smell of fresh salmon filled the air, really, it filled the whole place. We went into a room where we signed waivers and put on knee high white rubber boots and then headed off to finish off the new wardrobe. A white smock, hairnet, hat and facemask finished it off. After scrubbing our boots and hand and putting on gloves we went into the processing rooms. This was really cool, everywhere you looked people were working with fresh salmon. Putting them in to sorting bins, setting them up for filleting or getting them ready to be shipped out. It was production on a massive scale. The salmon come from ocean farms that are anywhere from 4 to 12 hours away and are processed here for shipment all over the world. All kinds of salmon are sent all over. My favorite machine was the one that removed the skin from the fresh filets. It did its job with no effort it seemed and each filet looked exactly the same. The tour was very informative and also showed us ho great the Chilean Salmon Farming really is. That night we were going to be given a first hand tasting of the products at the local culinary school. So off we went back to the hotel.
We had some time to kill before dinner so Andreas offered to take us for a little tour of the Lake District. Some of use went and others just hung out in Puerto Montt. For those of us that went it was awesome, they took us to a cool little town called Puerto Varas about 15 kilometers away. It is a small town on a huge lake that looks like you are stepping into a German or Belgium village. It was like we just arrived in another country. The German influence that settled here long ago still showed through in the architecture and restaurants. We walked through a small craft market and then went down to the lake. The beach had dark sand on it which was the result of all the volcanic presence in the region. The water was super clean and the view of Osorno, the dormant volcano, was amazing. We took a ton of photos and then headed to the local pub for a German style beer. It was quite refreshing on a nice hot day. Then it was back on the bus for the trip back to the hotel and then dinner.
We were loaded back onto the bus and then headed to Santo Tomas University where the have a new Culinary program. There a couple of the directors of the program hosted us to a demonstration and tasting of Chilean Salmon. Starting off with several different types of sushi and then heading into the kitchen for a more in depth demo. The chefs were great and showed us a few different ways to prepare salmon. One was crusted with Hazelnuts, another topped with pineapple chutney and one that was wrapped in Phyllo. They were all tasty. They mixed in a couple sorbets mixed from local fruits as well. It was a cool time but I think some of us were salmoned out, we got back to the hotel and went out for a burger at a place called the OK Corral, the place was interesting and the burgers were not very good, oh well. Time for rest as tomorrow is a big day in the blueberry fields to the north.
See ya
Our flight was delayed so we got in about and hour behind schedule. After a quick stop at out hotel we loaded back into the bus and headed to the fish market at Angelmo for a stroll amongst the fish stalls as well as a little lunch. We were not disappointed; the fish was cool, fresh and some varieties that I have never seen. There was the famous Conger eel, smoked mussels and clams, salmon and sea bass. There were a couple of stands that had produce as well but fish dominated. It was really cool walking though the stalls and just checking out what was fresh today. We made out way to the restaurant and it just got better.
We finally got seated in a private little room, I mean little. There were 11 of us and this room was probably meant for 8 comfortably. The real kicker was that there was a little kitchenette attached to the room where a few women cooked your food as you ordered it. It was wild and I have a photo below. Our host, Andreas did the ordering selecting the local favorites. We had fresh Razor Clams with Parmesan, Local King Crab with Mayonnaise, crab cake (this actually was more like crab dip in a clay pot) super tasty. They also prepared fresh abalone the same way as the crab. And then finally came the fresh fried Conger Eel. Wait till you see what it looks like, there is not doubt that you would not want to taste something that looks like that. But we did and it was amazing. So fresh and flavorful, not fishy at all and super moist. This was served with some chilled poached potatoes, fresh mayo and fresh lemon. It was really good, I have to admit it. Of course we had to start the meal in the traditional manner and toast with a Pisco Sour, then we ordered a little white wine to wash down all that great seafood.
Next it was off to the salmon processing plant. We all boarded the bus and headed out. For some reason I was looking for one of our crew and low and behold he was not on the bus. Fortunately we were only a couple of blocks away, a quick turn around and sure enough there he was looking for the bus. Ok loaded up now, we headed for AquaChile for our tour. We walk in and the smell of fresh salmon filled the air, really, it filled the whole place. We went into a room where we signed waivers and put on knee high white rubber boots and then headed off to finish off the new wardrobe. A white smock, hairnet, hat and facemask finished it off. After scrubbing our boots and hand and putting on gloves we went into the processing rooms. This was really cool, everywhere you looked people were working with fresh salmon. Putting them in to sorting bins, setting them up for filleting or getting them ready to be shipped out. It was production on a massive scale. The salmon come from ocean farms that are anywhere from 4 to 12 hours away and are processed here for shipment all over the world. All kinds of salmon are sent all over. My favorite machine was the one that removed the skin from the fresh filets. It did its job with no effort it seemed and each filet looked exactly the same. The tour was very informative and also showed us ho great the Chilean Salmon Farming really is. That night we were going to be given a first hand tasting of the products at the local culinary school. So off we went back to the hotel.
We had some time to kill before dinner so Andreas offered to take us for a little tour of the Lake District. Some of use went and others just hung out in Puerto Montt. For those of us that went it was awesome, they took us to a cool little town called Puerto Varas about 15 kilometers away. It is a small town on a huge lake that looks like you are stepping into a German or Belgium village. It was like we just arrived in another country. The German influence that settled here long ago still showed through in the architecture and restaurants. We walked through a small craft market and then went down to the lake. The beach had dark sand on it which was the result of all the volcanic presence in the region. The water was super clean and the view of Osorno, the dormant volcano, was amazing. We took a ton of photos and then headed to the local pub for a German style beer. It was quite refreshing on a nice hot day. Then it was back on the bus for the trip back to the hotel and then dinner.
We were loaded back onto the bus and then headed to Santo Tomas University where the have a new Culinary program. There a couple of the directors of the program hosted us to a demonstration and tasting of Chilean Salmon. Starting off with several different types of sushi and then heading into the kitchen for a more in depth demo. The chefs were great and showed us a few different ways to prepare salmon. One was crusted with Hazelnuts, another topped with pineapple chutney and one that was wrapped in Phyllo. They were all tasty. They mixed in a couple sorbets mixed from local fruits as well. It was a cool time but I think some of us were salmoned out, we got back to the hotel and went out for a burger at a place called the OK Corral, the place was interesting and the burgers were not very good, oh well. Time for rest as tomorrow is a big day in the blueberry fields to the north.
See ya
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