Last night, I celebrated the birthday of my good friend Alex Woo, a yale-educated six foot tall Chinaman, at a Peruvian restaurant in Hollywood called Los Balcones el Peru. There were about 50 guests in the party, we took over the small restaurant. Actress Marisa Tomei showed up too, but she sat at another table. Too bad she doesn't know who Alex Woo is. She missed out on bomb-ass conversation and family style prix fix dishes.
We started off with some white wine and citrus marinated ceviche of shrimp, squid and scallops. We then had a shrimp and giant corn dish that was served with a saffron like yellow sauce. Next was deep fried chicken, then we finished it with a tender chicken and beef strip dinner (very tex-mex fajita style) with stewed tomatoes and onions. It was all so delicious and savory and tasty. I highly recommend this place. Alex is a foodie too, so he's always introducing me to new places. Where he eats, I eat.
Alex and I met at work on a TV show in 2004, and quickly became Office Husband and Wife. Because we're of Chinese descent, we mimicked a typical old Chinese couple. We sipped lotus chamomile tea in his office and did not talk to each other at all. After our job ended, we continued our friendship which mostly consisted of a shared love of dim sum on Sundays. But I stray from the conversation. How rude to jump to dim sum while I'm still marveling from the joy of Peruvian food.
Go to Los Balcones del Peru. 1360 N. Vine Street. Hollywood, CA 90028.
