by SARAH MUSGRAVE

These days, it’s easy to be relatively savvy when it comes to world cuisines. There’s certainly a plethora of international restaurants where you can introduce your tastebuds to all sorts of faraway flavours. But do we really know what other cultures eat for breakfast? That particular meal has always been something of a mystery to me.

So I was excited to discover Melchorita, a place that specializes in whopping breakfasts that seem to be imported directly from Peru—as are many of its customers. On weekends, it fills up with South American families hunkering down over communal plates of authentic desayunos peruanos. Tables tend to be occupied by groups of at least three, which makes sense because meals are designed to be shared. The desayuno familiar is $11.95 for a full order, or $7.95 for a half order—and this reduced portion is enough for two.

Any way you look at it, the focus of the morning meal is meat. The centre of the platter is chicharron, a tasty hunk of pork fried up to a satisfyingly chewy consistency. Beside it are slices of relleno, a dark, salty, soft sausage. You also get a corn-flour tamale, thick, moist and steamed to firmness, that’s stuffed with pieces of hard-boiled egg, green olive, yellow peas and big chunks of very fatty pork rind (I couldn’t quite manage that part). To round it out, there’s a heap of camote, freshly fried sweet-potato chips. The platter is accompanied by Spanish onions sprinkled with hot peppers that cut through the heaviness of the other elements.

A second breakfast special ($9.95 for two) exchanges the tamale for an empanada with beef, chicken or vegetable fillings. Wash it all down with a cup of Chanchamayo coffee, which is ranked as the top variety in the Peru. For something more unusual, another beverage to try here is chicha morada. This sweet and slightly spiced purple drink is made with corn and actually dates back to Incan times.

After breakfast, the kitchen turns its attention to regional dishes at reasonable prices. A whole pollo a la brasa, chicken roasted in-house, can feed four for $17.95 (with fries and salad). Most of the other meals are priced around $10, with the exception of some seafood specialties, like parihuela, a soupy stew full of mussels, shrimp, squid and fish that’s similar to bouillabaisse. As for appetizers, another traditional treat is ceviche, raw fish or shellfish that’s been marinated in lemon juice and hot chillies. Potatoes are also an important part of the Peruvian diet, and Melchorita offers them relleno (stuffed) or a la huancaina (with cheese).

On an evening visit, I tried a mixed seafood plate called jalea ($18.95 for two). All the elements are battered and deep-fried: slices of fish, calamari and shrimp (this last upon request). It comes with two sauces—one creamy, one very spicy—as well as a delicious topping of marinated purple onions, tomatoes and coriander.

For night outings here, a traditional drink to try is a cocktail called pisco sour. Basically Peru’s version of the margarita—which might be worth looking into given the tequila shortages of late—the main ingredient is pisco, a clear high proof brandy made from grapes, that’s mixed with sugar, egg whites and lemon juice.

Overall, Melchorita is a fun, friendly and authentic place to discover Peruvian food any time of day. The décor isn’t exactly eye-catching—lots of those ’80s metal tube chairs and sombre lighting—but the service is friendly. There’s a second, smaller location in Little Italy (6583 St-Laurent; 272-9449) but the main resto near Jarry Park has more variety. :