TRAVEL: While South America is jaw-droppingly beautiful, most people think that their food are forgettable. However, coming from a country with similar history and 250 years of direct linkage, I saw many bright spots! Let me share some of my favourites:

This is the Peruvian adobo which I tried in Cusco. It is made with pork, stewed in vinegar, "chicha" or corn beer (instead of soy sauce), chilis, onion, garlic and turmeric. Despite the difference in ingredients, it did taste similar to our Adobo, like halfway through cooking it!

I first tried this quinoa drink in Huaraz, Perú and I've been hooked to it since then. It is made with quinoa and chopped pineapple, lightly sweetened, thickened by cornstarch and served piping hot. If you want to try this, there are plenty of recipes online.

This breakfast drink is usually sold off the street early in the morning. It is very popular throughout Peru and Bolivia.

This is the Bolivian "salteña" and I ate it everyday when I was in Potosí. It is almost like an "empanada," except that it has a soupy hot filling. Imagine a Chinese "xiao long bao" (soup dumpling), but empanada version.

Salteña is eaten by scooping the hot savory filling first with a cucharita, before munching on the crispy sweet-ish crust.

He is the owner of "Malpartida," Potosí's most famous salteneria.

This is the "fricase" and I had it in Mercado Lanza in La Paz, Bolivia. It is a slab of pork, slow cooked in chilis and spices, served with boiled whole potato and moti (boiled corn). I ordered it "mixto" or combined with a slab of chicharon, which made it doubly delicious!

This is the legendary "queso helado" of Arequipa in Perú. It has no cheese despite the name, just frozen milk topped with cinnamon, but really delicious.

She is the nationally famous Señora Rosa, who is said to make Arequipa's best queso helado. Her station is on the second floor of Arequipa's main market.

Cebu's lechón got some serious competition with Ecuador's "hornado"! I think, even at par! Tried different regional versions of it, once in Otavalo in the north of Ecuador and this in Cuenca in the south, and both are consistently impressive!

Unlike the Filipino lechon which is roasted whole over charcoal, Ecuadorian hornado is oven-baked. Hornado is served with tortilla (fried mashed potato), boiled corn and salad!

Another highlight is Lima's famous ceviche. The Peruvian version is made with Chilean sea bass (may include octopus and shrimp), lightly marinated in lemon or lime, and served with tons of onion, toasted corn and fried camote.

Of course, can't conclude this list without talking about the Argentine "asado." Let me say that I never had better beef in my life than the Argentine "asado." Dang, never thought that beef and just salt (nada más) could be this good—really really good.

Asado is made from special cuts of Argentine beef, generously drizzled with fine salt and grilled in low fire over charcoal from a specific wood. The cooking has to be precise —controlled temperature, correct distance from the charcoal, flipping at the right moment, among others.