
At first glance, Jaimito’s appears to be a slightly upscale version of a takeout Chinese restaurant. The walls are adorned with Chinese characters, and the tables are equipped with bottles of soy sauce and packages of chopsticks. After a moment, though, you realize that the music is actually in Spanish, and the television in the corner that flickers on and off is showing a Latin American soccer match. It finally hits you that this is a Chifa restaurant, fusing Chinese elements with Peruvian ingredients.
Jaimito’s has been around since the 1980s, when my parents first started eating here. Even in a part of New Jersey that is full of Peruvian restaurants, the Chifa style of Jaimito’s sets it apart.
Chifa describes the fusion cuisine that came about in Peru after large numbers of Chinese immigrants moved there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is famous for the many dishes that perfectly meld the cuisines through the use of French fries, tomatoes, soy sauce and rice. Chifa cuisine presents a depth of powerful flavors that one would expect from East Asian techniques and Latin American ingredients, and the menu at Jaimito’s puts this on full display.
There are many appetizing starters here, but begin with the wonton soup. Almost treating the broth as an afterthought, albeit a delicious one, the wonton soup at Jaimito’s comes packed with wontons and strips of chicken and pork, complemented by shreds of cabbage as well as onion.
The first bite may not be so unlike any fried rice you’ve had before. However, this thought is immediately dispelled as soon as you take the next bite—if for this one, you drench it with the bright-green sauce that comes in a little bowl with your food. That sauce, aji, is made from a Peruvian chili paste, aji amarillo, along with cilantro (giving it that vibrant color) and a host of other delicious ingredients. Aji is such an important staple of Peruvian cuisine that it’s almost as if the country’s culinary culture could not exist without it. Here at Jaimito’s, be sure to use it delicately, as it packs major heat. (If you ever order takeout from Jaimito’s, you can be certain that the brown paper bag they give you will be filled with more little plastic containers of this magical stuff than ketchup packets from an order at a fast-food chain.)
While the wonton soup and fried rice may not be a complete departure from the Chinese food most New Jerseyans are used to eating, the tacu tacu is a truly Peruvian concoction. This version of rice and beans uses white beans, and is topped with a salsa criolla, pickled red onions, lime, cilantro and aji, giving it splashes of color and punch.
For your main dish, choose the iconic lomo saltado with beef, made with strips of marinated and stir-fried sirloin. It’s served with red onion and tomato over rice and French fries. As you somehow manage to get all of those different components into your mouth at once, delicately balancing the steak and vegetables on your fork as you scoop up some rice before stabbing at a French fry, the true excellence of the Chifa cuisine finally hits you. And while Jaimito’s does offer the dish with chicken, fish or shrimp as well, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything as tasty as the classic beef.
Before you finish the lomo saltado, remember that the aji is unlimited here, so you can add another flavor to this seemingly perfect meal.
HOW WE REVIEW: Restaurants are chosen for review at the sole discretion of New Jersey Monthly. These unstarred reviews of more casual restaurants are written after a critic visits once, with a guest; the magazine pays for these meals.
[RELATED: Peruvian Restaurant at American Dream Calls Attention to an Underrated Food Scene]
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Restaurant Details
- Cuisine Type:Chinese - Peruvian
- Price Range:Inexpensive