I must be honest and confess that I have not always been much of a fan of chifa since I arrived in Peru five years ago, but of course there are always exceptions.  

We recently visited Wa Lok in Miraflores.  You have probably passed by it several times and not noticed it.  The restaurant is located inside of a casino and the first thing you notice is the casino.  

There are several floors in the restaurant and we dined on the 2nd.  They have a couple other levels for seating as well as offering dining areas for private parties.  The menu – available in both English and Spanish – is very extensive and for this reason I would recommend asking your waiter for suggestions.

I would suggest that you start off your dining experience at Wa Lok with a lychee martini and from there move on to the appetizer section. The appetizer menu offers at least 26 dishes.  We had a sampling of the pork shu mei, vegetable spring rolls and shrimp dumplings served with dipping sauces of lime and cinnamon (quite unique, but delicious) and a typical tamarind sauce.  These appetizers were substantial and I was pleased that these items did not just taste greasy and doughy, which I often find in chifa establishments.  All three were generously filled with shrimp, pork or vegetables and you could taste the actual ingredients nestled inside.  

We then moved on to the main dishes.  We shared five different plates and the portions were huge.  Wa Lok is definitely the place to go with a large group of friends or people with big appetites.  All the main dishes were plentiful!  We sampled the pollo wat kay con verduras (chicken sauteed with black mushrooms and Chinese vegetables), arroz chaufa especial (special fried rice) and canasta taypa.  We also tried the pescado en flordos sabores, which includes fish lightly coated with corn flour and lightly fried, served with tamarind and green papaya. It was a delightful sweet and salty plate).

But there were two standout dishes for me. The first was the saltados especiales con mariscos, which arrived at our table in a fried nest of noodles filled with sautéed shrimp, octopus, scallops, fish, onions, pea pods, carrots, celery, and green onions.  We all loved the presentation as well as the flavors. This is a perfect dish for seafood-lovers.   

The canasta taypa was a wonderful large platter of succulent slices of duck, pork and chicken accompanied by a mixture of chinese vegetables (bok choy, bamboo, black mushrooms, broccoli, pea pods, onions and bell peppers) and quail eggs.  This is perfect once again for sharing and has enough variety for everyone.   

As I previously mentioned, the menu at Wa Lok is extensive.  They offer 20 soups, 20 chicken dishes, 36 seafood dishes, 8 duck dishes, 7 pigeon dishes, 7 pork dishes, 5 beef dishes, 15 sautéed specialties, 16 stew specialties, 10 grill specialties, 16 rice noodle dishes, 9 rice dishes and 16 noodle specialties.  The prices may seem high when you peruse the menu, but this is only because of the very large portions that are served.  Wa Lok is definitely for larger groups of diners, not ideal for a party of two.  


Wa Lok 
Address: Av. Angamos Oeste 700, Miraflores
Phone: 447-1329
Open: Monday – Saturday 12 p.m. – 11:15 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.