Eat Like Ushi

This cafe sits on a main thoroughfare (as main as it gets in PA) where lots of bus stations are. It's a convenient place to waste away some time, enjoy tea and WiFi and eat healthy food. If I had a late day bus transfer, this would be the perfect spot to wait and relax (Bus Sur is very closeby).

There's an a la carte menu that has things like sandwiches and burgers. Otherwise there's the set lunch menu which gives you a choice of tea, a meal and a dessert.

The tea menu is very impressive and caters to all tastes. Te chai (Indian black tea, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, Gingko leaves, ginseng, rooibos) was mildly spiced and needed a little sugar to bring out the sweetness. I would have liked some milk.

The food menu was the choice of either a bolognese with handmade thick fettuccine with nice springiness and al dente texture. The sauce was nice and a large amount of grated parmesan enhanced the flavour and stickiness. The vegetarian option was a couple of mixed bean & vegetable patties with salad and also delicious.

There's a good variety of cakes to pick from with huge slices. We asked for half/small slices knowing well that it wouldn't be finished. The chocolate had thin cake layers and thick cream layers - nice but not my choice in textures. The kiwi torte was sweet and a soft custard layer.

From all my reading about Punta Arenas, La Marmita was the only place I had highlighted of my shortlist. My Rough Guide also had it starred with the pisco sour, ceviche and general seafood being the standouts.

Pisco sour (CLP3,500) with crushed ice started off the meal and it was cheap, refreshing and mildly alcoholic.

- Magellanic Spider Crab with mayonnaise & salad CLP12,000 - the pieces of crab were soft and delicious as expected. The meat isn't as sweet as the Scandanavian king crab but still adequate. It was expensive for the amount of meat available but it's a delicacy;
- Salmon & hake ceviche of the house, lemon juice, Spanish onion, coriander CLP6,500 - a well balanced ceviche with all the elements. One of the better ones I've had;
- Wild guanaco bourguignon, organic quinoa, green salad CLP15,000 - it was the first exposure to guanaco and it was ordered without quite knowing what it is (it's a deer). The meat was tender but in the strong sauce, it was difficult to discern between it and beef perhaps. The huge asparagus storks were very good.

The food was nice and the menu reads as Chilean-Patagonian. The lamb tagine, hare stew and charquican sea vegetable stew were all other things that caught my eye.

Chile is known for seafood and Patagonia has the specialty king crab. It is known as centolla and all the restaurants sell a version of it, usually expensively as either whole or meat, or served as a cheese coated "pie". The other dish I wanted to try is caldillo de congrio (conger eel stew) but never got the chance in Santiago.

There were no big name restaurants that caught my particular fancy in PA, but La Luna was worth a go. It has a nautical theme like being under the hull of a ship with pictures adorning the walls.

Pisco Sour (CLP2,950) is a known specialty drink of Chile and this was the first chance to try it.

- Conger Eel with seafoods sauce & croquette potatoes CLP8,950 - my first experience with the local conger eel was an excellent one. The fish was meaty and wonderfully soft. The seafood sauce was ok with small pieces of flesh in it, but took a second fiddle to the fish itself;
- Chupe de Centollas (baked king crab) CLP13,950 - the anticipation was let down by a dish that didn't seem to have enough crab meat to justify the hype, surrounded by a heap of cheese filling. The top cheese crust was pretty good with some umami crust;
- Ensalada Del Mercado (artichoke, croutons, olives, lettuce, tomato) CLP4,450 - typically served without dressing as per the norm.

The conger was great but the king crab pie was a letdown. Perhaps it was the small amount of meat, the flavour being more cheese than crab or maybe just the form it was served in. Hopefully the next times would be better.

This pizzeria was originally born in Puerto Natales and then the quality and reputation spread to Punta Arenas. It was the first taste of Italian food in South America and didn't disappoint.

The lasagna (CLP6,500) was served in a deep casserole dish with lovely melted cheese on top, layers of fresh pasta and a sugo with a hearty flavour and no tomato acidity. The Patagonian lamb pizza (La Mesita Grande - mozzarella, tomato sauce, marinated spicy lamb, onions, green peppers CLP6,900) was my first introduction to the regions famed animal. The redness in the meat was still visible. Although nice, it didn't seem particularly different from any other decent lamb I've had, but overall the pizza was good. The crust was relatively thin and chewy but I would have liked a bit more seasoning.

It was all washed down with a housemade lemon/lime-ade (CLP2,500) which was refreshing and had minimal fizz.