Singapore-based chef couple behind Canchita bring chilli crab and lohei to nearly 200 diners in Peru
Imagine a roomful of nearly 200 diners enthusiastically lifting their chopsticks into the air, tossing ribbons of vegetables and seafood while shouting auspicious phrases such as “huat ah!”, before tucking into kopitiam staples like chicken rice.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
It sounds like a scene straight out of a Chinese New Year gathering in Singapore. Except this was happening more than 18,000km away in South America.
Back in July, husband-and-wife chefs Daniel and Tamara Chavez of Dempsey Hill’s Canchita brought a taste of the Lion City to Lima, Peru, for El Salto del Tigre at acclaimed restaurant La Mar by Gastón Acurio, aka the “godfather of Peruvian cuisine”.
Chefs Daniel Chavez (first from left) and Tamara Chavez (second from right)
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
The event was part of La Mar Sessions, a guest-chef series known for its lively mix of food, live music, cocktails, and a celebratory atmosphere.
Together with Keng Eng Kee Seafood’s Paul and Wayne Liew, as well as Morsels chef Petrina Loh, they served 180 diners at what CNA described as “the first official, large-scale showcase of Singapore food in the Peruvian capital”.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
Lohei became an unlikely crowd favourite in Peru
With a small, hungry army to feed, the chefs certainly did not travel light.
“We brought almost 70kg of food,” Daniel, who hails from Peru but has lived in Singapore for about two decades, told MS News.
The haul was transformed into familiar Singapore favourites such as chilli crab, chicken rice, kueh pie tee, laksa, fried fish skin, and pineapple tarts.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
“The people loved it!” said Tamara, who is Mexican and moved to Singapore around the end of 2014.
But it was the lohei that really got the room going. “We explained the ceremony, everyone followed us, and they went, ‘Wow!'”
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
The chefs also called out the usual auspicious phrases, translating their meanings for the Peruvian diners as the room joined in the toss.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
Tamara said the boisterous ritual may have come as something of a surprise to diners who had expected Asian culture to be “very serious” and restrained.
“I don’t think many people in Peru really know what Singaporean food is, or even much about Singapore,” Daniel explained. “So that was part of what we wanted to showcase.”
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
From colleagues to a couple who call Singapore home
There is a certain symmetry to Daniel bringing Singapore food back to Peru, considering he first came the other way because he wanted to experience Asian food at its source.
“My grandfather was Cantonese, and 25 years ago, there were more Chinese restaurants in Peru than Peruvian restaurants, so I grew up eating Chinese food like crazy,” he shared.
But he wanted to try the real deal. So when his then-boss returned from a promotion at Grand Hyatt Singapore and asked, “Who wants to go to Asia?”, Daniel jumped at the opportunity.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
He started at French restaurant Les Amis in 2006, but the bigger draw was always being in Asia itself.
After a stint in Dubai, he returned to Singapore in 2010 to help open the late chef Santi Santamaria’s namesake restaurant at Marina Bay Sands, before going on to launch the now-defunct Spanish restaurant Ola Cocina Del Mar in 2012.
It was there that Daniel began organising Peruvian events, which eventually sparked the idea for a full-fledged Peruvian restaurant.
While looking for Latin American chefs, he came across Tamara, who had already been in Singapore for a few years by then.
Image courtesy of HighHouse
She moved over around the end of 2014 after a family member who was working here encouraged her to give the local F&B scene a shot, and later joined El Mero Mero at CHIJMES.
After meeting Daniel, Tamara agreed to spend six months training in Peru before taking charge of Tono Cevicheria, which opened in 2017 and has since closed.
Image courtesy of La Mar Cebichería
They kept things strictly professional at first. “He was a very good boss and was always very focused on work,” Tamara laughed.
Romance came later, after about a year of working together. The pair married in October 2020 and are now expecting their first child.
Source: @canchita_sg on Instagram
HighHouse collab puts a Japanese spin on Peruvian cuisine
After working on Tono Cevicheria together, Daniel and Tamara went on to open Canchita Peruvian Cuisine in 2021, where they have continued introducing diners in Singapore to the breadth of Peruvian food.
Source: @canchita_sg on Instagram
Their latest project draws on another part of Peru’s Asian heritage. The country is also home to a large Japanese community, and that cultural crossover is at the heart of the couple’s latest collaboration with HighHouse at One Raffles Place.
For the fourth edition of its High Table series, running from now till 21 Nov 2026, they have created a limited-time Nikkei menu that explores a more Japanese-influenced side of Peruvian cuisine.
Image courtesy of HighHouse
Rather than simply bringing dishes over from Canchita, the collaboration gave them room to play with ingredients and techniques that fit naturally into HighHouse’s broader Asian-inspired setting.
The line-up includes Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche with a tangy yellow chilli dressing and crispy seaweed, Pulpo Rosita Yimura with octopus and a creamy black olive sauce, and Beef Anticuchos featuring Wagyu marinated with chilli and miso.
Image courtesy of HighHouse
There’s also Arroz Chaufa Nikkei, a Japanese-Peruvian fried rice with cod, octopus, prawns, pork, and quinoa.
Image courtesy of HighHouse
Of course, the collaboration extends to the drinks, with Peruvian cocktails designed to pair with the menu.
Daniel pointed out that Lima is currently home to Maido, which was named The World’s Best Restaurant in 2025 and has since become a major showcase for Nikkei cuisine.
For him, that made this a timely chance to introduce Singapore diners to another side of Peruvian food.
“People here are always curious,” he said. “So we thought, why not bring what is exciting on the other side of the world here and show it to Singapore?”
Image courtesy of HighHouse
Daniel and Tamara’s limited-time Nikkei menu is available at HighHouse from now till 21 Nov 2026, for both lunch and dinner.
Visit the HighHouse website for more information and reservations, and follow HighHouse on Instagram for the latest updates.
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Featured image courtesy of HighHouse and La Mar Cebichería.
