Serving up traditional taste of Latin America

From Mexico to Argentina – Latinway has made quite an impact on the city’s food offering by conjuring up the vibrant flavours of the south, as Karla Sinclair discovers

Bringing the cuisine of Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and more to Aberdeen, Latinway has provided locals with the opportunity to discover flavours that define Latin American culture. Located on Belmont Street in the city centre, the increasingly popular street food brand was an idea that arose after realising that an offer of genuine Latin American food was yet to exist in the Granite City.

But in August 2018, Latinway – the concept of friends Segundo Castillo, Juan Pablo Jaramillo and Isidro Armasm – opened its doors to the public, impressing from the outset due to its unique and exciting offering.

By having a look at the menu, customers will discover a variety of starters, mains, desserts and drinks that are a true reflection of street food from South America.

But what is it about street food that captured the hearts of Segundo, Juan Pablo and Isidro?

FLAVOURS THEY GREW UP WITH

“In our land, street food is directly related with the whim of people looking to eat something light, quick and economic while developing their daily life,” Segundo, 48, said.

“Nowadays, however, that tendency has taken a turn.

“You can no longer find street food in the streets themselves, but in commercial spaces with a good location and a great culinary level served in the same style as the streets. Aberdeen is a good example of this.

“At Latinway, which we consider a small family, every single one of our dishes is an interpretation of the flavours we grew up with.

“Just by taking a peek at our menu, you will find it is representative of street food from Latin America, since, despite the grand extension of countries, the culture, and so on, we will all always share similar gastronomy.

“Of course, there are other great local and bigger businesses specialising in Mexican food, but none offer a real experience of our culture through the kitchen.”

BRINGING NEW DISHES TO THE CITY

The menu at Latinway boasts an extensive variety of sweet and savoury finger foods and larger eats, with plentiful fillings, as well as side options.

Segundo, who was born in Venezuela, said: “The menu is an immersion of colour, music, culture and a lot of flavour – a stimulation of all the senses.

“We have a unique variation of starters. You can choose from crunchy balls full of cheese, tequenos (cheese fingers), Argentine empanadas or fried cassava, which substitutes traditional fries but are more healthy and crunchy.

“In terms of main dishes, these include (from Mexico) burritos and tacos y quesadillas, (from Venezuela) arepas, cachapas and hamburgers, and (from Argentina) pepitos and choripan.

“All of our meat (beef, chicken and pork) are previously marinated in traditional adobos (pastes) or from recipes inherited from our own family, and cooked at a very low temperature for five hours.

“There are non-alcoholic drinks like Jarritos, made up of popular flavours such as tangerine, Mexicana cola, pineapple, mango and guava, and our popular malta, which is a nutritional drink with a similar aspect to black beer but sweet and without alcohol.

“We also make Latin iced tea with sugar cane dissolved in water and mixed with lemon juice. It’s really exquisite.

“Our desserts include Maltin cake – a sponge of velvet containing malta and cacao, with a layer of cream – golfeados – sweet rolls cooked with a filling of caramel and integral cane, grated cheese and anise – alfajores, alfacocos, and so on.”

PALATES ARE CHANGING

Over the years since launching the street food firm, consumer tastes have changed significantly, said Segundo, with people being more inclined now to choose some of the less familiar menu options.

“Initially, when we first started almost three years ago, the burritos and tacos were the badges of our brand as the population started to find out more about our menu,” he added.

“The arepa and cachapas are becoming the most popular ones now, which has made us really happy since it achieved one of our goals. This goal being to not be restricted as a shop of Mexican products but instead as a brand of Latin American food.

“Personally, I’ve seen how the north of Scotland is converting into a big centre of gastronomy at a high level.

“There’s a huge variation of emerging brands that exist currently in the market that aren’t known or don’t seek attention from the media.

“This initiative, Street Food Scran (currently running on the P&J website), is a window for people to look at the

THE MENU IS AN IMMERSION OF COLOUR, MUSIC, CULTURE AND A LOT OF FLAVOUR – A STIMULATION OF ALL THE SENSES

great street food businesses open in Scotland. Hopefully, it serves to further boost local brands, as well as promote the consumer to support the local economy and small entrepreneurs that make up the business fabric of the city.”

BEER AND COCKTAILS

Segundo, who lived in Spain for 15 years before uprooting to Scotland around six years ago, has always had a fascination for gastronomy.

And he and his wife, Ana, who is also part of the Latinway team, are always aiming to enhance the venue’s offering wherever possible.

They hope to introduce alcoholic drinks in the near future.

He added: “The team wants to complete our offering with a selection of Latin American cocktails and beers.”

He said to be able to do this they would be looking at installing tables and a toilet.

Segundo Castillo and wife Ana work together at Latinway on Belmont Street.