chifa

a Chinese restaurant; Peruvian Chinese cuisine

“Tenía muchas expectativas, de modo que para aliviar las tensiones, esa noche me reuní con Juan y con sus hijos para cenar en una chifa.” — I had many expectations, so in order to relieve the tension, that night I joined Juan and his children for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Unknown. Perhaps from Cantonese 煮飯／煮饭 (zyu² faan⁶) or Taishanese 煮飯 /煮饭 (zi² fan⁵). The Comisión Lexicografía de la Academia Peruana (CLAP) proposed that it is from Cantonese 食飯喇 (sik⁶ faan⁶ laa³). Compare Spanish chaufa, from Cantonese 炒飯／炒饭 (caau² faan⁶). Sometimes said to be from Mandarin 吃飯／吃饭 (chīfàn), but this is improbable as the Chinese Peruvians are from southern China.