When the minds behind Whistler’s newest restaurant were still deciding on the concept, they landed on the jaguar as a potent symbol for what they wanted to accomplish.
Named Balam, the Mayan word for jaguar, the Village Stroll restaurant by Infinity Group channels the best of Latin and South American cuisine. And like the jaguar, Balam transforms at night.
“When researching Latin and South America, one of the things that tied the region together is how revered the jaguar is and how it was found from the southern [United] States all the way down to South America,” explained Sarah Coghlan, regional restaurant manager for Infinity Group, the same company behind Whistler’s La Cantina and The Mexican Corner. “It’s also about that transition from day to night. The jaguar sleeps during the day and is quiet, relaxed and calm, and comes alive at night to do its hunting. We run services from brunch and lunch all through to late night, so we felt the jaguar best represented what we’re trying to do.”
Led by executive chef and Colombia native Fabio Milan, Balam is designed to embody the spirit of Latin America, with a vibrant menu that counts influences from Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and beyond. And while the dishes themselves may be familiar, it’s the ingredients that make Balam a distinct dining experience for Whistler.
“Some dishes people will know quite well, but they will have a spin on them because we’re using ingredients from all over,” Coghlan said.
Take the croquette, a French side dish that, at Balam, gets the Mexican treatment, switching out the typical fried potato for the sweeter plantain, wrapped in Oaxacan cheese and salsa roja.
Balam specializes in ceviche, with both a truffle ceviche, served with Hamachi, white truffle tiger’s milk, and chulpi corn, and a Nikkei ceviche, which draws on Peru’s Japanese influences, served with tuna, scallops, calamari, and a ponzu rocoto tiger’s milk, on offer.
“Its super fresh and light, with a little bit of chili for spice,” said Coghlan.
Balam also features a selection of popular Latin American street foods—the Colombian beef arepa is a must—as well as some items off the grill, like a Pacific salmon antichuco and, for the vegetarians, a South American grilled asparagus with celeriac purée.
But the showstoppers, undoubtedly, are Balam’s specialty dishes, each highly localized and unlike most other dishes you’d find in Whistler. There’s the Amazonian fish, black cod cooked in a banana leaf with sweet chili sauce and black tiger prawns. The Buenos Aires ribeye channels Argentinians’ love of beef, a 10-ounce AAA cut served with chimichurri and Loche squash purée. Coghlan highlighted another specialty dish, the Inca duck, as a favourite. It’s a dry-aged duck breast alongside coriander rice, Peruvian steamed mussels known as chalaca, and the ubiquitous Peruvian chili pepper, aji.
“They’re traditionally quite bright in colour, either yellow or orange, and we use a lot of those chilis that are sweeter throughout the menu,” said Coghlan.
On the dessert side, Coghlan can’t resist the picarones, a traditional Peruvian doughnut made from pumpkin and sweet potato and drizzled with chancaca, a warm, sweet sauce made from cane sugar that is common in Bolivia, Chile and Peru.
The cocktail menu takes a lighthearted spin on tropical favourites. The Fernando Colada is a play on the classic pina colada, combining it with a traditional Argentine drink. Along with five-year Flor De Cana rum, it features Fernet Branca, an herbal liquor, coconut, pineapple, mint, and cherry cola syrup. Coghlan likes Life is a Beach, featuring a house-made blend of three rums, banana liqueur, curaçao, lime, Tonka bean falernum, and a banana sand rim. Balam caters to the no-lo drinkers as well, with a menu of four different zero-proof cocktails, including a Brazilian creamsicle made from raspberry nectar, orange, coconut and soda, and the Cream Mate, a brewed yerba mate with cardamom and salted cream.
Designed by Daniel Meloché, who also designed Mekong and Rockit Coffee in Creekside, the décor at Balam aims to create “an atmosphere that’s bold, transformative and deeply evocative, celebrating South America’s vibrancy and mystique,” Coghlan explained.
Sprawling plants adorn the ceiling. Blue tile imported from Turkey. Gold leaf throughout. Light fixtures in the shape of palm trees. The goal, Coghlan said, is to transport you.
“It’s a fun and unique space,” she added. “We’re hoping to elevate the dining experience in Whistler and create a really fun atmosphere for people to go out with vibrant textures, colours and sounds. Balam is really an immersive experience all about the five senses.”
Balam is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. It is located in the Crystal Lodge at 13-4154 Village Green.
Learn more at balamwhistler.ca.
