 I have been to many Michelin-starred restaurants, But I noticed they were all in the nordics. 3 star Maaemo, Ylajali and Kontrast in Oslo, Noma in Copenhagen (sadly no blogpost), Ask and Chef and Sommelier in Helsinki, Kadeau in Bornholm in between others, but somehow I totally missed German Michelin-starred restaurants, So I decided to start with VAU here in Berlin. This small pink fassade camouflages in a narrow street next to Gendarmenmarkt and Berlin's Concert Hall, and entering through a courtyard, you can find Vau. A beautiful place with place for about 60 people. Nicely adorned with cooper plates and wooden accessories. The light is dim and gives the place a golden look.  In 1997, they were granted with their precious Michelin star... 17 years and still they are still holding it. The head Chef, Kolja Kleeberg, is one of a kind. He is an actor, singer, storyteller, entertainer, and cook. A very rare combination, but shows how creative he is, inside and outside the kitchen. Sadly he was on vacation the day I was there, but you can find him in the kitchen and around the restaurant when he is there.  I didnt see any wine pairing menu, but well, I can't drink more than a glass a week at the moment, so I was recommended a Tobias Knewitz Sauvignon blanc instead of the Riesling I was going for...10 extra points for sommelier as it was delicious!! I went for the "Composition Menu". It is a more traditional menu than the "Improvisation Menu"... But I was excited about the truffles and the Valrhona chocolate and mango dessert.  In every Nordic Michelin-starred restaurant I have been, the food is brought by one of the chefs or sommelier, there was no difference with this restaurant. The first dish was an explosion of seafood and spices served with a "salad" on the side (the combination of the tomato sauce and lentils and the fresh foams was a perfect match) Loved the detail of serving it on a Weck Glass.  Roasted langoustine with curry, cucumber and onion pakora - Red lentils salat with cucumber foam at the back The second dish was the béchamel potatoes with truffles I was waiting for and they were perfect. And slowly I started noticing the difference between German kitchen and Nordic kitchen: The dishes here are heavier and less airy but that doesn't mean the aren't delicious as hell.  Béchamel potatoes with fried Trevisano and black truffle The Turbot with eel, was once again a very strong dish, though the chervil root purée made a perfect contrast to it. This was a huge portion and I was starting to get worried about how much food I would be able to eat. All the different roots in the dish were delicious. Thanks Norway to make me love roots!  Turbot “Matelote” with chervil and smoked eel  Oyster with just pearls: A "vegetarian" oyster with champagne sauce. A palate cleanser of the day was the Oyster with just pearls, a smooth and yet appetizing dish. It cleared my taste buds for what was coming: A dish made of different ways of making black feather chicken: Celery puree with crispy chicken breast, a roll with slow cooked and caramelized chicken, coq au vin, a traditional french christmas sausage with chicken liver, truffle & onion and a juicy chicken wing. This was a very french dish, exquisite and rich in flavor.  Delice of black feathered chicken with celery and Verjus cabbage  Exotic fruit sorbet with newyork cheesecake cream and caramelized fig The second palate cleanser was amazing and mouthwatering. The sorbet was perfect and the cheesecake cream was a dream! I should try this at home, definitely! And then The Valrhona bonanza started: White Valrhona chocolate ice cream over a mousse Au Valrhona chocolate with Valrhona chocolate cake with mango and passion fruit sauce. Salty Caramel sauce with a twig of Valrhona chocolate and Valrhona chocolate sprinkles. Lots of "Valrhona" on this dish :)  Valrhona chocolate with salty caramel, mango and passion fruit  Petit fours served at the end of the serving with fruity tea. I was so satisfied i just got a tiny bite on each to try them   just across the street: Gendarmenmarkt and The Concert Hall Dinner was divine, and I totally recommend people to try this out. Be prepared to have a German-French fusion with loads of flavor.
I realized I need to explore more the haute cuisine in Germany, because it is a world difference between it and the nordics. Maaaan now I need a Valrhona Chocolate!!
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 Lucky Bird is the word! Don't you know about the Bird? We thought everybody's heard about the Bird? Well, if you haven't before, now you know. Lucky Bird has opened in the same neighborhood as Mathallen, in the venue next door to BAR Vulkan. The sign reads chicken and ribs. Simple, classic, delicious food.  The owner, Tarje, explains their philosophy: "We take good ingredients, treat them with respect and keep the menu short". We love their concept! The ribs are from one of Norway's best butchers; Albert Idsøe in Stavanger. The chicken is from Stange, and is free range, guaranteed free from medicine and with no additives.  Tarje loves them ribs. The place is inspired by a Southern USA style chicken shack. All the interior looked so well made that we thought it must have been really expensive to make. However, Tarje tells us that they actually made it in a very inexpensive way. The colored wood is from an old house in Stavanger, the roof from an old barn and the hand rails along the stairs are from a church. The lamps in the ceiling are made from old oil barrels!  Tarje is an experienced restauranteur. He already operates the three venues of Døgnvill Bar & Burger, two in Oslo and one in Stavanger. Why did you call the place Lucky Bird and decide to serve ribs as well? "I love ribs so much, I cried myself to have it on the menu!" Tarje tells us. "I like the ribs a bit chewy. I don't want the meat to fall off completely, as others may prefer. To achieve the perfect result every time we use sous-vide."  Deep fried chicken with smokey pineapple sauce.   Tommy's Margarita. Jose Cuervo Reposado Tequila, Agave syrup, lime juice. The cocktails are so inexpensive here, only NOK 89! The taste is right where it should be.   St. Louis spareribs on the right. Green beans in the back and "dirty rice" with chicken liver on the left.  South Side. Gin, mint, lemon juice, sugar syrup and club soda.  Chicken wings on the right. Baked spicy beans with pork confit on the left and sweet potato fries in the cup. Our two favorite condiments from the menu.  Moonshine. Nordic Linie Aquavit with homemade ice tea.  Six different sauces! Lucky Bird BBQ, St. Louis BBQ, Fire BBQ, Triple Honey, Chili and Smokey Pineapple.  Avocado & black bean salad and corn mash.  Mash & gravy   Hilbilly Slaw  Mac'n'cheese  Studying the menu one more time we realize, no matter how full we are, we have to try the dessert pies...  Key Lime Pie with whipped cream. It was like a mix of a lemon pie and a really good cheese cake.  Pecan pie with whipped cream. Salty, crunchy sticky, yum...  Goodbye Lucky Bird, it won't be the last time we meet!  This dish is partly inspired by a dish we made together with Mikkel Marschall on Bornholm, the langoustine dish at restaurant Kadeau and a foraging class we attended in Oslo. The dish we made with Mikkel was a potato compote with fried herring (we will remake the complete recipe on the blog later). After visiting Bornholm we were tipped by our good friend Helle about a foraging class at Geitmyra food culture house. Two of the flowers we learned to be edible were Cuckooflower or Lady's smock (Engkarse in Norwegian) and Ground-Ivy (Korsknapp in Norwegian). They happened to be growing close to Geitmyra, and on the way home we picked up a few. Foraging wild plants and flowers seems to be one of the biggest food trends in the Nordic restaurant scene and hipster home cook crowd. Ingredients 400 g salmon 12 potatoes, unpeeled 250 g Røros butter Apple vinegar Salt & pepper Edible flowers Send me dead flowers every morning Cook the potatoes with the peel until they are done. Pour the water off and let them dry. Use a potato masher and roughly crush the potatoes. Add the butter and a few table spoons of apple vinegar, stir around a few times and let it rest until the butter is melted. Taste with salt and pepper and more apple vinegar if needed. A potato compote is rougher than a mash, the peel is included and the potatoes doesn't need to be completely mashed. The butter and vinegar is just stirred into the compote. It should have a clear acidic sting from the vinegar. Rub the salmon with salt and pepper and fry on one side in butter. Remove from the pan before it is cooked all the way through and get dry. Plate with potato compote underneath and salmon on top. Pour some of the frying butter over the fish. Decorate with edible flowers.   After three days on Bornholm we were already sold. This really felt like a dream. The passion and dedication for food that we saw, reflected in organic farming, animal welfare, sustainability and great utilization of local produce had us convinced. Not to mention the stunning nature with beaches in the south, mighty cliffs in the north, and endless fields of rapeseed flowers and forest floor covered in ramsons wherever you wander. However, the true diamond of this island had yet to be explored. Restaurant Kadeau was booked for our Friday evening.  Imagine you went to heaven and there were no pearly gates. No soft clouds to step on or angels with feathered wings. In stead there was a small cottage, soft sand to dig your feet into and white clad waiters. That's what Kadeau felt like. A little paradise on earth. Kadeau opened in 2010 and is co-owned by Magnus Koefoed, Nicolai Nørregaard and Rasmus Kofoed. They have a sister restaurant by the same name in Copenhagen with one Michelin star, as well as a bistro called Pony which also serves Bornholm food. This summer they opened SommerPONY on Bornholm, which will close during winter months just like Kadeau.  We arrived early to take some photos. Our waitor and sommelier for the evening, Kristine, was waiting for us in the doorway. "Should I put some Champagne glasses outside for you?" Yes, please do! We inspected the beach. Sand as soft as cotton. Rumor has it that Napoleon used it for his time glasses. In the horizon is only sea as far as the eye can see. The Baltic sea.  While we were checking out the beach and backyard, our lovely waiter and sommelier Kristine had prepared two glasses of Champagne for us by the entrance; Barrat-Masson "Fleur de Craie".  The dining room with a stunning sea view. Where we were about to experience the "Bornholmerbank" menu.  The edible part of this dish are the two yellow dusted sticks of crispy sourdough. The dust is lichen, a kind of moss.  Smoked celeriac with ramson and red sorrel  Cured duck with cep mushroom dust  Dried beetroot with dust of wild carrot and served with a super tasty blue cheese cream  Leek with a dust of fermented corn  The bread serving at Kadeau was as visually appealing as the rest. Butter dusted with ash of burnt hay  North sea shrimp, pollen yeast and cream with lumpfish roe. This dish immediately reminded us about a similar dish at Ylajali.  A bonus wine to go with a bonus dish we got. Nicholas Maillot, Aligoté 2010 Burgundy.  White asparagus sautéed in butter, with mayo of green herbs from the garden and shaved ham.  Talking about herbs from the garden, we had to take a stroll in the amazing backyard of Kadeau, where they grow a lot of the plants and herbs they use for their presentations. The place reminded us of Amass in Copenhagen, where we dined last year.  Anders found his favorite herb; nasturtium.  We also found "Kodriver" or primula, which we had foraged with Mikkel Marschall a few days earlier.  Back inside we had a fun wine on the table. Love and pif! Yann Durieux 2013 Burgundy  Green asparagus, aromatic herbs, razor clam bouillon & green strawberry wine  Outside Jonas lit a bonfire. The amazing smell of the smoke, which just take you straight back to childhood, started to seep into the restaurant.  Le Vendangeur Masque "Caravan" 2012  Chef and co-owner Nicolai Nørregaard  Shallots and lovage with Havgus cheese and yoghurt whey  Suddenly we were back on Champagne to match the next dish! André Beaufort 2008  Kale, wild shots and leaves with oysters and goat milk.  Norwegian langoustine with grilled cauliflower, lots of flowers and a juice of plums and beach rose  The definite highlight of the evening, both in taste and looks!  The pairing for the langoustine was Jean-Marie Berrux "Le petit têtu" 2013  The interior of Kadeau is designed like a small cottage with wooden furniture and even a cast iron oven.    Dom Frantz Saumon "Minérale" 2013  Chefs with tattoos plating your dish, as it should be  Grilled turbot with new onions, fermented cep mushrooms & mussels  Onto red wine and we got a Domaine Chandon de Briailles "Les Lavières" 2011  The main dish was yet another highlight...  Pork with yellow beets and pumkin  We had seen a picture of the bonfire on Instagram before we arrived and we had to copy it. The image looks nice, but the real thing was so much better.  Live fire. The smell. The warmth.  Markus offering us some wine to go with the cheese  Champ Divin Cuvée Pollux Jura 2009  As the sun was setting we were asked if we wanted to enjoy the final plates outside, sitting by the second bonfire.  We accepted the offer and moved out for the last rays of a setting sun  The dessert wine pairing; Elixir De Bobal Cueva Mariano  Blackcurrant, cream and salsify  Rhubarb, blue cheese, fermented honey and birch  Good night Bornholm  Grilled apples on sticks to end the meal  Herring, frozen emulsions of oyster, horseradish and sea urchin & warm parsley broth Ylajali is closing. This is their final chapter. When the news broke that Even Ramsvik would conclude the adventure of his one Michelin star restaurant by the end of this year, we knew it was time to finally pay him a visit. Due to the same reason as we wrote in our Maaemo feature, we had not been here before. In hindsight, a big mistake. Ylajali turned out to be a remarkable dining experience.  The name Ylajali is closely linked to the location at St. Olavs plass 2 in Oslo. In this very building lived the character Ylajali from the book "Sult" by famous Norwegian author Knut Hamsun. In the real world the building has housed an old apothecary for almost a century. If you go right, in stead of left, you enter Tekehtopa, which is "Apotheket" spelled backwards. Even Ramsvik now runs this café as well. From a separate kitchen, mind you, and with a completely different style. The food is more rustic and simpler, but very tasty and with great value for money!  The menu at Ylajali is made too look like the first copy of the book from 1890. The meal, like a novel, has a prologue, four chapters and an epilogue. Booking a table at Ylajali was not easy after the newspapers wrote that 2015 would be the last chance to dine here. In fact, we weren't able to book for two people at all. Only a table for four was available this day. We tried to get someone to join us, but a sudden Ylajali evening isn't something most people do spontaneously. In the end we asked to change our reservation and the restaurant was nice enough to comply. It turned out to be a quiet evening, though, which was weird considering the difficulty to book. We are guessing a lot of people have placed several bookings this year, and cancels last minute...  Raw shrimps, dill emulsion and crispy shrimp shell crumbs. Our waiter, the head sommelier, was with us the entire evening. He was attentative, knowledgable, polite and did his job in every way. However, we notice a difference between restaurants like Ylajali and Kontrast on one side, and Noma and Maaemo on the other. At the latter two the waiters managed to connect with the table in a different manner, almost become part of the group, but in a way that felt very right. We didn't get the same feeling at Ylajali, but in stead we had both Even Ramsvik and chef Matthias Bernwieser come out to talk with us several times. No complaints, just an observation!  Semolina and Finnish "Baeri" caviar. Similar to a dish we had at Maaemo.  Reindeer from Røros, emulsion of söl, crispy onion and nasturtium.  Quail eggs glazed in brown butter and leek ashes, with potatoe and leek ash chips. One of our top picks on the menu.  Smocked haddock brandade fried in carbonated sourdough, mayo with oil from smocked haddock skin & bones, stockfish.  Chicken skin topped with King crab from Varanger, acidic onion powder and chervil.  Veyder-Malberg. Liedbedich 2013. A Gründer Veltliner to match the first couple of dishes  The book was split into chapters, and we are about to enter "Cold Norwegian Waters".  Grilled leek, hazelnuts, cress & löjrom with Røros sour cream. Possibly the highlight of the evening! There is so much flavor in leek, which the grill manages to bring forth.  Ojai Vineyard. A very good Chardonnay from 2013  The bread serving of beer bread & butter with "Nyr". We could not help to once again see some similarity with Maaemo, not that we suggest any of them copies the other. The flavor was different in any case.  Strips of squid from Skagen heated in nut butter, & cockles cured in homemade fish sauce of sardines and squid. Sauerkraut juice with brown butter flavored with juniper. Nasturtium stalks  Wagner-Stempel. Heerkretz 2013. Anders was happy to finally get a Riesling  Langoustine from Frøya, baked in a wood-fired oven for 9 seconds. Fermented redbeets & estragon.  Our waiter presented parts of the 13th dish to be served while it was in the making.  Mussels baked with hay.  Domaine du Pelican. Arbois Chardonnay 2013. The always interesting Jura wines...  Celery sorbet, raw celery and sourmilk. Presentation once again resembled another restaurant in this town.  "Skrei" poached with elderflower capers, celeriac and the flavor of the hay baked mussels. This dish was completely covered in foam. Not our favorite presentation.  Eric Rodez. Blanc de Noirs. Suddenly we were back on champagne, which we also started with (a De Sousa - Cuvee de Caudalles).  Porridge on barley and millet, conserved mushrooms from last year and ramson. A creamy sauce from goat parmesan from Hamar. Butter flavored by snails was later added.  Our neighboring table happened to be a wine importer who follows our blog, and he was generous enough to buy us a glass of one of his wines. Pflüger Herrenberg Riesling 2013. Thanks Tølløv!  It's getting dark outside when we are served confit pig's head, kale & black garlic.  Another taste from Tølløv. Monteraponi Baron´Ugo - Chianti Classico Riserva 2009.  Different cuts of 7 year old dairy cow, matured for 12 weeks. Brushed with melted fat from the same cow. A bonus dish which was one of the most interesting servings.  Back on track with the wine pairings; Domaine des Baumard - Quarts de Chaumes 2010.  "Hitra Blå" granulated, almond praline & bitter salad.  Fritz Haag - Brauenberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr. Riesling Spätlese 2012. Anders' favorite of the evening of course.  Grilled apples dehydrated and rehydrated in apple juice, made into a compote together with sago. Caramel with dried yoghurt and aerated nitrogen ice cream of quark and green juniper berries.  Fattoria Selvapiana. Vin Santo 2006 to match the sweetness of the desserts  We've only seen a similar preparation by the table at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London.  Ørskog style "svele" in the making, next to our table. From Even's home town.  Traditional Norwegian "svele", a thick pancake, with hazelnut ice cream, prune syrup and salty caramel  Even Ramsvik showing us around in the kitchen and backyard Even could reveal that he definitely will start up again after closing Ylajali. He is scouting for the perfect location, and they already have a few in mind. He simply needs a bigger kitchen and dining room to truly release his potential in the restaurant world.  The wood-fired oven where they prepare a lot of the dishes  Chefs in the kitchen. Matthias Bernwieser on the right  The petit four. Aerated Manjari Valrhona chocolate, "Nyr" cream with spruce & dried lingon berry. Served with a Chemex brewed Konga Yirgachefe coffee from Supreme Roastworks.  Ylajali gives you a goodie bag with their amazing beer bread when you leave.  The next day you can make the bread again and recall the meal from the night before. 
A blind tasting of Bordeaux red wines at Restaurant Ni&Tyve during an early spring afternoon. We love wine, we love Bordeaux and the restaurant was unexplored by us so far. Blind tasting of wine sounds easy, right? You taste, and you either like it or not, no? Well, it's not quite that simple. We also had to describe the smell and taste, guess the area (if we could) and rate them.
We were together with far more experienced wine tasters, for sure. Wine writers from different specialty magazines and sommeliers from known restaurants and wine bars, amongst them our friend Magnus from Territoriet. Regardless of that, we tried our best to describe the seven different glasses of red wines from Bordeaux. In the end we rated them, and to no surprise, when the identities were revealed, it turned out Andrea's favorites were the three most expensive wines.
It was all Bordeaux red wines from 2001, from some of the best winemakers of the region.
We also learned about the bacteria "Brett" or Breattanomyces. A fault in wine that can both add flavor to the wine or ruin the wine completely. Young wines can get more complexity and/or an aged character from Brett. When a wine is spoiled by Brett it smells of horse manure or a musty basement, and it may have a metallic taste. This could of course be confused with cork taint as well, which makes it even more difficult to distinguish.
After tasting we went to the terrace to eat. We were served a three-course meal from restaurant Ni&Tyve and we enjoyed red, rosé and white wine from Chateau Rauzan Despagne. They come in plastic bottles (PET), which is very handy e.g. when you are traveling to your cottage or going to a picnic. The bottles are less heavy and can't be broken. The wine is quite cheap, but still with a good quality to it. We tasted the Chateau Rauzan Despagne Bordeaux rouge too, and in July that will be released in a three liter bag in box for NOK 450.
Chateau Rauzan Despagne in PET bottles
Crayfish with lardo and a vegeterian wonton. Not a very successful dish in our opinion. The flavors didn't go together too well and the dish lacked acidity. The crayfish was overcooked.
Magnus from Territoriet
Andrea had the chicken as main dish. It was served with Jerusalem artichoke mousse, potato puree and grilled apricot. The dish was tasty, but the sauce and both mousses were too salty.
A beautiful, sunny, spring day in Oslo
Anders picked to no surprise the entrecôte with béarnaise sauce and fried potatoes. He asked for rare and they managed to cook it correctly. The meat was decent, the fat was soft enough so you could eat it, and the sauce was rich and tasty. The potatoes were ok, but the mushrooms and green beans were a bit boring.
The winemaker in the middle
The dessert of milk chocolate ganache, hazelnut ice cream, caramelized hazelnuts and some sort of strawberry powder. The latter was overpowering and made the dish too sweet, but it had some good flavors in between.
The scallops were presented at the table in their raw form, and the chef explained what they were about to do with them.
A Michelin starred restaurant is usually not where we dine on a regular Thursday after work. This kind of luxury is reserved for vacations. However, we realized that by following this logic we would never get to test the best restaurants in our own hometown. Thus, when our good friend André Blomberg-Nygård asked if we wanted to join for a small snack at his favorite neighborhood shack, Maaemo, we accepted his invitation.
Maaemo is Oslo and Norway's only two Michelin star restaurant. It is also the only Nordic restaurant to be awarded two stars directly, the very first time they were mentioned in the Michelin guide. In the list "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" Maaemo was ranked no. 79 last year. We're looking forward to see where they rank once the 2015 list is revealed on June 1st.
View from our table towards the kitchen.
Danish head chef Esben Holmboe Bang leads the kitchen, while co-founder and sommelier Pontus Dahlström from Finland leads the restaurant. We were lucky enough to have Pontus almost entirely to ourselves this evening, at the test kitchen table on the second floor. From this table you overlook the kitchen with all the chefs hard at work, and you also have a panoramic view of the barcode buildings of Bjørvika.
Wild duck cured for 9 months
All of the ingredients at Maaemo are organic, and most of the produce are sourced within a 100 km radius of Oslo. Esben explains that the menu is a reflection of the Norwegian nature, and they even go into the forest themselves to forage wild plants and flowers. The wine is organic as well, and some of it is biodynamic, but Pontus doesn't choose strictly "nature wines" like we experienced at restaurants like Noma and Relæ in Copenhagen.
André forgives us quickly for being late
Pontus welcome us in the door as we enter. We are late, and André has already waited for us 15 minutes upstairs. Not the worst place to wait, though, watching the chefs of Maaemo plating dishes with microscopic accuracy.
Esben the conductor
Esben stands on the right side of the kitchen, looking almost like a conductor of an orchestra. He has complete control. Pontus, on the other hand, is busy being the perfect host for the guests at his table. Esben is equally welcoming, of course, whenever he comes out to put the finishing touches on a dish, but Pontus feels almost like he is part of our table this evening.
Pontus the host
This feeling of having your waiter and sommelier so up close and personal is something we've only ever experienced once before, and that was at Noma in Copenhagen. We're beginning to see a pattern at these two star restaurants!
Lightly frozen fresh cheese (Nyr) from Grøndalen Farm, with salted and smoked wild salmon eggs.
Dried salsify pickled in juniper broth, drinkable cold pickled juniper broth.
Grilled young garlic from Hvaler with elderflower sour cream and summer preserves from last year. The cured wild duck in the background.
Warm savoury cookie made from dried chanterelles, pickled chanterelles and dehydrated broth from roasted chicken bones.
Cornett with chicken liver and pickled pear from Hardanger
Dehydrated dark beer and grains with wheat vinegar and salted egg yolk
Emulsion of raw Norwegian oysters from Bømlo with a warm sauce made from mussels and dill
Mahogany clam from Nordskot with a dashi of Norwegian shiitake mushrooms and seaweed.
Cream of grilled chestnuts from last autumn and Finnish caviar
The famous langoustine serving, with pickled spruce and cold pressed rapeseed oil poured over dry ice to create a vapor that smells of the Norwegian forest
Scallops from Frøya grilled in the shell, fermented celeriac and a broth of celeriac, apple and smoked butter
Celeriac cooked with preserved scallop roe
The bread serving, which we found out a few weeks later resembled that of Ylajali a lot in looks. Sourdough bread of freshly milled wheat and emmer, served with butter churned until almost separated.
Anders listening to Pontus explain about wines
Esben wanted to take us back to his childhood with this dish of potatoes cooked with aromatics, "Norwegian gravy" and preserved rhubarb.
André attempting to capture Esben's precision plating
Dried beets glazed in birch sap, currant and chamomile infusion with caramelized yeast.
"Rømmegrøt" - a porridge of very sour cream, dried reindeer heart and browned butter with plum vinegar. A classic at Maaemo, and one of our absolute favorites of the evening.
Andrea and André with Bjørvika in the background
Charred onions and quail egg gently cooked in roasted bone marrow, with aged "fenalår" and onion vinaigrette.
The most surprising serving of evening. Salted sheep ribs ("pinnekjøtt) served with cabbage from Fokhol glazed with rendered lamb fat and vinegar.
Frozen blue cheese with pickled black trumpet mushrooms. An entirely new way to experience blue cheese.
Cold horseradish with grilled cucumber and the first sorrel
This dish was simply called "the smell of the blackcurrant bush". Stunning presentation and flavors.
Brown butter ice cream with hazelnut crumble and molasses. This dish is worth the visit alone.
Coffee is taken just as serious as any other beverage at Maaemo. We love it! The coffee of choice is Tim Wendelboe "Finca Tamana" and the brewing method is the very traditional way of boiling coffee in a coffee pot. Pontus made sure to remove the bitter layer of foam that forms on the top before he served it. The result? The best restaurant coffee we've had, to date.
Brown cheese tart.
Liquid waffle with mountain tea made only from wild herbs found in Bøverdalen
Traditional Norwegian pastries. Anders and André racing to finish the donuts. "Krumkaker" on the right side.
André believes this dish is very similar to the first one we had
We finish where we started. This time it is a dessert, though. Lightly frozen fresh cheese (Nyr) from Grøndalen farm with sea buckthorn.
The envelope we got from Maaemo is opened the next morning
Inside we find beautiful pictures of Norwegian landscape and of course the full menu we ate
Henriette & Henrik
Stammershalle Badehotel was our home on Bornholm for three days when we were there with Visit Denmark. We say home because that's what it felt like. Stammershalle is nothing like a hotel in the traditional sense. The owners, Henriette Lassen & Henrik Petersen, make you feel welcome like a dear friend from the past. All of the decoration inside is done by Henriette, as she is an upholstery professional, and it feels like she has made the entire hotel her house.
More than anything Henrik & Henriette wanted to make their hotel restaurant a destination for the locals on the island. If a local Bornholmer would be asked by a tourist where to go, then Stammershalle should be in the top five list of advices. We find this to be a great philosophy, and even believe they have succeed with this goal to a great extent. This also makes them less dependent on tourism, which is concentrated around the spring and summer months on Bornholm.
Built by a German in 1911 who had his own zoo in the backyard with lions and bears. One hundred years later, in 2011, it was bought by Henrik & Henriette. Located along the northern coastline of Bornholm, not far from the city of Gudhjem (God's home), in a beautiful rocky scenery. Waking up to the view of the Baltic Sea every morning is the best start of a day we could imagine, and it makes us want to go back to Bornholm as soon as possible.
Good morning, Bornholm!
The hotel restaurant "Lassens" is also one of the main destination for foodies visiting Bornholm, in addition to Melsted Badehotel and of course restaurant Kadeau. Head chef, Daniel Kruse, is part of the Danish culinary team and was named chef of the year in 2012. He has previously worked as a pastry chef at Michelin star restaurants Formel B and Søllerød Kro, and won many prizes for his sweet creations.
Coffee and cakes in the lounge - Stammershalle style
In Lassens restaurant they strive to satisfy all the senses, and the food looks as great as it tastes. As many of the ingredients as possible are gathered from the local area, very much in line with the Bornholm mentality. However, Henrik points out, sometimes they simply feel like oysters and foie gras. Hard work the last couple of years has even resulted in a place in the White Guide. Without further ado, we present to you the evening's meal.
Before dinner we were welcomed in the lounge with some snacks and a glass of champagne. Pickled celeriac and smoked "Nyr". The "cigars" are filled with brandade.
Nordic nibble. Kohlrabi with tartar of trout.
Our favorite flower on Bornholm, "Kodriver" or Primula, on the left.
More snacks as we sat down at the table, presented in an egg shell with smoked foam
Cured reindeer and a dust of cheese powder
Even the bread & butter serving looked beautiful. The malt bread tasted with honey was almost fought over at the table, but luckily the kitchen kept it coming.
First dish; lumpfish roe with cucumber and apple marbles, and sour cream with mussel broth
One of many delicious wines we had during the dinner, old and new world. Here is a Chardonnay 2012 from Hamilton Russell Vineyards in South Africa
Grilled octopus, deep fried octopus ring, onion filled with potato, pickled onion, a soy sauce with ginger and decorated with ramson flowers
French rooster leg, smoked pork belly, rhubarb, potato, parsley cream and nasturtium
Second rooster serving! This time it was the breast with parsley butter
Savory dessert; Jerusalem artichoke, lemon and hazelnut
A deconstructed pineapple Solero, vanilla panna cotta ball, raw milk ice cream and white chocolate crumble
Stammershalle's take on the "Karen Blixen" cake originating from the pastry shop La Glace in Copenhagen. Karen Blixen was a Danish author who had a coffee farm in Africa. A kind of Sachertorte with coffee mousse and variations of chocolate.
A chef preparing our coffee snacks
Canelés and macarons for the coffee
The breakfast at Stammershalle is one of the best hotel breakfast we have experienced. Everything was freshly made from the same kitchen we dined in the previous evening. We could choose between a variety of ham & cheese, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, tomato salad, five types of homemade bread, overnight oats, five types of homemade jams, four different beverages, and more variety of yoghurt and cereal toppings than we knew existed.
Yoghurts made with love by the host, for the guests to enjoy
Homemade jams in flavor combinations like seabuckthorn & apple, vanilla & lemon, strawberry and lavender, gooseberries & star anis and blood orange & grape.
Homemade juices with our favorite on the left; apple & strawberry.
Room no. 1 at Stammershalle!
Can't complain about nothing
Pop-up restaurant! The word is so hot it hurts. Still a fairly new concept in Oslo, although the trend is slowly and steadily growing thanks to influence from cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm. Svinepels is a new pop-up restaurant that caught our interest earlier this year. When they announced a dinner at Seeds in Oslo a month ago, with a 10-course tasting menu and drinks to match, we just had to go check it out. Seeds is a backyard bar and club, and is part of Mesh - the coworking space in Tordenskiolds gate. They have a lot of events, concerts and DJs playing. The musical element of this evening was Jay Nemor.
Anders talking to Even and Magnus
Svinepels consist of Magnus Støre and Even Rømo. Neither of them are educated chefs, they're simply two friends interested in food and fascinated by the modern restaurant experience. Eating out has become almost theatrical in execution. The experiments in the Svinepels kitchen are based on the latest trends that Magnus and Even pick up from the top restaurants around the world. Both in terms of ingredients and presentation.
Even from Svinepels and Martin from Moestue Grape Selection who provided the drinking menu
This specific evening had the coming of spring as topic, and was a reflection of Mother Earth facing the Northern hemispehere toward the sun and all the life that wakes from hibernation. Martin Kloster from Moestue Grape Selection attended the event and served drinks to match each course.
"Andre ting enn potetgull kan være gull" - Flax seed bread & mussel mayo. This was served as a sharing platter that was passed around the table.
"Hvem skulle trodd at alt levende en gang har vært rått?" - Shrimp, dill, cream and samphire. This reminded us about a dish we had at Ylajali in Oslo and Kadeau on Bornholm recently.
"Alt kan være en trestamme" - Leek and nyr. Leek and various wild onions are very trendy at the moment, not to speak of the fresh cheese nyr.
"Noen sa det kunne ligne på noe" - Pork cheek on a stick of fir tree. Meat served on moss. Probably inspired by presentations at restaurants like Maaemo in Oslo and Noma in Copenhagen.
Anders studying the menu, waiting for the next dish
"Umacho salat" - Salad, radish and egg. The egg yolk and whites were separated and prepared on their own. The salad had wild flowers. Everything very much in trend, especially foraging of wild flowers, but the dish lacked flavor, salt and contrast.
Muskateller, Ökonomirat Rebeholz, 2013 presented by Martin from Moestue. To match the first few dishes.
"Blodet må pumpes rundt for å kunne hige etter evigheten" - ox heart, apple, walnuts and horseradish. We've seen this style of presenting the meat, hidden under leaves of salad, several other places. Kontrast in Oslo and Amass in Copenhagen to name a few.
"Risotto kan være godt, men husmødre vet bedre" - Porridge of grains with carrot and Västerbotten cheese. We ate a nordic risotto at Relæ in Copenhagen last summer, which inspired us to make our own recipe of sunflower seed risotto as well. You'll find it on the blog. A nice twist from Svinepels to use Swedish cheese in stead of parmesan.
Bøgedal, Hvede. A wheat beer to match the nordic risotto.
"Blir det mer meta enn å spise en spisemuskel?" - Ox cheeks, herbs and Jerusalem artichoke.
Nebbiolo, Josette Saffirio 2010. A more powerful red wine was needed to match the ox meat.
"Selv ikke det tilfeldige er tilfeldig, bortsett fra det som er sjukt random da" - Brillat-savarin cheese, parsley and lemon. A great cheese, and our favorite serving of the evening.
Martin served Sydre Argelette from Eric Bordelet for the cheese and desserts
"Har tang, bær og beter noe til felles?" - Søl, black currants, redbeets and soured milk. We know this Islandic sea weed, søl, from restaurants like Pjoltergeist. A very nice dessert, flavors that matched well and different consistencies.
"De de franske kaller petir four, som egentlig bare er munch" - Brown cheese tart, freeze dried apple and macaron with seabuckthorn. Maaemo serves a brown cheese tart too, but this was more similar to a traditional cheese cake and very tasty! Seabuckthorn taste amazing and Svinepels has obviosuly gathered that it is very trendy as well.
Team Svinepels together with Marius Sommerfeldt from Seeds
Svinepels pop-up was a nice experience. The food, the drinks and the music put together made it a great evening. We wish the team good luck with future events, and encourage them to work even more with the flavors and contrast, but also the presentation of each dish. In terms of price they match restaurants in Oslo like Kontrast, Pjoltergeist and Bon Lio. That means expectations from guests are pretty high as well.
Chicken ravioli in a horseradish and tarragon broth
To the left as you exit Torggata towards the adventure bridge. In a narrow venue in Hausmannsgate, just opposite of the church Jakob, a new French restaurant called Rôtisserie has opened. It may not come as a surprise that they are cooking a lot of their food in a rotisserie. Skewered or hung meat is cooked in an oven while it rotates and cooks evenly in its own juice.
The restaurant manager Loris welcomes us as we enter. He asks whether we would like to sit at a table or along the marble counter facing the chefs working the kitchen. An easy choice, we sit down at the bar, which has very comfortable chairs and the best view. "A glass of wine to start?". "Yes, please, recommendation?" "How about Le G de Guiraud?" Perfect. We study the menu.
Le G de Guiraud
A simple and short menu and a simple and short wine list. We love it already. Almost every wine is offered by the glass, and almost every glass is priced below 100 NOK. The menu has three starters, the choice between three cuts of meat for the main dish and various side dishes. Lastly, some specialty desserts from pastry chef Constance Charpentier.
The best thing about this place is that the kitchen will be open till at least 23.00. Too many decent restaurants these days close their kitchen around nine or ten. Pjoltergeist has been our only go-to-place for late night snack. At least now we have a new good alternative.
Homemade duck rillettes. Meat braised in it's own fat with herbs and salt.
Asparagus salad. A very well balanced dish. Both bitter and sweet asparagus, as well as bitter cabbage and sweet pomegranate. Topped with truffle for the umami flavor and contrasted with pieces of roasted nuts and a cheese cracker.
Veal served with roasted vegetables; parsnips, shallots, red and yellow beets.
La Balade des Lézards
The roasted chicken was perfectly juicy with crispy skin. Both the white and dark meat were cooked to perfection.
The french fries were twice fried, which made them soft inside, but not so crispy on the outside. The chef had attempted a quick version of the Heston Blumenthal fries, but said he would do the proper three steps from now on to achieve more crisp. We love when chefs have such a humble attitude.
Loris was a great host and very interested in our feedback.
Lemon meringue tart. The flavor and presentation of this makes it our favorite one in Oslo. The skills of pastry chef Charpentier really shines here.
Loris served us a Noblesse du Temps from Jurançon to go with the desserts. A great choice of a dessert wine that is not too sweet and rich.
Profiteroles filled with ice cream and topped with warm chocolate sauce. On the sides are some petit fours. One filled with custard cream. The choux pastry is perfectly crispy and airy. The only part we would improve here is the ice cream, and Loris explained that they are working on that and will make their own ice cream soon.
Pastry chef Constance Charpentier focused at work
Please don't roast me.
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AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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