The Recap - Scandinavia

The first three quarters of the most highly anticipated stint of our trip did not let us down.

Scandinavia is beautiful.

Scandinavians know how to eat and drink.

Scandinavians know how to live.

There's little wonder left in our minds as to why these countries have the highest qualities of life of anyone around the world.

What We'll Miss

• The rabbit that lives in the cemetery in central Stockholm 
• Dime in all of its glorious iterations - ice cream, cookies, chocolate... 
• Scandinavian sunshine.  You've heard the phrase, 'he/she/they worship the sun'.  You don't have a proper grasp of that saying until you've seen Scandinavians sitting in the sun.  They get comfortable in their chair, they close their eyes and then they soak it in.  They soak it in so much that you almost feel like tapping them on the shoulder and telling them to leave some for you
• Smoked salmon.  So many times over and it never gets old
• The simplicity of life.  Public transport that is ridiculously efficient and easy to decipher.  Paying with everything with EFTPOS is pretty much a dream realised for me.  And everything is clean and safe and almost how you picture the perfect world to be
• Those Norwegian landscapes.  Wow
• Salted licorice where our favourite was Salty Silds that are salted licorice herring shaped jubes covered in so much salt it's not funny 
• Scandinavian coffee, oh how we'll miss you

• Being mistaken as Scandinavian thanks to Nix's blonde locks and my Viking-like beard
• The Viking jokes and comparisons that say and write themselves
• The effortless coolness of the Scandinavians.  I think that's also a bad though, those bastards... 
• You get what you pay for.  Yes, things may be super expensive but you can guarantee whatever you buy will be well made and made using only the best produce 
• The logic and intellect of the people that allows them to navigate situations like lining up for a coffee without feeling the need to push in, or pull some other shifty move, makes anal people like us happy 
• Mikkeller.  BOOM
• Blueberries.  Every opportunity that I had to have something blåbær flavoured nothing else got a look in
• The cleanliness of the air, even in cities, is a beautiful thing

What We Won't Miss 

• A lack of cats is almost a deal breaker.  Hmm, maybe not
• Swedish alcohol laws that match Australia's
• Forcing me to question my right wing ideologies.  The Iron Monk is still a great man 
• Prices! 
• Norwegian prices!! 

As you can see, there's a lot to like and not much to dislike...

 The Food

Pastries win here.  In particular the Swedish Cardamom Kanelbullar from Saturnus and the rhubarb and custard "croissant" from Meyers Baker in Copenhagen.  Omnomnom...

The Drink

It has to be this.

Yeastus Christus is a pretty good beer.  Chuck it in Chardonnay barrels for a while and it becomes a bloody amazing beer.  When we considered which drink was the best of this stint we quickly spouted the same beer at the same time.  #doublejinx

The Beer Count - 54

Copenhagen and Friends

Great food, great coffee and legendary beer bars all encased in the most beautiful of cities.  We've waited to be inside you for a long, long time Copenhagen.

The Beer Bars

Who are we kidding.  Yes, Copenhagen is very beautiful and it has the great coffee and the great food scene but there was one main drawcard - the world's premier gypsy brewer and his world famous beer bars.  The big M.

Mikkeller and Friends

This is a place of beer geek legend.  If Mikkeller Sthlm is already the bar of our dreams then I'm not really what this is because it's at a whole different level.

40 taps from Mikkeller and his friends and when his friends are from the upper echelons of the beer world you know that you're in for something special going for a drink here.

This is the kind of place that you have to drink tactically and in a team.  40 taps to get through over a couple of nights is hard enough work as it is but when something runs out and is immediately replaced with something else equally as sexy they have you on your knees.

It's the finer touches like splitting two glasses of two different barrel aged editions of Funky E* into four separate glasses so you can drink them side by side that makes places like this great.  Two nights weren't enough and ten nights still wouldn't be enough.  Expectations were smashed.

Mikkeller Bar

The original that is a bit like a scaled down version of Mikkeller and Friends with less friends.

Fermentoren

We thought it was best to get a third opinion on Copenhagen's beer scene so dropped into here for a few.  In a lot of cities around the world this would be it's number one beer bar.  20 taps full of quality and a bottle list consisting of just big dark beers, barley wines and sours.  All in surroundings that are a bit cosier than that of the Mikkeller bars.

The Noms

Pastries from Danmark

Yes, Danish pastries if you will.  But no, you don't walk into a bakery asking for "two Danish pastries please".  That would make you look like a dick.  We had various things from Meyers Bageri and Lagkagehuset filled with custard and jam and chocolate and more and all were bloody delightful.

relæ

My partner in eating has already debriefed you on this one - Michelin Meal, Take Three

Organic Hot Dog

A goat sausage in a homemade seeded bun with "everything" where everything is some good shit.  Mmmmmmm, look at that thing....

Meatball Sandwich at Smagsløget

Our search continues for the best ever sandwich.  Unfortunately Portugal's bar is still too high.

Torvehallerne Market 

We just couldn't stay away from this place.  At literally every turn there is another stand serving up something that has you reaching for your wallet and looking for more stomach space.  It appears that unless you're offering up fare that meets the highest of standards, you're not getting a look in for a space in this market.

We had a duck confit sandwich at Ma Poule that is pretty much perfection inside a bread roll, a mango and skyr (an Icelandic sort of cream cheese yoghurt) porridge at GRØD that had surprisingly little sweetness to it but was very good and a decent helping of Smørebrød - small open sandwiches that come in a mind boggling number of iterations and are the jewel in Denmark's culinary crown.

We tucked into a potato, with chicken salad and crispy bacon, fried fish fillet with remoulade and the show stopper - a steak tartar that was packed with a ridiculous amount of flavour.  Raw horseradish is pretty much the best thing ever.  From now on when I eat dinner, on the table I'd like: salt and pepper, dried chili and raw grated horseradish.  On the double Nix.

The Black Stuff

Keep it coming please.

Coffee Collective

We had coffees at both their Jægersborggade location and the Torvehallerne Market location.  Faultless.

Service, quality, complexity, attention to detail.  Check, check, check, check.

Democratic Coffee 

No Koppi roasted beans liked we'd hoped but still very nice espressos and a V60 using Drop Coffee beans.

Some Other Cool Things

Little Mermaid 

It's like Brussels' Mannekin Pis, when you're in Copenhagen you have to see it.  But do you really have to see it?

Naps in the Sunshine 

A post feed siesta down here in the sunshine was an inspired decision.

Some other nice bits of Copenhagen

ARoS in Aarhus

We dropped in to Aarhus for a night on our way to the top of Denmark to check out ARoS - a modern art museum.  Because we're so arty and shit, you know?

Highlights were The Boy (by an Aussie!), Wes Lang's exhibition (of which I got no photos and copped it) and the ARoS Rainbow which sits on top of the museum and gives sweeping views out over Aarhus in, well, all colours of the rainbow.

We'd waited so long for Copenhagen and Denmark and all of its beery goodness then all of a sudden it was gone.

After doing the Nordic city, beery, coffee, foody thing it was time for some nature and we were off to the Grand Daddy of all things natural - Norway.

The Beers

Mikkeller Monks Brew, Nelson Sauvin IIPA, It's Alive BA Chardonnay, Funky E* BA Sauternes and Chardonnay, YS2 Lambicus, Spontanmandarin, Spontanbeetroot, Spontanrosehip, Black Moon, Cù’t Cà Phê Bia, Koppi Barley Wine Ale
To Øl Yeastus Christus, Yeastus Christus Super Sour, Goliat BA Bourbon, Sans Frontiere, Sur Maelk, Mine Is Bigger Than Yours BA Muscatel
Lervig Galaxy IPA
All In/Lervig Imperial Porter
All In/Stronzo 100% Viking
Beer Here Executioner, Nordic Rye, Harwood Brown
Omnipollo Astral
Beerbliotek Pale Ale Raspberry Ale
Brodie's Oyster Tea Stout
De Dolle Boskeun
Aarhus Bryghus Snapper IPL, Sour Dragon
Stillwater Stateside
Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S.

Significant Insight from the Significant Other - Michelin Meal, Take Three

Copenhagen...  Home to one of my most fantasised eating dreams, Noma.   No, sadly, we didn't go - it was go to Noma and not be able to treat ourselves to any other good meals throughout Europe or compromise and split those savings across a few splurges.  In hindsight I think the compromise was the wrong choice given our uninspiring Michelin meal in San Sebastian, but that doesn't mean we weren't going to give another Michelin meal a crack.  I narrowed down our choices and we decided on Relæ .

Relæ was opened in 2010 by Christian Puglisi, a former Noma chef, and received its Michelin star in 2012.  Its concept is simple dishes using only a few ingredients, that are mostly locally sourced and 90-100% organic.   They have gone for a really laid back atmosphere which was extremely enjoyable.  The maitre'd was in a flanno, the chefs brought your dishes to the table, there were no napkins awkwardly placed on your lap and of course the cloakroom had a drawing of a teddybear with a cock.  Built into the table was a secret drawer which contained your menu, napkin and various sets of cutlery to self serve as you went along - brilliant!

On arrival we were asked if we would like an aperitif and snack...  Umm, yes!  Immediately poured in front of us were two glasses of delicious bubbles from Austria where some of the grapes had been pressed with their skins to give it the delightful colour.  Then our snack arrived in a leather bowl - fresh potato bread with goats cheese and herbs.  The chef advised us to eat it with our hands...  To which I (probably too quickly) responded he didn't need to tell us that!  The combination was fantastic and wine pairing spot on.

You have two eating options at Relæ - Herbivore or Omnivore, in the form of four courses.  To cover more ground we decided to get one of each, with the wine pairings to match obviously.

Course one

Herbivore - Baked onion, sol and birch syrup, paired with Susucara 5 '12

Presentation of this dish was beautiful.  The individual layers of red onion were sweet and filled with seaweed from Iceland.  The essence of sea that came through was incredible - it was like the concentration of a thousand shellfish.  The wine was really different but worked so well.  I must admit I shuddered when I saw the cloudy pink liquid flow into my glass, preparing for some super sweet swill, but it was dry and tannin-y from all the skins, and heightened the natural flavours of the dish.

Omnivore - Razorclam, cucumber and spinach, paired with Opok '08

Brim's dish looked like some alien seaslug that got lost in a forest.  Not so sure about the presentation but the mouthful I was gifted was divine.  Inside the wafer thin slices of raw cucumber was the meatiest razorclam I had ever seen.  It was cooked perfectly, so sweet - similar to a slightly chewier scallop that mated with an oyster I guess.  The cucumber provided crunch whilst the wilted spinach inside gave an earthy element to heighten the sea flavours.  The wine came from vines grown on clay soils, making it quite an earthy white, adding richness to the sea flavours.

Course two 

Herbivore/Omnivore - Mushrooms, grains and ramsons, paired with O2 fruits '10

We were both treated to this delightful next course.  A mix of grains had been cooked and added to a dark green garlicky broth, topped with slices of raw mushroom.  Yum!  Barley, burghal, sunflower seeds, you name the grain and it was here.  The broth was indescribable other than we wanted a thermos of it to take home.  Simple slices of mushroom took on the quality of meat and soaked up all the flavours.  Ramsons are like a wild chive, so added a real freshness to the broth.  We tried our best to slurp up every last drop of this one!  The wine was amazing.  They don't fill the barrels all the way so that the wine can oxidise.  This resulted in all kinds of whiskey and calvados flavours and aromas coming through, complementing the earthy flavours of the dish.

Course three

Herbivore - Carrots, hollandaise and oxalis, paired with Roc cab '12

My meatless main.  Carrots that had been slow roasted like you would meat, to take on a meat texture and quality.  Looking at the photo of the dish, if you were to assume that oxalis must be the purple thing and the carrots are hiding under the hollandaise, then you would be wrong - at least you didn't ask the chef and be responded to with a confused look "um that is carrot", pointing at the purple.

Turns out the carrots are thinly sliced and then stacked back together basically in the shape of a steak (mmm... steak...).  Oxalis are the four-leaf clover looking bits that taste exactly like the leaves of some sour plant that me and Pippa used to nom when we rollerbladed down my driveway growing up.  I gleefully told Brim about this little blast from the past but he didn't get it, or care for that matter, so I piped down and munched my rabbit food.  Tasty yes, but like my course one, I felt it was trying too hard to emulate its meaty counterpart, a goal that can never be reached, and should have been focusing more on the original vegetable flavours.  The wine match was a delicious red, again trying to replicate the red meat/red wine combination.

Omnivore - Sodam chicken and celeriac, paired with Navine '07

Brim's main consisted of a pile of chicken, but this wasn't any old chicken...  It was slow cooked at a low temperature so the meat was pink but cooked through and retained a lot of the raw meat texture.  The celeriac slices on top of the chicken had been fermented, giving a powerful acidity to cut through the chicken.  Neither of us can remember what the sauce was exactly...  But it was good.  A lovely unfiltered chenin was the wine match and its dryness worked perfectly with the rich dish.

Course four

Herbivore/Omnivore - 5yo Parmesan and apple, paired with La Mailloche' 09

This was an optional cheese course, but who are they kidding, when is cheese ever an option?  I said to the waitress right at the beginning that we would share the cheese course to which she laughed and said I'll ask you when we get to that time.  My brain was just going cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese.  So the parmesan was delicious and the apple jelly was a great accompaniment, but we felt cheated.  If I wanted 5yo cheese plonked on a plate then I could buy the cheese and plonk it on myself.  We like to eat at good restaurants for the purpose of them providing something I can't do myself.  Knowing that we were sharing the wine (a crisp Chardonnay), they gave us two smaller pours in separate glasses which was great service.

Course five

Herbivore/Omnivore - Vanilla icecream, dried citrus, paired with Moscato d'Asti'12

To finish was dessert which both menus shared.  Out came a plate with a smear of vanilla ice cream, garnished with dried shards of orange and individual frozen segments of orange.  Not too much to say about this one, it tastes like you would expect.  Good, but again it wasn't anything special or using interesting flavour combinations.  The wine unfortunately was my only dislike of the night.  I don't care if it's $3 or $300 a bottle, I don't like Moscato.  So sweet and light, I understand it's purpose to cut through the cream and enhance the citrus, but it's just gross.

So overall we had a wonderful night at Relæ . The wine was definitely the highlight for me - trying natural wines that all had a little quirk to them was fascinating and something I'd love to get into more.  The low-key feeling of the restaurant was really enjoyable and meant you could focus more on what was in front of you (the food, not Brim).  The food was delicious however I think the cheese and dessert really let down the whole experience.  And I made a mistake by going for the Herbivore option - you don't make friends with salad!