Noma

[Neu]

I'd be interested to hear what you had. I went to Noma for lunch so it might be quite different.

If you have either the lobsters or the vegetables on the rock: I'm wondering what spices the lobster

was prepared with and how the malt earth on the vegetables was done.

[YKL]

I went to Noma for lunch ....

←

Really? I would have guessed it was the standard 7-course menu you got (comparing to the menu on the website) i.e. what they serve in the evening ... so not sure how different it will be. and I doubt my photos will be as good!

Will try and remember to ask about the lobsters and malt earth/soil. Based on previous visits, my guess for the latter is that it's brewers malt, sweetened and roasted ... but I think there's other EG members who worked at noma or are far more expert so they may provide a more accurate explanation ...

[Neu]

you're right.

it seems that i had the dinner menu for lunch.

what did you have?

[YKL]

They were kind enough to just take care of the menu for me .. so basic 7 course was same as yours except no skate wing but a fabulous razor clam with leek and mustard flower dish instead (one of the highlights of the meal actually), and a couple of extra insertions which were

peas and celery - wonderfully fresh and verdant

oyster, cucumber and nasturtium leaves

sweetbread and walnuts and hazelnuts - also v v good

Will try and pull together more detailed notes later this week, and perhaps some photos but this meal was practically flawless and so clean and fresh. It was the first visit for my friends and F was so bowled over by course 3, he ran out to ring a friend back home in Brussels to insist that they arrange a repeat visit!

Edited August 14, 2007 by YKL (log)

[Neu]

thank you for the feedback, yin.

it would be great to see photos of the extra dishes you had.

as you've been to noma in different seasons did you have any

meals there that you preferred to others?

i really liked how fruits und fruit juices were included in the dishes

and was wondereing if you missed them in a winter meal.

[YKL]

Hi Neu .. am still getting some notes together and wanted to check a couple of details with the restaurant - but in the meantime, a few snaps can be found here ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ykl/sets/72157601389066432/

Really struggled with the light as the evening went on, and ended up resorting to cameraphone! so apologies for quality of the pics .. will try and finish my notes soon ..

Someone else asked me which was my favourite meal of the ones so far, and it's so hard to pick one! My first visit in Sept 06 and I was absolutely floored and astounded by what I was experiencing .... so in terms of an emotional response - then it's that one but that may have been strongly affected by the fact that I didn't really have preconceptions. Since then, on each subsequent visit, I arrive expecting great things and can still leave impressed and excited - which is more of a feat perhaps?

Am really enjoying the fruits and veg in the spring / summer menus, but my impression (perhaps inaccurate) is that the seafood is particularly good in the colder months, and I really appreciate the ingenuity displayed during the dark months ... so pickled elderberries, different fruit vinegars, more root vegetables ... so no, don't really miss them since the other dishes are so good, and of course, perfectly reflect the season.

My own rather biased view is that you would eat well whenever you dined at noma, but think some of their most successful and distinctive dishes have been the musk ox tartare, the sheep milk mousse with sorrel granita, there was a king crab dish with leeks in hay ash ... and anything with the langoustines from the Faroe Islands is very very very good.

Hope that answers your question ...

[Neu]

Hello Yin,

thanks a lot for uploading your photos.

I'm very impressed by the number variations from the dishes I had.

With the exception of the raw shrimps and the blueberries with milk skin

the courses seemed to be different, even the rasberries with beetroot look

unlike the ones I had.

I will definately be back, hopefully rather sooner than later.

[good food]

Goat-kid and „dust“ of thyme – Hazelnuts and mushroom

Both, the kid and the thyme almost melted on the tongue. The kid was cooked sous vide for 24 hours at 63 degrees celcius together with cream and gammeldansk – a Danish bitter. The crunch of the nuts and mushrooms was a good contrast to the softness of the meat.

Blueberries and milkskin – Pickled pine tree shoots and sweet bread

The childhood memories I have of milk skins are not among my favourites but this felt

very good when combined with the blueberry sorbet that laid underneath. This was the last dish of the menu but I had a go at one more dessert...

Hi Neu,

Thank you so much for the beautiful photos. I went to noma for dinner on 2 August and had what you had for lunch except the beer porridge. I was so carried away that I forgot to photograph the goat and the blueberries dishes, and am most delighted to see the pictures here. Thank you.

Wow, Yin. Great photos, too! Very enjoyable. Thanks.

cheers from Copenhagen,

Trine

[YKL]

Neu and Trine - thanks for the kind comments.

have finally gathered some notes on what we had for dinner ... including insertion of my dodgy photos ... so for new readers, would suggest you refer to Neu's and Trine's pics where possible!

noma, 10 August 2007

Snacks with yogurt herb dip

- new addition to the snacks was a puffed tapioca sheet with sprinkling of vinegar, which seemed to have a faint marine flavour which was rather nice.

Smoked and pickled quails eggs

Fabulous. Popped whole into your mouth as instructed and you are rewarded with a warm runny yolk (one of life‘s greatest simple pleasures I think) but this richness is elevated by the haunting smokey notes and light tang from its pickling. Utterly delicious … more please.

Peas and celery

A lush and verdant celebration of summer - so sweet and delectable in its garden freshness - and very clean plates from all of us.

Oysters, cucumber and nasturtium leaves

Almost too pretty to eat, but the waiter was quite right - tasted too good not to eat it! Oyster gel in the centre, dots of oyster and parsley cream and refreshment from the cucumber curls, fruity sharpness from apple balsamic vinegar - a lovely combination of delicate flavours - and really rather nice indeed. And for me, an interesting contrast to the winter version I adored in December with apple snow ….

Raw shrimps and green gooseberries, Fresh cream and dill

Ah - another summer makeover for one of my favourite dishes from my September visit last year. The Swedish shrimps were excellent and just melted in my mouth, and the refreshing gooseberry granita provided a great balance of sweet, sharp, fruitiness and of course, temperature interest too.

Emma wasn’t able to have raw seafood, but you could hardly say she was missing out when she was served this …

Yep, those fabulous langoustines again. *sigh*

Shoots and malt, Potato puré

Sorry - couldn’t get a decent picture here … so hurrah for Neu's pics - but essentially the potato field from December (see earlier posts) had blossomed over the intervening months and was now a flourishing summer vegetable garden, complete with malt soil.

Razor clams, leeks and mustard flowers

Ah … think this is where we started to go off-piste from the main menu, and what a corker. The razor clams were incredibly tender and sweet tasting, so full marks for that - good allium notes from the leek … don’t seem to have a distinct taste memory of the mustard flowers and sauce, but overall impression was that this was one of the best dishes of the night. Well worth looking out for …

Warm lobster salad, Red current wine and beach herbs

No photo I’m afraid, … but I did manage to scribble down that we got 2 parts of the lobster, main body was roasted (and had a very very savoury taste on the outside - never got round to asking where that came from) and the tail was poached in butter … think I preferred the tail part.

Sweetbreads, hazlenuts and walnuts, “dust” of thyme

Any place that serves enormous wedges of sweetbreads will always make me very very happy.

Goat-kid, lovage cream, onions, elderberries

I couldn’t have anticipated from the plain-sounding description how good this dish was going to be … think I can see a pattern that many of the meat main courses I’ve been served have been cooked sous vide, but this was a champion dish amongst a high standard. I always saw the expression - “meat so tender you could spread it” - as one of those overblown metaphors; didn’t realise it could actually be true! And such divinely sweet and delicate flavours - its restraint was initially surprising until I was reminded it was kid rather than goat. Loved it. A LOT. And the bone marrow provided lovely richness but to be honest, it was all about the meat.

Raspberries and beet roots, Marinated rose hips

Pretty in pink, no? As ever, the sorbets and fruits were lovely, with a sweeter beet ice this time (and therefore much more enjoyable) and the marinated rose hips providing a intriguing sharpness. And the sparkling dessert wine (2006 Bricco Mondalino, Malvasiva di Casorzo d’Asti ‘Molignano’, Piemonte, Italy) was delicious with it … maybe that’s why I drank too much of it!!

Blueberries and milkskin, Pickled pine tree shoots and sweet bread

served with 2005 Nigl, Grüner Veltliner Eiswein, Kremstal, Austria

Think this is the 3rd time in as many visits that I've had milk skin at noma!! Much lighter than previous versions it seemed, and I could see how it added a new texture to the dish, but to be honest, the sorbet and berries were so good, it seemed a bit of a distraction for me. But I realise that makes me sounds unreasonably picky so I’ll shut up about that now. But fab accompanying wine again ..

And so we were done .... and retired to the bar for some good coffee and refreshing tea made from camomile and blueberry leaves. And a P4 of a beetroot flødebøll - eaten in two bites as instructed, and not because I’m greedy! We were discussing each other’s impressions at the end of the evening, and I’ve already spoken of Fredo’s enthusiasm above. Think what most impressed my friends was that everything over the long evening worked so well …

Was great to chat to the team at the end of the evening, and we were given a quick tour of the refitted kitchens and a beautiful private dining room upstairs. In fact, we probably kept René talking a little too long given that he had an early morning flight to Iceland to sort out some supply line issues, and it was the Faroe Islands last month - it’s certainly a busy life!

Was particularly interested to hear of a chef event at the beginning of September with 16 chefs including Alain Passard and Wylie Dufresne (and Heston Blumenthal and Sergio Herman I think?) coming to Copenhagen to cook a special meal, under the theme of “Looking North“. It’s exciting for them to host such an international event, and am so pleased that the level of recognition for their work continues to grow.

Personally, I intend to return and pay homage to them as often as they will tolerate me! Besides which, I was told this time that some guests have visited 40 - 50 times - so surely this is a new target for me, no? … we’ll see …

[good food]

Lovely, lovely close-up photos and thorough description. The quail's egg are jupping right into my mouth. Almost.

Thank you Yin.

[Mikeb19]

Very nice to see chefs looking to their own countries and heritage for inspiration. Seems like for most people fine dining has to mean French or Italian (and lately Spanish). I just ordered the Noma cookbook, should be interesting.

[rjs1]

Very nice to see chefs looking to their own countries and heritage for inspiration.  Seems like for most people fine dining has to mean French or Italian (and lately Spanish).  I just ordered the Noma cookbook, should be interesting.

←

It's very good, although the translation into English reads as if it been done by a computer.

Fay Maschler reviewed Noma in the [London] Evening Standard on Wednesday - her verdict was that it was a bit "curate's egg" (doubtless pickled and smoked ) - can one of you computer-literate types be very kind and post a link to the review?

[YKL]

I´m far from computer literate ... and in fact I´m wondering if I´m literate at all since the only Fay Maschler review for 12 Sept 07 I can find is this one below ... which references noma but is actually for a review of Texture in Portman Square?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/...viewId=23411839

What am I missing?

I had another lovely evening at noma last night ... and will eventually posts pics and ramblings ... but don´t hold your breath!

Edited September 16, 2007 by YKL (log)

[rjs1]

I´m far from computer literate ... and in fact I´m wondering if I´m literate at all since the only Fay Maschler review for 12 Sept 07 I can find is this one below ... which references noma but is actually for a review of Texture in Portman Square?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/...viewId=23411839

What am I missing? 

Looking at the hard-copy page with the Texture review, there is another piece Ms Maschler, titled "Been to...Copenhagen, which was wonderful". The relevant bit reads:

"Copenhagen has more Michelin-starred restaurants than the rest of Scandinavia's capitals put together, and some embrace molecular gastronomy. We might have gone to Geranium...or to Paustian...but Noma, rated as 15th best in the world by Restaurant magazine, is where I wanted to got.

Noma has two Michelin stars but, happily, a warm, relaxed bare-table, brick wall, pine floor environment within a converted 19th century warehouse beside the water in Christianhavn. Chef Rene Redzepi and his cohort Claus Meyer has [sic] set out to define Nordic cooking and forages for ingredients in Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland as well as Scandinavia.

They reckoned it was time that the gastronomic culture of the sunny Mediterranean and the inclination of serious star-chasing chefs to embrace French habits was challenged, a timely idea totally vindicated by Redzepi's inspired cooking.

A nine-course tasting menu delivered some extraordinary dishes which I won't ever forget, such as raw shrimps with ice-cold green gooseberry granita; curls of cool cucumber with nasturtium leaves, oyster jelly and crisp rye bread; vegetables served on a hot stone with malted grains described as "soil"; raw musk ox fillet with wood sorrel seemingly growing on top with fresh horseradish adding a surreptitious kick. The butter made with Icelandic skyr, a curdled milk product, served with intensely hot tiny rolls was also amazing.

We all agreed that by the time for dessert the cooking had gone off the boil, which may have explained the hideous milk skin wrapped around blueberries which broke through like a suppurating wound. Also our good time was in danger of being spoiled by the sommelier/maitre d' who demanded rapt attention for every one of his nmany utterances. "I'm doing this for you, not for me", he said more than once. Yes, but we are paying".

[YKL]

thank you rjs1 ...

[YKL]

noma, 15 September 2007

Returned to noma in mid September for my final visit this year and had a fabulous time again with some unbelievable hospitality and attention. So if egulleters would be kind enough to accept my disclaimer that I adore this place and the people, and are prepared to indulge my re-living of the memories, then a few thoughts and pics are below.

The seasonal menu hadn’t been updated since my August visit, but they still managed to provide half a dozen dishes which were new to me …

We started as ever with Snacks and a yoghurt and herb dip - including a tapioca sheet (the white one in the photo), chicken skin and wheaten porridge sheets. And then followed with the smoked and pickled quail’s egg that I enjoyed so much last time. Very cute

Milk skin, bleak roe, horseradish sorbet and ryebread crisps

Milk skin seems a big feature over my last few visits - must remember to ask about this next time … Anyway, the dish was light, refreshing and pretty well balanced - and very pretty looking. But I wouldn’t say amazing …. I know what this kitchen is capable of .. and this is just a warm up quite frankly. But I think they taught me the Danish for bleak roe - gets my vocabulary up to about 5 words I think! Anyway, two photos because the roe was hiding on the first one ..

Bread and skyr butter and spiced pig fat arrived next - no pic, since there’s so many upthread but since it was Chris’s first visit, was good and interesting to see how much he enjoyed it. And with assistance from a helpful waitress, we finally learnt to distinguish between the spelt and Manitoba rolls, which was a perfect excuse to eat more of the bread - just to check that we understood …..

Raw mackerel, gooseberry cloud, fennel juice and walnuts

Ah - the milk skin is completely forgotten with this little bit of magic .. well, liquid nitrogen anyway! A delicious dish - fab fish, fantastically cold and refreshing and I loved the whole combination of marine, aniseed and fruit flavours. This is the kind of dish I love at noma …. now we were getting serious ..

Tartar and wood sorrel, Creamed tarragon and juniper

Quite simply, this should never come off the menu. Meaty, herby, perfectly balanced, texture, richness, a mouth tingling combination of flavours. As Chris said, you simply don’t want the dish to end.

Shoots and malt, Potato purée

A welcome repeat from my last visit and the vegetables were impeccably cooked this time - and despite their protestations and apologies at the start about repetition, was definitely worth having a second time! .

Squid, oyster cream, potato skin and nasturtium leaves

Hmmm … the light is fading quite badly by this point, but I wanted to try and give you a sense of this new dish (only created that morning … I think), and the squid was sooooo good, incredibly tender and the squid bouillon was a knock out. So a decent dish, and the great thing is … I have a sneaking suspicion that this dish will be polished and refined over the next few weeks to become something quite superlative. Worth looking out for …

Skate wing and mussel liquor, Cauliflower in different textures

No pic I’m afraid but my notes remind me that the skate was poached in butter, and that alongside the fish and intensely flavoured mussel foam, there was piquant elderberry capers and lovage cream which were all very good. But perhaps the most surprising element on the plate was the hay ash which I was really looking forward to after swooning over the king crab dish on my first visit … was expecting another unami assault on my taste buds so was a bit surprised to not get that. Hmmm … not sure what happened there ?

Warm lobster salad, Red current wine and beach herbs

Well, the light might have been fading but the kitchen were really starting to hit their stride now. I had this in August, and thought it was good then, but this was absolutely superb this evening. The black lobster was utterly utterly delicious and can‘t think of when I have ever had a better bite of lobster meat. We were all grinning broadly as they cleared our plates.

Sweetbread, cauliflower cream, elderberry vinaigrette

I love sweetbreads and this was rich and satisfying with great balancing from the delicious elderberry vinaigrette and tang from onion and garden sorrel. C and I loved this, and was one of the best courses of the night for me.

Grilled Duck breast, chanterelles, blackberries, chickweed, lemon verbena and brown butter sauce

It is so damn frustrating that I can’t provide a decent photo of this …. Possibly the most beautiful looking plate of food from the whole evening, You could see that every ingredient had been placed with pride and care, and yet avoiding the appearance of excessive contrivance. So let’s see - polished, beautiful and yet so natural - seems a pretty good representation of Denmark and Scandinavia!! And it was delicious - skin so crisp it was like duck crackling - which is always a good thing. Admittedly my duck was perfectly cooked, but M’s was a mite overcooked - which was a shame - and reduced the textural pleasure - fortunately the flavour made up for it.

Raspberries and beet roots, Marinated rose hips

A repeat from August (and an update from June if I check my notes …) and it seems to be improving each time! Really really enjoyed this - even M who doesn’t really like beetroot loved the combination of raspberries + beetroot + meringue + rosehip. The accompanying dessert wine was marvellous - a Brachetto … think it was Anthos Matteo Correggia and was seductive enough for M to purchase a case on return to the UK! Very very good.

“Øllebrød” and skyr sorbet, Rye and milk

Ok - this is a dish that a few people have raved about to me … but it was my first time for trying this … so was very much looking forward to trying this “beer porridge”. and it was soooo worth the wait - absolutely delicious. Taste wise, it was strongly reminiscent of Christmas pudding with its fruity spiciness or in fact the excellent bread pudding I enjoyed at St John recently … with rich creamy goodness from the milk siphon and sorbet. Actually, thinking of how bread pudding is made, maybe that shouldn’t be so surprising …

I so want to eat this again … and again … in fact, even bought some rye bread at the airport to attempt it at home. (not that it’s happened yet …. Eventually)

And so we were done food wise. Some very very good dishes, and impressive how they maintain such a consistent standard in the absence of René Redzepi - an testament to how skilled the kitchen and front of house are. The tartare, lobster, mackerel and øllebrød were the standouts for me … would quite happily eat those on each visit!

Sadly I can’t fit in any more visits this year, but have plans to return in the Spring season. It will be a long dark winter without more nordisk mad to sustain me …. But I can force myself to be patient when I know such glorious magic and delightful people await me on my return …. Roll on 2008!

[Big Bud]

Just returned from Copenhagen. Oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the best meal I have ever had and not just because of the food the service is fantastic as well.

Highlights of my meal - Langoustine with oyster/parsley mayo, served on a hot rock. The sorrel granite and sheep milk mousse. Then Salsify with milkskin and truffle puree from Gotland.

Rene is truly gifted in his cuisine. Texture and the clarity of the produce take all the dishes to a different level.

I have eaten in at least 12 3 star restaurants and this just beats them all.

Will be back as soon as possible, hopefully for the summer menus.

[The Flame]

Noma went up to #10 at this years Restaurant Magazine Top 50 list. Congratulations to chef Redzepi and his amazing place.

[YKL]

Noma, 16 August 2008

I was lucky enough to return to Copenhagen for some more Nordic delights and had a fantastic time again. This thread already shows my infatuation with this restaurant, and on the basis of this latest visit, it seems they’re going from strength to strength.

A few photos below - was playing with a new camera but even so, the photos are less flattering than I would have hoped - but hopefully they give an idea of what we enjoyed.

Snacks

Eaten and enjoyed with our champagne aperitif (although I failed to note which champagne we each chose). So we had the smoked and pickled quail‘s eggs (have I mentioned I like these?), followed by radishes with a yoghurt and herb dip and malt soil which probably won the prize for prettiest presentation. But my favourite was the updated version of the chicken skin and ryebread sandwich filled with cream cheese and vegetables although the crisp bread with turbot roe and herbs and vinegar taste was pretty good too.

Greenland shrimps, dill oil, cream and white currant granita

A superb opening - the shrimps were sweeter and richer then ever, and the granita provided a wonderful fruity zing. I’ve tried different variants of this dish through the seasons and this was as wonderful as I hoped. Utterly glorious and as we cleaned our plates, the only disappointment was that we couldn’t eat it all over again.

Danish squid, pickled kohlrabi, beach herbs, parsley cream

A new benchmark in squid for me - so tender it practically melted in my mouth and yet full of flavour. The seafood has always been a highlight of my noma visits but even by those high standards, this was something special.

Mackerel and grilled cucumber, Dill and nasturtium leaves - with horseradish snow

Did I say the squid was a new benchmark? Well this mackerel was quite possibly even better - velveteen texture and deliciously rich but the genius component was the grilled cucumber which combined smokey char with a cooling effect. Fabulous bite from the nasturtium leaves too, and the horseradish snow accentuated the freshness and purity of the dish. Excellent.

By this time we’d moved onto the first wine of the evening - 2006 Grüner Veltliner ’Spiegel’

Fred Loimer, Kamptal - very very nice - probably too nice since I seemed to drink most of my glass!

Søren’s vegetables, Fresh cheese, brown butter sauce, leek flowers and green gooseberries

Wonderful - it’s the first time I’ve tried their fresh cheese and I sincerely hope it’s not the last because it was utterly lovely - so delicate and elegant; and the pairing with the vegetables made it even more successful than the vegetable field for me.

Favabeans and smoked marrow, Seaweed and verbena sauce

Ah … no pic from me I’m afraid, was flummoxed by the low light. And it’s a shame because it was a very striking presentation with the fava beans and marrow hiding under a veil of Norwegian seaweed. But taste wise was less successful than the other dishes that night - all the individual components were good but for me, the dish lacked cohesion and was somehow less than the sum of its parts for me. So no special love for the dish as there had been for the seafood - perhaps a work in progress? Never mind, what next?

Firstly some new wine - 2006 ‘La Lune (Anjou) Magnum, Ferme de la Sansonniere (Mark Angeli), from the Loire valley - think this might have been the biodynamic one .. which set us up very nicely for …

Turbot, celeriac, chickweed

Ah - a real treat - a new dish made from the turbot skirt (?) which had been salted before being lightly cooked, served with celeriac baked in hay, chickweed and other herbs and a runny yolk of golden yumminess. And it was delightful - richness from the egg, delectable fish and beautifully balanced and composed. Very very good indeed.

Lobster in “red nuances“

A more poetic description from the menu rather than my scribbled notes of lobster with lots of red stuff (!) - specifically it was black lobster with beetroot - raw and glazed - red onion and red cabbage, hiprose (sic), redcurrants and lobster sauce. Best part was the lobster tail .. But my pics were so terrible that I can’t bear to post them.

Lamb breast and cauliflower stems, sorrel and watercress

The hunting knives are out - must be the main course! A nice dish to follow, lamb which had been poached for 24 hours before being glazed - resulting in lamb crackling (yum!) - and as noted above - a decent layer of fat for extra flavour. Served with 2000 Pic Saint Loup ‘Grand Cuvée’, Domaine de L’Hortus, Coteaux du Languedoc

Yoghurt parfait, peas, celery, Spanish chervil, pea shoots, vinaigrette, yoghurt whey and mint oil

First dessert of the evening - fresh and green and very successful as a palate cleanser with the sweetness of the peas being particularly remarkable. Served with a 2007 Moscato d´Asti ‘Bricco Quaglia´’, La Spinetta, Piemonte which was delicious.

Fresh blueberries, Pine and thyme

Specifically blueberry sorbet I think with pine granita and berries and thyme flowers. Very good.

Blackberry sorbet, milk granita, beetroot sorbet and jelly

Final dessert of the evening - and one I enjoyed very much - although it probably helps that I like beetroot a lot! Think we had a different dessert wine for this - but not sure what it was.

And so we were finally done. Well, apart from tea / coffee and a flødebolle each … and then some drinks after in the bar which gave us a chance to meet some of the kitchen team afterwards which was great fun, J and a pleasure to meet more of the enthusiastic team whose hard work makes me so blissfully happy each time.

I know I’m incredibly fortunate to get these kind of experiences at noma when I visit, and each time it happens, I can’t quite believe my luck. It’s a lovely thing to go somewhere knowing that you’ll eat well and get to spend some time with super-friendly folk and then still find yourself staggered by what they deliver for you. The withdrawal symptoms are already kicking in, and I find myself hankering for my next visit …. it can’t come soon enough.

[sbb1979]

YKL, thanks for your report and wonderful photos. I'm heading there for dinner on Friday night and am more than a little excited about it!

I take it that you get so many snacks and extra courses because you're a regular diner there, or is that the current menu? Either way, it looks pretty amazing. I'm particularly looking forward to the shrimp and the squid - hope they do them.

Do you always get the wine menu there, or are there any wines particularly at the more modest end of their list that you'd recommend? I'm debating which to go for, and could go for the wine menu, but would also be keen to save some funds to be able to splash out elsewhere during our weekend in Copenhagen.

Are there any bars near to Noma for drinks afterwards that anyone would recommend?

I'll endeavour to report on my experiences next week.... can't wait to get there!

[YKL]

um, not absolutely certain but I thought many of the snacks were served to all.

and re: the menu, apart from the 7-course menu, there's also a nassaaq 12 course menu available, but you're right - they're kind enough to tailor the menu for me each time so probably best to seek guidance from them?

wine - since I know nothing about wine, I tend to leave it in the capable hands of Pontus - and let him know whether I want just a few different glasses or the full menu - depends on my mood ... and alcohol capacity for the evening!

can't offer any advice re: local bars - but am sure some other readers who are far more local to CPH can offer feedback!

am sure you'll have a great time - look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[YKL]

Noma - 25 Oct 2008

a few notes from another cheeky visit a few weeks ago for a belated birthday celebration. Anyone who has read this thread will already be aware of my bias and all too frequent visits, so with thanks in advance for everyone's patience - a few pics and words below:

Snacks

Smoked quail egg

Ryebread, chicken skin, lobster roe and smoked cheese

Radishes, soil and herbs

Toast, herbs and vinegar

- All as pleasing as ever with the savoury chicken skin and rye bread sandwich taken to new levels with the lobster roe - Yum indeed

Chestnut and rye, bleak roe and walnut

Paper thin slices of nuts with a scattering of herbs and rye bread shards, but the star of the show was the fantastic bleak roe sauce with its popping eggs. Light and delicate, and tickling the tongue - a pleasure to look at and eat.

Squid and white currants, cream and chlorophyll

Ah - another return - think this was introduced as squid and kohlrabi last time and the herbs drew much comment The squid had excellent flavour but parts of it were less tender than previous renditions - at least on my plate - god, I‘m picky aren’t I? amazing they let me through the doors ..

Razor clam and horseradish “snow”, parsley and dill

Fast becoming a noma classic, and deservedly so. So striking in presentation, but pure and clean in flavour, incredibly tender razor clam … I don’t think I am ever going to tire of this dish.

Grilled cucumber and fresh cheese, browned butter and chicken stock

Hurrah - the cheese was back .. *sigh* so lightly set that it was almost a pity to disrupt its fragility and delicate form.

Salsify and milk skin and truffles

think they have finally converted me to milk skin with this dish - the creamy silken texture that slipped down so easily was a great foil to the truffle paste and vegetables.

Fava beans and marrow bone, seaweed and verbena

ah - a reworked version of the dish that didn't take off last time for us. For me, the runny egg yolk was a great improvement since the richness was a much better balance for the lemon verbena sauce with the seaweed providng a lovely iodine seasoning. But although more enjoyable than the last time - still not quite a classic in my book … hmmm ... what am I looking for? not sure, I just know it doesn't excite me in the way the other dishes do ... but that's what happens when everything else is so good, the ones that don't click stand out.

Onions from Læsø and blueberries

Very pretty looking dish*, and an unexpectedly successful combination … a good dish for me, but a much bigger hit around the table

* and if my photos had worked, you would see this. Sorry.

Turbot skirt and pickled ramson onion, radishes and herbs

But I loved this dish very much very much. Maybe it was nostalgia for the fish and pickled daikon radishes dishes I ate as a child, but the dish was so comforting, and cleansing and enjoyable. I was smiling quite a lot by this point.

Lobster in “red nuances”

Delicious. And beautiful.

Veal tongue and celeriac, veal breast and garden sorrel

Don’t make the same mistake as I by thinking that the nest of crispy fibres is some sort of fried celeriac. Oh no, that’s the veal breast, painstakingly hand shredded fibre by fibre to create this cloud of fantastic flavour and a real “wow” moment as you realise the hours of work that went into creating this. Delicious.

Cheese

Ah - this was at our request as a couple of the party love cheese and they don't usually feature on our menus. I must apologise in advance for not being able to fully read the hand written notes but I think they were 3 year old Svenko (??), Langli Stout, Sønderjusu Blå. All delicious, all ridiculously rich which is why I passed off half of my portion to the others ….

And so to desserts and I should say that all through the evening, the staff were gleefully telling us that they had some brand new desserts for us to try, and their excitement was very infectious. As I’ve said before, their enthusiasm and pride is an integral part of what makes my noma experiences so special

Overripe pear and whey, malt and woodruff

And doesn’t this look like a Danish winter wonderland? We joked that all it needed was a Lego figure skiing down the hillside to complete the scene, and the young chef confessed that the thought had occurred to them in the kitchen. Good to see a sense of humour and fun - I want to smile and laugh during my meals as well as savouring delicious food. And this *was* delicious, but hey, I love pears and the malt oil was a lovely flavour note to add some earthiness.

And so to the finale …

Truffle from Gotland and “kvark”

Are you slack jawed as you read this? that was certainly my reaction when this appeared - truffles for dessert for crying out loud - and for me, a stunning representation of a volcanic scorched earth. Soft meringue and truffle mousse I think, with slices of truffle as well … but to be honest, I am not clear on the precise details!!! I was too busy being impressed and delighted to play close attention.

Like the Jerusalem artichoke icecream I adored in April, I loved the combination of an familiar flavour in an unexpected setting, just enough sweetness to place it in the dessert field, but without masking the truffle muskiness. An bold and brilliant dish, and I loved it. Other reactions round the table were more mixed, was too rich for a couple of people (damn us and our cheese greed - that didn’t help!) - especially after the gazillion courses we’d eaten beforehand. I think it’s now been introduced onto the main menu, and the feedback is mixed - clearly a marmite dish.

And so we were done - full, slightly inebriated* and very very happy - again, some excellent food, fabulous people and a great evening’s entertainment. Am so very grateful to all those who worked so hard for us and looked after us so well. With such joys to discover on each visit, is it any wonder that I have already made plans for another visit?

[ginger chef]

excellent photos i'm glad you got some as i ate almost exactly the same the other night, without doubt one of if not the best meals i have ever had. i had around 24 individual plates and not one missed a beat. cant wait to go back.

[YKL]

noma, 31 Jan 2009

Ah yes - my noma obsessions goes on with another quick visit here a couple of weeks ago - pics and a few thoughts given below:

Snacks

The smoked quail’s egg and ryebread and chicken skin snacks were as delicious as ever - don‘t think I will ever tire of eating these. The summer radishes has become the sweetest winter carrots in a pot of edible soil but the crimped toast with herbs and vinegar were still present and still delicious - although don’t inhale at the wrong moment when eating the toast - else you’ll have a coughing fit for 10 minutes like I did!

Cucumber, frozen dill and frozen cream

A new dish, and yet so familiar in its blend of flavours and textures - cool, creamy and refreshing. Loved it - and it occurred to me that this would be a terrific opener to a summer meal as well as a winter one. And then it occurred to me that I love most openings to my noma meals because they herald several hours of fantastic company and fabulous food. I am very lucky indeed.

Razor clams and parsley, dill and mussel juice

One of my favourite classics. The clam was particularly sweet and tender tonight - another winner.

Cauliflower and elderberry capers, fresh cheese and brown butter sauce

Utterly utterly delicious - probably one of the best three dishes of the night for me and we greedily sopped up the brown butter sauce with more bread! Actually two cheeses here - a melted Swedish cheese on top of the fresh cheese - which added a lovely gentle nutty flavour to the whole dish, and the capers provided just the right acid spike to the richness of the dish.

Langoustine and söl, parsley and seawater

I have been lucky enough to enjoy langoustines on a number of visits and hence there was much glee from me as this arrived - a monster specimen from Norway - as fat as two fingers and insanely rich in flavour and perfectly cooked.

Radishes from Lammefjorden and moss, seaweed and egg yolk

Another revision of this seaweed dish - and the new guest star was the Icelandic moss, and we were told that they just discovered or learnt of 600 (I think … failed to scribble notes) edible kinds of moss - in fact - the subject of René’s presentation in Italy that weekend - so we were intrigued to see how it would taste. Well, the answer is incredibly bitter - not unpleasant to me but certainly a wake-up call to some underused taste buds. And with the seaweed and egg yolk and radishes, the dish had the potential to be perfectly balanced, exciting and revelatory. And K certainly enjoyed it. But it didn’t hit such giddy heights for me - never quite managed to compose a sublime forkful to get the nirvana effect that I believe they were aiming for.

Hmmm … re-reading this, it sounds harsher than I intended. I didn’t hate it, just wasn’t as cohesive for me as the other dishes, and I found more to admire than enjoy. Ironically, I wonder if perhaps the moss was the unwelcome element for me.

Pike perch and vegetable stems, ransom capers and butter sauce

This was a unexpected delight - my guess would have been that Pike could be possibly a little muddy and flat in flavour but I was completely wrong because this was so sweet in taste, and so delicate in texture. Fantastic cooking - one of the best dishes of the night.

Ashes and leeks, mussels and king crab

Ah .. Almost as if they read my mind since this was one of the dishes that made me swoon on my first ever visit, and have been yearning for a repeat ever since. And god it was worth the wait. Even if it was 2.5 years in coming.

Potatoes from Lammefjorden, whey and smoked speck

Thanks to photoshop, the pics aren’t too bad. So we have potato puree, with some truffle puree and a sheet of speck on top with whey foam / sauce - served at the table (?). Very very nice, but exceedingly rich. In fact - I must confess that the heavy and powerful combination of truffle and speck floored me a little and I’m not sure I finished my plate.

Short rib of beef and roses, beets and malt

My scribbles remind me that we have apples from Lilleø and malt puffs on the plate. A good dish - again very very rich (well, what did I expect, visiting in Winter!) and I suspect I was still feeling overwhelmed by the truffles and speck because I was starting to struggle. Thank goodness we were able to take a break because I had seen glimpses of what was to come and wanted to be able to fully appreciate the desserts.

Snowman from Lammefjorden

And look what we got! made us laugh a lot! We were advised to cut straight through the snowman (dread to think how long they took constructing this!) to show the carrot sorbet dipped in yoghurt and apple vinegar meringue, accompanied by sea buckthorn puree and yoghurt snow. And it was very very good … and convinced me even more that the desserts seem to be getting steadily more impressive and creative. Good to see their confidence growing so that they can really let rip with the ideas.

Walnut powder and ice cream, dried cream and dried berries

Best dessert of the night, and for me, one of the top three dishes of the night. I’d had this on a previous occasion and thought it was pleasant but on this night, it was knockout.

Barley and kisses, milk and aquavit

Oooh - more food - they know how to make me happy! They asked if I’d had this before, and digging back through my photos, seemed that I did. But this worked so much better on this visit - maybe it was the liquorice that added that extra note which lifted the whole dish. Or that the cranberries were particularly sweet or the crisp bread particularly buttery but it was delicious and we scraped our bowls clean.

So - another terrific meal and I remain a fervent admirer of the talent and enthusiasm and general fabulousness of the people and the restaurant. But surely you wouldn’t expect me to say anything else? For me - still one of my favourite places on Earth, and am already looking forward to a return.

[Omnivor]

Only 2 more days and I can finally enjoy a dinner at Noma on my own!!! Even though all your pictures look really appetizing I am starving now to see those dishes for real and even more important taste them!!

Man I am excited!!!

I just checked the menu for this week and it pretty much overlaps with YKL's last post, many thanks for this report!

Can't wait until Thursday