accecil's Profile
Best value restaurants in Oslo?
I agree with hamha.
I had a couple other recommendations: the best coffee in Oslo, I think, is at Tim Wendelboe in Grünersgate 1. It's not cheap, but they are very serious about coffee, everyone who works there is passionate and educated, and it is just basically a very nice place.
The best shawarma, according to all of the discerning people I know who love shawarma, is at Mediterranean in Torggata (down the end by Osterhaus gate). My boyfriend likes it even better than Habibi.
Best value restaurants in Oslo?
Saigon Lille Kafe in Møllergata is the kind of place you go for large plates of reliably pretty good, very cheap Vietnamese food. I was there a few weeks ago with three others and the final bill was about 500 kr. I'd describe it as cheaper than Habibi but slightly less great.
Mother India in Pilestredet is my favourite Oslo Indian. It's not extremely cheap (currys are 150-200), but it's reasonably priced and very high quality. The nan breads are particularly delicious. I was there last night, and our bill for two, with papadams, chutneys, nan, two curries and one drink was about 450 kr.
Cafe Sara in Hausmanns gate has a typically eclectic Norwegian menu - there are Turkisk dishes, as well as Mexican, as well as basic bar food. But the food is reliable (the vegetarian grill is surprisingly tasty) and pretty inexpensive.
Those are my initial recommendations. I don't know whether you read Norwegian (as you said you have just moved here), but there was an article on cheap Oslo eats recently in Aftenposten:
http://oslopuls.aftenposten.no/restaurant_uteliv/article63843.ece
They offer some pretty good, neighbourhood specific, suggestions.
Hope this helps.
WHERE'S WELSH RAREBIT IN WALES?
You can probably get rarebit in some pubs (I once ate a plate of it in a pub in Cardiff), but when I think of South Wales, I think of laverbread and cockles, two truly authentic local specialities. Make sure to try them during your holiday.
Norway's authentic cuisine
I think the constant potatoes are more a Northern European thing than specifically Norwegian (I've lived in Denmark and the Netherlands, and in both places potatoes are ubiquitous). In Norway I've been surprised at the popularity of macaroni, which seems to be viewed as the alternative starch and is used in soups and as a side dish.
I've just remembered fiskekabaret. This is an aspic ring with fish and prawns suspended in it. Often eaten with a creamy sauce. If you like aspic (I don't) then I suppose it's probably quite nice. Also, cod tongues. I've never had them, but in Norway they're considered something of a delicacy. Keeping on the cod theme, a popular sandwich topping (pålegg) in all Scandinavian countries, including Norway, is fish roe that comes in tube.
Norway's authentic cuisine
Hmmm. Ok, my boyfriend is Norwegian and we recently moved to Oslo from London, so let's see what else I can come up with:
kjøttkaker with brown sauce
poached cod with egg butter (hard cooked egg mashed up with a huge amount of melted butter)
hotdog with lompe (especially when it has shrimp salad on it)
tørfisk - this may be a specifically northern Norwegian thing; dried fish, eaten as a snack, like a protein packed, maritime potato crisp
waffles with jam
flatbrød (like Kavli, for example)
får i kål - lamb cooked with cabbage
gammelost
pinnekjøtt - dried lambs ribs steamed with birch twigs (very Christmasy)
mashed swead (kohlrabi in Norwegian)
kransekake, and marzipan more generally
Grandiosa frozen pizza
Norwegians seem to universally love tacos
Freeze-dried food (ie. tomato soup with macaroni) is very Norwegian - Toro brand in particular is popular.
cloudberries are called 'multer' - never heard 'muiter' before
Rømmegrød is the sour cream porridge. Maybe you know it in a different dialect.
Salmon burgers? I don't think I've seen a salmon burger in Norway. Salmon is often poached and then eaten cold with potato salad and cucumber salad. Sometimes it's also eaten with bernaise sauce (Toro, from a packet) and boiled potatoes.
Hope this is useful. If I think of more I'll add to the list.
Food Shop Suggestions
Why not go to Taj in London? It's in Brick Lane, and it's a great shop, very large, with all the things you are describing.
Recs for Bricklane
The Redchurch doesn't do food anymore. It's a shame, because their food used to be really good.
I quite like Mai'da, the new place that has opened up in Bethnal Green Road. Delicious curries and grilled meats, much better than the average Brick Lane curry. I think they have a pretty strict no booze policy though - you're not allowed to BYO.
What candy to bring back from Denmark?
If you don't like salt licorice and you don't like marzipan, you're kind of out of luck as far as Danish sweets are concerned. Of course you can buy all kinds of candy in Denmark, but most of it (Haribo, Ritter Sport, Marabou) isn't Danish. Anthon Berg chocolate is delicious, but it is all filled with marzipan. You might want to try it, even if you think you don't like marzipan, though, as I don't think the marzipan they use is quite as sweet as most other kinds.
Norwegian Candy and Treats
I agree about kvikk-lunsj. It's really old school. And also about the Freia with the nuts. I don't agree about Turkisk Peppar, which I think is Swedish anyway, isn't it? The vodka technique that I'm familiar with involves putting the bottle through the dishwasher so that the candy disolves faster, but the outcome is so incredibly disgusting, I couldn't possibly recommend it (each to their own, I guess).
Of the sweets recommended by my partner, I like smørbukk and mandelstang best (and freia of course)!
Norwegian Candy and Treats
I put this question to my fiance, a food obsessive who doesn't post on chowhound. He comes from the Lofoten archipelago, in Northern Norway. Here's what he wrote:
it's worth nothing that norwegian candy is relatively expensive due to imposed luxury taxes.
the following list contains huge amounts of sugar, nuts and horse skeleton
--- bags of candy:
smørbukk (lit. butter ram) - semi-hard caramels (*)
laban seigmenn (lit. "laban" chewy men) - small chewy jelly men in different colours/flavours coated in sugar (*)
lakrisbåter (liquorice boats) - boat-shaped chewy liquorice candy. not as salty as other norwegian types in the same category.
--- chocolate:
freia melkesjokolade (freia brand milk chocolate) - the most famous milk chocolate in norway. quality beats hershey's, cadbury's and other famous brands by a mile (*)
mandelstang (almond bar) - core of mildly minty substance coated with chocolate and crushed almonds (*)
gullbrød (lit. golden bread) - bar of marzipan covered in dark chocolate
troika - three layers of nougat, jelly and marzipan covered in dark chocolate (*)
--- no need to buy:
japp - same as a mars bar
kvikk-lunch - same as a kit kat bar
non stop - oversized M&Ms
(*) recommended
Where to buy refried black beans, London?
I'm not entirely sure that I know what you mean by refried black beans - the refried beans that I have bought here are, I think, pinto beans. Larger supermarkets usually have tinned refried beans in the Mexican section. I've seen El Paso brand and some other brand as well (forget which). My two local supermarkets, Mile End Sainsbury's and Bethnal Green Tesco, both carry these, and they're not even particularly great stores, so you should probably be able to find them where you live as well.
For other Mexican ingredients, this company is a great resource here in London (although I don't think they do refried beans):
http://www.coolchile.co.uk/
I hope that helps.
Bistros near the Tower Bridge, London
Magdalen in Tooley Street has been very well reviewed. I haven't been there yet, but it might be worth a try.
Coconut Milk for Scalloped or Au Gratin Potatoes?
The only problem I can imagine is that if you cook coconut milk for too long at a high heat, it can separate. That, as I understand it, is why you're usually instructed to add it at the end of the recipe.
Your all-time favorite quiche recipe? (vegetarian, plz)
I also love Julia Child's leek quiche, but the best thing about the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking is the plain, elegant and completely understandable way that she describes the process of making quiche and especially pate brisee. It was one of the first recipes that I made as a stroppy teenager and, despite my teenaged indifference, it still worked. I'd use her basic recipe and then add whatever you like. She gives guidelines for all sorts of eventualities.
Black Beans...again! Pls Help
I have had lots of problems with cooking beans. I posted a question about it on Serious Eats a while ago, and someone suggested that I could live in a area with hard water (I live in London, so this rings true) and that it might help to acidify the water a bit when I'm cooking the beans. The person who suggested this adds beer to her beans, but I have started adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to the cooking liquid, and I have found that it really helps with achieveing more evenly cooked beans, and also a shorter cooking time. I made black beans two nights ago, and it probably took an hour for them to cook.
Maybe you have similar problems, in which case you might give it a try.
easter saturday and sunday in london
I agree. If you're hoping for a proper Easter lunch then you'd be well advised to make a reservation as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don't think you'll have a problem finding somewhere to eat. It would be helpful, though, if you tell us what you mean by 'picky,' so we know what sorts of places to suggest.
First Week in London - Notes and Ramblings
I would definitely go to Burrough Market on Friday. On Saturday it's so crowded as to be unbearable (and if you can get there before the lunchtime rush on Friday, all the better). Instead of looking for a restaurant around there, I'd plan to eat food from the various stalls.
I also wouldn't categorise Canteen as a 'splurge' - it's actually quite reasonable, at least by London standards. If you do go, you should go a bit early and stop in Taj, an amazing Bengali supermarket in Brick Lane (every kind of South Asian food/kitchen supply you could ever want), and A. Gold, a delecatessan in Brushfield Street that has lots of interesting English food.
Where to eat near Old Street Tube Station
There's loads of places in Old Street, many of which you'll find around Hoxton Square and Kingsland Road. In my experience, most of the places in Hoxton Square are not particularly special. Instead, I'd try Kingsland Road for Vietnamese food (Song Que is probably the best). For cafes, Lennie's in Calvert Avenue is pretty nice - typical caff during the day, eclectic Thai eatery at night. I also like the sandwiches at Appostrophe in Great Eastern Street, and some of the pastries are also great (I am partial to their chocolate slice). If you're willing to go a bit further afield, you could get bagels in Brick Lane, and also try Mai'da, a new Indian place that has opened in Bethnal Green Road. Most Brick Lane Indians are horrible, but Mai'da is fantastic. Also, directly next to Mai'da is Tas Firin, which does quite nice Turkish food. They specialise in pides, but their kebabs are also really good.
Internet cafes: The Bean in Curtain Road has some computers that you always have to queue for. I think they might also have free wireless if you have your own computer. The Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen (in Hoxton Square) has free wireless, as does Cantaloupe in Charlotte Road. In Brick Lane there are two branches of Coffee@ which have computers, as well as lots of other rather nondescript places.
Hope that helps.
London - Best traditional British grub, afternoon tea, and fish & chips?
I live in the East End, and it's not my experience that all caffs have jellied eels. I'd go to G Kelly in Bethnal Green Road for that side of London 'cuisine.' Also, the Brick Lane market on Sundays is a good place to score jellied eels, if you're into that sort of thing. E Pelicci is a good run of the mill East End caff that would be worth a visit if you want quite basic food (bubble, shepherds pie, etc. - don't think they do jellied eel). I also really like Canteen in Spitalfields for English food (roasts, etc.) and St. Johns Bread and Wine in Commercial Street for traditional puddings.
Can't Miss Budget London Eats
I quite like Leon. There is one in Great Marlborough Street, and one in Spitalfields. Great fresh food, very reasonably priced. If you are in Spitalfields, Canteen is also fantastic. It's quite traditional English food, very nicely done. If you think you don't like English food, it would be a place to try. Wonderful pies, roasts, etc. You could also go to one of the Vietnamese places in Kingsland Road (Old Street underground). I like Song Que best.
First Week in London - Notes and Ramblings
Something else to look forward to: in the summer, when it's in season, the fishmonger in Borough Market has fresh samphire, a delicious sea vegetable that I've only ever seen here in Britain. It tastes a bit like a cross between seaweed and asparagus. It's a truly local (presumably wild) delicacy. It's probably a bit early to mention it, but keep it in mind when June/July rolls around!
