Dinner
Stortingsgata 22
N-0161 Oslo

Date of Last Visit: Monday, August 10th, 2009

The Victims: Ketil, Thomas, Stian

The Damage: Unknown. Ketil paid. But you can assume it was a lot because this is Oslo, after all.

The Background: We went to Dinner for dinner. You can imagine the “Who’s on first?” conversations we had. “We’re going where for dinner?”  “Yes, you know I will want to have dinner later.” “No, I know we’re going to dinner. But WHERE?”

Yes, the first night in Oslo, I had Japanese food. And the second night, I had Chinese food. Seafood was the star of both shows though, so there is that.

The Entrance: Dinner (the restaurant) is spa-like. Al ll dark and shadowy with Buddha heads all around. I can see why some might like it here. It’s a business dinner kind of place. A place to celebrate anniversaries. You better have something to celebrate because God Damnit, Dinner is freaking expensive.

The Food: Somehow, we get talked into taking the set menu. I normally shy away from set menus in Chinese restaurants because it’s normally tourist-fare, and it’s way more food than I would ever eat on my own. But we do it. And it starts out surprisingly strong, with some extra points for presentation. There’s some huge prawns, grilled crab, and grilled scallops. I love the scallops. The prawns are hard work.

The spicy beef is a bit of a miss. The beef is overly crunchy. There’s nothing left to it. The aromatic crispy duck is right-on, just like crispy duck should be. This is where I learn that apparently, ducks are very very rare in Norway. I find this very odd. There’s a lot of water in Oslo. Ducks like water. So what’s the problem?

But yes, having crispy duck is a very very rare treat in Norway, so now you know where to take your Norwegian friends next time they’re in town!

But back to the food…I’m not too keen on the lobster, which again, is hard work. I really don’t enjoy working for my food.

The Desserts: The desserts, except maybe with the exception of the coconut ice cream, are decidedly un-Chinese-like. I’m not so impressed. They look nice, but that’s about it.

The Verdict: I wasn’t paying and you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth. But I felt the price/quality ratio here was out of whack. We paid a lot of money for some good food. But just good.

The post Dinner, Oslo first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Happy Sushi Nigri

Happy Sushi

Universitetsgaten 2
0164 Oslo

Date of Last Visit: Sunday, August 9th, 2009

The Victim: Me

The Damage: 150 NOK

The Background: I had this plan. I had done my research ahead of time and I was going to have dinner at Oslo’s most popular sushi joint.

But I had neglected to check the hours. Alex Sushi is closed on Sundays. I went to the hotel concierge. He looked about 18. Maybe 17 even. He handed me some brochures after informing me (surprise!) that he doesn’t eat out in Oslo much. (No one, I’ve learned, eats out in Oslo much. It’s too expensive.)

This called for Plan B.

I asked him to find me the closest sushi joint. I’m sorry. I just had this sushi craving. In Oslo. And I needed to sort it out.

So he finds me Happy Sushi, which is just around the corner from my hotel so all-in-all, it sounds fine.

Happy Sushi Outside

The Entrance: Happy Sushi looks like a shit hole, and it sorta is. Maybe I’m being overly harsh. But it’s more a take-out place than anything else, and I was in the mood to linger over dinner. Plus, the people that work at Happy Sushi? They are NOT happy. The woman behind the counter has to be the farthest thing from happy that you can ever imagine.

I’m given an awkward table in the middle of the room. A table for 6. (8 really, if you could the ends.) I am just one person. And I’m surrounded by other tables with people at them. I am a good solo diner, but I sorta feel like I’m on show here.

The Sushi: Surprisingly fresh. Well, maybe not surprising. This is Oslo after all. Really, it’s super super fresh and soft and buttery. I don’t want to like (Un)Happy Sushi, but I do like their nigri.

Happy Sushi Verdict

The price was right and the food was good. But I wasn’t too pleased with the attitude of the woman behind the counter or her little helper. Oh, or the flat-screen TV on the wall that showed a fake fishtank. Yes. Here it is.

The post Happy Sushi, Oslo first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.