A great ecological hipster-cafe in the Norrebro-area of Copenhagen

Last sunday I had a lazy breakfast/brunch with one of my good friends. Something I haven´t done in quit a while, although I LOVE it.
On instagram (follow me as foodMAD) I had seen a breakfast picture from this Nordisk Brødhus (The Nordic Breadhouse - directly translated), and it seemed intimate, and down to earth... The perfect place to wind down after a hectic work-week... I convinced my friend, that THIS was the place to try this time!

The place is located in the hipster-area of Copenhagen, where small, and at times odd shops of all sorts, thrive. The cafe itself bakes all of its bread in a large stoneoven situated in the middle of the cafe, and the delicious smell of fresh bread encloses most of the street. Everything is ecological, and the taste, amazing!

The cafe itself is rather chabby, like and unfinished bakery, but that is definitly part of the charme. Get yourself a table at the window, and order the breakfast, that comes with a coffee of your choice, and have a look at the various people the passes by.

The breakfast is composed of a big basket of freshly made bread, some good cheeese, good quality ham, some rose hip marmelade, a soft boiled egg, lots of butter and a glass of apple juice (besides the coffe). Furthermore there was a delicious piece of spicy carrotcake to finsih the meal of with. We ordered a cup of green the as well and paid in total for the entire thing, 120 dkk (a really decent price in Copenhagen).

Áfter the meal, you could stop by the cosy (yes, cosy) graveyard, behind the cafe, and look up the grave of the famous danish writer Hans Christian Andersen or perhaps Søren Kierkegaard. A lot of famous danes are buried here.

If you want to visit the cafe, you will find it at this adress:
Nordisk Brødhus
Rantzausgade 58 B
2200 København N, Copenhagen

Week 7 is Copenhagen Dining Week - Fabulous and cheap meals for everybody!

This year, Copenhagen Dining Week is running for the third year in a row. It is a concept run by Copenhagen Food Magazine and San Pellegrino together, and is part of the winter edition of the food festival "Copenhagen Cooking". For 200 dkk you can eat a predefined three course meal, including a bottle of sparkling San Pellegrino water in one of the more than 100 good Copenhagen restaurants in the concept... Now thats cheap! Tickets should be bought well in advance of week 7 here.

Last monday, I decided to try a restaurant that I have never been to, together with a good friend. We went to "Nimb Terasse".

Nimb Terasse" is located in the old Tivoli garden in Copenhagen, but is not situated inside the Nimb building facing Copenhagen Central Station. Instead it is located inside in the garden itself, in a rather anonymous building... But don´t be fooled. The interior exceeds the exterior.

 

(All photos were taken with my Iphone.)

 

 

The athmosphere was warm and welcoming. Our coats were taken and put in the wardrobe, and we were seated immediatly.
The menu was as follows:

• Starter:Tartar of codfish, with cucumber, dill and a horseradish sauce.
• Main Course: Chicken with celery root, burnt charlottes and a sauce with smoked marrow
• Dessert: Poched pear with white chocolate parfait and liqourice

 

First dish:

 

My favorite of the evening! Smooth and wonderful, with a nice kick from the horseradish. Great dish!

Second dish:


Third dish:

Third dish was the favorite with my compagnion. Great dish with amazing flavours!

 

After the dessert, we decided to take our coffee in the lounge next to the bar. A great place to get a cocktail, or to just relax with a cup of coffee.

We had a cafe latte with cinnamon macarons and a chocolate with passionfruit.

A great and cheap evening! I love Copenhagen Dining Week, especially because it gives you the ability to try out some restaurants that you might not have tried otherwise. I will definitly return to this place in the future.

 

 Disclaimer:

This post was in no way sponsored by the restaurant or Tivoli garden.

Nimb luxury brunch - Copenhagen

I rarely pass on the opportunity to eat a good meal, so when I was offered to try the luxury brunch at Nimb Hotel in Copenhagen, I didn´t hesitate to accept.   I had heard about the concept, but never tried it myself. My expectations where big...

Hotel Nimb got to be one of the loveliest hotels in the city. The decor is modern and vibrant, yet cosy, and the service exceptional. In fact, the hotel is so nice that at Condé Naste Travellers also have noticed it. And it IS lovely! We entered from the entrance in front of the Grand central station, and went up the stairs to the first floor, where the brunch is served (Nimb Bar). Above us, big, enchanting chandeliers where hanging, and decorations with different colorful orchids where welcoming us.

We passed the little library, with cosy whiskey-colored leather chairs, and bookcases full of books, before we entered the hall leading in to the room of knights.

The little library, where you can enjoy your cognac or just look trough your favorite book.

The hallway leading into the eating room - the room of knights.

The room of knights on the 1. floor.

The room of knights impresses as we walk into the glassdoors. Big, soft, velvety couches and amazing chandeliers hanging above a buffet that would have been a king worthy. The service is fast and we are at onced shown to our table, through the beautiful room, in front of the fireplace.

Fire in the fireplace, magazines and books in the near approximity, and a glass of champagne... Lovely!

The concept is quit simple: The best for those who expect nothing less! Six courses served in the pace you want them to.

The menu was:

Champagne with oysters naturel & kanapees
Quiche Lorraine with homesmoked salmon
Freshly baked croissants, marmelade, homemade chocolate spread, cheese & charcuterie
Mushroombisque with pickled mushroom & cottage cheese
Egg with sausages from Butcher "Slagter Aalbæk" & crisp bacon
Yoghurtmousse with hazelpraline & fresh berries

Vi startede med et dejligt glas bobler...

The folder says: "The luxury brunch, for the presbyterian who can´t resist - and who can?"... Well not me :-)

We started with a lovely glass of bubbles. It was a new champagne for me, but the bubbles where small, and it had notes of fruit that paired well with the amazing oysters that was served as a first dish along with two different kanapees.

Oysters...

The two kanapees consisted of one with qualsegg on a trufflemayo (yum) on a supercrisp rye bread. The other a thickly sliced beefcapraccio with pesto. Really delicious!

Kanapees

When the kanapees and oysters where consumed, the second dish arrived: Quiche lorraine with homesmoked salmon, with thinly sliced, crisp fennel, creme of smoked chees and a herbcreme with lots of dill.
Again really wonderful dish. Perfectly smoked salmon, crisp tarte and a herbcreme that connected the two elements. The thinly sliced fennel gave the dish some teksture and crunch. Nice! 

Quiche lorraine and homesmoked salmon

Third dish was not so much a dish as it was a mini buffet! The waiter delivered a tall stand covered with homebaked croissants, one with chokolate and vanillacreme (to die for!), different thinly sliced sausages and ham, marmelades, homemade chocolate creme, butter and alongside sourdough bread. We also had a smoothie with strawbeery and banana (so good!!) . The stand was left on the table for the rest of our meal, so that we could snack at it when ever we wanted.


Fourth dish: Mushroombisque with pickled mushrooms and cottage cheese.



Intense, rich and "sassy" with the cottage cheeese in the bottom, as my company put it.

By now, it was time for our eggs and bacon and sausages. In the beginning of our meal, the waiter had asked us how we would like our egg. I wanted mine softboiled, my company wanted a fried egg. Nothing out of the extraordinary, the sausages where good though.

Besides the six dishes being served at our table, there was an amazing buffet with so many different cakes, salads and cheese (sorry, was kinda captivated by the cakes, so didn´t get a picture of the salads, and cheese.)

The apricots where marinated in anise and absolutly lovely along with the cheese!

At this point I was stuffed, but I had to taste some of the cakes. I toke a couple of macarons, one with liquorice with a creme made of brown sugar. Good! Another with a lovely passionfruit creme. So beautiful cakes, that tasted amazing at the same time! Yum.

The brunch was finished of with a gelified yogurt with praline, raspberries and mint. A perfectly fresh end to a perfect brunch. 

The only negative to this brunch is the price, 425 dkr. But when you think of all the goodness you get, it really is a very good price.

If you wanna visit your self, here is the adress:

Nimb Bar (på 1.sal)
Bernstorffsgade 5
1577 København K

Table resevations @nimb.dk or (+45)8870 0030

Zucchinibread with cheese - a great side to your dinner!

I have some fantastic neighbors, and they have this habit of swinging by with their arms filled with gorgeous vegetables from their garden. And I LOVE it! Zucchini is in season here in Denmark right know, and therefore these two puppies showed up at my doorstep, ready to be used.

In the past, I´ve had a hard time using this vegetable in a tastewise satisfactory way, although I have baked my share of zucchini cakes, and grated my share of zucchini into lasagnas in order to have my daughter eating more vegetables. But I have never really used it in its own right... before now.
Here I use it in a food bread together with cheese.... Mmmh... Yummy!

 

Zucchini bread with cheese

2 pieces

Ingredients

1 1/2 dl (or 0.63 cups) of lukewarm water
Approx. 700 g (5.5 cups) of flour(the amount of flour depends on the amount of zucchini and the type of flour used, so add as much as needed...)
6 g sea salt
25 g yeast
180 g Cheese (emmenthaler, goats cheese or something else...=
1 medium zucchini, grated
A little olive oil

Method

Grate the zucchini, and press of as much liquid as possible. Cut the cheese in cubes and add to the grated zucchini. In another bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. Add to the zucchini mix, along with sea salt and flour. Add flour until you are able to work the dough into a smooth piece of dough, that is not to sticky on your fingers. Make into two breads, and allow to rise on a lined bakingtray for approx. 45 min.

Turn on the own on 200 degrees Celsius (approx. 400 degrees Fahrenheit). Use a fork to make small holes in the bread, and pour over a little olive oil, and sprinkle some sea salt on top. Bake for about 30 min or until golden brown. Chill on a grid.

I will eat this little piece of heaven to a spicy onionsoup tonight... Lovely!




ENJOY!

Spicy chickpeas (Kadala)

This snack is one of my earliest memory from Sri Lanka. The constant honking on the horns, the stench of gasoline and petrol fume, the heat and the spicy taste of these chickpeas. When I was younger and traveled with my parents in Sri Lanka, we often bought snacks and cut out pineapple at the road side stands. These chickpeas was my favorite even then. There name is "Kadala" in Sri Lanka. Sometimes they would be hard as stone, other times soft and spicy (as these). I never figured out, if they were different variants of the same snack.
They are super easy to make, and a lot healthier than most other snacks.

Spicy chickpeas (Kadala)

Ingredients
Chickpeas
Chili
Sea salt

Method
Boil the chickpeas according to instructions on the package. Heat a pan on medium to high heat, and dry fry the chickpeas a minute to allow some of the moisture to evaporate. Add chili and salt to taste and fry for a couple of more minutes, continually shaking the pan to coat the chickpeas in the spices.

Recommendation - Library Bar in Copenhagen

Library Bar in Copenhagen is one of the small oases in the city, where you can be sure to relax, and pull out the plug, all while drinking a chilled cocktail, a cognac or a hot irish coffee (in the winter).
It is located just next the Copenhagne Central Station, inside Hotel Plaza, which is very convenient if you have had one to many of the cocktails!
The atmosphere is casual chic, with lots of dark wood, cognac colored leather furniture and books along the wall. (Add the shoulderpaddings and the pinstriped suits and we would be back in "Dollars"). There are no windows in the bar which contributes to the very intimate atmosphere (and will easy make you forget all about time and space.)
This friday I meet with a long time not seen friend to catch up, and get a drink. I got the Plaza champagne cocktail, with dark rum, champagne and ginger ale - very refreshing! He had a beer.

If you wanna visit Library Bar, you can do so on this adress:

Plaza Library Bar

Bernstorffsgade 4

1577 København V.

You can also see the review of the place on My-Pleasures right here (it is in danish, but the pictures are way better than mine!)

Hot chocolate with chilli and whipped vanilla cream

This is an english translation of an older post on my danish foodMAD blog, so yesterday was NOT the big christmas baking day in the familiy :-)
Enjoy anyway!


Yesterday was our big Christmas cookie baking day, and upon such an effort it is nice to relax with a cup of hot chocolate. Luckily I had a chocolate stick from Danish chocolatier Peter Beier lying around in the house, and I decided to combine it with chilli and vanilla.

Hot chocolate with chilli and whipped vanilla cream


Ingredients
Chopped dark chocolate
Chilli
Vanilla pod
Cream
Milk


Method
Split the vanilla pod and scrap out the vanilla grains. Whip the cream and add the grains. Spilt the chilli and take out the white part. Add half a chilli to a pot containing the milk. Heat the milk slowly while stirring. Add the chopped dark chocolate to a mug and pour the hot milk on top. Stir. Garnish with the other half of the chilli and the whipped vanilla cream. DRINK!