Scandanavia

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Well, that was nothing less than amazing.

To have gone to explore Stockholm, Goteborg, and Copenhagen for that long.

Takeaways from Scandinavia - the spaces are beautiful. They're thoughtful and functional. Simple and clean. White. Minimal.

Slurp Ramen Shop. I am in love. I have not had better ramen anywhere. Four soups, each unique from each other but equally as tasty. I am blown away by the shio - perfect salt, smoke, with a hint of shellfish - from tiny shrimp? And garnished most deliciously with tender and sweet soy brined pork neck, negi, orange peppercorn, lemon thyme, basil and arugula/mizuna. The veggie comes in at a close second with a savory soy based broth with hints of star anise, allium. The eggs too, were perfectly cooked and brined - on the sweeter side but a great pairing with the broths.

Ramen To Birru was an amazing space. Set up closer to a traditional ramen shop in Japan, you order from a vending machine and pay at the register. There were lots of options to choose from. Glad to have gone to Mikkller's ramen shop, but Slurp does it best.

Both these shops have shown us that ramen works best in a small venue. They both make their own noodles, with dedicated noodle rooms, have counter service, are loud and trendy. They focus on the food and embrace the idea of ramen as fast food and not as fine dining. Our perception on everything - service, ramen style, menu has been shifted.