Norwegian Brunch: travel guide

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You know how some meals just leaves you eating in silence with a massive grin on your face? Well, a couple of weeks ago I experienced this with every single course I had. I am referring a divine dinner I had at The Corner Room, London.

The Corner Room is technically, a corner room. But it is a beautiful one decorated with old lamps and light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The size of the room adds to its charm; it's not too big and rather cozy. First up we ordered some delicious bread and French wine. It had to be French because after spending more than seven years in France my sister only goes for French wine. Deep down I sometime think she's more French than Norwegian.

The starters had a good selection of things that just sounded really yummy, but there was one thing in particular that really caught our eye: Raw duck heart with seafood mayo. I have had chicken heart before, but that was grilled. This was RAW which I know can put a lot of people off, but I actually quite liked it. It was delicious, rich, almost a bit bloody and the seafood mayo just added depth to the meat.

Next up: main course. My sister decided to have the rest of the duck and I went for lamb neck with barbeque swede and pickled baby radish. The sauce was spot on, the lamb was tender and moist and the vegetables were packed with flavour, yet somehow they still kept their earthy flavour (I mean this in a good way). We were warned beforehand that the duck would be cooked rare-medium/rare to which my sister replied "Perfect!" with a carnivorous grin.

And finally: the dessert. To be honest I wasn't blown away when we first ordered it, but when it arrived at the table I knew we were in for a treat. The Bramley apple with salted caramel, star anise, ice cream and nuts was DELICIOUS. At first those crunchy nuts and the lovely room temperature apple purée hits you then the salted caramel and cold ice cream (all served inside a cold apple) and finally... the star anise sneaks up on you like a ninja in the night. Perfection.

The chocolate mousse was divine, with a whole plate full of exciting little things (which I can't remember anymore. I just remember that it tasted amazing). For all of this you would expect to pay a fortune, however I was really pleasantly surprised by the price. The portions aren't big, but that suits me fine as I don't really like being served a massive plate of food.

One of the things my sister and I have in common is our love of food. We love food and that's just a fact. We both get extremely excited about salads, tabbouleh, sea food buffets, you name it. In this case that shared love of food just made this whole experience even better. We both chewed in silence with the same expression as two excited little pugs. We became all giddy over dessert. We both gave each other that look that just said "I want to keep eating this. For days."

And finally I would like to thank her for actually booking a table. I'm silly and most of the time I forget to book. Glad she did though because if we missed out on this meal my life would have seemed less.. Fulfilled.

I just really need to go back.

I posted this on my old blog Songs from Arcadia but I thought I might post it here as well!

Gestalten, Bikini Berlin
Budapester Str. 38-50

I cannot begin to describe how much I love this place. This was our absolute favourite breakfast spot, both a small cafe and concept store loacted on the roof of the Bikini Berlin mall (what they call "the garden") with a beautiful view over the zoo and the baboons! Their tea selection is great as well as their cakes (psst, try the rhubarb crumble). To be honest I'm actually glad that I don't live in Berlin, because if I did I know that I would have spent way too much time at Gestalten.

Monsieur Vuong
Alte Schönhauser Straße 46

We had read so much about this place so we decided to try this out for dinner on our first night. It was PACKED at 7pm but since we were only two we got a little bench by the bar without having to wait. The menu is small, but absolutely delicious. We had the beef salad and the spring rolls as starters, and the chicken pho as main. You can get the pho in two different sizes, and after the starter the medium was more than enough for me. If you plan on eating here try to come before the dinner or lunch rush, although if you have to wait just remember that the wait is worth it.

Kimchi Princess
Skalitzer Str. 36

This is the perfect place to have lunch if you like South Korean food. We had their lunch set menu, which was roughly EUR 9.50 and included a Bibimbap, miso soup and a soft drink (or tea). The bibimbap was sizzling hot and delicious. The staff were really sweet and seem very eager to explain the dishes, especially the bibimbap. AND they accept card, yey!

Cafe Im Literaturhaus Berlin
Fasanenstraße 23

This is where we decided to have my (late) birthday dinner. We had read several reviews but we didn't know what to make of it as a restaurant. When we arrived we were given a table in front of a huge open window looking down on the garden, with the bar behind us. Their menu is what I would simply classify as "international", ranging from french chicken or rabbit salad to german sausages and chanterelle pasta. We decided to have starters and dessert, as the starter was reasonably sized and prized. But above everything else, come here for the atmosphere, which is relaxed and just lovely. Service was great as well, but beware they ONLY ACCEPT CASH.

Dudu
Torstraße 134

At first we were a bit unsure about wether to eat here or not after reading some very negative reviews concerning bad service. We decided to arrive a bit early, around 6:45pm, to make sure we'd get a table. When we arrived the outdoor seating area was packed, but we got a table inside straight away. Their drinks are VERY reasonable prized and so is the sushi platter for two. With the platter you get their famous Dudu Roll; fried on the outside with raw salmon and tuna in the middle topped with guacamole and fresh salsa. Best sushi I've had in ages. Also, when we went here the service was great and the staff was lovely. Again, they accept cards.

Mr Hai Kaiten
10 Olivaer Platz

Simply put: delicious sushi with a twist. They also have other items on the menu such as scallops, tempura octopus, gyoza and a very long cocktail list!

Sage Pop up Beach

Köpenicker Straße 18-20

When we were walking around Kreuzberg looking for a specific restaurant (that apparently didn't exist anymore) it started to rain. A lot. So by chance we ran past the Zalando outlet and suddenly we were standing under a huge tent next to a pop up beach. Turns out we had stumbled upon Sage's beach & restaurant and their little outdoor bar. So we sat down, had a spritz and a beer and enjoyed our rainy beach view. Sadly we weren't able to return here during the evening, which I can imagine must be really cool.

The Barn

Auguststraße 58

I've read about this place so many times, but somehow I managed to forget about it when we arrived in Berlin. However, by chance we stumbled upon The Barn when we were walking around Mitte trying to find a huge Bio store, which isn't difficult in Berlin. It's a minimalistic cafe that serves exquisit coffee and you can also buy roasted coffee, which I of course did! At 2 euros-something for an espresso, an Italian would probably have a heart attacking drinking in here, but the coffee is really worth it. Alteratively you could also have an Ice coffee in one or their adorable little jars.

Cafe Im Literaturhaus Berlin (again)

If you don't feel like eating you could always just have a glass (or a bottle) of wine!

// ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ME

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Berlin guide: Where to eat and drink

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