more good sushi in denmark

good news, copenhageners! i have experienced more good sushi in denmark! of course there is my tried-and-true favourite, bento... but a little variety never hurt anyone. what you see above is the start of the chef's choice menu at damindra. wakame salad with crumbled cauliflower and edamame served on an airy chip, garnished with edible flowers. it was very well-marinated without the overly salty, vinegary taste that you can get from most seaweed salads.


their miso soup had much more activity than i am used to! wisps of egg, arame seaweed, and a surprising discovery of enoki mushrooms! i love them but they do not pop up often on danish menus, unfortunately. of course the soup also had the standard wakame seaweed and tofu. it was a little heavier than any miso soup i've had before, but it didn't take away from the taste at all.


the chef's choice of 'sizzling sashimi' turned out to be yellowtail, tuna, scallop, sweet shrimp, and salmon. at first i was a little put off that the slices were sitting in some sort of oily soy sauce mixture. but after eating the first piece, the refreshing taste of citrus and ponzu came out through the oil. all the pieces fell apart on the tongue and took me back to some of my favourite places in california. i especially enjoyed the delicate scallops; so creamy and sweet! i'm glad i had this whole plate to myself. ^^


the nigiri plate was quite small for the two of us to share. but it was a wise choice on the chef's side to select the best pieces and have us choose anything else later on. the wonderful scallop reappeared here, lightly grilled with flying fish roe. the barely-seared tuna was served with a jalapeno salsa; it didn't taste too spicy but was a very fresh flavour. the lobster was served as gunkan with spring onions and chives. i feel pretty dumb to say this but i don't really understand what the big deal with lobster is... not to say that i didn't enjoy it! it was very tender and sort of sweet, but it's a taste that i think can be achieved with crab.


alright, so here goes my one complaint. this roll looked sort of strange, but promising. salmon wrapped in nori and fried tempura-style, topped with salmon roe. but when took my first bite, there was a terrible surprise hidden away; the bottom of each segment was slathered in cream cheese! it was not a happenin' combo. my plea to all sushi restaurants: PLEASE DO NOT BRING CREAM CHEESE INTO YOUR RESTAURANT. the next roll (not pictured) was a much safer choice of tempura shrimp. though i love traditional sushi, sometimes i am just in the mood for a crunchy roll. (:


after the rolls, our menu was finished and we were free to order a la carte. my husband chose single orders of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail (underneath which i was delighted to see what i think was a shiso leaf) and we both ordered eel and sea urchin. i was shocked to see uni on the menu so i was looking forward to tasting it all night. another surprise was when we ordered the eel; our server asked us if we meant freshwater or sea eel! i have never seen anago in denmark so of course i was up for trying it.


the verdict? VERY GOOD! (:

the anago could have been a little bit warmer but the taste of the grill was certainly coming through and the unusual serving style was nice (though a bit complicated to eat). the uni... it was great. the only change i would make is to take out the leaf; the strong, almost minty taste and chewy texture took away from the delicate sea urchin. it was not exactly melting in my mouth but hey, i have to lower my sushi standards for denmark, you know. (;

damindra
holbergsgade 26
1057 københavn k
tlf. 33 12 33 75