nimb

this was my first time participating in copenhagen dining week, which is a part of the winter edition of copenhagen cooking. this program shows off the better side of danish cuisine, or at least what's on offer in most danish restaurants (i'll give you a hint; it starts with F and rhymes with "wrench"). i booked a ticket within the first few hours they were put on sale and luckily i nabbed one to nimb; one of the best restaurants in town, or at least one of them that doesn't have a michelin star. i deliberately chose a day that wasn't february 14, mainly because i hate valentine's day. (;


the starter was sugar salted salmon with vinaigrette of rapeseed oil and celery, horseradish, dill, pickled onions and cauliflower. it was delicious, but the surprise was that there was only the two slices of fish. i would have gladly given up one slice for some roasted vegetables or mash. though it was a buttery and complex salmon, i was getting pretty tired of it after the first piece and and halfway through the second piece it became a struggle. the little brown bits are toasted crumbs of rye bread, i think. they were good but almost too hard. it felt a bit like chewing pebbles. maybe i just have sensitive teeth. x:


the main was cooked in an open kitchen, where all of us diners could see and smell the action. grilled, smoked chicken from gråsten (hopefully not this graasten) with celeriac, jerusalem artichokes, brown butter and chives. the chicken was incredibly moist with a lovely smoke flavour. i'm weak in the knees for smoked food! i was happy to see the mash and the veg, but the ratio of meat to other stuff was still out of whack. the chicken piece was HUGE. american-sized, even! i couldn't finish it, even though it was delicious. i'm not very good at eating meals where a big hunk of meat is the star, but i guess the danes can dig it. the veg was cooked perfectly and that mash, oh that mash...


my favourite part is almost always dessert! white chocolate parfait with tarragon mousse, frozen and dried lingonberries, and licorice. no criticism for this one; it was so perfect. the frozen berries crunched in your mouth like popped rice. the tarragon was a bit strange to see on the menu but it added a nice colour balance to the plate and went surprisingly well with the other flavours. finally, the licorice came through just at the end as a mild aftertaste. creamy, sour, sweet; big and bold flavours. i used to be a big snob about only eating dark chocolate, but now i have moments where i actually crave white and milk chocolate. i could have eaten a whole bowl of this! P:

it was such a great evening at nimb. the special price for the week only made things better: 200 DKK ($36 USD) per person for 3 courses. never thought i'd say it, but that was a steal (for copenhagen standards)! i hope our next gourmet experience in denmark will be at noma. (: