kiin kiin

oyster served on a nørrebro paving stone. fresh, sweet, salty! sadly this is the only picture i got during the meal at michelin-starred kiin kiin. the dane hid the camera from me while i took a bathroom break; he was getting embarrassed at my asian tourist-like snapping. but i couldn't really complain since the lighting was less-than-optimal and i didn't want to use flash. oh, and who can argue when he took us there to celebrate us reserving our wedding date. july 24, people! (;

hard to believe this restaurant is right around the corner from our apartment in the 'ghetto' known as nørrebro. trust me, there are a lot of places in copenhagen i would rather not end up in at 2am but most danes consider our hood to be dangerous. the meal was well worth the 2000kr+ (and we didn't even get the accompanying wine menu!) with the flawless service, delicious plates, and perfect presentation. the first course is served downstairs in the lounge. plate after plate of amuse bouche! dumplings, soya-roasted cashews, fried lotus root, fishcakes, scallop tartar, more... after these alone, i was almost full. @_@

they escorted us upstairs where they first presented us with a surprise course, the dane chose lobster and i chose what you see in the photo above. after that it seemed like a blur of tastes and smells. i don't really remember the dishes very well. hey, part of the reason why i write in this journal is to help my own memory! i do remember the soup and the duck with bok choy to be almost uncomfortably salty... both dishes were very good but i was wishing for something like rice or noodles to neutralize it. anyway, onto my favourite course; DESSERT. :D

...and there were three! the first was a spin off of københavner stang, a popular ice-pop with vanilla ice cream encased in citrusy popsicle. only this one was passionfruit ice cream inside a white chocolate shell. oooohhhh. the next was a sort of apple cake with crumbs, cream, and of course a baked apple. oh, and it was doused in rum and lit on fire. that was just a little awesome. finally we were served a little scoop of cream in a big plate with a hole in the center. our sweet, swede waitress poured liquid nitrogen into the bigger plate underneath and our cream turned into, well, ice cream. some of the smoke got onto the tablecloth and my hand, felt pretty cool (badum-chh).

i was reeling from all this sensory overload; all i wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed. but as expected, the dane wanted a cup of coffee. apparently that comes with 5-6 amazing chocolates. those who know me will know how my eyes lit up when they presented the sweets. my favourite was a green grape simply coated in white chocolate. ^^

all i can say is WOW. if you've got the dough (or at least a reason to celebrate, like us), i can definitely recommend this restaurant. hopefully if we go another time, there will be enough daylight to snap some photos!

kiin kiin
guldbergsgade 21
2200 københavn n
+45 35 35 75 55

"thai" spicy

my favourite hangover brunchmate and i paid another visit to thai kalasin to celebrate her return from a trip home in indonesia. of course we had the usual spicy fried fish but i always like to get something new on the menu as well. this time i chose the glass noodle salad. i can't resist a seafood salad, especially when it's got some heat! when the waitress asked how hot we wanted it, we just smiled mischievously. (or at least i did.) so she said "ok, i make it THAI spicy."

BOY was it. there must have been at least 2 little chilies in it. my mouth and stomach were burning pleasantly for the rest of the afternoon. and of course it was delicious. (:

simple green curry

i've made it plenty of times before but today i decided to pack it in my lunch. i'll reheat it outside of the bento box, along with the rice. the mae ploy green curry is just awesome; all you have to do is fry it in some vegetable oil, add coconut milk, and then vegetables. the best thing about the curry paste is that it's only herbs and vegetables with no preservatives. and no, i'm not being paid to say that. (;

it's got kale, organic broccoli and a handful of frozen carrots, bell peppers, and corn. it also has two little chilies from our chili plant at home. strong stuff! P:

finally! i went to thai kalasin again with the same friend and of course i had to order the fish since she didn't. it is SO delicious and pretty damn spicy. also; it's not on the menu. the prices are pretty reasonable by copenhagen standards so if you ever find yourself there, order the fried fish in red curry. (;

thai: by me!

i've surprised myself by learning how to make a decent thai dish. once i bought the green curry paste and coconut milk, it becomes a cheap meal with lots of vegetables that can be made in just 15 minutes or so (which is a blessing for moving week). this recipe was what i was planning to use but i noticed there was already some instructions on the tub of mae ploy curry paste.

stir fry 50g of green curry paste in 1 tbsp soybean oil, then add 1 cup (240ml) coconut milk. add 200g of fresh meat and continue cooking. add another ½ cup (120ml) of coconut milk and ½ cup of water. heat until boiling. add 100g of vegetables and cook until the vegetables soften, add ½ tsp sugar. taste and season as required.

i did look back on the intended recipe and added a lime leaf in with the meat and a lot more vegetables. also i didn't let it boil and i left out the sugar. the dane suggested a hit of fish sauce and then he loved it! after the heat is turned off, stirring in some torn thai basil is also a nice touch.


new apartment, new baby! our chili baby. we just moved into a well-lit and very white apartment and needed a splash of colour. hopefully it will live long and prosper, so i can make some spicy weeknight staples. (;

more thai

i've found my hangover cure.


SPICE. well, this bright pink soup wasn't spicy at all until i added the provided chili sauces. i ordered mild noodles (yen ta fo) in hopes to calm my raging stomach but it only made it worse; i had to take one bite every 3 minutes to not vomit all over the place. but after i dropped in some chilies my stomach felt like gammel dansk and vodka had never touched it. wonderful! and of course the soup was delicious. i only wish there was more shrimp and squid and less fake crab.

not pictured is a delicious whole fried fish. though it's listed with mango(?) sauce, ask for the spicy one. (;

thai kalasin
kattesundet 12
1458 københavn k
tlf: 33 36 36 12

thai again

we made up our minds to revisit that lovely thai place by the lakes for dinner tonight. my dish was the pad nam man hui; broccoli, carrots, and bean sprouts fried with my choice of meat (which was cuttlefish) in oyster sauce. very delicious, but also quite oily as you can see in the picture. as i told the dane, i could probably reproduce this at home (and with much less oil). sadly it was not as good as the wonderful seafood 'salad' that i ordered before. unfortunately no photos of that.


the dane ordered gang ped but somehow received gang panang. whatever, it was really good. not as spicy as the dish he got last time (a green curry, i think) but there was a really nice sweetness with the pineapple and grapes! we washed it all down with refreshing singha beers and neither of us had anything bad to say about those. i wouldn't call it disappointment, as i enjoyed both dishes, but i was in the mood for something spicy this night. next time i'll be a bit more assertive and ask the level of heat. either that or carry a small bottle of sambal oelek in my purse.