NOT a food blog
Before I had the opportunity to visit Norway, my Norwegian friend, Gard, used to tease me about the food that they ate. “We love to eat smalahove at Christmas,” he would say. Sounds harmless enough, I’d think. “It’s sheep’s head,” he’d add. Fair enough, we eat chopped head here too, cooked in a nice peratal curry. Then he showed me the picture.
Mary Had A Little Lamb No More
ACK!!!! At least have the decency to remove the eyeballs, sir! Okay, I kid. I’m Asian, goddammit, with a stomach made of steel. The wiki definition of smalahove is quite descriptive: The skin and fleece of the head is torched, the brain removed, and the head is salted, sometimes smoked, and dried. The head is boiled for about 3 hours and served with mashed rutabaga and potatoes.
Doesn’t leave much to the imagination, does it?
Bald Eagle has an obsession for high places, and we had tickets to the U2 concert in Oslo in 2005, so off we went to Norway. I learnt an important lesson. When a Norwegian tells you that a particular destination is just a short walk away, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! These guys sleep in their hiking boots and Gore Tex outerwear, so a short walk can mean either a harmless trip to the grocery store down the road OR a 4-hour hike up the mountains. They do come from viking stock, y’know.
Kjeragbolten, a 5 m³ boulder wedged in a mountain crevasse by the edge of the Kjerag mountain (59°2′10.57″N 6°35′31.52″E). It is possible to walk onto the rock without any equipment, but there is a direct 1000 m drop below down to Lysefjorden. The name means “Kjerag Boulder” or “Kjerag Bolt”. (Information taken from Wiki)
Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock, located 604 metres above sea level
Lysefjord, a fjord located in Forsand in south-western Norway
These pictures were taken during our visit to Norway in 2005, but the grandeur of the scenery still leaves me breathless.
Acknowledgement: The above photographs are courtesy of my friend, Gard Karlsen, whom I’ve known for a third of my life and who was around when the idea of A Whiff of Lemongrass was mooted.
Thanks to an invitation from the Royal Norwegian Embassy (via Ms Marian Eu of Scribe Media Link…thank you!), FBB, C&C and I had the pleasure of enjoying a meal fit for King Neptune (although, that may seem rather cannibalistic). There was no smalahove in sight, which was a relief, but then again, the words (and smell) were clear – it was the mother of all seafood dinners. Cooked in both Norwegian and Asian styles, the banquet included gravlax, smoked salmon, caviar (capelin, salmon ikura, black lumpfish, red lumpfish), saba mackerel sushi and amaebi, atlantic halibut, salmon sashimi, mustard herring, marinated salmon szechuan style and thai style, salad of crayfish in dill, lemon sole fillet in banana leaf, mussels with sambal, haddock curry, wok-fried king crab leg with salted egg yolk, steamed turbot, barbequed saba with teriyaki sauce, monkfish masala, salmon tandoori…. (gasping for air….inhale…)….oven roasted cod with poached mussels, black olive crusted halibut, Norwegian king crab beurre blanc, herb gratinated Norwegian lobster tails, king crab shisho salsa, grilled langoustine and salsify, foie gras….(gasping for air again…give up give up!)….Also worth noting is that all the seafood (and some of the rather handsome young chefs) was specially brought in from Norway for this dinner.
Chef Frank Naesheim’s seafood dinners have become the annual highlight of the Norwegian business community in Malaysia and Singapore. He has worked in two and three-star Michelin restaurants in France and was chef de cuisine at the Bagatelle in Oslo when it was awarded a Michelin star, the first restaurant in Norway to be honoured this way. Known as the Salmon King in Asia, Naesheim first came to work as executive chef at the Vikings Restaurant in Singapore in 1987. A few years later, he established Snorre Food Pte Ltd, to import quality Norwegian seafood and focused on promoting it in Asia. He launched cooking competitions, focusing on salmon, as part of the Salon Culinaire, a high-profiled Asian culinary event in Singapore. Naesheim’s Salmon King title is well deserved. He has written a cookbook, Norwegian Salmon in Asia, produced recipe booklets for salmon and organised the Salmon Buffet of the Century in Singapore. He has been guest chef in numerous food promotions in Asia and Norway. Naesheim has been serving on the Singapore Bocouse D’or committee since 2000 and is the director of Continental WACS Asia (World Association of Chefs Societies).
Desserts were as breathtaking at the mains. Typical Norwegian desserts that night included the Princess cake, smultringe or small doughnuts, vaflerwaffles with sour cream, Norwegian sweet soup, cardamom coffee cake, sandcake and cloudberry tarts.
The evening was a time for honouring the recipient of the Malaysia Norway Business Council Innovation Award for 2009, DIGI, followed by entertainment by Karoline Kruger, a renowned singer-songwriter and actress in Norway.
And before the night ended, I found a rose on my iPhone. Hmmmmm, mysteries abound in all things Norwegian, eh? (Better a rose than a smalahove, I say.)
Food, for me, is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
Food, for me, represents the love of family, the fellowship of friends, and the community and communality it brings.
Frat Mustard
October 13th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
KFC is finger licking good… I kiss the chicken before devouring it… so is it okay to French Kiss a smalahove?
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 13th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Frat: Yes, it is, as long as you don’t mind swallowing…the cooked tongue.
Borneoboy
October 13th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Hi. Can we have more pics of the food please ???
lotsofcravings
October 13th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
breath taking..so the question is..the sight or the michelin stars? hahaha..
uLi
October 13th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
so nice…
NKOTB
October 13th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Don’t the guys scared of heights?? Gee… these pictures really make my legs weak!
Manggy
October 13th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
About the smalahove- okay… No comment 🙂 (it’s certainly not presented very nicely, isn’t it? At least here in the Philippines we don’t include the skull in the sisig!)
Those mountain pics are BREATHTAKING!
Sean
October 13th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
ouh gawwwd, how can he squat so close to the edge? even looking at the photos is enough to fire up my acrophobia…
gfad
October 14th, 2009 at 12:14 am
How did you managed to shoot that 2nd last picture?? You on helicopter ar?
We’re not even done with Spain and you’re talking about Norway??
*starts stuffing 1000dhs notes into kitty*
BTW, looking at your photos makes me want to grab the D90 rightaway..
Gard
October 14th, 2009 at 1:39 am
Have we really know eachother that long? Time flies when you are having fun 😉 Thanks for promoting Norway and Norwegian food. Most of the Norwegian food is quite boring so when we do come up with something “weird” we like to promote it. I guess it could have been worse…I could have tried to get you to eat lutefisk 😉 Yeah, both Kjerag and Preikestolen are amazing places and I’m happy that we got to cover both places while you guys were here. I think this year is the first year in a long time that I haven’t visited one of these places. Well, the next time you come here you got to come with me to one of the places you know 🙂
Regards
Gard
KY
October 14th, 2009 at 1:52 am
so jealous!
Kiran
October 14th, 2009 at 8:09 am
OMG Smalahove!!! Never!!! 😀
You & Bald Eagle are the bravest soul i’ve seen! At the edge of the cliff! And the one photo on the single rock wedge between 2 cliffs!!!! Mind boggling I tell you 😀
The photos are as usual, very droolicious! And Meena, seems like you have a secret admirer 😀 Good luck!
sc
October 14th, 2009 at 9:15 am
guess bald eagle’s definitely have no fear of heights eh? gorgeous photos of norway btw.
so much seafood!! must have enjoyed yourself tremendously.
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 14th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Borneoboy: Yes, sir…next post. 😉
lotsofcravings: You mean you can’t have your cake and eat it too?
uLi: It is, isn’t it?
NKOTB: I think Norwegians love the thrill of adventure. 🙂
Manggy: Oh my, I still have wet dreams about sisig in the Philippines! Time to persuade BE to take me there again. 🙂
Sean: I know what you mean. I’m terrified of heights too, but BE is the opposite. I’ll never get it.
gfad: Those pics were taken with a point and shoot camera by my friend, Gard, who was up there with Bald Eagle. So you don’t need a canggih manggih SLR to take good pics. 🙂
Gard: What’s lutefisk? Is it like Spanish Bacalao? Hey, if Kjerag and Preikestolen are accessible by helicopter, I’m there, babe. 😉 OR if you set up a shopping mall there, I’d brave everything to be there. hehe. Thanks once again for the pics.
KY: Awwww. It’s easy enough to fall in love with Norway.
Kiran: LOL…never say never! Btw, BE is brave. I’m chicken shit. Notice that MY pic isn’t there? hehe. Yar, I wonder who my secret admirer is. 😉
sc: No, he’s fearless. Or at least, he pretends to be. 🙂 Yes, I did enjoy myself. Norway is an expensive country, though, so whoever decides to go better start saving now.
J
October 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am
OMG at the sheep head. >_<
I don’t know whether I could eat, with it looking up accusingly at me with it’s hollowed out eye socketsssss!!! 🙁
thenomadGourmand
October 14th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Wahh…after readin Ciki’s and your post.. sigh..craving for salmon like crazy..
Ok la..salmon sandwich is the closest thing for now. will make do! ;p
HOBO(nickname)
October 14th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I was scared when I saw such pictures.
Bravo !!! – Claps ! Claps ! Claps !
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 14th, 2009 at 11:32 am
J: Eat it blindfold? 🙂
thenomadGourmand: Yeah man…I could eat salmon everyday!
fatboybakes
October 14th, 2009 at 11:37 am
i am speechless. no wonder you’re in the running for BEST FOOD BLOG! go thamby go! what can i possibly write after this!
J2Kfm
October 14th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
1st glimpse of the third pic, with BE and the other guy, i tot what’s so special …. until i scrolled further down, and they were standing on such precarious structure!!! to imagine a bunch of gluttons on the same rock.
sure break history. =P
HairyBerry
October 14th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
ya lah, i second FBB. i might as well just terminate my blog. haha! great stuff!
i’m really looking forward to visiting Norway (and eating smalahove) one day. thanks for the intro!
Lainie
October 14th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Sheep’s head looks delicious! Can’t help but think it’s a waste to not serve up the brains though..
cumidanciki
October 14th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
wowzers! that shot of BE on the round stone.. amazing! jeez.. i couldnt make it up there no way!
dunno wot u complaining bout .. ur shots are amazing as always.
who put that rose there.. i wonder.. who? 😛
unkaleong
October 14th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Hairy : You serious ar? I have also always wanted to do Scandinavia..Start planning?
Lovely write up dah-link. At least your post doesn’t leave me wanting to spawn 😛
A Lil Fat Monkey
October 14th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
You’re one good story teller. Can come over and read me a bedtime story?
Gard
October 15th, 2009 at 12:15 am
hmmm…lutefisk? Well, as you might know, Norwegians were quite poor before we struck oil so I guess we invented lots of ways to preserve food and lots of ways to make food using every part of the animal (hence the smalahove I guess). Lutefisk is actually dried fish that you soak in water for 5-6 days. Then you put the fish in a mix of lye and water that makes the fish get a PH value of about 12 and it actually turns toxic and the protein contents of the fish is reduced by 50% giving it a sort of jello texture. Then you chuck it back in water for 10 days to make sure that you get rid of all the lye and finally you can cook it carefully and serve it with bacon fat and mashed peas 🙂
sweesan
October 15th, 2009 at 12:23 am
wow !! The Kjeragbolten rock is so cool !! and the view is just amazing !!
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 15th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
fatboybakes: you certainly did a good job on your blog. Hilarious, man.
J2Kfm: I don’t think I’d like to find out if a bunch of gluttons can even make it up there in the first place! hahaha.
HairyBerry: Make sure you go at Christmas time to enjoy smalahove. Also try lutefisk if you feel brave enough. 😛
Lainie: I agree. I love cooked brains. I shall suggest that to my Norwegian friends. 🙂
cumidanciki: I bet mah dahleng Cumi would be able to sprint up there and back. teehee. 😉
unkaleong: You mean not enough salmon pics for you? How can??? LOL.
ALilFatMonkey: Sure, anything for you, BFF. ^_^
Gard: Sounds delicious. I’m not kidding! So, will you be able to bring some lutefisk next time you visit Malaysia? *grin*
sweesan: Yes, it’s pretty amazing. You’re still young…go forth…and spawn. 😀
Jun
October 15th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
maybe the eyes are the best part *licks lips with anticipation*
ps: hubs is full of gall indeed. truly lives up to his nickname 😉
Lyrical Lemongrass
October 15th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Jun: I shall try to get the recipe for you. 🙂 And yes, he does think he’s an eagle. *roll eyes*
Pureglutton
October 16th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Eh, doesnt the smalahove look a bit like the head of our malaysian roast pig?!
Breathtaking pics of Norway – i love i love i love!
Frat Mustard
October 17th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Why am I thinking… smalahove… small hove… small toe… then camel… ermmm nevermind.
jason
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:10 pm
*ignore the eyeball part
Wooow, very nice scenery (and scary at the same time)!
terri
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
omg! tt pic (which should be in National Geog) where these two hunks stood on a rock above a crevasse between the mountains…it’s crazy yet admirable. i think u must have heart stopping moments married to a guy tt fearless. i’d be a nervous wreck.
rokh
October 27th, 2009 at 1:44 am
simply love Kjeragbolten but could not say the same for smalahove