Eat Like Ushi

The Bergen fish market was probably one of the things I was most looking forward to visiting during my trip to Norway. The other was Preikestolen but for very different reasons.

The excessive amounts of fresh, mainly local Scandinavian seafoods on offer was tremendous. Whale steaks and skewers are happily advertised, all sorts of shellfish and fresh fish, live catches and even a caviar stand where I sampled a magnificent offering. There's also a few ready to eat sandwiches but they were less exciting. Best of all, nearly everything is available to order and be cooked fresh.

The king crab leg cost me roughly AUD30, but the meat was thick and the sweetest I've ever tasted. I will go so far to say this crab I would prefer over lobster. That didn't stop me from buying my own live lobster to be grilled to complete my morning trawling.

I can't wait to go back. Given the location, it may be a while though.

For some reason I'd been reading about a hotdog stand in Bergen. I'm not entirely sure why, but I distinctly remember reading about these little gems. Perhaps it's where the drunken go at night, similar to a Stalactites or China Bar in Melbourne. In any case I'm pretty sure there was even a post somewhere saying these were good to eat sober.

Even though the location is along one of the main walkways between my hostel and the waterside, I seemed to miss it the first few times coming past. Maybe it looked so shady that I expected something better.

Who could go past a Reinsdyr polse? Not me. It was a nice meaty thing topped with onions, the usual sauces and served in a standard white bun. Not as exciting as the MEATmarket dog, but at that point in life I hadn't discovered that yet...

Despite the incredible price tag on food in Norway, the actual quality of the seafood (almost) makes it worthwhile. Whilst in Bergen, I had to treat myself to one nice seafood meal and the online reading seemed to lead me toward Enhjorningen. This place translates into "Unicorn" - I'm not sure of the significance of that other than it's a pretty sounding name. The location along a line of colourful houses next to the waterside makes the area particularly nice to stroll down in the evening and nighttime.

The setting is warm, cosy and a little fine. The price point was probably reflected by the largely older (and probably richer) business-looking people willing to pay these prices. I'm sure they felt perfectly comfortable with me sitting in the corner taking photos of things.

- Hval Carpaccio (carpaccio of smoked whale from Lofoten) NOK130 - unlike in Japan, these guys eat local whale as part of their natural diet. They aren't endangered and everybody seems to get along. It's an unusually flavoured meat though in this dish dressed with many different textures and toppings;
- Enhjorningen Fiskesuppe (fish soup prepared from choice fish stocks, flavoured with saffron & served with fish & shellfish) NOK110 - rich beautiful coloured soup though marginally not as strong in flavour as I tend to like;
- Fiske Trio (salmon, halibut & catfish, steamed & served with two sauces) NOK320 - delicate fish cooked well to tenderness and sourcream and mushroom sauces to mop up with. It came with a big load of side potatoes just in case I had any intention of remaining hungry.

Overall a nice meal and the restaurant I remember most in Norway. If you're going to blow cash in one place in Bergen, this isn't a bad option. The other alternative on my list was Boha, which has a 6 course menu.

Next time I would order the house mussel soup to try and probably the fish trio again (3 varieties is better than 1 right?).