Reykjavík Grapevine - 27.07.2007, Síða 16

Choosing that perfect souvenir to send home can be difficult when stores
sell pretty much the same the world ‘round. You’ve probably often wondered
how designers can be so unimaginative. One place that stands out from the
rest is the store inside the National Museum of Iceland. This place, which is
worth a visit in itself, stocks various specially produced goods and handicrafts,
along with an extensive selection of books, toys and clothing.
The shop also features a variety of pieces by local Icelandic designers,
including graduates from the Icelandic Academy of the Arts. Heiða Björk
Árnadóttir, a staff member at the shop, says that they invite students from
the art school to visit the museum’s permanent exhibition The Making of
the Nation, in the hope that they will be inspired to create new products
that they can then carry in their store.
And you certainly can’t complain about the lack of diversity – you’ll
find everything from handmade wooden puzzles for children to jewellery
to reproductions of old maps of Iceland and replicas of old toys. There are
picture books by Icelandic illustrators, and an “environmentally friendly and
dishwasher-safe spoon” consisting of a clam shell. Apparently, clam shells
have been found in graves and burial mounds of Icelanders and were once
used as a cooking and eating utensil.
The store’s strict criteria for selecting new items to be stocked are what
sets this place apart from the generic souvenir shop. “The product has to
be well designed, related to the museum and Iceland, and be of good
quality,” Árnadóttir says. Some of the products made by students include
the “Viking chess” game, a children’s colouring book, and the “bearded
hat” – a funky balaclava-like hat.

National Museum of Iceland, Suðurgata 41, 101 Reykjavík.
Open 10:00–17:00 everyday.
Toys for Tourists
RVK_GV_INFO_TOYS_B11B10_RVK_GV_INFO_ISSUE 11_007_REVIEWS/FOOD
We here at the Grapevine have been watching the construction
of the Great Wall restaurant through our office windows the
last few months, so it was with curiosity that we dined at this
newest addition to Reykjavík’s restaurant scene on the Saturday
of its opening week.
On arrival we were greeted by the manager, Tan Alaam,
and promptly asked if we had a reservation – more than half
the restaurant was already full and the place was buzzing with
excitement. The soft sound of Chinese music playing in the
background, the Chinese paper lamps, impeccable cleanliness
and traditionally dressed waiters, helped to create a dining
atmosphere rarely experienced in Reykjavík.
After almost 30 years experience managing French and
Japanese restaurants abroad, Alaam is hoping to bring quality
Chinese food and service to Reykjavík. His attention to detail
(you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant that offers
more attentive service) starts with the diverse and extensive
menu, which offers a staggering 100-plus traditional Canton,
Szechuan and Peking cuisine dishes, as well as a weekday lunch
buffet. Specialities include duck and “magic hot plate.”
We selected the mushroom and seafood soups from the
Soup Menu, which also includes shark fin and hot and sour
soups. At 1000 ISK, the mushroom soup consisting of chicken
broth and mushrooms made for a flavoursome starter. The
seafood soup (1100 ISK) consisting of a mix of seafood also
in a clear soup broth, on the other hand, had a subtler taste.
From the Rice and Noodles Menu I selected the fried noodles
with vegetables from a list of ten dishes including Singapore
rice noodles and mixed noodle soup. The generous serving of
tasty, but quite oily, noodles with a smattering of vegetables
and chicken comes in at 1200 ISK and is one of the cheaper
main courses offered at Great Wall.
My dining companion’s choice of fried beef with onions
(2600 ISK) consisting of fried beef with pieces of bamboo,
carrot, cabbage and onion served in a thick and rich tasting
sauce was spot-on. And again, while the beef was delicious,
my friend found the portion more than adequate and struggled
to finish the dish – something that is sure to be a plus in a city
where eating out is generally overpriced. ZR
Great Wall
Vesturgata 6-8, 101 Reykjavík, tel.: 552 1900
B5 has put a lot of money into show: expensive accessories
and the latest in Scandinavian design are undoubtedly meant
to dazzle. Downstairs features a classy lounge and a “white
whiskey room” made to look like the cellar of a pirate ship.
It’s even got an X-box.
But restaurants are first and foremost places for good food.
Right?
We started with a strapping serving of Lobster Bisque in an
oversized bowl the shade of Victoria Beckham’s teeth. I might
have a preference for greasier, under-seasoned lobster bisques
(Sægreifinn, anyone?) but there was something either too
buttery or too salty about B5’s take on the French favourite.
My friend refused to agree with me, but eventually conceded
that the 1490 ISK asking price was steep.
For the main course, I ordered the Fried Chicken in sweet
chilli curry (1990 ISK) as per the advice of our waitress. This,
of course, was probably an amateur’s mistake: I had naively
pictured something fusion and creative, southern comfort meets
Thai spices. What I got was three grams of sautéed chicken
slices in a mild curry and a serving of rice. In reality, there was
nothing to complain about but the lack of imagination. I could
have probably gotten something similar and more authentic
at Ban Thai for half the price. My friend ordered the Grilled
Salmon with mint fruit salad, potatoes, and Italian cream sauce
(2390 ISK). Again, we couldn’t figure out whether our mental
pictures had failed us. Her salmon was somewhat dry, and the
“mint fruit salad” was a mixture of melons and grapes seem-
ingly cut up for a child’s school lunch. Something was soaring
right over our heads.
The dessert was near-redemptive: a lukewarm chocolate
cake with banana filling and a light serving of coconut ice cream.
The dish was somewhat pretentiously presented with a glass
of milk in the middle of a skinny tray with the two sweets on
either side. We were disappointed to hear, later, that the best
part of our meal was actually due to the geniuses at Sandholt
bakery.
Don’t expect the food to talk as loudly as the design or
the décor at B5. It’s a fantastic, hallucinatory place for drinks
– but for dining, it’s annoyingly ostentatious. Maybe lunch is
better? CF
B5
Bankastræti 5, 101 Reykjavík, tel.: 552 9600
A little over a week ago, a new fine dining destination, restaurant
Le Rendez-vous, opened its doors in the city centre. It is best
described as a traditional French restaurant, which features
personal atmosphere, a tastefully decorated two-floored dining
area and chefs who moved to Iceland primarily to pamper
local food lovers by offering the best delicacies of the French
cuisine. The calming French music playing in the background
adds to the overall charm and makes it easy to imagine sitting
in some cosy little restaurant in Paris.
The menu doesn’t offer a large variety of dishes but features
some of the tastiest the French cuisine has become so famous
for, all cooked with Icelandic ingredients. The selection includes
gourmet specialities such as Quiche Lorraine, Foie Gras, Confit
de canard and onion soup as well as fish and lamb dishes.
As a starter I chose the Salade Gourmande while my dining
partner, a huge fan of the French cuisine, opted for the classic
combo: Foie Gras de canard which of course came with a glass
of sweet Sauterne wine (included in the price). I was served a
rich plate of romaine salad and tomatoes topped with three
types of duck, and found it absolutely delicious. My friend was
equally happy with the especially fat and creamy liver of duck,
which was a sapid treat for my taste buds.
For the main course, I had to order the Confit de canard,
my favourite of all French dishes. The duck leg, cooked slowly
in its own fat and served with oily potatoes, was just right and
the skin especially crispy. My friend’s salmon with béarnaise
served with vegetables was a smaller portion than mine, but
the homemade and flavoursome sauce and perfectly cooked
fish was more than enough to satisfy.
Although we couldn’t think about eating another mouthful,
the list of desserts was too tempting to call it a night and the
Île Flottante and Mousse au chocolat were perfect endings to
an excellent meal. I have to say that I greet the long awaited
opportunity to dine out at a restaurant in the city where the
classic French cuisine is celebrated without being caught up in
fusion and experimentation like so many places nowadays. Here,
simplicity is the key, which is bound to make the restaurant a
success. SJ
Le Rendez-vous
Klapparstígur 38, 101 Reykjavík, tel.: 517 0078
Reviewes by Chandler Fredrick, Steinunn Jakobsdóttir and Zoë Robert Photos by Leó Stefánsson
Text by Zoë Robert Photo by Gulli
Happy Hour
7 days a week from 17:00 – 20:00
Pósthússtræti 2, 101 Reykjavik – ICELAND / +354 599 1000 www.saltrestaurant.is