Reykjavík Grapevine - 08.04.2011, Blaðsíða 23

F D
For your mind, body and soul
"This working man’s Thai is served in
befitting behemoth proportions"
Night two of my weekend film
festival: an older film from one of my
favourite filmmakers, Apichatpong
Weerasethakul’s ‘Syndromes And A
Century’. The film evolves in two parts,
with the same events repeated in each
part against opposing backdrops. This
seemed quite appropriate for the second
evening of my miniature Thai film
festival. And like the film, the cuisine
of Núðluhúsið offers a contrasted
backdrop to the previous evening of
stunning colours and aroma.
Núðluhúsið is a bit of guilty
indulgence of mine, and a secret
Sunday evening haunt amongst a
small circle of my friends. You see,
we learned a secret a while back:
Núðluhúsið cures hangovers. After
a weekend of debauchery, we would
collect there to piece together the
previous night(s), well hidden from
those we might have spent the previous
night with, auspiciously perched above
Laugavegur. Then, with just a few bites
of the Pad Thai, the most wicked of
benders is all but a fractured memory.
But it has been many moons since
the days of being wild, and the greasy
noodles of Núðluhúsið beckoned
despite my teetotalled state.
Núðluhúsið is serendipitously
located up a f light of spiral stairs above
the Bónus supermarket on Laugavegur,
and like Bónus, Núðluhúsið shares the
hallmarks of value. For the cost of a
beer or two, 1.300 ISK is the most one
would pay for any dish on the menu.
Although set up like a cafeteria with
tableside service and hairnets, this
formula has some advantages. With
many dishes pre-made, one can shop
for groceries, and then pop upstairs
for hot takeaway with almost no wait.
This workingman’s Thai is served
in befitting behemoth proportions,
making for the perfect quick downtown
lunch with always plenty left over. And
last but not least, no hairs. Caveats:
homogeneity. Each dish is a mute
palette. In the case of my Pad Thai, a
dark sienna mixed with van dyke brown
accented with greasy orange specular
highlights. I could not really discern
anything in the dish, probably because
it was made in such a large batch that
the colours ran together over time. If
you could look beyond that, or imagine
you are staring at an Anselm Kiefer
painting, then you and your wallet
will be satisfied. Yet, despite the drab
colours, there is something special
camouflaged in each dish. Núðluhúsið
is consistent, and will remain top on
my list for hangover cures or budget
noodles.
MADELEINE T
HVALREKI
We exceed high
expectations
Open for bistro style lunch every day from 11.30–14.00
and dinner wednesday to saturday from 19.00–22.00
Nordic House, Sturlugata 5, 101 Reykjavik, Tel. 6185071/8939693, www.dillrestaurant.is
Núðluhúsið
Laugavegur 59
3 X Tasty Soups
Noodle Station
This soup is exactly the way you like it every
time. That’s because it’s exactly the same Thai
soup every time. They have it down. You simply
choose vegetarian, chicken or beef, and voila,
a large portion of spicy Thai soup for less
than 1.000 ISK. You can eat in or order out.
Skólavörðustígur 21a.
Kryddlegin Hjörtu
Every day, Kryddlegin Hjörtur brews up four
deliciously hearty, healthy soups. Sample one
or sample all. For less than 2.000 ISK you get
a single go at the buffet, which also includes
fresh salad and some homebaked organic
spelt bread to go with it. Not to mention, it also
comes with an ocean view. Skúlagata 17
Sjávarkjallarinn
The Seafood Cellar Restaurant, as it’s called
in English, is a posh, dimly lit establishment
serving up really good Asian Icelandic fusion.
But swanky as it is, a soup, albeit a small
fancy soup, is still pretty reasonably priced,
and Condé Nast Traveler would second that.
Aðalstræti 2.
3 X Quirky Must Eats
Íslenski Barinn
With a name like “The Icelandic Bar”, it sounds
like a tourist trap, but truth be told, Icelanders
frequent this bar too. It has lots of table space
and breathing room, which makes it a great
place to quickly down the must-eat hákarl
(fermented shark), which is chased with bren-
nivín. Pósthússtræti 9
Mamma Steina
There’s nothing like your mamma’s home
cooking. And while Steina may not be your
mamma, she sure can cook up a good svið
(sheep’s head). It’s chopped in half and served
on a plate, staring right back at you. When in
Rome, right? Skólavörðustígur 23.
Fish and Chips
This bistro offers nine types of fish, a few types
of hand cut potato chips, and ten types of
skyronnaise sauce to go with it. That’s right,
Icelandic skyr-based sauce in flavours ranging
from orange and black pepper to ginger and
wasabi. Tryggvagata 8.
3 X Cosy Coffee Houses
Tíu Dropar
This super cosy basement coffee shop feels
like your quaint Icelandic grandmother’s place.
They offer bottomless coffee, so you can keep
having ten more drops, as the Icelanders say.
They also have Icelandic pancakes. Enough
said. Laugavegur 27
C is For Cookie
Opened by a Polish couple last summer, this
relatively new coffee house was quick to gain
a reputation for huge cups of coffee (Ameri-
cans, do take note) and affordable prices. You
could probably sit in this relaxing atmosphere
for hours chatting or working away on your
laptop. Týsgata 8.
Kaffismiðja Íslands
Despite the really impressive Rolls Royce of
coffee machines—the La Marzocco espresso
machine and two Mazzer grinders—this place
is really down to earth and it’s generally
packed with people reading the newspa-
per and chatting before going off to work.
Kárastígur 1.
AA
Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550
Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is
At the Restaurant Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri
By the
sea and
lobster
a delicios
< Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík