Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.07.2011, Side 63

Iceland’s
Restaurant of the year
2009 & 2010
by the Nordic Prize
Nordic House Sturlugata 5 101 Reykjavik tel. +354 552 1522 www.dillrestaurant.is Open for lunch every day from 11.30 and for dinner wednesday to sunday from 19.00.
R E V I E W S
ROUND 2: NOODLEGEDDON!
RAGNAR EGILSSON
JULIA STAPLES
Whales are being killed to feed tourists
Don’t let your visit leave a bad taste in your mouth
What We Think: Soup on the
heavy side but hit the spot like
nobody's business
Flavour: Fresh, al dente noodles
and good balance.
Ambiance: Quick grab meal.
Friendly. Not too loud
Service: Stupendous
Nú!luskálin
Skólavör!ustígur 8
Last time we reviewed Nú!luskálin was
a year ago, and in comparison with
their Skólavör!ustígur neighbours,
Noodle Station. Nú!luskálin was the
loser in that comparison, but that was a
different reviewer and I can't say I en-
tirely agree. We noted the same things
but reached very different conclusions.
However, I'll grant that there may have
been some improvements since last
year’s review—some growing pains are
to be expected.
It's impossible not to compare
the two, though. Here are two proper
Reykjavík noodle bars that happen to be
within spitting distance of each other.
And let me make it absolutely clear that
I have nothing against Noodle Station.
It's a traditional, tasty, glorious hole-
in-the-wall noodle place that does the
job and then some. Both places sport
fresh ingredients, heaping portions and
give a respectful nod to the traditional
offerings. These are definitely not the
noodles of your college years. But,
people, there must be a winner! We're
talking noodles, man, and you bet your
tootsy I'm taking this job seriously
(noodles!!!).
Before we get to the comparison
let me remark that the decor seemed
perfectly appropriate. Nothing fancy,
maybe a bit kitsch, but then again I
don't need my noodle place distracting
from the noodles at hand. And anyway,
the kitchen was clean and in full view—
that's enough for me.
The service was lightning fast and
the staff were friendly. My vegetarian
dining partner opted out of the veggie
option on offer, because he felt it wasn't
spicy enough. Instead, he customised
another dish, which was a thoroughly
painless process.
I had ‘Gwiddíáw Domm Kha’ and
my eating partner had ‘Nú!lur fyrir
sálina’ (“Noodles for the Soul”). All the
noodle soups sell for a very reasonable
1.090 ISK. The first dish is their most
popular offering, egg noodles, chicken
breast and coconut milk. The second
is a lighter, brothier chicken soup with
egg noodles (with some modifications).
I immediately noticed a nice balance
between the heat, the sour and sweet
(I refuse to recognise umami as a real
flavour). They didn't skimp on the
cilantro—a big plus—and I noticed
that they favoured ginger over the five-
spice flavour at The Noodle Station.
The noodles were fresh and perfectly
cooked. The only nitpicking was that
the ‘Gwiddíáw Domm Kha’ was a little
heavy on the coconut milk. They clearly
advertise that this is a coconut milk
heavy dish, and as the joint’s main
favourite, I felt I had to try it. Although
a little tired of the coconut milk soups,
it doesn't surprise me that Icelanders
are going for it. After all, most Iceland-
ers grew up with soups that were more
butter than water.
Finally, I loved that the place was
stacked to the rafters with water pitch-
ers and all the condiments were right
there on the table for the plucking,
including agave syrup and tamari soy—
and not to mention MSG! It's a rare
treat in these health-scare days to see
nice big bowl of cancer-powder in plain
sight. I for one do not believe that a
naturally occurring amino acid that the
Chinese have been gobbling down by
the bucketloads for ages to no discern-
ible ill effect will do anything other
than punch up your meal. But as all
their dishes are MSG-free, it's simply
on offer for those willing to risk cranial
collapse and spontaneous teratomas.
I am still suspicious of the turkey
balls included in a couple of the
dishes. I automatically suspect anything
containing turkey of being a dish that
favours slimming over flavouring. Also,
the thought of greasy balls suspended
in a thin solution and cupped by whirl-
ing noodles feels disturbing for some
reason. But maybe that's not the case at
all—I didn't try it.
Verdict!
Nú!luskálin does, in my opinion,
marginally overtake Noodle Station on
a couple of points. Although Nú!luská-
lin is far from traditional and mix
their Asian traditions up, they do offer
a greater selection of dishes. There's
nothing wrong with Noodle Station
keeping it simple, but in case you want
to try something new Nú!luskálin
enables that. Secondly, Nú!luskálin
has a much better name. I find the
English naming tradition that is taking
root very tacky and “Nú!luskálin” (the
noodle bowl) is a nice workmanlike
name (although I would have preferred
‘Nú!luskálinn’—“The Noodle Hut”).
It also offers outdoor seating, but as
Noodle Station is marginally cheaper
we can say that it evens out.
Granted, this isn't by a wide margin
but I'm casting my vote for Nú!luská-
lin.