Noodle noodle update

On Monday (opening day), we went to this restaurant and I wrote a review here. On Friday, we went there again as we wanted to try even more things from the place. Here is a small update.

This time, I went for Japanese noodles (called "ramen").

Japanese Ramen, 135 NOK

It was served with an egg and two pieces of pork. One piece of pork was nice but the other was too thick.You need thin pieces of pork for this dishes as they should take the flavor from the soup. The noodles and the soup were nice, though. The quantity was also good for the price.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice), 135 NOK

My wife went for Nasi Goreng, which is Indonesian fried rice. It came with an egg, with chicken skewers and shrimps crackers. I was not convinced by the crackers but the rice and the skewers were good. The photo does not show it but the dish was actually quite big (a lot of rice).

The conclusion is not too different from last time: this place is quite nice. For a correct price, you get some original and tasty dishes.

Noodle noodle: a new restaurant in Stavanger

Date: 03/09/2012

There are so many new restaurants in Stavanger that it is difficult to keep track of them. In case you missed them, Stavangourmet reviewed Gådjå and il Piccolo not so long ago. Today, it was the turn to "Noodle noodle" to open its doors.

Where is it?

It is in the shopping mall Magasinblaa, more or less in the centre of Stavanger. As I said in my review of Deja Vu, I am not a big fan of restaurants in shopping malls in general because I find them a bit noisy, having less personality and generally being of lower quality. However, I must admit it is convenient for kids (not a big deal if they are a bit noisy, they can go see the fish if they are bored, ...).

What kind of food?

I am sorry to be honest but I really don't like the name of this place. Not very creative and even a bit misleading. So, yes, "Noodle, noodle" serves noodles, but they also serve other things coming from different Asian countries (Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, ...). I am really happy about this restaurant as these cuisines are not so common in Stavanger (I was happy about Gådjå too).

Decoration

The decoration is simple but nice, I think it fits with the Asian culture. About the chairs: they are really beautiful but unfortunately they are not so comfortable.

Our meal

Today, I ordered the "chicken katsu curry" (you can write "karee" or curry"), which is a Japanese curry dish with fried chicken. It does not look good in the photo but I liked it and it tasted quite authentic (I have eaten this dish several times in Japan, so I knew it from before).

Chicken Katsu Curry, 145 NOK

One small thing about the presentation though: the rice was over the chicken while it should be on the side or under it, so that the chicken is visible.

My wife went for the "gyoza" bento, with "tempura prawns". The issue is that she is a bento specialist, her father and brother working in a bento place in Japan. So, she should probably have gone for something else. Here is a photo of it:

Bento Box, Gyoza with e) tempura prawns, 160 NOK

By the way, what is a bento? It is a food box with compartments, generally enjoyed because of the varied taste of each compartment. Here, 3 pieces of sushi, 3 pieces of gyoza  (Chinese minced pork dumpling, very much appreciated in Japan) and 3 "tempura prawns".

Overall this dish was not bad, but my wife had several critics about it. She thought that the sushi did not fit very well with the prawns+rice compartment (too much rice). She would have liked pickles and a miso soup. As usual for sushi outside Japan, she found the rice too hard (sushi needs a softer, more expensive rice), and she complained that the prawns were not "tempura" prawns. Here a tempura photo from wikipedia:

The difference is that breadcrumbs are used in one case and not in the other. For her, what was served in the bento were "ebi fry" or "fried prawns" but not "tempura prawns". Well, I told you, she is a specialist.

For our son, we ordered udon with ginger and sesame. Udon is a Japanese type of noodles. A small irony about Japan fans is that they generally don't know udon but are experts of ramen, a type of noodles which are also popular in Japan but which are coming from China.

Ginger and sesame chicken udon, 130 NOK

Udon are generally served in a soup. Here, they were served slightly fried without soup (this is called "yaki udon" in Japanese). The udon themselves and the vegetables were good, the chicken was not bad but could have been cooked a little more.

One thing that could surprise non-Japanese people was the ginger. This root has a strong taste and there was plenty of it in the dish (the big pinkish things that look like leaves). It is easy to take the ginger away if you don't like it, or find the taste to be too strong for you (I personally love ginger).

The restaurant also serves Indonesian and Singaporean food but we did not try them this time. Next time, for sure ;)

Verdict:

I liked this place and would be happy to go there again. My wife was not particularly impressed but would like to go there again to try other dishes.

Sting cafe: the highest cafe in Stavanger

The place next to the cafe Sting was once said to be the highest point in Stavanger. Not sure how true this is today but it is anyway a nice place (small garden, no cars, center of Stavanger but a bit quiet), especially when the weather is warm.

(photo: tower on the place next to Sting) 

Concerning Sting itself, it is an old house which was probably not designed to be a restaurant (two separate rooms, narrow stairs, floor not even,...). But it gives the place some authenticity makes it cozy.

When it comes to food/drinks, Sting is more a cafe/bar, even organizing some concerts in its "underground floor" (Sting  being elevated, its underground floor is still above the floor...) but it does serve food. We went there on Thursday (30/08/2012) and we had a small dinner.

My wife went for the Sting special: Shrimp and chicken marinated in salsa, garlic dip, pickles, melted cheese and served with bread (photo above). Price: 169 NOK. My wife liked it but I tasted it and was not so convinced myself. Maybe too many different savor mixed which tasted a bit "messy" to me.

I went for the Creole mix: grill skewers with spicy sausages, tiger prawns with BBQ sauce, potato salad, corn and coleslaw (photo above). Price: 179 NOK. The skewers were nice, the sausages were a bit spicy but not crazy hot, the BBQ sauce was nice and in good proportion (still get the taste of the shrimps/sausages). The corn was not the grill corn you could expect, simply salad corn. The potato salad was a bit boring and the coleslaw salad was a bit too spicy (too much mustard I think) but together it was actually fine.

For our son, we went for a pizza Margarita. The pizza was actually better than expected. The dough was very thin and a bit crispy, the tomato sauce was maybe a bit too tasty but the cheese was good and overall the pizza was nice. Price: 109 NOK

Conclusion: Sting is probably not where you will get the best culinary experience but the food is not bad and the prices are not that expensive either.

Phileas Fogg: a beautiful restaurant based on the Jules Vernes roman

Date of the meal: 27/05/2012
Number of people: 3 adults and 1 child (2 yo)
Order and price: Bourbon Street (tenderloin of beef with a glazed bourbon sauce) 299NOK, Bar B.Q. Spareribs 289 NOK and Bourbon chicken 175NOK
Website of the restaurant: http://www.phileasfogg.no/

Who hasn't heard about the roman "Around the world in 80 days" by Jules Vernes? Well, Phileas Fogg is a restaurant based on this roman (it is the name of the main character). Serving food from around the world, it has an interior decoration that reminds customers of travels (here you sit on a train-like seat, there you find a plane, overthere is where you buy tickets...). People can feel how much effort was put into this (so many carefully selected objects here and there) and it is a success. You are immerged in this world. Also, this restaurant is perfectly located in Stavanger city center, next to the harbour.

On Sunday, we went there with one Norwegian friend. I ordered the BBQ spareribs which is served with corn on the cob, coleslaw salad and deep fried potatoes.

As you can see, this dish was huge, especially the quantity of spareribs. Half of it would still have been decent. The spareribs themselves were good, just some parts were a bit overcooked/dry. The sauce was said to be "piquant" (spicy) on the menu but I think most people can handle this level of spicy. Also, some of the sauce was set apart so that customers could chose themselves how much they wanted of it. The only disappointment for me was the corn that did not taste much. Still, I think this dish is quite nice and I can recommend it to people who like spare ribs (and are hungry).

My Norwegian friend and my wife both went for bourbon dishes. My friend chose the "Bourbon street" which is with tenderloin of beef while my wife ordered the "Bourbon chicken". The beef was good, very tender and was served with sautéed vegetables and gratinated potatoes. The sauce was of course a bourbon sauce. It went particularly well with the vegetables and the meat and my friend was really satisfied with the dish in general. 

The Bourbon chicken was good too but the chicken itself lacked a bit of taste and my wife wished it had been prepared with at least more pepper and salt. Otherwise the dish was good, including the fries that came with it.

All in all, Phileas fogg, is a beautiful restaurant in the center of Stavanger. The prices are a bit high but the dishes are huge and quite good. Have a nice trip!