Welcome to Noma's Land!

FLASHBACK BEFORE 2019

Restaurant: NOMA (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Date Dined: April 25, 2018

With Chef Rene Redzepi

Everything happens for a reason. A split-second decision can have significant repercussions to your life. That's what happened to me with Noma -- although not necessarily directly from its food.

I have always wanted to dine in Noma -- ever since I heard that it served soil to its diners! As early as 2010 I tried to get there in vain while I was in Copenhagen. When it closed down, I thought I would never have that chance. But when it announced in 2017 that it was re-opening the following year, I saved the date and time when they would release the first batch of bookings.

At first, things went smoothly. At exactly the corresponding Philippine time (at night here), I was able to go inside the website and click on my preferred date for the minimum of two persons. I was about to get a 6:30 pm seating, when it suddenly entered my mind that if I was going to invite my friend based in Geneva, it would have to be the 9 pm seating so that he can make it. That's when I did a cardinal sin -- I CLICKED ON THE BACKSPACE BUTTON. Suddenly, all reservations were gone! I was frantically searching the website for other dates with a table for two in vain. And in a few minutes, all reservations for the season were gone -- except for a table for 8 for 12 noon of April 25. Now the problem was that I had to pay for the cost of the meal upfront, and the cost per person was already high, let alone multiplied by eight. So I decided to pray on it, and go to sleep.

When I woke up, I checked on the reservations again, and that lone table for 8 appeared again! So I thought, maybe it's God's will that I get it, especially since the date was a few days before my package tour to the Baltic countries. Besides, I was sure that there will be a lot of people on the wait-list that I can tap because it was THE Noma. So I paid for the table for 8!

When I contacted Noma, they said they could not fill my table with those from their wait-list. After I analyzed the situation, I understood their decision. Since I had paid the whole amount to Noma, the other people would have to pay me, instead of Noma. And they cannot vouch for payment to a total stranger. So I had undertaken to find seven other people, with the possibility of me shouldering the whole amount if I could not do so.

Now I lived half a world away from Noma. It was not as if I could easily invite friends to join me, and on a weekday lunch at that. So it was very difficult to find those seven companions. Eventually I was able to get my German friend to go with his girlfriend. I went over the Noma Facebook page, and I zeroed in on those who had complained about not being able to get a booking. I saw one, and when I checked his profile, we had 3 common Facebook friends! So I contacted him, and he was able to get two other people to join us. At one point, I was trying to reserve two seats for Chef Andre Chiang, but then he would not be able to make it, since the date was near his birthday, and his wife already had plans around that time. After an exhaustive search, I was left with two seats. With reluctance, I decided to contact a guy who had also posted in the Noma page but did not have much information on his Facebook profile. He said yes, and I took the risk that I might end up shouldering the cost of those seats if he and his friend did not show.

And then it came to the time for that lunch in Noma. I arrived a bit early, not only because I was excited for the meal, but also to be there to greet the total strangers who would become my lunchmates. And I was able to complete the table! From the way the ushers were not surprised that we were mostly strangers at the table, I think I was not the only one who got a big table to be able to dine there.

With my friends at the entrance of Noma

Greeted by the whole staff upon entry

When the door first opened, the whole staff greeted us, as was their tradition, we were told. We were asked if we wanted the beverage pairing, which was in addition to what I had already paid. (Tip: Get the juice pairing! Even if it is expensive, the flavors are unique!)

Noma had broken down the year into three seasons, based on the peak of the ingredients in a given time of year: Seafood, Vegetables, and Game & Forest seasons. We were there for the Seafood season.

Sea snail broth

Green gooseberry

Venus clams

Best of the mussel

Saffron and Arctic thyme

Dried fruits and shrimps

Cured trout roe and eggs

Cloudberry

Jellyfish (Well, it's really not jellyfish, but made to seem like it!)

Seafood platter Part 1

Scallop

Mahogany clam

Seafood platter Part 2

Limfjord oyster

Sea urchin

Dried sea cucumber (raw one just as sample)

Pumpkin seed and plankton (!)

Squid in seaweed butter

Sea snails and roses

Smoked octopus and aronia

Head of the cod (with various dips)

Closer look at the yummy head of the cod

Second part of the head of the cod

Tomato and fig leaf

Pear and roasted kelp ice cream

Ice cream inside the "stone"

Cloudberries and pine cones

Sugar kelp tart

Plankton cake

I would have to say that this was the most unique rendition of seafood that I have ever had. Personally, my favorite is the Head of the Cod, particularly the portion with the fishbones. Definitely I recommend the juice pairing, especially since their fermentation process makes the texture smooth when you swallow. It is the same process which former Noma pop-up chef Thomas Frebel used in his new restaurant Inua (more on that on a future blog). But overall, the experience is breath-taking, because of the new ingredients and flavors that you encounter. Where else can you say that you were able to eat and drink plankton?

So how did this Noma experience change my life, you might ask? Remember that guy with the practically empty Facebook account? He is a fellow foodie who became my friend. He invited me to HIS hard-to-get reservations in Osteria Francescana (No. 1 in the 2018 World's 50 Best Restaurants) and Piazza Duomo (No. 16), and he was able to get me a reservation at Mirazur (No. 3). So if I had not made a split-second decision to click on the backspace button, I would not have been able to go to those restaurants. Just goes to show you that what you might initially think of as misfortune might actually a blessing.