Lunch at Denhygge, which offers a fabulous selection of very good Danish smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches with rye bread). The one-year-old eatery is run by a very warm, friendly couple, Niels & Olga Jensen. Both of them cook and take turns serving the guests upfront in this nifty, bright little mom-and-pop outfit.
Niels is a butcher by profession back in Copenhagen, until he and his wife decided to settle down in Kuala Lumpur & open their own cafe, after initially working for a company in the food industry here. He still prepares all the sausages himself.
Niels with a bag of rødpølser (Danish red sausages) which got its colour from carmine, the crushed shell of the insect, cochineal.
Niels only does roast pork on Tuesdays and Saturdays
The Jensens even worked with a local baker to make their own rye bread, since authentic Danish rugbrød cannot be found commercially in Malaysia.
Our lunch options:
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Smørrebrød with pickled herring, egg in curry mayo, red onion & pork crackling on rye bread - a Danish classic, done so very well here: the pickled herring juxtaposed against the richness of the egg mayo (the curry was hardly detectable), whilst the red onion and pork crackling both provided different types of textural crunch.
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Smørrebrød with rullepølse (rolled pork) with red onion & red aspic - making the rullepølse, a kind of Danish “sausage” made from rolling thinly sliced pork loin with condiments, is a labor of love, and takes Niels nearly a week. The result was a lush topping which one simply cannot get enough of.
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Smørrebrøt with pork pate, pickled cucumbers & crispy bacon - my favorite at lunch today: deep, earthy flavors of the pate, plus the crunch from the crisp bacon, and the sweet-sourish tang from the pickled cucumbers: nothing can be better.
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Smørrebrøt with crispy-skinned roast pork, pork crackling, pickled cucumbers and red cabbage - this was a Saturday special, and absolutely decadent.
Dessert
5. Risalamande - creamy rice pudding with almonds, topped with cherry compote - this is my new favorite dessert: the creaminess of the rice pudding, the sourness from the cherry compote, the welcome crunch of the almond slivers - so simple, yet so utterly delicious.
Olga Nielsen is incredibly friendly, and patiently explained not only the ingredients used for each dish, and their preparation/cooking procedures, she also shared stories behind some Danish traditions, like how one whole almond will be left inside a big serving bowl of risalamande, which is creamed rice pudding with lots of slivered almonds to provide the textural crunch. The diner who gets the whole almond will keep quiet, but has to keep the whole almond in his/her mouth - as the rest of the dinner party will be kept guessing as to who got the whole almond.
The tradition is a bit like the French Galette des Rois (King’s Cake), served during Epiphany on 6 Jan: hidden in the galette is what they call a fève, which can be made out of other materials, such as porcelain, and can take varied shapes and forms: religious symbols, tools related to baking or even depictions of famous figures. Whoever is lucky enough to land a slice which contains it (without breaking a tooth!) gets the honour of wearing a gold paper crown. 
For the Danes, diners will often take turns to offer a toast - the one with an almond hidden in the mouth will be a bit more awkward when doing that, so other diners will often guess he/she has the whole almond in the mouth and burst out loud laughing.
This is an absolutely charming place for a good meal: artisanal food, prepared with passion, served in a sun-lit dining room, warm, friendly service. Absolute bliss!
Address
DenHygge
1st floor, Heritage Lane, Empire Damansara, F113, Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-824 0020
Opening hours:
11:00am-3:00pm Sun, Tue, Wed | 11:00am-9:00pm Thu | 11:00am -10:00pm Fri, Sat |
Closed on Tuesdays.
