What's for Lunch 2015 - 2016

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I knew it would rain all day today, on my very interesting day trip of the Golden Circle, so I made photos of my lunch before leaving. I ate it in the rain whilst waiting for and watching the geyser.

Typical rye bread: pasty and a bit sweet. I prefer the much better Estonian version.
Smoked lamb cold cut: I love it. It’s normal food here in the land of lambs and sheep.

Dried haddock snack. I finished the bag in no time. As soon as I got back from the day trip I went directly to the supermarket and got another bag.

The oldest traditional flat bread in Iceland. Eaten with smoked lamb, or smoked salmon/trout.

http://i.imgur.com/LfijpXc.jpg

Gratuitous photos from the tour:

Some waterfalls can be so amazing and beautiful!

Power of nature! Standing next to it and being sprayed you could really feel the sheer force of the water. This one has 2 levels and is best seen from a distance, like in this photo.

It erupts without warning so everyone holds their phones and cameras ready. I couldn’d do that for long as it was raining. Unfortunately it rained the whole time. Only less or more rain, just never was really dried.

This place is also amazing: Þingvellir. Not only is it the birth place of Iceland but also where you can clearly see the tectonic plates and fissures.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

I do not mean to argue with you, but I have had cuts from whale that were really tender. The meat was very sweet and something like a good rare prime rib. I think it may depend a lot on the cut you get.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Lunch yesterday:

Goat curry, daal, chicken tikka masala, tandoor mixed grill, pakora, papadam, raita.

With garlic herb naan:

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I know whale steaks can be tender, had it in Norway. The restaurant where I ate it the other day is a simple one that evolves from a fish shack by the harbour. They choose to serve the cheaper cut I’m sure. That also keeps the cost down for customers, many of whom are tourists wanting to try some fresh seafood in an unpretentious environment.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Did you get into any sour shark in Iceland ?

I hear that stuff is nasty.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Sushi day !

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

@VikingKaj

Did you get into any sour shark in Iceland ?

I hear that stuff is nasty.

Several restaurants have it. I even saw it the other day in the supermarket. Want to wait to try it at the weekend market tomorrow. This way I get a couple of cubes and a shot of booze included in the price.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

My lunch today was very nice. These huge langoustines are best eaten here in Iceland.

Waiter pours the broth at the table.

Wonderful, rich broth.

Another favourite of mine

Finally got to eat my share of Islandic langoustines.

The aftermath

After leaving the lunch place I walked to this hot dog kiosk straight away. Every time I am around this intersection there’s always a queue for the hot dogs. Of course I’ve read about it during my trip planning. I’ve been asking Icelandic employees in pubs and restaurants if they know how this hot dog kiosk got such a “cult status”. They scoff at it.

Of course I must try and decide for myself…

It’s rubbish. It tastes like NOTHING. Stop writing crap about it already. Or maybe it’s just me who is critical. In that case, try it for yourself. You will have to work it off yourself. An hour on the treadmill.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

See if you can find a tunnbrödsrolle up there.

It may be just a Swedish thing, but I would be interested to see if the Icelanders have developed their own version.

By the way, everytime we land in Copenhagen we have to get one of these:

It really needs a Carlsberg to wash it down.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

My “lunch” was dried fish. Wanted to eat it all here as I can’t bring it with me tomorrow. Who would have thought dried fish would be one of those addicting foods. Ate the whole bag of dried haddock whilst walking to the (flea) market. And when I got there I got another bag of dried fish. Went back to the lodging to eat it with 2 beers.

I also ate fermented shark, finally. ALL the people who made a scene and cursed as soon as the meat hit their tongues were just overreacting. It’s really NOT that bad. You get a hit of ammonia but it does not last, that’s why you take a shot of spirit to overpower the ammonia smell. The flesh (flavour) tastes OK, kind of like blue cheese (haha).

Gratuitous photo of Reykjavik from today’s ride in the lift to the top of a church (one of those intensely ugly man-made structures I have ever seen.

Only tourists eat the hot dogs here. The kiosk owner laughs all the way to the bank. Photo taken today as I existed the flea market.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Regarding fermented fish, I absolutely refuse to eat this stuff:

I fact I won’t even stay in the house if they are opening a can. The sides of the can are bulging because the fish is undergoing anaerobic fermentation in the can. It shoots the juice everywhere when you open it.

It is just plain buck nasty !

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Re Surströmming, yeah, I’ve heard all the horror stories and still want to try it. Just a bit, before I slag it off. I already believe it’s the most foul smelling food in the world from the descriptions alone.

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My lunch yesterday at Pearson Int. airport/Toronto, after a 6hr flight from Reykjavik. There are very few choices in the domestic terminal where I was waiting for a connecting flight to Quebec City. No bloody AC in this airport (YYZ) in the gag-inducing heat! Quebec City was also 24C yesterday but the airport has AC. Today it’s a lot cooler, fortunately. You’d wonder how is it that I am still alive after all these decades being so sensitive and allergic to almost everything… It’s hard to be outside my bubble! You all have it good.

Needed some vegs after 5 days in Reykjavik where the greens are sad looking (most things have to be imported). I forgot about the dressing. I shall remember to order salad without any. This salad has avocado, blue cheese, crisp bacon, grilled flat iron steak, stout dressing.

“Montreal smoked meat”, Swiss cheese, marbled rye, and beer mustard aioli. I got this only because most other things on the menu are burgers. I did eat lots of burgers in my teenage years but not since.

Organic lager and pale ale

My plane, Bombardier Q400, has a turboprop engine!

[seamunky]

What is that brown chocolate looking sauce on the hot dog?

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

There are 3 kinds of sauces used here: “lightly spiced mustard”, ketchup and remoulade. The brownish sauce must be the lightly spiced mustard. The hot dogs have lamb, pork and beef in them.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Had Quebec City style smoked meat for lunch (at Phil’s smoked meat). We found the amounts of meat so traumatising. I ordered the fatty kind. The gherkin is salty but not sour.

Quite messy to eat

All round the edges there were smoked bacon strips.

A local beer by a microbrewery, unfortunately it’s not in the centre so it’s not on my list to visit.

Well, we couldn’t eat dinner after this big lunch. The hostel has a kitchen and I made some soup broth which we ate with tomatoes on the side so that was “dinner”.

And I have brought my oyster knife so these are my snacks.

Couldn’t find marmite/bovril in the supermarket but found this

Didn’t know bovril is now owned by Knorr

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Pub lunch today. I didn’t have to do the assembling myself this time (but I really wanted to).

I like my own tartare more!

Not sure what kind of fish it was. I should have asked.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Lunch at a brewpub.

“Angus” burger. We are not used to eating burgers but here it is normal to eat burgers any time of day.

Had 6 beers on this list, all of them were pretty decent considering it’s Quebec City.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I really like this place. It’s my kind of place, not high-end traditional Quebecois kind of restaurants. It’s like having a meal at one’s friend’s. Unpretentious, relaxed and informal. The cook talks to you and goes through the (very very small) menu with you. Later he comes to the table to explain what’s in the dishes he just makes. This is the kind of place you love to eat at and support good, honest, local foods. The kind of place for real bon vivants.

Went there at 2pm to avoid the lunch crowd and was glad I did.

They make all the charcuterie themselves

Even has 2 taps of microbrewed beer

The cook picked up every piece of offall with a spoon and told me what they were (duck, chicken and rabbit “nasty bits”)

The whole pot

Two different things in one pie dish

I think it’s carp. Gonna ask the cook the name of it later today.

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This is the restaurant. I link my photos from the image storage site so you have an option to view them without hogging all the space on this thread.

The butcher at work, who also cures all the charcuterie in house. The chair on my left is actually an old hairdresser chair!

The butcher’s counter is right next to my table. Notice all the shelving units and cupboards in sight. It’s not a fancy place, it’s like someone’s home.

The lay-out looks quite normal, except for that one small table by the window. The restaurant was probably a shop. The area where the lone table now occupies is for displaying shoes or whatever the old shop used to sell. The furniture looks like they came from a second hand shop. All old and mismatched but still in good condition.

Old oven behind my table.

Where your friend stores booze.

Glass racks and old copper pans. Nex to the monitor is a beer tap sitting on top of a small fridge, in which there are 2 beer kegs.

The cook’s rig.

Facing the cook’s rig on my right is a display fridge full of their own charcuterie, plus cheeses from all over Quebec province. I picked up 3 things for breakfast when paying the lunch bill.

I like this place so much I’m going back later for my last lunch. Have to get up at an ungodly hour tomorrow to catch my train.

[Presunto (--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Well, guess I like this little restaurant and it’s owners so much I returned the next day for lunch. They were happy to see me and had many questions for me. It didn’t occur to me, til the end of my meal, food is not served between 2pm and 6pm, their rest time. But they didn’t send me away. I noticed the place was empty both times (I arrived shortly after 2pm) as seen in one of the photos in my previous post, that’s because it’s during rest time!

I ordered a salad without creamy dressing and the cook made this.

Same as yesterday but I didn’t mind

Beef with 2 kinds of mushrooms in red wine sauce

Blood sausage. So good and perfectly cooked.

I just got to Montreal yesterday. More photos soon.

[naf]

I had eaten whale steak in Japan, very tender too. I think it’s the preparation and the which part the meat is from.

@Presunto wonderful trip! Thanks for posting photos during your trip. I just came back from my 1-month Asian trip (Hong Kong and Malaysia) and only starting to post photos now. I don’t know how you can manage to do this DURING your trip. I used all my time to research places to eat and visit during the trip. I guess I’m bad in time organisation.