Mahayana: a Very Good Asian Restaurant in Nationaltheatret

*** Update 14 Nov 2013: new photos at the end of this article ***

There are many Asian restaurants in Nationaltheatret and I have already reviewed two of them: Dinner and Tabibito. My wife wanted to try Mahayana for a long time but as we knew two nice restaurants in the same area already, it took us some time to actually do it. But we don't regret it as this is a nice place.

The decoration is classy, the restaurant is clean, the food tastes good, with the option to eat Japanese or Chinese (maybe even Thai, I don't remember). We actually ordered both Japanese and Chinese food. 

Everything tasted good but I must warn you that Chinese food may be spicy, even if the menu does not mention it. The Japanese dishes should be fine.

Here are a few photos:

Sweet-sour Pork

Chinese style beef in the foreground and sushi in the background ("natural born salmon")

Japanese style beef

Green tea tiramisu

A special mention for the sweet sour pork which is not the common dish we are used to but something particular which was very good. The Japanese-style beef was really good too. I didn't try it but my wife enjoyed her green tea tiramisu a lot.

All in all, a really nice restaurant and probably one of our favorite.

*** update ***

I took some new photos last time we went there. I still like this place very much. However, I now believe that they use the word "mild" in the menu to signify that the dish is spicy (if nothing is written, the dish is not, if the mention "only available mild" or something, it means the dish is a bit spicy). Kind of the opposite of the intent, in my opinion.

Anyway, here are the photos:

"Gu Lou Yuk", sweet sour pork, a bit spicy

"Gyuniku Teriyaki", Japanese style beef

Dinner at Grand Palais

A while ago, I wrote that we had been to a Friday Waffle event at Grand Palais and how I had been disappointed with it (link here). However, Grand Palais is still a nice place to have dinner and I was happy to go there with my family a few months ago.

The service was of course better than last time we were there, with just the small problem that the stroller was not accepted on the side of the table, despite my son being asleep in it and despite the available space for it (it was a sunny day and most customers were sitting outside while we were inside ourselves). But well, rules are rules and if you don't have a stroller, you will be fine.

Here are a few of the pictures I took:

A Starter

A Salad

A Main Course (meat)

We were three people and we took 2 starters and 3 main dishes (including a salad). Everything was good, especially the lamb shank (last picture), with is small vegetables and delicate sauce.

I also liked the fact that the menu was featuring some "local specialties" so that people visiting Norway would easily find what to taste in priority.

The menu is changing according to the season, so you will probably not have the same choice as we did, but all in all this is a good place to have dinner and I recommend it.

Friday Waffle at the Grand Cafe

The first Friday of each month takes place an event called "Friday Waffle" (or "FredagsVaffel" in Norwegian) at the Grand Palais. It is a waffle buffet where you can eat as many waffles as you want/can.

The Grand Palais is a beautiful place and generally speaking a nice restaurant. Here is one of the room.

Beautiful Room

As for the waffles, the first ones had been cooked before the start of the event (the event starts at 16:00), so that we could start eating at once without having to wait but unfortunately this also means they were lukewarm, not warm.

Some Waffles Made in Advance

A cook started to make waffles a bit after the start of the event but, probably because of the pressure of having many people queuing, the waffles were generally under-cooked. Otherwise, I would say that the dough was good but not exceptional.

Traditional Toppings: 3 Sorts of Jam, Sugar, Brown Cheese and Sour Cream

The price was good: 65 NOK for an adult and 32.5 NOK  for a child (half price). I was however disappointed with the service. We had to wait just for a waiter to show some attention (no drinks, no napkins for about 15 minutes). When we left, no "goodbye", no "thank you" and no "here is your receipt". From a place of this standing, I was expecting better.

To sum up: it is a cheap opportunity to eat a lot of waffles in a beautiful restaurant but you should not expect outstanding waffles or great service.

Tabibito: Another Chinese Restaurant near Nationaltheatret

There are many Asian restaurants near Nationaltheatret and I already reviewed Dinner here. The name Tabibito is Japanese but the restaurant serves Chinese food.

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor, facing Brasserie 45 and I don't think it is available to wheel chairs. It is a beautiful restaurant with a great entrance and an overall nice design.

My wife went for the Dim Sum menu for 2 and shared it with our son

Dim Sum Deluxe: 199 NOK per person, min 2 p.

The Dim Sum were really nice but be careful that some of them were a bit spicy. It should not be a problem for an adult but some children may not like them (not all of them were spicy).

I went for the Foo Wok hot pot:

Foo Wok Hot Pot, 248 NOK

It was quite spicy but I like spicy food and the menu said so. Otherwise, it was quite good, especially the sauce/spices.

All in all, the prices are a bit high but the service is excellent, the restaurant is beautiful and the food is quite good.

Jensen's Bøfhus: Cheap But Not So Good

If you are living in Oslo, you probably know that meat in general is expensive, let alone steaks in restaurants. And yet, Jensen's Bøfhus proposes menus with steaks for an incredibly low price, while located in a nice area... how is it possible?

To give you an idea of the prices:

• 69 NOK for steak lunch (steak + some potatoes)
• 59 NOK for a salad bar if it is on the side of the steak
• 49 NOK for the children menu

When we tried this restaurant, around Easter, the first thing we noticed is that this place is children friendly: nice children menu with some choice, a small notebook, etc... There was even an ice bar.

Children Menu, 49 NOK

My wife went for the lunch menu at 69 NOK:

Steak Lunch, 69 NOK

Unfortunately, the meat was not good at all. It smelled quite bad and my wife could not eat it. The waitress was quite nice and proposed to change it but my wife just couldn't eat meat anymore. Fortunately, she had ordered a salad from the buffet/bar which was quite nice.

Salad Bar, 59 NOK (as a side dish)

I went for something a bit superior with a steak at 99 NOK (still really cheap compared to general prices in Oslo/Norway).

Steak at 99 NOK

Unfortunately, as for my wife, the meat was not good. It also smelled quite bad and I could eat it mainly because the sauce was good and because I had it well done (my wife asked medium, so the problem was even bigger for her).

My conclusion? To be honest, I would rather NOT conclude. We went there during Easter and I hope that the quality issue was due to the meat provider being closed and Jensen's bøffhus having to serve some old steaks. But no, we were not satisfied with the quality of the meat and if we go there again, I may try something else (ribs, chicken, burger...).

I also checked on the internet for other people who would have had the same problem (poor quality meat that smells bad) but the only thing other people complained about were:

• dishes taking a long time to be prepared/served: this was true for us too. I think the salad bar was definitively a nice idea my wife had
• steak not cooked properly: we did not have this problem. I ordered my steak well-done and it was well-done, my wife asked it medium and it was served medium
• the service which could be bad: we did not have this problem either and the waitresses were nice to us

Dinner: a Chinese restaurant near Nationaltheatret

I must start by saying that I don't like the name of this place. I mean, would you call a car "drive" or "go"? But other than that, Dinner is a nice Chinese restaurant next to Nationaltheatret. It is really easy to go there

The restaurant is beautiful but as we were there during busy hours (for lunch on a Saturday), it was quite full and we felt a bit cramped. Other than that, the service was good.

As a starter, my wife had spring rolls.

Spring rolls, 59 NOK

By the taste, you could say that these were handmade with an original taste. We liked them.

Szechuan Soup with Chicken (a bit spicy) 79 NOK

I started a Szechuan soup which reminded me a bit of the sweet-sour Peking soup. Quite nice. A bit spicy but this is the way I like this soup.

Lunch Platter, 157 NOK

My wife went directly for the Lunch Platter. A nice combination of several things. A bit of fish, a bit of chicken, etc... This dish changes depending on the fresh ingredients they have so you may get something else if you order it.

Fried Noodles, 135 NOK

I ordered fried noodles after that. They were nice and the dish was actually quite big.

On the side, we ordered some Chinese bread and some Chinese tea. Both were really good.

Our conclusion: Dinner is a good restaurant and the food here is really good. The restaurant can get full quickly and the tables are quite close to each other, so it is better to avoid busy hours.