Nam Fah: a Nice Little Thai Restaurant in Oslo Sentrum

There are many Thai restaurants and take-aways in Oslo and we decided to go to one called Nam Fah last Thursday. It is located in the city center, not far from the Stortinget station and very close to Steen&Strøm building.

We went for a dish called "Pad Se Eew moo" for our son.

Pad Se Eew moo: fried noodles with pork, 158 NOK

It wasn't spicy at all. On the contrary it was quite sweet. So a good choice for a child but I would have found it too sweet for me.

My wife went for "Pad Poong Karrii gai", a curry-based dish.

Poong Karrii gai, 168 NOK

Surprisingly, this wasn't really spicy either. A good thing for my wife who cannot eat too spicy food but if it was for me, I would have expected a curry based dish to be a bit more spicy.

When it comes to me, I had "Ratnah gai":

Ratnah Gai, 178 NOK

It is also fried noodles but has much more sauce than the "Pad Se Eew" we had for my son. I liked it but this is more for people who like sauces in general.

All in all, Nam Fah is a nice little restaurant in city center and a good choice if you like Thai food.

Xich Lo, a Vietnamese Restaurant in Oslo City Center

My wife and I are big fans of the Vietnamese cuisine. We have never been to Vietnam but we have tasted Vietnamese food in both France and Japan and had some nice experiences with it in both countries.

This is why we decided to try Xich Lo as soon as we heard positive comments about it. The restaurant is in Karl Johans gate (so you cannot do more central than this) and is on the 4th floor of a building with Nespresso on the first floor (just some help if you look for it).

Otherwise the restaurant is pretty and quite "classy". We were received at once and followed to the table. Before we even order anything, we get some water (flavored with lemon, orange and some herbs) and when we ordered, to make us wait, we got the following appetizer:

Vietnamese style beef stew - complimentary

It tasted really nice. The Vietnamese taste was rendered by the spices and despite the chili at the top, it wasn't hot. My wife removed the small chili part and had no problems eating it.

As a starter, we shared a "springroll"

Vietnamese Springrolls, 87 NOK

It was actually a combination of 2 fried springrolls (the usual ones) and 1 "fresh" springroll (cut in 2). Both type of rolls tasted good and at least the fresh one was hand made.

My wife ordered a lamb tenderloin with red wine sauce as a main:

Lamb tenderloin with red wine sauce, 257 NOK

It was good but it did not seem traditional Vietnamese to us (we may be wrong though, we are not Vietnamese). As for me, I went for the duck breast a la Xich Lo:

Duck breast a la Xich Lo, 257 NOK

The duck meat was really nice: soft, tasty but not too strong and I really appreciated it. I liked the sauce too but it was spicy and after a while, I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't particularly impressed by the mushrooms but I may be too demanding about it.

Both dishes came with flavored rice::

Flavored rice, incl in the dish

Overall, we had a nice meal and we are satisfied with it. The prices are a bit high, but this has something to do with the restaurant being right in the heart of Oslo

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.