Monthly Archives: February 2014

Be Indulged at Huset Blom

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The start of 2014 saw some movement in the restaurant scene in Sonderborg away from the central ‘town hall’ area. The restaurant Huset Blom opened in the middle of an unassuming residential area in an old, newly-restored villa from 1924. The restaurant is run by Pia & Klaus Bartholin who also run Cafe Alsion. Living very close to the restaurant, we decided to try it out for Valentine’s Day.

Huset Blom - New restaurant in Sønderborg

First impressions

It was clear from the start that the service we will get here would be above that you normally experience at other restaurants in town. We were greeted with a smile, and courtesy, our jackets taken and hung, and then shown to our seats. Seeing the building from the outside I expected the place inside to be decorated in a more traditional style, so it was pleasant to see a clean decor and plenty of space to move around in.

Food

The food concept at Huset Blom is ‘cosy food’. What this seems to mean is a lot of small sharing dishes that are nicely presented. You are, in fact, suggested to select a couple of dishes rather than a number of separate courses. The menu changes on a regular basis, depending on the season, with both an a’ la carte option and a set menu. For our first visit we opted for the set menu, which consisted of:

Lun fiskefrikadelle m. egen remoulade (Warm fish cakes with home made pickle relish)
Rogn m. røg, mandler & hindbær (Roe with almonds & raspberries)

Fennikelsalat m. granatæble (Fennel salad with pomegranate)
Serrano m. vores pesto (Serrano with home-made pesto)

Kartoffelkage m. urter (Herby potato cake)
Kæbe af gris braiseret i Jakobsen øl (Pork cheek braised in Jakobsen beer)

Citronfromage à la mormor (Grandmother’s lemon mousse)
Honningkage m. mandeliscreme (Honey cake with almond ice cream)

This was served in 4 courses on sharing platters, with homebaked bread and butter offered throughout (and continuously replenished! An utter delight for a Maltese girl in Denmark!).

Fish cakes with home made pickle relish - Huset Blom

As the saying goes, people first eat with their eyes. And there was more than enough for the eyes to be well satisfied. Unfortunately we only remembered to take photos of the first dish as we were too busy enjoying the food, but in all cases the presentation was a joy.

Roe with almonds & raspberries - Huset Blom

The taste was not far behind in coming. We both agreed that our favourites were definitely the fish cakes – the remoulade was superb – the potato cakes – surprisingly overshadowed the pork cheek as they were so good – and the honey cake with almond ice cream – I love almonds and everything that is made with them, but the ice cream was divine!

Drinks

The set menu comes with a suggested wine menu, which Michael went with, while I opted for elderflower juice. There are also wine suggestions to go with the a’ la carte option.

With every course Michael received a glass of wine and the waitress explained what the wine was, where it was coming from, and other interesting facts. At this point it was clear why they do not take a lot of bookings at the same time as the serving is quite intensive. The servers really take their time to make sure that you know what you are getting, without getting in any way intrusive or overbearing.

Final Verdict

It is a pleasure to see something new and different on the food front in Sonderborg itself. The quality is definitely a notch up on most of what is found in the town centre. The restaurant also seems to be targeting the business crowd more by not opening on weekends, but opening for lunch. The cost, as is to be expected, is higher than most other restaurants in town, so probably a place for a special treat rather than a quick weekday lunch.

For the foreigners out there, the menu and the website are, unfortunately, still all in Danish. However, once you get there, the servers were more than happy to explain things in English. At this point we really should mention Irene, our server, who did a terrific job all night of serving us with a smile and an obvious joy for what she was doing.

Will we back? Definitely!

Views on my Return

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Before moving to Denmark, we lived in London. By the time we came to move, we were ready to leave the big city for somewhere new. However, that doesn’t mean that there is nothing I miss! Having returned for a short holiday a few weeks ago, these are the things that I miss the most:

London Transport

Now, I think you will struggle to find a British person who extols the virtues of London transport. It is crowded, possibly confusing and, incorporating the oldest underground railway system in the world, often has breakdowns or big maintenance projects. However, when I compared my experience there with the experience I had in Copenhagen less than a week before my London trip, this is what I miss:

1. People wait for you to get off public transport before getting on

Copenhagen transport seems to be a free for all, with the idea of a ‘functioning queue’ far from most people’s in built concepts. It was a pleasure being able to get off the train without struggling against a flood of people, or being shoved by people from behind if you refuse to push in on getting on.

2. Stand to the right, walk on the left on escalators

Another concept that doesn’t seem to have reached Copenhagener’s inbuilt concepts. If you see a person on London transport that is standing on the left of the escalator, you can be pretty sure that that is a tourist. Otherwise people beautifully line themselves on the right if they don’t want to climb the escalators, or walk up on the left. If you’re not in a hurry you can let the escalator do the work, but for you who needs to get things done, you can power up at the same time.

Shops & Shop Keepers

I could always moan about prices. After all, I never thought that I would live somewhere more expensive than Denmark. But, actually, that is not my main gripe about Danish shops. It is actually the shopkeepers!

3. Do you need any help?

I have learnt that in Denmark you can go to school to learn how to become a shopkeeper. It seems that the one thing that all of them have learnt (besides how to wrap gifts beautifully!) is that ‘as soon as a client comes in go right up and ask if they need anything’. In the UK, they let you browse around, and then after a few minutes, after you have had some time to look around and think about what you need, come over and ask if you need some help.  Unfortunately, by this time, the Danish shopkeepers typically have disappeared to somewhere where I can never find them. Much more useful for me!

Getting Clean

We have been looking at houses recently in Sønderborg. Unfortunately, it seems, whenever a bathroom gets remodelled here, the bath is one of the first things to go. Our apartment is similar: no bath, just a shower. Being in London, this is what I realised that I have missed:

4. Getting properly clean in a bath

I struggle to believe that I can get completely clean by washing myself with a point source on top of my head. Unfortunately, unless we buy a house and remodel the bathroom, I don’t think I will get this here. The estate agents I have seen have looked at me as though I am completely bonkers for wanting a bath. And then remember a house with an ugly 60s-80s bathroom that is in desperate need of remodelling to offer us. It was utter bliss to be able to relax and feel completely clean for once!

What about you? What do you miss when you return to Denmark that you never thought you would?