Norwegian celebrity chef Erling Sundal has worked in famous Michelin-starred kitchens in France as well as in Bergen and Oslo in Norway. The inventor of the Hackit, a kitchen tool gracing one in every six Norwegian kitchens, he has appeared on MasterChef Norway. Currently, Sundal is running his own catering company, Kanon, whose clientele includes Norway's rich and famous. He is appearing at the Taste of Melbourne Festival, November 12-15. See tasteofmelbourne.com.au.
My favourite is at Fauna restaurant. It has one star in the Guide Rouge. I love their rustic yet elegant style of food preparation and presentation, and the food always tastes great. I also like simple restaurants such as the Hai Cafe (Calmeyers, Gage 6), for their Vietnamese home-style cooking. See restaurantfauna.no.
The new restaurant Pjoltergeist showcases great Korean food, which is not so common in this part of the world. The restaurant looks so dark you might mistake it for Dracula's castle, but the food is great. The chef is from Iceland so the contrast couldn't be bigger.
Torggata, where a number of small restaurants are hidden behind old buildings. The street has cuisines from all over the world. When you walk down this street you meet people from all over Oslo. Since I'm a fan of Asian food, I find the best flavours here.
The workers district of Oslo, called Grunerlokka. You will find good bakeries, simple restaurants that serve simple food and also two of the best coffee shops in the world: Tim Wendleboe and Supreme Roastworks. I just love coffee and the day is not perfect enough If I don't have an espresso or a double cortado! Axil Coffee Roasters is at the top of my list to try on this trip to Melbourne. See timwendelboe.no; supremeroastworks.no.
I like skiing and snowboarding in the winter in the peaks of Oslo. I also like to go hunting in the deep forest and fishing at the river. What's good about Oslo is that it's only a short trip to all these locations.
At Aker Brygge, Oslo's seaside, there are a lot of nice seafood restaurants where you can sit outside and absorb the fresh sea air (you can only experience this in the summertime). After dinner, you can visit a number of interesting night clubs and bars in this area.
Summer is the best time to visit Oslo, like everywhere in Norway. It's easier to interact with everyday Norwegians as they are awakening from their winter hibernation. In winter, nobody wants to go out and it is so much harder to get around when the temperature falls to -20 degrees Celsius and there can be metres of snow everywhere. Whereas in summer, you can take advantage of the weather and go to the seaside restaurants and eat with friendly locals, or experience the nightlife of Grunerlokka and hang out with the huge mix of people from different corners of the globe.
While the famous Karl Johan Street has the King's Castle and Capitol House, try to avoid it if you don't like being around lots of tourists, street musicians, hawkers, restaurants serving poor quality, overpriced food and a stressful atmosphere.
