5.5 hours. That's about how long it takes to fly from Singapore to Perth. And that's also how long dinner at KOKS lasted.
I literally went from excited to exhausted. It was still a great experience, just not under the best circumstances - I had to get up at 5AM the next morning for a tough hike. So, imagine the pain when I realised at 12AM that we were far from done. (It takes 30 minutes to get back to my hostel.)
(All photos taken using my phone.)
Here's my attempt at cleaning up for the dinner. KOKS is located 30 minutes north-west of Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands, and where I stayed that night. I didn't even have time to dry my hair because the hike before took longer than expected and I had a ride to catch.
As with many other Michelin star restaurants where the theatrical experience is just as important as the food, KOKS has definitely gone one step further with starting the experience way before you even get to the restaurant itself.
They have stated on their webpage that driving to the restaurant is not recommended, and a special agreement has been made with a local taxi operator. Here's what it actually is:
1) Driving there is probably not possible. Unless it's a Jeep you're driving.
2) The special agreement isn't just a price-wise kind of agreement like I originally thought. It's the start of your dinner experience, actually. You'll be brought to a couple of picturesque spots that showcases the beauty of the Faroe Islands before they take you to the meeting place.
Unfortunately, it was very foggy that day. The visibility on the road was so bad, so try imagining how the views were like from the cliffs LOL. Reminds me of the time I visited the Cliffs of Moher (read here)
Time Check: 8PM
I was dropped off at a little hut, where I was offered a drink and waited for the rest of my communal dining party.
I could only opt for the shared table experience given that I was dining alone (private tables are only available for parties of 2 and above). The shared table holds 8 people, and that night the table held 3 pairs and 2 singles.
The little hut is actually a Hjallur, a drying shed ventilated by the wind to dry and store meat.
Kombucha drink.
And of course it only makes sense for us to eat some sort of dried-meat in a Hjallur. So here's our first course of the evening: Dried-whale meat and blubber, accompanied with dried cod fish slices with butter.
That's my first time having whale meat, and I don't think you can get it at many places given how controversial it is to even hunt one..? But hey, it's their tradition, and that's one thing off my bucket list now. I thought that it tasted pretty gamey, and nothing like seafood. On a side note, the butter was SO GOOD.
So creamy and light. And creamy. And fragrantly buttery. And creamy. AND CREAMY.
So after that's done, we were shuffled onto a Jeep. It was a bumpy 5 minutes ride that went along a rocky river bank that really reiterated the fact this is no ordinary restaurant we're going; this is the Faroe Islands, and we will be getting a gastronomical glimpse of this windy, majestic, and yes, remote, islands.
An aside - the guy on the right is the other single diner, and the co-founder of the Leon Restaurants fast food chain. That's probably the closest I could ever get to feeling like I've won the Warren Buffett Lunch Auction.
A communal dining experience is always a gamble. It's going to be a real pain if you're stuck having to share the night with people you have no chemistry with. Lucky me struck the lottery that night. My table companions were such a fun crowd, and the conversation just flowed all night long without any breaks or awkwardness. There was even an after-party (lol!), more on that later.
I opted for the juice pairing to go along with my meal. I like how most restaurants over in the Faroe Islands and Denmark (probably the same for other Nordic countries, I assume?) offers a juice pairing option, apart from the wine pairing option. That's perfect for people like me who 1) can't hold my liquor well, and 2) is not a fan of wine.
This is a Gooseberry and Lemon Verbena drink.
2nd Dish: Grilled Scallop. The scallop was really sweet.
3rd Dish: Lumpfish in some sort of buttery broth. I liked this, it was savoury and appetising.
4th Dish: Mahogany Clam.
5th Dish: Langoustine and broth.
2nd Drink: Mushroom. I did not like this at all. It's like the water from soaking dried mushrooms. Urgh gross. Sorry. Probably requires an acquired taste for this.
6th Dish: Skerpikjøt (wind-dried mutton) accompanied with dried moss. The highlight was the Skerpikjøt, but the moss definitely stole the show. Moss! I've never eaten moss before. Well, now I have. It's crispy but dry, likely from the way they prepared it.
7th Dish: Godarad biscuits with Garnatálg.
Palate cleanser!
Drink change! This time round it's an Elderflower Kombucha drink (see glass on right). Fermented food seems to be the food trend right now, and it's just so coincident that I was in a country that's big on fermented food as well due to their climate and limitations.
8th Dish: Rhubarb (that was hidden under the foilage)
9th Dish: Halibut and Watercress. I loved all their foamy buttery sauces!
Next drink: Apple and Lovage.
10th Dish: Crab and Leek
Rhubarb and Juniper drink. I was the only one there who had no idea what a Juniper is. Actually, I had no idea what most things were that night, but everyone else were familiar with the ingredients. It's interesting that we all have a different knowledge profile of food, depending on what we are most exposed to. It's just not the kind of thing that we notice, until we are put into a spot like this.
11th Dish: Bacalao (salted dried cod-fish) and Blue Mussel.
12th Dish: Cod and Spring Salad
Next drink: Beetroot, Blackcurrant and Kelp.
13th Dish: Monkfish and Beef.
14th Dish: Ræst kjøt (semi-dried mutton) and Kohlrabi, onion and lingonberry.
Time Check: 12AM
While the Sun doesn't set in the Faroe Islands in summer, the 12AM sky is still noticeably darker than the 10PM sky.
It's 12AM and we were not yet done. My mind was distracted with the question "How much time do I still have left till 5AM?" from this point on.
15th Dish: Grass and Sorrel. Again, another buttery foamy sauce that's super yumz.
Last drink! Blueberry, Licorice Root and Dulse.
16th Dish and our first dessert: Wild Thyme and Crowberry.
17th Dish: Dulse and Blueberry
Godarad crackers with...I can't remember. But I remember it being sweet, and tasty. And I was basically binge eating at this point because I was anxious to get home.
Time Check: 1:30AM
Fudge.
The thing is, the meal didn't just end there. There was coffee, and more drinks. Seeing how we've all gotten along so well with one another, we decided to do a carpool back to Tórshavn so that the conversation could continue, instead of hopping onto the separate rides that we came via.
Time Check: 2:30AM
The sky has started to get brighter. JEEZ.
It was 3:30AM by the time I got back to my hostel. AND I WAS NEARLY LOCKED OUT HAHAHAHA
The thing is, they did tell me that the doors would be locked at 11PM, and I could only get in via the backdoor using my key.
But somehow, I couldn't find the keyhole. So I started pacing around. Not for that long though, probably like 10 minutes, before someone got out to open the door for me. I wonder how long have said guy been watching my whole episode. I hope it wasn't right from the start, because it's so embarrassing. The keyhole was exactly at where keyholes normally are.
How in the world did I not see it? It's still a mystery that I can't solve. WHAT A BIMBO MOMENT.
Eternally grateful to said guy for ending my night on a great note.
In short:
1) Couple of hits and misses with the food.
2) Theatrical experience made up for the misses.
3) P E R F E C T C O M P A N Y greatly elevated the dining experience. I enjoyed their company more than the food, and I enjoyed the food immensely. So, go figure.
4) So glad I did this, but will probably not do this again. Once is enough.
So, there you have it, the highlight of my trip.
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