I took my first step out of the Netherlands this month. And it’s to the home of the new Nordic movement, Copenhagen. The old city is home to several restaurants which are considered to be among the worlds finest. Over my 3 days of stay, I visited several interesting eateries. From the morning staple of Danish Pastries to a trendy Thai eatery before finishing on a Michelin starred ecstasy, it was safe to say I ate a lot. :)!
First night out and I am venturing out to a surprise candidate for my late night fuel. Khun Juk Oriental is a modern Thai eatery Located not too far away from the touristy Kobenhavn area in Copenhagen. If you fly in late Friday like me, its almost a blessing that most would have already finished their dinner, so I walked in to Khun Juk Oriental without a reservation at 8.30pm with no difficulties! The sitting area was beautifully oriental and the service was welcoming. A rare combination coming from so many thousands of miles away. Knowing it was going to be a modern Thai dinner, I did not quite know what to expect.
First night out and I am venturing out to a surprise candidate for my late night fuel. Khun Juk Oriental is a modern Thai eatery Located not too far away from the touristy Kobenhavn area in Copenhagen. If you fly in late Friday like me, its almost a blessing that most would have already finished their dinner, so I walked in to Khun Juk Oriental without a reservation at 8.30pm with no difficulties! The sitting area was beautifully oriental and the service was welcoming. A rare combination coming from so many thousands of miles away. Knowing it was going to be a modern Thai dinner, I did not quite know what to expect.
A hot towel sat waiting and tap water was served. After refreshing myself, a prawn toast topped with sticky sweet chilli sauce was served complementary of Khun Juk Oriental. This followed by my order of Tom Kha (98 DKK), a creamy - coconut almost Tom-Yam like chicken soup.
Slurps! Nothing complements a hot bowl of soup than a drizzly cold weather. The fragrance of the galangal root, citrusy lemon grass and coriander just made melodies in my mouth. It has probably been too damn long since I have had a decent soup from Thailand and this was sensational. Tender chicken pieces and a creamy consistency could have easily made this a meal with steamed rice!
My main for the night was a very simple Lamb Massaman curry (238 DKK), only if you believe my very definition of “very simple”!
If you are the type who always feel like their is nothing but sauce in a curry, then this dish is for you my friend. A perfectly cooked rack of 6 lamb chops. They were tender and pink in the middle with a lovely charr on the outside. Served with celeriac chips, a vegetable stir fry, rice and a generous serve of Massaman sauce, it was top notch. The slightly nutty, spicy and aromatic Massaman sauce is the perfect start for anything. Use it as a a celeriac chip dip, sauce for the meaty rack of lamb or simply to put on your steamed rice. It could go with anything! I really liked how the racks were served like that. It adds a sense of dimension where you really get your meat worth from the meal! Not just little pieces of piece which hardly adds up to much. They also serve a similar thing with duck breast, and sirloin steak if lamb is not your kind of meat.
Despite being full, I found it hard to walk away without dessert. I have had some amazing Thai dessert since I was a kid and I knew that I wanted something. The menu came and there was only 1 dessert. No choice dilemma here for sure haha.
Thai coconut pancake with caramel sauce with coconut ice cream and fresh tropical fruits from Thailand (85 DKK).
Piping hot pancakes with a silky caramel sauce and coconut ice cream is like playing with ice and fire together. Its hot, its cold, and it stupendously delicious. In fact, the caramel was the tastiest palm sugar I have had in awhile. Yummy!! This brings me recent memories of my mom’s sago pudding with palm sugar.
Khun Juk Oriental served me a meal worthy of calling my best first meal on a trip. The service was courteous, and the food - amazing. But the delicious food at Khun Juk Oriental does not come as a surprise considering the effort, the taste and the presentation poured into something one normally takes for granted. My meal at Khun Juk Oriental is not cheap though, so I will not kid myself and claim that this was a simple take away. I called for the bill and paid 420 DKK that night. But for what I got, I still thought it was decently priced. In comparison, a stall side hot dog costs 30-60 DKK and a meal at McDonalds is approximately 100 DKK.
WenY
