TASTE THE LAND
Stockholm is rising fast as the Nordic capital to go to for delectable interpretations of the region’s freshest ingredients. Grace Ma hits the tables
Stockholm’s culinary prowess has often been overshadowed by its more illustrious Norwegian and Danish neighbours, when in reality, it has been quietly simmering as a harvest field and playground for talented chefs whipping up fresh seasonal plates brimming with rich flavours and served with a contemporary and experimental flair. Bolstered by a fertile Nordic hinterland that gives everything from the sweetest vegetables to the freshest seafood and poultry, Stockholm’s time on the global culinary stage has come with local chefs championing locavore and sustainability not only through dishes that tantalise the tastebuds, but also its community of craftsmen and small producers. And it is not white-linen and stiff-suited settings that distinguish these gems; it is the passion for preserving the land’s geography, history and culture that warms the heart as much as the stomach.
OAXEN KROG
Sustainability, history and craftsmanship have been two-michelin starred Oaxen’s ethos since Magnus Ek and Agneta Green first opened the restaurant in 1994 on the island of Oaxen in Stockholm’s southern archipelago. Now located in a more central location in the new Djurgården shipyard marina, its 16-course degustation menu is paired with excellent European old world wines and served on handcrafted wooden crockery made by Chef Ek, from dainty spoons made from elder wood roasted in the oven to organic-shaped bowls hollowed out from tree branches.
Even the huge press used to crush crayfish heads was put together by Ek, and we watched in fascination as rich umami juice flows out of its tap to be cooked as a sauce, and then drizzled over our plates of tender cod served with flowering dill purée and unripe plums.
Besides working with producers from all over Scandinavia, Ek and Green have their own vegetable plot, which yielded about 30 different crops last year including mustard sprouts, Jerusalem artichoke, green and black kale, and carrots (“The crooked ones usually outdo the straight ones when it comes to taste,” says Ek.) Quality, taste, sustainable agriculture and humanelyraised animals are important to the couple, resulting in nuanced flavours in dishes such as hay-baked beetroot with leek, cream of lovage and celeriac; scallop with fermented pear, gooseberry, horseradish and green juniper; and a thinly sliced strip of beef from a retired dairy cow basking in a broth of Alkvettern ham that was matured for three years. Next door is casual bistro Oaxen Slip, with sharing plates bursting with the same natural goodness, and the best place to enjoy a relaxing Sunday brunch with a house-made Swedish grog infused with ingredients such as sea buckthorn, lemon, ginger and burnt honey cola.
EKSTEDT
After stints at famed restaurants El Bulli in Spain and The Fat Duck in the United Kingdom, Niklas Ekstedt decided to go back to his forest roots. An epiphanic moment cooking over an open flame at his family’s summer cottage led him to open Ekstedt in November 2011, which harkens back to the days of traditional wood-fired techniques and natural smoky flavours. In place of electric griddles and gas ovens are cast iron pots and pans over open flames in this one-michelin-starred dining room, which is decked out with dangling bulbs, steel and copper panels, and chefs fire up a storm in blacksmith-style leather aprons.
We were fortunate to get seats at the communal table in front of the kitchen where we could see, hear and smell the flames cackling and coaxing out aromas from winter’s best seasonal produce. Ekstedt only has dinner service and our “small” menu included dried deer in the form of a crispy floss with smooth charcoal cream; an oyster roasted in beef fat dripping from a flaming conical funnel; a juniper-smoked pike in rich fish bone broth; and a hay-flamed beef with kohlrabi (German turnip). Rounding off the smouldering meal was a dessert of salted apple and caramel with an “ice cream” of cream cheese flavoured with baked apple. Its full menu includes the full works of fiery methods, such as blackened langoustine and birch-flamed greens.
SUSHI SHO
You can easily miss this nondescript sushi bar located in the mostly residential neighbourhood of Vasastan where its pared down interiors belie its one-michelin star status that has been held since 2016. Chef Carl Ishizaki and his team serve an omakase menu of small dishes, and Edomae-style sushi, where fresh raw fish and cooked rice seasoned with vinegar are combined together with a dash of wasabi, and placed in your hands straight away.
Each meal sitting is two hours with twelve seats at the L-shaped bar and four at a sofa next to the bar’s shorter end. No prizes for guessing the best seats in the house for frontrow action, which I took even if I had to sit shoulder-to-shoulder between two gentlemen (tip: for a higher chance of snagging counter seats, go for less popular timings such as 5pm or 9pm on weekdays).
Sushi Sho recreates a wholly authentic experience with mostly Nordic produce. The freshness of the ingredients shines through in every course, such as squid caught off the Swedish west coast, French abalone, Greek sea bass, and Norwegian monkfish liver cured in soy and citrus. The signature dish is an egg yolk cured in soy for five to six hours, and served in a bowl with sliced okra, toasted rice, scallions and cubes of raw Spanish tuna. Mix them together for a satisfying umami punch with crunch.