30 October 2011

bún chay (with tofu)

the wonderful bún at Lille Saigon 1 (not to be confused with their competitor Saigon Lille Cafe up the street–a splitting of ways apparently caused by some nasty divorce). but really, what could go wrong when you combine rice vermicelli, pickled carrots & daikon, fresh cucumber, fried onions, bean sprouts, peanuts, tofu fried with lemongrass, and sweet/spicy fish sauce? nothing.

Lille Saigon 1
Bernt Ankers gate 7
0181 Oslo

27 October 2011

fall

the sunrise today was at 08:24. it will go down at 17:35. winter is coming.

14 September 2011

NaOH = food product

Only in Norway could caustic soda be advertised as something to cook your fish with (“luting” being the verb for making “lutefisk”–a dish commonly served at Christmas, no less).

good for cleaning, removing paint... and cod

An apt description by a Norwegian-American named Dave Fox:

Norwegians didn’t invent lutefisk because they thought it was tasty. A long time ago, in the pre-refrigeration epoch, salting and drying fish was an efficient way to preserve it. They soaked it in lye afterward to pull the salt out and — believe it or not — make it more palatable. A century ago, lutefisk really was a staple in the Norwegian diet. Also a century ago, a lot of Norwegians fled the country.

26 August 2011

transit

the nobel peace center is currently showing an exhibit called transit, a photo display of refugees in different countries. the most interesting facts presented in the exhibit were the numbers of refugees in various countries (in 2010):

  • Refugees from Columbia: 454 088
  • Refugees in Columbia from other countries: 300
  • Refugees from Afghanistan: 2 917 535
  • Refugees in Afghanistan from other countries: 49
  • Refugees from Syria: 23 484
  • Refugees in Syria from other countries: 1 529 655
  • Refugees from Bangladesh 12 258
  • Refugees in Bangladesh from other countries: 228 586
  • Refugees from Yemen: 2 554
  • Refugees in Yemen from other countries: 172 220
  • Refugees from Norway: 10
  • Refugees in Norway from other countries: 54 465

Gotta wonder who the refugees from Norway are–and who would flee to Afghanistan…

TRANSIT: until 22 January
Nobel Peace Center
Open every day 10.00-18.00
Admission: 80 kr

NEXT FREE DAYS IN 2011
16 September: Oslo Night of Culture
8 October: Celebrating the Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2011
8-10 October: for celebrations of the Nansen Year
12-30 December: for celebrations of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2011

PLEASE NOTE: On Friday 7 October at 11.00 you can watch the announcement of the new Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the Nobel Peace Center.

19 August 2011

life is beautiful