Roykstovan at Kirkjubøur, Færoe Islands 2019

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On our way to Kirkjubøur, or ‘The Church Village’, about an hours drive to the south west of Tórshavn, the capital of the Færoe Islands.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

The small village had its largest economical importance in the Middle Ages. At that time it was the episcopal residence for the Diocese of the Færoe Islands and as such, was the spiritual centre of the society. In those days the village is said to have had around 50 houses that unfortunately were washed away by a fierce storm in the 16th century. This storm traditionally created an islet that contains ruins from that time. It is speculated that the church located the diocese here to establish a christian stronghold to block off the nearby heathens up the coast to the north west.

This area holds three main ancient memorial points. The oldest is the white Saint Olav’s Church. It is now rebuilt and renovated to some kind of mid 19th century style but its origin date to the 12th century, which makes it the oldest still used church of the Færoese people.

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Evening by the window

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Chewie
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

He does this sometimes. Sits by the window, watches the evening go by. He´s a very tall, long limbed Maine Coon, born in Northern Norway, 8 years old, almost 9 years old now, and weighs in ca. 8 kgs. He now lives along the Swedish west coast at Styrsö. He´s darling.

The Tarv, Tórshavn, Færoe Islands

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The Tarv is a steak house that serves traditional Faroese cuisine together with en eclectic selection of barbecued specialties. It is newly established in the former premises of Poul Hansens Heilsøla in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. The white façades, to the left in the row.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

Some of best restaurants in the Faroe Islands are clustered around its oldest center, the Tinganes, which has served as the governing center of the islands as long as written history can tell. Around this peninsula are the two harbours of Tórshavn. If given the opportunity to return to the Faroe Islands, I will definitely revisit The Tarv.

The Tarv is located at the corner of the larger of the two harbours of Tórshavn. It´s a restaurant that serves some of the best of Faroese raw produce, fish and meat, in one of my preferred methods of cooking, grilled. The essential list of side dishes that accompanied grilled meats included Béarnaise sauce and pepper sauce were enough to make my evening.

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Etika, Japanese cuisine with a Færoese twist, Færoe Islands

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Etika, the only sushi restaurant in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, serving a fusion of Japanese cuisine with raw produce sourced from the Faroe Islands.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

With Japanese sushi restaurants being found everywhere on earth it was a given first thing to do to see what a sushi restaurant could do on the Faroe Islands, where access to fresh seafood – whitefish, salmon, shrimp, mussels, whale – are abound. Etika opened in July of 2009 and in 2019 seems to remain the only sushi restaurant on the Faroe Islands. Etika serves classic Japanese cuisine with a Faroe twist. Its modern and cozy interiors extends to its flavour innovations reflected in their dishes served. Just the tiniest hint of orange made the salmon maki intriguing.

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West coast shrimp sandwich à la Tromsø

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West coast shrimp sandwich, with shrimps from Tromsø, Norway.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

I’m often amused when coming across shrimp at the local grocery store in Tromsø, the shrimps being at least twice the size of the ones found at the stores in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Shrimps are probably one of the fastest means to meal that needs little time in preparation if you’re in a hurry and/or haven’t got the time to sit and cook/plan all meals. Haul a kilo or so of shrimps home and you have the main ingredient to some ready-to-go-meals. Peeled shrimps can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days and we love to have it over bread in a traditional Swedish west coast räkmacka with egg and mayonnaise.

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Dinner at Skarven

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At Biffhuset, Skarven, Tromsø, Norway.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

While Tromsø is known for its fresh seafood, in particular, its varieties of fish, sometimes it is that you just crave meat for dinner.

A restaurant that I’ve returned to several times is Vertshuset Skarven. A multi-culinary themed bar and restaurant, Skarven is known for its excellent ambience and friendly customer service. The dim lit and warm interiors of this restaurant are furnished in dark wood, in a colour scheme reminiscent of a different era, such as the use of a deep forest green for their menu hardcovers.

Dinner was fairly simple. An order of beef steak served with sides of potatoes and greens, and a draft beer. It was good.

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Sunday morning breakfast and Tromsø harbour walkabout

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Having a morning single shot espresso Capuccino at Scandic Ishavshotel, located along Fredrik Langes gate 2, Tromsø, Norway.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

Weekend mornings are a fairly quiet affair at the heart of the city of Tromsø. Visitors from the larger cruise ships are most likely asleep onboard, and around the city centre hotels, there might be one or two tour groups headed off farther inland. On days of fine weather, exploring the surrounding fjords and sightseeing along the coastal regions can render some picturesque postcards for keeps.

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Black sesame seed bread

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Black sesame seed bread.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson & CM Cordeiro 2019

A few years ago when in Singapore, I came across a café that served hamburgers with black buns. It was a novelty at the time. I asked the kitchen to the café how the buns were made, and they said they used food colouring. I searched both online and in bakeries where I spotted black loaves of bread, for various means to bake black buns. My search returned several alternatives. Some recipes used squid ink, others used charcoal. One of my absolute favourites used black sesame seeds.

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Zucchero Guantanamera (Guajira)

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Some people think that the summer’s polar light, when there is sunshine the whole day – and night – is great. But me, I look forward to the winter’s polar light, where you can get a proper night’s sleep, when no sunlight is peeping in anywhere during the night – or day – and it is feeling just like Christmas all the time. It is not completely dark, the sky lit in a magic blue. If something, the colour of the night sky between November and January reminds me of the Grotta Azzurra in Capri, Italy. In Tromsø where I currently live and work the winter polar light is called Mörkertid. It begins this year on November 28 and the sun will not rise over the horizon before January 15 next year. Yay!