Maaemo (4800 NOK, 1/10/2024, 16-Course incl VAT)

MAAEMO, Oslo, 1/10/2024 (16 – Course, 4800 NOK incl. VAT), Nordic, Michelin 3-Star)

MAA (earth), EMO (mother) are old Finn language words, meaning “Mother Earth”. The correct pronunciation requires two syllables. It is the most northerly restaurant with Michelin 3-Star in the world. Its head chef Esben Holmboe Bang is a Danish chef, restaurateur and co-owner, has opened the restaurant since December 2010 with a journey thru the Norwegian landscape (sea and land) featuring ingredients from the pristine and icy waters on the north to the grown and foraged land surrounding Oslo to reflect changing seasons and the raw nature of Norway. It focuses on local food and only uses organic, biodynamic and wild produce.

Maaemo was the first restaurant to be awarded 3-star in the Nordic. It moved into a larger current location in the trendy neighborhood of Oslobukta (nearby the Opera House and Edvard Munch Museum) in March 2020. This resulted in the loss of all its 3 stars in Feb. 2020. In Sept. 2021 it won back all its 3 Michelin stars. On the front door at its current location, it has got a barely noticeable sign of Maaemo ***. In the dark we missed it when we passed by it first time.

I have visited Maaemo in Sept. 2017. Its current decoration is very Nordic style, mainly black, white, beige and grey colors of furnishings. We were greeted by the maître d’ and seated near by the lounge downstairs, there were about 30+ guests around. We were informed of the 16-Course Tasting Menu without Amuse Bouche and optional wine pairing. Food was served shortly.

I .LOMPE – Cold Water Shrimp, Horseradish and Summer Preserves

It was a bite size pancake, at the very bottom there was a piece of Norwegian potato flatbread made of flour and potato, topped with multi-layered seafood and herbs. One of the major ingredients was Arctic shrimp salad which was made of Arctic cold water shrimp fusion with lemon juice and herbs. In addition to the Arctic shrimp salad, there was a layer of umami and tasteful caramelized langoustine purée, a layer of cumelon (baby cucumber), a layer of horseradish, a layer of elder flower a and a layer of grated cured egg yolk. At the very top, it was adorned with fresh chives. Arctic shrimp is small in size, but soft and tender and tasty. Caramelized langoustine purée was umami. With the touch of lemon juice and horseradish, it was well-balanced to perfection. Its sheer small size camouflaged the daunting amount of work required. (20/20)

II. Duck Liver, Warm Brioche, Chestnuts and Toasted Yeast

It was a light brioche filled with smooth tasteful chestnut purée and toasted yeast. Cold water shrimps were wrapped inside of the green nasturtium, adorned with shredded frozen duck liver (foie gras). Shredded duck liver can only be done at -20 degree, not an easy task to shred a piece of duck liver. The shredded fine foie gras provided a delicate taste and flavor, well balanced with toasting flavor and mild sweetness of chestnut purée. (20/20)

III. Pinnekjøtt, birch and Preserved Rose

It was presented as a floral tartlet made with sliced Swedish rutabaga (turnip) and sliced beetroot. Part of the sliced rutabaga was dyed with beetroot juice to create different shades of crimson color. It not only looked pretty, it also tasted pleasant like a crunchy pie crust, rendered by a refined low temperature baking process. The final surprise was at the bottom filled with tender and juicy lamb tartare. The whole tartlet gave you a dilemma of hesitation between the palatial enjoyment of appreciation of the taste and flavor vs. the esthetic appearance. It was so delicious and pretty. Should you enjoy it gastronomically at present or have more visual appreciation? This is my favorite course among the whole dinner. (20/20)

As soon as we completed the 3^rd course, we were invited to go upstairs (ground floor) where the formal dining room and private dining space are located. Open kitchen was large and artistically contemporary looking with black color theme. Open kitchen was connected to the main kitchen downstairs where major preparation and serious cooking/baking were performed. Chef used the open kitchen mainly for the last touch up.

IV. Dry Aged Beef, Meadowsweet and Pine Cone Vinegar

35-day dry aged beef from Telemark in the southeastern region of Norway was used because of its pasture. Beef tartare sat on top of cep mushroom tartlet. Cep mushroom is larger and has a more yellowish color than the straw mushroom. On top of the tartlet, there was jelly made of meadowsweet and pine cone vinegar. The inclusion of jelly provided a well-balanced taste and flavor. (20/20)

V. Marinated Trout Roe, Apple and Smoked Reindeer Heart

Trout roe derived from ocean trout from Denmark. Trout marinated by Aquavit before being used in the plate. Aquavit is a distilled spirit mainly produced in Scandinavia. Aquavit is distilled from grain or potatoes and flavored by herbs. To be classified as an aquavit, the dominant flavor must come from a distillate caraway or dill seed. The word “aquavit” derives from the Latin words aqua (water) and vit (life), meaning “the water of life”. Use of aquavit produced a strong and spicy flavor, chef used another strong and spicy ingredient, chopped smoked reindeer heart, at the bottom of the plate to balance the overall palatial effect. Chef also used granny smith apple slices to refresh the taste of fresh trout roe. It was a creative product to perfection. (20/20)          

VI. Oyster “Tradition 2010”

It has been one of the signature dishes since 2010. Flat oysters are available from Bømlo, Norway in all seasons. Oyster and mussels were made into a layer of jell (in transparent color) sitting on top of mussel broth. In addition, cream sauce and dill oil were floating on the top. No solid piece of oyster or mussel was present in the dish. It was the flavor through different way of preparation that made the taste stand out. When I dined at Maaemo in 2017, it was served with a more dill-accented sauce. (19/20)

VII. Gently Cooked King Crab, White Asparagus and Hazelnut Milk

King crab is expensive and is the best crab from the Arctic Circle. We figured that an average weight of 3 ½ Kilogram per crab would cost $300 each in the tank. Since crab meat doesn’t have much fat content, to preserve its tenderness during the cooking process requires some clever methods. First, poached the crab in hazelnut milk and hazelnut cream. Then, prepare Chawanmushi sauce – a stock of egg, aged cheese, dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sake, miso of sun flower and burnt onion. It was an authentic fusion sauce, a very sophisticated umami taste while still keeping the tenderness and freshness of the King Crab. Then, foam mussel stock at the very top was infused with bacon. It was a masterpiece of perfection. The tender, juicy umami taste of a king crab was sublime, the subtle acidity from the fermented asparagus was the appropriate balancing agent. It was another perfection. (20/20)

VIII. Skrei Brushed with Juniper Butter Horseradish, Lemon Verbena and Celeriac

Skrei is another name for Cod and Norway has an abundance of supply. Cod was steamed for 2 minutes, then, brushed with juniper butter and elder flower. Sauce was made of chicken stock, mussels, celeriac, nasturtium, horseradish and lemon verbena. In addition, on top of the layer of leek purée sitting on top of tender fish, there were artichoke, horseradish and jam of onion. Overall, the varieties of herbs, not overwhelming, in the recipe made its well-balanced taste and flavor. (19/20)

IX. Scallop Roasted in Honey, Sauce of Pumpkin and Burnt Onion

Scallop was from the Arctic Circle, caught by the best fisherman. To be specific, it was from the western part of Norway around Hegeland. Helgeland is derived from the old Norse Helgaland meaning ‘holy’ ‘sacred’ + land. Arctic scallops are quite a size, the largest that I have ever seen. It grew slowly because of the extreme cold water in the Arctic, it was also more elastic and flavorful but neither tough nor chewy.

It was seared in honey butter to get the well-roasted appearance. Sauce was a complicated process. It required sabayon (egg yolk only), burnt onion oil, elder flower vinegar, salt, pepper, pumpkin purée, black trumpet mushroom and dry yeast.

The Arctic scallops differ from the ordinary scallops not only in size. Their texture and flavor being more superior. If anyone ever had the Australian lobster, the Aussie lobster has the same analogy to the ordinary lobster. In this course, every ingredient was well thought and well prepared to make another mouth-watering signature dish. (20/20)

X. Scallop Roasted in Honey, Sauce of Pumpkin and Burnt Onion

We loved the Arctic scallop so much that we made a special request for scallop in a more rare-medium mode. It was another delightful treat.

XI. Reindeer Cooked Slowly over Embers, Forest Berries and Rømmergrøt

Reindeer was prepared with dual cooking processes. Chef initially cooked reindeer meat for 20 minutes then let meat rest in the pot for ½ hour. Repeat the process 3 times. Reindeer meat was more tender than usual because it was simmered by the residual heat during each of the ½ hour slow-cooking.  Sauce was made of reindeer intestine stock, juniper berries, blue berries and other berries. It also required Norweigian Rømmergrøt in the sauce. Rømmergrøt is Norwegian sour cream porridge made of sour cream/heavy cream, whole milk, butter and flour. Reindeer meat always paired well with juniper berries and using intestines stock provided a more sophisticated taste and flavor. (19/20)

We were invited to relax in the lounge downstairs where we initially started the dinner so every guest could have as many drinks and deserts as he/she liked.

XII. Warm Milk Bread Glazed with Reindeer Fat and Sour Honey winter Truffle Butter

The glazing radiated from the reindeer fat and sour honey had a special gloss on it, it did not look like ordinary butter glazing. Warm bread served with the sweet reindeer fat and yummy winter truffle butter is always welcome on a cold winter night. It also served as a palate cleanser. (18/20)

XIII. Frozen Goat’s Cream, Smoked Cherry and Plum Kernel

Goat’s cream was delicate and tasty, when served with smoked cherry and plum kernel the combined they were well suited. It was more delicate and sophisticated than an ordinary cheese course. (19/20)

XIV. Brown Butter Ice Cream Cornet Hazelnuts and Molasses

It may sound odd to enjoy ice cream on a freezing cold winter night. But we did enjoy it very much for its taste, flavor and texture. (19/20)

XV. Freshly Baked Cinnamon Buns

They radiated a sweet aroma and looked like flakier than the warm milk bread. I can see from the top crust; it also got some cinnamon sprinkles on top. (19/20)

XVI. Wild Chamomile and Pine Fudges

Candies to munch on the way home or snack. By this time, my stomach was happy and ran out of space. (19/20)