Results tagged “Noma” from Birmingham Mail - Restaurant Spy

Inside the container, shaped and painted to to resemble an egg, was hay on which sat the yolk of a quail's egg that was firm enough to pick up yet proved to be perfectly runny when eaten.

The flavour was extraordinary - the richness of the egg given layers of complexity by being smoked over hay and then pickled in rose hip vinegar.

Here was stunning technical prowess allied to imagination underwritten by an ability to mix flavours and textures that might seem odd, but work brilliantly together.

These were traits experienced time and again during a seven-course tasting menu at Noma in Copenhagen on Saturday.

If foodies were asked to name the culinary powerhouses of Europe then France, Spain and Britain would probably feature.

It's unlikely that Denmark would be high on anyone's list. But that's changing.

Noma in Copenhagen was recently voted the world's tenth best restaurant, already has two Michelin stars and has been tipped to get a third.

It sounds an absolutely fascinating place....a sort of el Bulli of the north.

A colleague found an old copy of the Michelin guide from the 1970s and though none of Birmingham's restaurants had stars, several places got a mention.

One was an old favourite of mine - Lorenzo's, which was situated just opposite the Bull Ring and, I seem to remember, was run by a guy who was also a football agent.

I ate there several times, most memorably with the musician Herbie Hancock before attending his gig at Barberella's.

The food, I recall, was good, but pretty typical Italian fare.