You may have heard rumours about the new all plant based fine dining restaurant Silk Road at Skillebekk or perhaps you’ve visited their street food stall at Torggata Bad and are wondering what all the fuss is about.
I had the opportunity to visit Silk Road and test out their 15 course tasting menu. At 695kr I have a feeling that a lot of people will be a little sceptical and keen to know if it’s worth the price tag. Don’t worry! I’ll give you the ins and outs of my dining experience so you can get a feel for what it’s all about before you commit your hard earned cash!
Let’s start off with the concept. The idea behind the tasting menu is to combine organic Norwegian ingredients with the tastes of traditional dishes all along the Silk Road. The experience starts with Venice and ends in Macau at the other end of the Silk Road. Pretty exciting right?
Venice: aubergine in saor, Sicily: marinated squash, Andalusia: fermented salmorejo. Image by veganworldtravelers
My boyfriend and I arrived early on a Sunday evening, having heard rumours that it’d take 2-3 hours we wanted to make sure we’d be finished by around 19:00 as we had concert tickets that evening. At 16:00 we were unsurprisingly the only guests but the staff made us feel welcome and by 17:00 the tables started filling up and we could tell that everyone was given fantastic service with the staff ensuring all guests understand the essence of the concept and the details behind each dish.
Magnus and I glanced at the menu and between us we could only identify about half of the dishes and ingredients on the menu but we were excited to try a lot of new flavours and dishes! The first round of dishes from Venice, Andalusia and Sicily were served by the chef himself and he explained to us with great passion how they have created vegan dishes inspired by traditional foods from these areas and what ingredients they have used. We were then left alone, feeling a little out of our comfort zone with three small portions of beautiful fancy food. We gingerly picked up the cutlery wondering if it was going to taste as good as it looked. Suffice to say we were completely blown away, so much flavour and each of the dishes were unique and combined different textures and tastes.
The dishes from Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Iran were equally as delicious, well thought out and each as beautifully presented as the last. Every dish was passionately explained by the serving staff. At this point I was starting to feel pretty full and when I casually said to Magnus that we’ve got 7 dishes to go the pained expression on his face told me I wasn’t the only one. We powered through Afghanistan and were relieved to find out that the granita from Pakistan was the size of an egg cup. We confessed to the waiter that we were struggling and he explained that one thing they want to ensure is that everyone leaves feeling full, he explained that there is often a misconception that vegan food is not filling and that’s something they want to combat. As he left the table and we loosened our belts Magnus and I agreed that it would be impossible to leave Silk Road not feeling full.
Turkey: kebab. Image by veganworldtravelers
The Tibeten momos came and went and as we gave the chef our compliments and explained how full we were he explained that the next dish is the biggest and is the main course of the tasting menu. At this point Magnus and I exchanged a look, both of us were excruciatingly full. We agreed to at least taste the dishes even if we couldn’t manage them all. Out came the dishes from Szechuan and yes, the portion size was huge. We were defeated and could merely pick at the homemade tofu and fermented noodles. We apologised profusely when the waiter arrived and I made a mental note that next time we should definitely skip breakfast... and possibly dinner the night before. The dessert from Macau arrived and we were told it’s made entirely from potatoes, potato cake, potato cream, everything! Magnus and I were not sure if a cake made entirely of potatoes was the best way to end a 15 course meal but we were pleasantly surprised to find it sweet, light and not at all the picture that ‘potato cake’ conjures up in my mind.
Afghanistan: rice pilau. Image by veganworldtravelers
We end our journey along the Silk Road in agreement that the tasting menu is well worth the 695kr price tag and would be perfect for a birthday or special occasion. If like us you made the error of eating breakfast, you can always opt for the ‘express’ option which is 5 larger portions of some of the dishes on the menu for 495kr. I feel that you would miss out on a lot of the flavours as well as part of the experience. I really would recommend trying out the full tasting menu if you have an empty stomach and 3 hours to enjoy an unforgettable meal.
Macau: batatada. Image by veganworldtravelers
