Hrímnir Ramen Pop-Up A Nordic Variety of the Japanese Noodle Soup

Hrímnir is a brand new ramen pop-up restaurant in Copenhagen. At the moment you can find them at Spisehuset in Copenhagen, on Sundays and Mondays from 17.00 till 21.00. Yes, that’s in the same house as the pop-up Skeletske & Vin, which I wrote about in January. The exact location is Slagtehusgade 5C in the brown/green/grey part of Kødbyen. The name Hrímnir is taken from Norse mythology, which seems to be a huge inspiration for these guys. It means covered in soot or char and refers to the charcoal cooked meat they are putting in the ramen. The first Hrímnir ramen pop-up was on January 18th at Ved Stranden 10, which happens to be my favorite wine bar in Copenhagen.

We actually started this day by sharing a late breakfast at another ramen joint: Ramen To Bíiru by Mikkeller. A concept worthy an update of its own, so check back here in a week or so. Fast forward through a few glasses of wine at Manfreds and we were ready for another ramen lunch. An Uber brought us back to Spisehuset, where we had visited Solfinn the previous evening on the final day of Skeletske & Vin. All that was left from Solfinn were his bottles of wine from Rødder & Vin, now offered at very generous prices by the new pop-up immigrant.

Ramen is commonly associated with Japan, although it might actually have a Chinese origin. In either case, ramen has always been subject to regional varieties. Hrímnir introduces a Nordic version, and get this: the idea came from a research scientist! According to Murmur.dk David Quist is a microbiologist and a specialist in fungi. Fungi are used for both food preservation and flavor enhancement, e.g. through techniques like fermentation. In his current ramen, he has used shio-koji, which is a fungi that enhances the umami flavor of the dish and adds saltiness to the broth. Most of the other ingredients are local and seasonal. David has a passion for sustainability and the long-term goal is tho make the world’s first organic-certified ramen joint. To insure the authenticity David has teamed up with a trained ramen chef. The result is simply delicous.

Shortly after we sat down to eat, a familiar face appeared in the door. It was Rosio Sanchez, the former Noma pastry chef, who I’ve gotten to know from my many visits to Hija de Sanchez. Then, Magnus Kofoed of Kadeau popped his head in too and gave us a smile, but disappeared just as quickly when he realized the place was packed. Rosio could reveal that her latest project was a new location of Hija. This time as a proper restaurant, located right here in the area of Kødbyen. We gave Rosio the rest of our wine bottle before we rushed out the door to catch dinner at Eldorado. Another Uber made sure we arrived just in time for our reservation and, lo and behold, we were met in the door by a hug from Magnus. He had decided to eat at his own joint instead.

Where did you eat your best-ever ramen? Please leave a comment below.