But while in line at the Copenhagen airport check-in counter (on our way to Reykjavik), the people in front of us were Icelanders so they gave us some useful tips.
We gathered from them that locals don’t really eat the exotic foods promoted in blogs. It was more common during their parents’ or grandparents’ time. They said that the only time they eat traditional Icelandic food is during their annual food festival.
This was also validated by our city tour guide when she shared that only her mom in the entire clan likes to eat sheep head especially the sheep's cheek and eyes, and that she doesn’t understand why she likes it so much. When she said "sheep head", I didn’t realize it’s literally a sheep head until one time, we were at the BSI Bus Terminal cafeteria waiting for our tour bus and I saw it on the menu!
Here’s how a sheep head looks like - I took a photo of an ad I saw in one of the travel brochures -
Anyway, here are some of the foods I tried in Iceland - from regular to exotic ones:
1. Skyr. This is Iceland’s version of the yoghurt but it's creamier and even thicker than Greek yoghurt. They say it has the highest amount of protein among all kinds of yoghurt. It comes in different flavors and also has a drink variant for those who prefer it as a beverage.
I asked the Icelander at the airport if it’s really, really good and he goes - All hotdogs whether in Copenhagen or Iceland are good! Hahaha…
The verdict? The Icelander was right. All hotdogs in Iceland and Copenhagen are yummy. Haha... I think what makes the hotdogs yummy there are their cronions (fried onions) and their special sauce that blends well with mustard and ketchup.
You could also have chaser - Brennivin or Black Death - when you eat rotten shark. Brennivin is Iceland's most popular alcohol drink. It's made from fermented potatoes and caraway (a kind of cumin). Nope, I didn't have it - its alcohol content is more than 30%. Wahaha...
Notice that underneath the fish and lamb in the Icelandic Plate sampler, there's some dark bread? That's Icelandic rye bread. It's eaten not as a pastry but usually with fish or meat or plain butter. Sometimes, Icelanders cook rye bread underground. They put the dough in a wooden container and bury it underground close to a hot spring (see photo below). It's baked the next day. :)
4. Dried fish (usually cod or haddock). This is how their dried fish looks like - it's like fish jerky. It's best lathered with butter.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, the lamb in Iceland is super good because they are free range - roaming on hills. One of our tour guides said - You know why our lamb is good? Because our lamb eat a lot of grass and herbs so they are seasoning themselves while they are still alive. Hahahaha....
8. Peppercorn Minke Whale Steak. Based on information online, the minke whale is not an endangered species - at least not yet. But here's how they serve it in Iceland. No need to put any sauce because it's super tasty already. I read you can eat it raw too.
Just remember, if you want to eat like the locals, remove all the exotic foods from your list and stick to skyr, hotdog, rye bread, regular fishes like trout and salmon, lamb, and of course the yummy lobster soup and Icelandic meat soup. :)
Check out my other posts about Iceland:
Top 10 travel tips when visiting Iceland
Top things to see and what tours to join in Iceland
Top things to do in the city of Reykjavik
How can you eat that? :(
But I did some research and apparently there’s a good reason how eating a sheep head came to be. It originated at a time when Iceland was still a poor country and the farmers would make the most of anything they could eat. They couldn't afford to let any part of an animal go to waste. That's also the reason why they also eat ram testicles.
Anyway, here are some of the foods I tried in Iceland - from regular to exotic ones:
1. Skyr. This is Iceland’s version of the yoghurt but it's creamier and even thicker than Greek yoghurt. They say it has the highest amount of protein among all kinds of yoghurt. It comes in different flavors and also has a drink variant for those who prefer it as a beverage.
2. Hotdog Sandwich. There’s this very popular hotdog sandwich that everyone raves about online. It’s called Baejarins Beztu Pylsur which translates to “The best hotdog in town”.
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| The original stand of Baejarins Beztu Pylsur. Expect long lines. |
I asked the Icelander at the airport if it’s really, really good and he goes - All hotdogs whether in Copenhagen or Iceland are good! Hahaha…
Because of that, we ate hotdogs in every place we went to including the airport. Haha… But we did try Baejarins Beztu Pylsur (ok, I can’t even spell, pronounce or remember it so let's just stick to calling it the popular hotdog in Iceland! Haha… ).
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| Classic hotdog sandwich from Baejarins Beztu Pylsur with everything on top. |
The verdict? The Icelander was right. All hotdogs in Iceland and Copenhagen are yummy. Haha... I think what makes the hotdogs yummy there are their cronions (fried onions) and their special sauce that blends well with mustard and ketchup.
3. Rotten Shark. The nearest cafe from where we stayed is Cafe Loki (just across the Hallsgrimskirkja - the famous big church landmark in Reykjavik). Cafe Loki specializes on traditional Icelandic food. Here’s how one of their Icelandic Plate sampler looks like -
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| Icelandic Food Plate |
What's in the plate? Rye bread, mashed fish (upper left), smoked trout (upper right), smoked lamb (bottom), dried fish and rotten shark. Yes, the small chunks below are rotten shark. Well, the flesh isn’t technically rotten, it’s just fermented. Very strong taste. It has a kick to it.
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| Rotten shark |
You could also have chaser - Brennivin or Black Death - when you eat rotten shark. Brennivin is Iceland's most popular alcohol drink. It's made from fermented potatoes and caraway (a kind of cumin). Nope, I didn't have it - its alcohol content is more than 30%. Wahaha...
Notice that underneath the fish and lamb in the Icelandic Plate sampler, there's some dark bread? That's Icelandic rye bread. It's eaten not as a pastry but usually with fish or meat or plain butter. Sometimes, Icelanders cook rye bread underground. They put the dough in a wooden container and bury it underground close to a hot spring (see photo below). It's baked the next day. :)
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| Underneath this mound is rye bread being cooked. |
4. Dried fish (usually cod or haddock). This is how their dried fish looks like - it's like fish jerky. It's best lathered with butter.
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| Dried Fish |
When you initially put it in your mouth, it feels rubbery and hard to chew. But as it stays longer in your mouth and with the help of the butter, it becomes softer and easier to chew. It tastes good!:)
5. Lobster Soup. In one blog I’ve read, it says that this is considered as street food in Reykjavik but we had a hard time looking for eateries that serve it. We only found it in one seafood restaurant by the harbour. Super yum!
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| Lobster Soup |
6. Icelandic Meat (Lamb) Soup. I totally fell in love with this soup. It's commonly available in restaurants and I had it every lunch and dinner everyday. Wahaha...
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| Icelandic Meat/Lamb Soup |
7. Sheep head jelly. If you cannot stomach eating the real sheep head, this is an alternative - sheep head jelly (the 2 jelly strips in the middle). They just mixed whatever you can eat from the sheep head (eyes, cheek, tongue) and served it in jelly form. It's eaten as a bread topping.
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| Sheep Head jelly |
8. Peppercorn Minke Whale Steak. Based on information online, the minke whale is not an endangered species - at least not yet. But here's how they serve it in Iceland. No need to put any sauce because it's super tasty already. I read you can eat it raw too.
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| Peppercorn minke whale steak |
Just remember, if you want to eat like the locals, remove all the exotic foods from your list and stick to skyr, hotdog, rye bread, regular fishes like trout and salmon, lamb, and of course the yummy lobster soup and Icelandic meat soup. :)
Check out my other posts about Iceland:
Top 10 travel tips when visiting Iceland
Top things to see and what tours to join in Iceland
Top things to do in the city of Reykjavik
