Under glass

It can be cold in Bodø. The annual mean temperature is 4.5 Centigrades, and in January the average temperature is -2.2 Centigrades. Bodø is also renowned for its chilly winds, so there is no wonder that the locals have built a roof over a part of their main street and made it into a mall.

The mall is called Glasshuset (English: The glass house), and consists of over 70 shops and restaurants. One of the restaurants at Glasshuset is called II. etage, which means First floor in English. The restaurant is, of course, placed on the first floor, and it serves a lot of Asian courses. It also has a nice bar with both wines and spirits.

This time around I was really hungry, so I decided to have a two-course dinner. II. etage offered scallops among their starters, so I had to test out their variant on the shellfish. As my main course I ordered the Chinese fried duck course.

I was served four scallops. They were as tasty as the ones I had eaten at Bodø's Bryggerikaia earlier, but there was no vinegar here. Instead I could enjoy the perfectly fried consistence on the outside and the soft interior of the scallops by themselves. I really liked this version, and in my opinion II. etage does their scallops better than Bryggerikaia.

The duck was served with vegetables and rice. The rice was nearly tasteless, and fortunately the duck sauce was a great paring. The duck itself could have been more crispier, but it was still very nice. The vegetables were cooked to perfection, so in all this was an OK Chinese meal.

To drink I went for draughted beer. At II. etage they serve Nordlandspils lager. Tradistionally Nordlandspils was brewed in Bodø by the local Nordlandsbryggeriet brewery. These days the Carlsberg-owned Norwegian brewery Ringnes owns Nordlandsbryggeriet, and Nordlandspils is no longer being brewed in Bodø. Instead it is brewed in Trondheim by E. C. Dahls brewery, which is another local brewery owned by Ringnes.

Nordlandspils is a pale lager beer. It has a medium carbonation and is served with a very small head that dissolves rather fast. It has a malty and flowery aroma and there is a hint of bitterness to its taste. The lager beer is very nice and is one of my favourites of its style in Norway. Where some Norwegian lagers are very sweet, it is great finding a nice halfbitter alternative.

Bodø airport is more or less in the city. It takes
five minutes by taxi to reach it from the town centre.