A Big Bowl of Shoyu Ramen in Oslo (Hrimnir Ramen)

What I ordered: Shoyu ramen with mushrooms, and a side of pickled shiitake and cauliflower

Picture this: you just spent four days abroad in Oslo, Norway, with a group of 3 brand-new friends...these friends might have just restored your faith in humanity. For four straight days, you learned their deepest darkest secrets, you explored museums with them, you drank and played card games every night until the sun came up. They eventually left you to continue with their travels, leaving you with one solo evening in Oslo.

That was me on August 3rd. It was a perfectly partly-cloudy Norwegian day, and all I was craving was something hearty, nourishing, and SALTY. I decided to dine at Hrimnir Ramen, at the top of a picturesque hill near the opera house.

This was the perfect bowl of ramen. The Celeriac root based broth was fragrant and savory, the perfect base for the toppings, which were the star of the show. Atop the generous amount of thin, fresh, chewy noodles, sat some pickled daikon coins, spring onions, fried cabbage, and a copious amount of the crispiest, meatiest, and most flavorful mushrooms. The bowl was finished with a green (scallion?) oil. Nothing about this ramen was too one-note, too salty, or too rich– rather, it was fresh and light, but majorly amped up by the textures of the toppings.

THE SIDE DISH LET ME TELL YOU NOW ABOUT THIS SIDE DISH. I decided to order a small side of pickled shiitake mushrooms and cauliflower... just for a little extra fresh bite. This ended up being one of the most intricately flavored bites I've ever experienced. I would love to know what these veggies were pickled with, the only flavors I could identify were chili oil, something sweet, something vinegary, and some black sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Wow wow wow who would've known that the dish I impulsively ordered would end up being the most memorable.

There's something beautiful about the experiences we have when we stop trying to predict how everything will turn out. I was reminded during my time in Oslo that the best parts of life rarely announce themselves beforehand. I think that's one of the reasons why this meal tasted so special to me. It wasn't the perfectly balanced ramen or the insane pickled veggies... it was the feeling of being somewhere unfamiliar, doing something unexpected, and realizing that I am perfectly capable of finding joy in the unknown.