Oslo might not be the most desired tourist destination as other Nordic capitals, it is still worth visiting over a weekend if you live here. We had a relaxed walk around town, visited The Munch Museum and The Vigeland sculpture park on the mountain top. We also tried those two popular vegan cafes.

Nordvegan

To be honest, I didn’t expect anything when it comes to vegan food in Norway’s capital Oslo. I think I would be simply happy if I can find something vegan to eat. That’s why I was surprised when I found Nordvegan actually one of the best vegan restaurants in the whole Nordic region.

The restaurant is located conveniently close to the National Gallery, where I guess everybody wants to get a glimpse of the famous “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (by the way, just so you know, this famous painting is not housed by The Munch Museum, however, you can see another similar themed painting called “Despair” there, as well as other wonderful works.). The decoration follows the simple and elegant Nordic style design: bright and glassed walls towards the street; with theme color of white, gray and green; comfort table, chairs, sofa; wooden boarded wall; low hanging lamps. There is a small backyard that constitutes the outdoor dinning area, where you can combine table and chairs if you have a larger group. I found it comfortable, cosy, clean and modern. Definitely my type of modern vegan eatery!

The food can be ordered at the open counter. Currently there are three options. One is called Buddha’s Bowl for which you pick different types of vegetables, then it’s topped with sauce. Another is Daily Special, which I am guessing it might change from day to day? The third option is to choose a main dish, salad and topping, or a curry, rice/noodle and topping, with the options of adding a small bite (small sized snack), 45 kr per item.

We ordered the Daily Special which is a spicy burger. It consists of two soft sesame buns, a piece of lettuce leaves, a tomato slice, a juicy and chewy patty, fried mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts with mayonnaise. I really love the idea of the fried mushrooms, it made the burger so tasty! The sweet potato wedges that came with the burger tasted good but a little soft, as I like those to be a little more crispy, however the sauce was really good, which made the whole meal very enjoyable.

Another thing we tried was the Buddha’s Bowl. We chose the Udon noodles (since we don’t get to taste it so often), miso eggplant, purple cabbage, pickled turnips from Japan, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, pickled ginger, pickled pineapple, crunchy mushrooms chunks, cashew, sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts, topped with sweet and sour hoisin sauce. The dish was very healthy, light and tasty for the hot summer. It’s a high raw dish combing pickled or slightly cooked food, which made it overall delicious and balanced. It is obviously an fusion inspiration from Asian diet but you can only find in the West, heehee.

Overall, we liked the food and environment very much. If we ever visit Oslo again, Nordvegan is for sure our top 1 choice. I highly recommend anyone who is vegan, vegetarian, conscious eater or healthy eater to satisfy your appetite here.

• Address: Kristian IVs gate 15B, 0164 Oslo, Norway
• Website: https://www.nordvegan.no/

Funky Fresh Food

We went to Funky Fresh Food before we visited The Munch Museum. It wasn't particularly close but we thought it would be a nice walk along the river, then we could cross the botanical garden before reaching the museum.

The place has both outdoor and indoor seating, with also a glass patio as half-indoor, where you can have some green views. Unfortunately the day we arrived was exceptionally hot, and like most Nordic homes there are no air-conditioning here. It feels like an oven inside. So we had to sit outside under some trees. The place not only sells simple meals, but also has nice vegan products on the shelves. They specialize in high raw food, and all the desserts were raw food cheesecakes and they were beautifully done. We had a hard time deciding which one to choose, as they tended to be a bit pricey as well, so we couldn't eat whatever we wanted.

We ordered a dish with burger, salad of fresh leaves and sprouts, potato wedges as well as mayo. It was simply delicious. We seldom get to eat burger with quality salads, so we do appreciate the freshness that came with our burgers. I particularly like that they had pesto sauce on the buns. Another dish we tried was raw food balls, fresh salad, dill sauce and hummus. I also enjoyed the color combination and varieties of food. The portion was quite sufficient, with a piece of berry cheese cake we ended our meals, and we were full and satisfied.

We would love to come back and try some of their other dishes one day. I also highly recommend their desserts if you just want to stop for a cup of coffee.

• Address: Hausmanns gate 16, 0182 Oslo, Norway
• Website: https://www.funkyfreshfoods.no/