Scan Magazine | Best Restaurant in Western Norway | XL Diner
XL Diner is located right on the harbour.
old way,” explains Breivik. “Klipfish has been my signature dish since I became a chef many years ago, and I’ve travelled the world making it.” Restaurant Manager Aarseth has worked with klipfish since he learnt to walk and joined the XL Diner team in 2001, two years after they opened. Equally, Breivik has worked hard to put klipfish on the map by travelling through places
like Portugal, Brazil and Spain doing cookery shows and learning new takes on bacalao.
also adds that, traditionally, a Portuguese woman will not be married until she knows a new bacalao dish for every day.
“I met so many good old grandmothers who taught me all their tricks,” he laughs. “I learnt how they created their bacalao dishes, which were passed down through families, and I got a really good understanding of how they cooked it in the southern regions at a young age.” Breivik
“When I started out, 15 years ago, you couldn’t find bacalao and klipfish in Norway, but now it is almost like a national dish, which is really popular not just as an item on a restaurant menu but also in people’s homes. It’s the ocean’s Parma ham,” says the chef.
The food is prepared by chefs Ivar Breivik and Roar Aarseth.
What exactly is klipfish and bacalao? Klipfish is salted and dried cod, and bacalao is simply the Spanish word for cod. As a dish, the latter refers to a meal using klipfish – usually in a red tomato sauce, but there are thousands of variations of it, often passed down through generations. XL Diner What? Bacalao restaurant. Where? Ålesund city centre, Norway. What is on the menu? Mainly klipfish and bacalao, but also local meat and fish. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 5pm-11pm (kitchen closes at 10.30pm).
For more information, please visit: www.xlgruppen.no
48 | Issue 100 | May 2017