kebabish - oslo, norway

Rating:  6 / 10

After a disastrous fail trying to visit Grønlands "food truck saturday" which consisted of one lone foodtruck and a ton of games for children to play (including screaming infants tugging at despairing parents), I prayed for death and fled the scene with my partner in crime to find solace in silence.

There were precious few options we hadn't tried left, but Kebabish was a spot I had eaten at more than a decade ago and couldn't remember anything at all. Whether that's a good or a bad thing would remain to be seen.

We arrived at 15:03 when the cashier was hastily pulling down the billboard advertising their lunchtime thali for 99Kr. I pleaded with the chef asking if it was ok to order and he nodded assuredly and motioned for us to take a load off. The room was empty save for the distant scream of petulant kids from the floor above. It seems in this part of town, escaping the shrill venom of toddlers is impossible. C'est la vie. 

Due to the famishing seduction of extreme hunger, the first bites were probably better than the latter. Excitement grew dipping stainless steel spoons into different curries, adding some rice and nodding along in quiet satisfation. The food was good, but it wasn't great. 

Of the thali's array of treats, my personal favourite was the channa masala. The tandoori chicken "wings" were a novel touch I hadn't seen before, the rice was ricey and the naan was average. A bang on fine, creamy chicken curry and a slightly sweet dipping sauce in the middle along with token salad rounded off the 99kr offering.

Having not tried the A La Carte menu, but being slightly disturbed by the high prices, I decided that the Thali would earn the place an extra point due to the incredible value for money, especially being downtown Oslo.

It was a hundred times better than the "Made for Norwegians" shit-show Punjab Tandoori down the road, but it definitely was not the creme-de-la-creme of Indian food in Norway. More one of those good spots to get seriously full for under a hundred if you happen to be in the neighborhood between midday and three and catch the lunch special. 

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.