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Test your taste buds in Iceland
Iceland‘s most notorious delicacy hákarl (rotten shark) may have made Gordon Ramsay‘s stomach turn on the The F-Word but curious foodies can sample some for themselves from 25th January to 23rd February 2009 during Thorrablot – Iceland’s annual mid-winter Viking feast. Join the locals for the month-long festivities and try unusual Viking dishes such as boiled sheep’s head (svið) and congealed sheep’s blood wrapped in a ram’s stomach (blóðmör) washed down a stiff shot of Brennivin or ‘black death’ – a potent schnapps.
After the traditional Thorrablot feast songs, games and story-telling are accompanied by dancing and in true Icelandic style continue in to the early hours of the morning! Throughout the celebration participating restaurants in Reykjavik including Restaurant Reykjavik and Mulakaffi add Thorrablot colour and taste to their menus.
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Well, I did try it. We bought some at the very good deli in the Flea Market in downtown Reykjavik. It comes in little cubes in a sealed plastic pot, and removing the lid unleashes a great wave of ammonia that you can’t quite believe is coming from something you are about to eat. The taste is not that bad, but Heavens the smell!