I LIKED the potatoes, served whole and mashed, first with breaded meatballs, then with crispy fried pollock fillet on rye bread at DenHygge, a new Danish restaurant in Petaling Jaya.

I enjoyed the fish fillet too, paired with boiled potatoes drenched with remoulade, a pungent, tangy creamy sauce with herbs, similar to mayonnaise. The breaded meatball, which was sliced in two, to be shared, was served with a whole boiled potato smothered with a delicious, buttery brown sauce. Potatoes are a huge part of the daily meals of the Danish.

Den Hygge, at Empire Damansara, exudes warmth, with a mock fireplace, a “timber log” wall, flooring and wooden tables and chairs. This is in keeping with the Danish concept of “hygge”, which is to live a cosy, comfortable lifestyle with all the good things and with good people.

The Danish are also known for their smorrebrod, or single open rye-bread sandwiches. Hard to resist were the egg and shrimps served on toasted white bread with mayo, caviar and lemon.

Paprika pork tenderloin stew with cocktail sausages and bacon in a creamy sauce, served on mashed potato, was the special of the day. It was a flavourful stew with tender cubes of pork, sausages and mushrooms, ladled over creamy and smooth mashed potato. The meat and sauce were a little tingly from the paprika and tasted so good with the mash.

We had roast beef on rye bread with remoulade, horseradish and fried onion. It’s an attractive open sandwich, something I would enjoy as a light lunch. The thinly sliced beef, tangy remoulade, horseradish and cucumber pickles all came together deliciously, so much so that the rye bread at the bottom was hardly noticeable.

We couldn’t resist the pork liver pate on rye bread with pickled cucumber and beetroot, and fried bacon. This was a thick, rich pate, two slices of which sat on the bread, with the pickles and crispy fried bacon to crunch on. Altogether it was a happy combination.

We would have got to the rullepolse too, on rye bread with onion and aspic, but decided that should be takeaway. Rullepolse is pork belly seasoned with spices, rolled up and thinly sliced. I made a really good sandwich with this recently.

I also took home roast beef slices (for more sandwiches) and a smoky chicken salad topped with bacon. 

Dessert was Danish apple cake with stewed apple, macaron and fine vanilla cream with a topping of red currant jelly. The apple was lightly sweet and sour, a perfect match for the cream and jelly.

The food is reasonably priced at DenHygge, run by Niels, who is Danish, and his Russian wife Olga. 

The open sandwiches cost from RM18 to RM22. The paprika pork stew was RM50 for a huge portion, part of which I took home. The chicken salad was RM15 and the Rullepolse and roast beef were RM15 per 100g.

DenHygge is at Empire Damansara, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya. Call 012-824 0020, for enquiries. – November 25, 2023.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.