I woke up this morning with an epiphany: the separate thin single blanket we had in the hotel room was one of the best couple-bedding-related inventions. Fafa, of course, completely disagreed. Classic.
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, Le Kock, where I discovered a surprisingly delightful combo—scrambled eggs generously drizzled with olive oil. I also tried Skyr, Iceland’s iconic yoghurt, paired with honey and berries. It’s thick, creamy, and unlike any yoghurt I’ve had before.
While I did morning pages journaling in the same spot, Fafa snuck out to the adjoining bakery, Deig, to check out the pastries that had been sold out for the past two days. I suggested their Insta-famous crème brûlée doughnuts, but he came back with a Constanza. I suspected he bought it because of the name — but my lord, that sandwich was mouthwateringly delicious.
After breakfast, we set out to explore Reykjavik‘s city centre. We visited the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church and wandered down Rainbow Street. Along the way, I picked up a few more souvenirs, mostly for myself. I spent a good five minutes debating whether to get a puffin plushie before deciding on a puffin beanie from a beloved local store. It ain’t cheap, but then again, everything is very expensive in Iceland.
A random observation: I feel a strong presence of Indonesia in Iceland — from the Indonesian restaurant in the food court and the Berjaya Hotel (Malaysian owner), to an Indonesian blogger writing about her life in Iceland, and even the strong pronunciation of the rolled ‘R’ in the Icelandic language. That last one made me feel just a little bit closer to Bahasa, with its similarly strong ‘R’ sound.
As we walked through the city, I couldn’t stop snapping photos of the houses. There’s something so charming about them—brightly colored exteriors, large windows, and minimal decor. It’s such a contrast to places like Amsterdam, where the apartments are smaller but lavishly decorated inside. Many of the houses here have these cute little staircases leading up to the front doors. Cute.
For lunch, we returned to the restaurant where we’d had dessert the day before, Loki. This time, we went all in. I ordered the lamb shank, which was rich and delicious. I also tried hardfiskur, a traditional Icelandic snack made of dried fish. It’s salty, chewy, and best eaten with a generous smear of butter. While it’s usually made from cod, I’d not be able to identify it.
Later in the day, we made a last-minute decision to visit Sky Lagoon, in lieu of a stationary haul at Nakano and a book crawl (both of which are now sitting in my Iceland bucket list). The trade-off was worth it, though. We went through the full Seven-Step Ritual and child by the lagoon most of the evening. By the end of it, we were completely relaxed, soaked in zen and slightly hungry.
I had initially booked a table months ago at Austur-Indíafjelagið, one of Reykjavik’s most renowned restaurants. However, based on a recommendation from Tomas, the local food tour guide, we decided to try OTO, a new-ish Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant.
And wow—did we make the right choice.
Everything was divine. We started with crispy nori and the star of the show: pork belly yakitori, which might just be the best thing we ate in all of Iceland. For mains, we shared hand-dived (not sure why this part is necessary to be mentioned) scallops along with a plate of steak served with mushrooms.
If you have only tried one restaurant in Reykjavik, let it be OTO.
One final (and slightly petty) note from today: I was reminded how terrible Melbourne sourdough is. I had forgotten how dense and disappointing it was until I ate real, crusty, delicious sourdough. Travel really does change you, even if it’s by bringing you back to the real reality.
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[…] first meal in Iceland was Indonesian food in Reykjavík— which, if you’ve ever been there, is pretty cool when you consider how remote the place feels, […]