When the Gourmet Belly goes travelling, the priorities are normally: eat well, do some sight seeing, get amongst the nightlife, and perhaps throw in some shopping for good measure. But on this particular trip to Copenhagen, it was purely for a reservation at Noma.

Noma, derived by two Danish words “nordisk” (Nordic) and “mad” (food), currently holds the top spot in the San Pellagrino rankings after overtaking the likes of El Bulli and The Fat Duck to be crowned, “World’s Best Restaurant”. Head chef René Redzepi, also scooped the “Chef’s Choice” award at the same awards ceremony.

Our party were given a warm welcome by the floor staff and shown to our tables, where our food journey we had flown all the way to Copenhagen for, would begin.

To whet the appetite, we were presented with nine different amuse-bouches which not only got the belly going, but had all our senses tantalised.

These were extraordinary.

The Rye bread with lump fish roe and chicken skin impressed us. This was the perfect marriage of flavours and textures – crispy, smooth, salty, creamy and crunchy. But the starters that best summed up Redzepi’s unique use of foraging forays and molecular gastronomy, were the radishes in a terracotta pot with toasted malt disguised as soil – totally fun to eat; and the pickled and smoked quails eggs. Beautifully boiled, the egg yolk burst in my mouth with a rich smokey flavour.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur as nine main courses would follow, each brought out by a different chef or waiter with a story to tell about the origins of the produce used in their specific dish.

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Highlights were the razor clams and the crunchy chestnuts, both of which were incredibly tasty. Now I hate wasting food…and more so when it’s wasting any part of possibly the most expensive meal of my life. The watercress and grains which came with freeze dried scallops had such a pungent grassy flavour, reminding me of wheatgerm which I struggle to stomach, forcing me to leave most of this dish on my plate. Sacrilegious indeed.

The desserts were surprisingly the pièce de résistance of the entire meal. The Snowman, which was a playful presentation of yogurt snow, yogurt cream meringue and a delicious oozing of lingonberry sauce when we split the creation into two, was the clear favourite; while the smoked bone marrow caramels from the petit four selection were strangely moreish.

And just when I thought the experience couldn’t get any better, our lovely Australian chef Beau offered to take us for a tour around the kitchen!! *Squeal*.

At £230 per head for the 9 amuse bouche, 12 courses, petit fours, a couple of bottles of wines and service for the table, it’s difficult to say whether this was my best meal EVER, but this was definitely in my top 5. Not a cheap lunch, and not exactly a carnivore’s heaven with only one meat dish on the menu, but it’s an absolute must for any true foodie to experience at least once in your lifetime.

Gourmet Belly will be waiting with anticipation to see whether Noma manages to retain its top spot when the 2011 World Best Restaurant Awards take place in London next month. Watch this space!