SWEDEN – Page 5 – Scandelights

Dinner at Eatery Social, Malmö, Sweden

Published on September 1, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

Malmö has changed a lot lately. For the better, I might add. The area near the Central station which was all bare before now hosts the new addition Malmö Live; a cluster of three modern looking buildings just by the river containing a new four star hotel, a conference centre and a new concert hall.

I really wanted to try the restaurants, both from patron chef Marcus Samuelsson. Eatery Social is the larger fun one on the ground floor serving tacos and the likes. Kitchen & Table is more formal (and a lot smaller) and shares the top floor with the popular sky bar. But even though I visited the hotel twice, I went Eatery Social both times, so Kitchen & Table will have to wait.

Javing been twice to a restaurant in the space of two weeks I feel I can certainly give a fair review. The first evening I was here with Emma and Claes and we started the evening with a mojito each in the outside bar. Good cocktails!

We were all extremely hungry and soon ventured inside to find our table and order something quickly. We agreed on the nachos with chorizo and it was so delicious we order another two plates of it.

We also shared a quesadilla la nina, which I thought was quite bland. After that it was all about the tacos.

The scallops and mango ones were good but the mango took over a bit too much. The chicken and refried beans taco was actually not nice at all, but the flank steak taco was delicious!

We were still a bit peckish (I said we were hungry!) after all that and ordered a serving of crispy sweet potato fries with spicy mayo.

Finishing the meal we decided to share two puddings; the churros with chocolate crème and cream cheese ice cream and an ice cream cone with three flavours (coffee, coconut and berry sorbet). Sadly none of them were amazing but we all liked the coffee ice cream and the churros.

I may sound very critical of the place, but I’m not. For the type of restaurant and what you pay it’s a nice place. OK, I would be really happy if the reworked the chicken taco but some other dishes were really nice; like the nachos with chorizo and the flank steak tacos.

The second time I came here was a busy Friday night and we were a table of 14, something I don’t recommend. We had all pre-ordered the food but it arrived bit by bit so we couldn’t all eat at the same time and ordering drinks was confusing too. This time Emma, Claes and I shared our favourite dishes from our last visit (chorizo nachos, flank steak tacos, sweet potato fries) and were really happy with the food. But some of the other dishes, like the seabass for two looked really nice as well.

All in all I think this is a great place. It’s not fancy but fun, bustling and good value for money.

Eatery Social Taqueria, Clarion Hotel & Congress Malmö Live, Dag Hammarskjölds torg 2, 211 18 Malmö

Fika at Slottsträdgårdens café, Malmö, Sweden

Published on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 by Hanna2 Comments

Fika is one of my favourite Swedish words. It covers a whole range of foods that you can have with a cup of coffee or tea. Openfaced sandwiches. Cake. Biscuits. Cake and biscuits.

In my parents’ house we have a lot of fika . If you get up early you have fika in between breakfast and lunch, and for lunch, if you’re not having hot food, you can have fika again. Then you have afternoon fika and after-dinner fika.

Two weekends ago when I was in Malmö on the Sunday I had fika with my parents and we went to probably the cosiest café in town, Slottsträdgårdens café, located in the park near the castle (the museum). The grounds are wonderful right now with a tulip exhibition and flowering cherry trees.

You can either sit in a green house or outside; we did both as it was chilly when we got there but later when the sun came out it was nice to soak up some sun outside.

For the fika my mother and I both had the raspberry and rhubarb crumble with custard while my father had a cinnamon bun. We also had coffee and organic juices and iced tea. All very good!

Slottsträdgårdens kafé, Malmöhusvägen 8, 211 18 Malmö, Sweden

Brunch at Salt & Brygga, Malmö, Sweden

Published on May 18, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The weekend before last I went home to Southern Sweden for a wedding. It was my childhood friend Tobias who got hitched and it was so much fun seeing him and his Malin say I do and dance the night away with old friends. To make the most of a weekend at home I had brunch with my parents, my bestie Emma and her husband Claes the next day in Malmö.

We went to a restaurant in the West Harbour called Salt & Brygga. They have new owners and have recently started doing brunch we thought we’d check it out. Instead of a buffet (that’s the usual way for brunch in Sweden) it was table service and instead of a big menu they had a set thing on the menu. First vanilla yoghurt with homemade granola then a plate with an array of brunch items (like a smorgasbord on a plate).

We had scramled eggs and bacon, roasted new potatoes, sauerkraut, prawns, mozzarella salad, sausages, brie, melon and parma ham. And nice baguette on the side.

I prefer this to the buffet setup as you don’t have to queue and deal with other people’s mess, yet you get to sample different foods. It felt nice and fresh and the food was well cooked.

Salt & Brygga, Sundspromenaden 7, 211 16 Malmö, Sweden

Brunch at Berns Asiatiska, Stockholm

Published on February 26, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

On the Sunday in Stockholm Carina had booked brunch for us at Berns Asiatiska and Emma and myself will be for always grateful. It was such an amazing brunch for three sushi lovers like us!

Look at this. We queued a few times by the sushi bar to fill our plates; the sushi chefs were definitely kept busy. There was tuna, salmon and scallop sashimi which were all very nice but the scallop sashimi was absolutely fantastic!

There were also plenty of maki rolls and they were also utterly delicious. The nigiri were just as amazing. This is the best sushi I’ve ever had in Sweden!

Here’s my first (of several) plate(s). It looks like a lot, but we’d been out the night before and the rolls were actually not too big which meant we could eat more.

Even though we loved the sushi there were plenty of other foods to try as well so we did a proper lap around the restaurant. The asian flavoured oysters with coriander were delicious.

The dumplings were nice too, but I could have done with some more flavours since I love dumplings. There were also lots of other nice food such as ribs, nudel salads, spring rolls, stews etc. They really covered everything.

And the pudding buffé was just as nice. This picture shows about a third of it. I prefer sushi over dessert any day but still had to try two small pots, the lemongrass crème brulee was nice but far too rich for me after all that food but a pixie pot of yoghurt mousse was perfect to end the meal.

Berns Asiatiska, Berzelii Park, 103 27 Stockholm

Dinner at Matbaren, Stockholm

Published on February 19, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

I chose the dinner restaurant for the Stockholm trip carefully; I wanted it to have amazing food (of course), have food my non-foodie friends would enjoy and a nice atmosphere and I think I did very well choosing Matbaren from those parameters. The restaurant is a contemporary bistro with one star, and more casual than chef Mathias Dahlgren’s two-starred Matsalen.

When we were showed to our table (starving after having danced around Carina’s flat to 80s tunes) the menu as well as a paper bag with three types of crispbread and butter was already on the table.

We then ordered a bottle of wine and after having finished the crispbread we were served nice sourdough slices. The concept here is small plates and the staff recommend you order one at the time, which worked really well; the kitchen was utterly efficient (it’s the Swedish way!). My first dish was amazing. Smooth potato purée, 53 degree egg (which means it’s super creamy), crispy potato sticks and shaved black truffle.

Carina and Emma both chose the aubergine purée with delicious beetroots and sesame seeds. They both really enjoyed the dish, but the pricing was a bit off as quite expensive but not containing any fancy ingredients.

Our first courses were quite filling and Carina was full already, but Emma and I needed (and wanted) more food, so we decided to share two dishes. The first one was the above chicken kebab in a Chinese steamed bun with yoghurt sauce. Fun fusion and so very delicious!

We also shared this plate of Swedish sashimi. It was pretty as a picture and absolutely amazing. The oyster crème in the middle was to die for and the fish just melted in the mouth.

We were very content after these dishes and asked for the bill, skipping pudding. And I am glad we did as this big bowl of sweets were put in front of us. The madeleines with almonds, lemon and poppy seed were fantastic and the peanut fudge was lovely as well. Such a nice way to end the meal!

I really enjoyed Matbaren, just as I thought I would. The menu was nice and varied, the dishes interesting and modern (and of course very well executed), the ambiance nice and the service friendly and efficient. The only thing I can’t seem to get to when eating out in Sweden is the wine prices, but that’s not the restaurant’s fault.

Matbaren, Grand Hotel, Södra Blasieholmshamnen 6, 111 48 Stockholm, Sweden

Cava and pinxtos at Boqueria, Stockholm

Published on February 18, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

It was snowing in Stockholm two weekends ago so after walking around for a bit on the Saturday after a very late breakfast we were happy to escape the cold and look around a shopping centre. We got bored fairly quickly though and went to a pinxtos bar in the shopping centre and had a glass of cava. And then another. And then had some pinxtos.

2015-02-07 13.23.07

It was a really nice setting (especially for being in a shopping centre!) with high ceilings, natural light and lots of tables scattered around the atrium with the bar in the middle. Close by was the proper restaurant but we preferred the bar.

The pinxtos were not nearly as good as the real deal in Spain’s Basque Region, but for being served in Sweden they were nice. We had some with serrano ham and Manchego and I also tried a seafood one and one with chicken and tarragon. The olives and Spanish almonds were great!

Boqueria, Jakobsbergsgatan 17, 111 44 Stockholm, Sweden

London life and a weekend in Stockholm

Published on February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

How is it February already?! Wasn’t it just the beginning of January?! I wish someone had prepared me for the increasing speed of time as you get older. I miss feeling like a summer is endless and that you might even get bored. No chance of that when life happens in turbo speed…

One the plus side it means spring is almost here, yay! (But on the bad side, it will be over pretty quickly…)

Last weekend consisted mainly of going out so this week has been quite calm. My flatmate and I have watched the first season of Broadchurch (so good!) and on Tuesday I meet up with Laura for wine and dinner at Carluccio’s.

This upcoming weekend I’m trading London for Stockholm and I am so excited to hang out with two of my best friends for a whole weekend! We’re going to eat well, go for brunch, hang out and catch up properly. Only thing I’m not so excited about is the snow and ice but I have my curling boots so should be fine.

New Year’s Eve 2014

Published on January 16, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

New Year’s Eve was just as great as we’d hoped. Our little gang (Emma, Claes, Linus and me) started with lunch at Marchal in Copenhagen (review to come), walked around the city and stopped for cava at a bar before taking the train back to Sweden. After a change of clothes we were ready for the evening festivities.

We started with my favourite champagne (Pol Roger Brut Réserve), gougères (recipe to follow later) as well as butter-fried bread, Kalix caviar (Swedish bleak roe), creme fraiche and chopped red onions. A real Scandi classic that we never get tired of!

We then continued on the ‘simple yet delicious’ theme with fresh lobsters with garlic and parsley butter and baguette and Les Sétilles, Bourgogne 2012 to drink.

The main course was a bit more complex, but I had prepped most of it in advance. Fillet of beef with potato parcels, Jerusalem artichoke purée, oyster mushrooms, steamed carrots and red wine jus. Brolio Chianti Classico 2012 to drink.

And here somewhere we lost track of time and realised 30 minutes before midnight that we would not have time for pudding beforehand, so instead we went outside to watch the fire work display organised by Malmö town, which was really nice! To toast in the new year we had Charles de Fère Brut Mérite; a nice French sprarkling.

Back in the flat again I made my way into the kitchen and made a baked Alaska with crispy oats, passionfruit and raspberries that went down really well around 1am! (Recipe to follow).

Dinner at B.A.R., Malmö, Sweden – one year later

Published on January 13, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

My first evening in Sweden before Christmas I spent with dear friends. First lunch with my bestie and then we gathered a bunch of friends in her and her husbands’ flat for some bubbly and snacks before going out for dinner at B.A.R.

Almost the same group of people went to this restaurant the year before as well, so it was fun to go back and compare. We were even seated in the same area and had another lovely evening with fantastic food, great wines and lots of laughter. Thanks guys for lovely get together!

The food so, was just as nice as the previous year. For some it was a bit strange to eat lamb’s heart but I think everyone enjoyed it in the end and I thought the dish was splendid.

But we started with their nice sourdough and beautifully whipped butter.

The first course was cured pollock with celeriac. It was nice and a fun take on different textures.

Next up was the lamb’s heart which was incredibly tender and thinly sliced. Mine was served with beetroots, capers, Jerusalem artichoke crisps and fresh horseradish.

The others had their hearts with red cabbage and crispy kale and that was a lovely dish too.

The pork with baked heritage carrot, red onions and lingonberries was very tasty and quite filling.

The wines we got recommended with our meal were as nice as the food, and this peppery red (La Stoppa Trebbolio Rosso 2012) we were served with the pork was especially good.

The pudding was similar to last year’s but I liked this one better; the salted caramel sauce with thyme was amazing! When photographing the dish my friend Tobias suggested I should be in the picture too, so I made him take a selfie of us! My friends thought I should continue to be in the pictures, but I prefer to showcase the food on its own, but occasionally I can post a picture of myself too.

B.A.R. Malmö, Erik Dahlbergsgatan 3, 211 48 Malmö, Sweden

Brunch at home

Published on January 10, 2015January 9, 2015 by Hanna2 Comments

Between Christmas and New Year I gathered some of my friends at my parents’ house for some brunch and considering there were quite a few adults and four kids it worked out really well. Everyone could eat when they wanted and it was much more relaxed than a sit down lunch – exactly what I was going for.

The fortunate non-drivers got a Buck’s Fizz or Mimosa (orange juice and bubbly) on arrival while the others had the choice of plain orange juice, tea and coffee.

The brunch buffet also had homemade raspberry smoothies, bread, cheeses, cream cheese with sundried tomatoes, meats, fruit, freshly cut vegetables, jam, baked eggs (recipe to follow), crispy bacon, Mexican corn bread and delicious brownies (recipe to follow later).

It was lovely to hang out with my friends in such a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks mummy for pouring coffee and thanks to all my friends for coming!