Scandelights

Dinner at Fife, Split, Croatia

Published on September 10, 2013 by Hanna4 Comments

When asking anyone about restaurant recommendations in Split, Fife was always among them so we had quite high expectations when we went there. It looks really cosy and was packed with people every evening we walked past.

We knew the restaurant served rustic, hearty food but I guess I still expected a little finesse which was lacking. The food was cooked from scratch and definitely OK but not much better than that.

Seriously generous portions though. This was two portions but could probably feed four.

We had the classic Croatian cevapi which was nice, but not superior others we had elsewhere.

The portion of calamari was enormous and it was pretty good, but I must admit that my own homemade one is even better and since it is such an easy thing to cook I was a bit disappointed by that.

I still think Fife is worth a visit, the atmosphere is great and it is seriously cheap here, just don’t expect anything other than decent basic home cooking.

Fife, Trumbićeva obala 11, 21000, Split, Croatia

Croatia: Split

Published on September 7, 2013September 6, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

After a week on board a yacht it was heaven to sleep in a real bed and have wifi access at the hotel and we certainly needed a few days in Split to rest up and explore the town.

If you’re efficient you won’t need much time exploring Split and although there are a few things to see it is quite quickly done. But there are a few beaches to relax on (some pebbled though so choose carefully) and plenty of nice restaurants around.

The most famous tourist attraction is the Diocletian palace in the centre of town which apparently is one of the most well preserved Roman ruins in the world but the way it was presented with shops and restaurants all over it wasn’t amazing.

One thing I didn’t know about Croatia is that the cravat originates from here. There were several cravat shops around and one of them had this pretty door handle.

Riva (the boardwalk) was pretty but quite touristy so we tried to avoid it at times and enjoy it at times. The view out over the sea and the marina was wonderful though. That’s it from Split for now, but stay tuned for the upcoming restaurant reviews.

Dinner at Antika, Stari Grad, Croatia

Published on September 5, 2013September 5, 2013 by Hanna1 Comment

One of that last night on the yacht we decided to all eat together in pretty Stari Grad, at the Antika restaurant, recommended by our skipper.

It was a cosy courtyard restaurant full to the brim with guests so it was pretty buzzing, but we also noticed there was some kind of children’s play on at the square just adjacent, which created a bit of extra noise. We could have coped with that but then the spectators thought it was fine to stand around us between the tables to cheer and take photos. Needless to say we were rather unimpressed.

Eventually the play ended though and we could finally enjoy our dinner conversation. The food however was very good. Most in our group had the breaded and baked feta salad as a starter. It was huge (consisting of a whole block of feta, breaded and baked plus salad items) so although it was very good I was glad I saved myself for my steak.

From the moment our skipper had mentioned the word steak I knew what I was having and it was probably the best priced piece of fillet steak I’ll ever eat. Very tender too and the creamy gorgonzola sauce with dill was lovely too. Perhaps nor local cuisine, but very good.

Gaby had the seafood in a white wine and tomato sauce which was also delicious. And we even ‘met’ a new type of mullusc. It looked like a cross between a muscle and an oyster, it was cooked like the mussels but you had to open it yourself (i.e. it didn’t open itself while cooking) but neither the taste nor texture was that nice; it was rather chewy and bland. Fun to try though!

Antika, Duonjo kola, Stari Grad, Croatia

Dinner at U Maje i Tonke, Korcula, Croatia

Published on September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Gaby and I realised about halfway through our time in Croatia that we had holidaying down to a T. We planned our days really well, explored the things we wanted to see and even managed to pick the best weather for each activity; the only day with a clear blue sky we spent at the beach and the cloudier ones exploring the city of Split.

But what we were even better at was finding good restaurants with absolutely no prior information.

This cosy place, U Maje i Tonke, in Korcula was one of those restaurants we just stumbled upon. The food is simple but well cooked, the menu cleverly written (in English) and the tables laid with mismatching flowery tablecloths adding to the cosy atmosphere. And, as all Croatian restaurants, it offered good value for money.

We chose to share the two dishes we were both deciding between. They look similar and have several ingredients in common yet tasted completely different. This is a polenta gratin with cured ham, tomato sauce and mild goat’s cheese. Absolutely lovely and fresh! And a new way for me to prepare polenta.

We also had aubergine rolls with cured ham, a sharper goat’s cheese and tomato sauce – absolutely lovely and my favourite.

The restaurant’s signature dish is a board with a selection of starters that looked amazing, and although we were a bit too hungry for that to be enough yet not hungry enough to have that and a maincourse, I do wish we had tried it. Next time…

A glimpse into the kitchen where two ladies cooked all the food from scratch. Definitely worth a visit!

U Maje i Tonke, Trg korčulanskih klesara i kipara 2, 20260 Korcula, Croatia

Dinner at Boccadoro, Vis town, Croatia

Published on September 3, 2013September 3, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Vis town is a really cosy town I wish I’d had some more time to explore. But we did the best we could with the time we had there; exploring one end of town during the day and the old town in the other direction in the evening. There were plenty of gifty shops and art galleries open in the evening but it didn’t feel very touristy (thankfully).

There were also plenty of restaurants to choose from but Gaby and I were very happy with the chouse of Boccadoro. Our skipper recommended it and they offered us a complimentary drunk, not bad.

The restaurant was very romantic with different dimly lit rooms in the courtyard to gice some privacy so I definitely recommend going here with your significant other. However, it wasn’t awkward for us two friends to have dinner here; the other guests were both couples and larger groups.

We shared a starter as we’d learnt by this point that portions are quite large in Croatia. This particular starter wasn’t but the maincourses were generous in size.

The starter consisting of seared tuna, chicory and watermelon was light and fresh and together with the delicious bread and different flavored olive oils to dip it in it was more than enough as an appetizer.

Gaby had the very succulent lamb with gnocchi in a creamy sauce. Absolutely lovely!

I (for once) fancied something lighter and chose the baked seabass en papilliote with vegetables.

The fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned and the abundance of fresh vegetables made it an excellent meal.

This type of cooking is not difficult but especially when I am on holiday I crave this type of straight forward cooking from good produce and when it is seasoned well and cooked to perfection it actually requires a lot of skill.

Boccadoro, Petra Hektorovica 2, 21480 Vis, Croazia

Croatia: the islands

Published on September 2, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

The first part of Gaby’s and my Croatia trip was on board a yacht for six days. It was an organised tour and it was nice to just relax on board and trust our very capable skipper to take us around the islands.

The second day we stopped in Vis town, a cute little town on the small island of Vis. It was popular to rent old VW converibles here, but Gaby and I were quite satisfied just walking around the town in a leisurely pace, going for a swim and having lunch.

We had the local cevapi for lunch, here served with chopped raw onions and ajvar which seemed to be the local condiments to any meat. This simple lunch was really nice but didn’t set us back many pounds at all.

We also walked past this lovely cemetery with a rather spectacular view.

VW beetle convertible.

Our third night we anchored at Vela Luka and got a bus to Korcula town as it would have taken us too long to sail all the way there.

Korcula was pretty and cosy but fairly touristy since it is Marc O’Polo’s home town.

What we liked the most was the cute alleyways all around the town and the excellent restaurant where we had dinner (which will feature in its own post).

The biggest party town is Hvar which was a lot nicer than I had imagined. We were on good form before even reaching Hvar though, here a spot of spontaneous dancing in the water taxi.

The day after Hvar town we sailed to another town on Hvar island called Stari Grad (which means Old Town). It was indeed a pretty old town and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pretty Stari Grad by night. More posts on Croatia to come, both on Split where we rested up for a few days after the sailing trip and on the restaurants we went to.

The Crotia trip in pictures

Published on August 29, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Hello!

I am now back in London and my usual life after ten lovely days in Croatia filled with sunshine, laughter, food, parties, icecream and lots of sleep. Although I itch to tell you all about it, work is quite busy at the moment so let’s start with some photos. More posts about the trip (and especially the food) will come soon though. Stay tuned!

Summer party in Sweden

Published on August 25, 2013August 16, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

For several years running I’ve organised a summer party in our summer house for my friends once a year. Sometimes I’ve had crayfish parties and last year I had a proper 30s bash with three courses and plated food.

This year I went the other way, throwing together a more casual affair, sitting outside with mismatched plates and cutlery, fairly lights in the trees and Beach Boys on the stereo greeting the guests to set the mood.

I’ll post the recipes later but here are some party pics to enjoy.

Lunch at Njutbar, Malmö, Sweden

Published on August 22, 2013August 31, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Even though I go home to Sweden to visit fairly often (at least according to my colleagues) it is difficult to make time for everyone I want to see and everything I want to do. So when I realised that I had time for a lunch in Malmö with my best friend before a joint makeup session (our birthday present to each other) and a dinner party I had to choose carefully. There are quite a few new exciting places in Malmö nowadays and I am way behind in trying them out. Top of my list is Saltimport Canteen, but it was closed the week I was in Skåne so instead we decided on an old classic; Njutbar.

I used to live around the corner from it and I even knew one of the chefs back in the day and I am so happy this place still exists. It is small but cosy, has a deli section with nice charcuterie and cheeses as well as filling delicious salads to choose from and soup to start off the meal. And decent wines too.

As it was a hot summer’s day we decided on a nice salad and a glass of white wine. And when they brought out already chilled glasses with the wine so it would keep cool longer we were so pleased! It is the little things that counts, and by going that extra mile we could enjoy our glass of cold and refreshing wine throughout the meal.

The salad, their version of a chicken Caesar was really lovely and perfect for a hot day! The chicken was incredibly moist, the bacon crispy and the salad substantial with lettuce, tomatoes and shredded cabbage. Instead of croûtons it came with toasted breadcrumbs and their homemade dressing. Lovely!

Njutbar, Stora Nygatan 23, 211 37 Malmö

Picnic and opera at Jordberga Manor, Sweden

Published on August 20, 2013August 15, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Mother and I enjoy more or less the same things; cooking, interior and antiques shopping, museums and exhibitions and theatre and opera. Father not as much. So when my visit home to Skåne coincided with an opera performance (in Swedish – a first for me) at Jordberga Manor a short drive from our summer house we made sure to book tickets. When booking said tickets the company suggested you could have a picnic in the park beforehand which we happily did.

In Swedish, Jordberga is called a slott, a castle, but it isn’t really a castle as it doesn’t have a moat (or towers) so in English it translates more to a manor house. Anyway, the grounds are really pretty with an English-inspired garden, a small lake and a large farm on the grounds. The place for the opera was an refurbished old stable mainly used for parties or Christmas markets nowadays.

When we arrived we walked down to the lake and put our blanket and picnic out. We had olives, cheeses, biscuits and hawthorn jam, prosciutto, ciabatta with a creamy salad of chicken, bacon and girolles and homemade ambrosia cake. All washed down with a decent bottle of rosé. We also brought along proper chinaware and glasses, although not as practical as plastic plates but a lot prettier.

I made the chicken salad from left over chicken and what I found in the fridge that would work well together. I find it very satisfying to use things up and this creamy salad with chicken, bacon and fried girolles was a great example or a successful fridge forage. I utterly loved this mixture and it will most certain become a picnic staple of mine.

Nice grounds to have picnic on, don’t you think?!

The opera, performed by Skånska Operan, a touring opera society and it was my first opera sung completely in Swedish. The ensamble was very skilled and we had a great time enjoying the Barber of Seville set in the 1940s.

Creamy salad with chicken, bacon and girolles – a sketch

Fry bacon in smaller pieces until crispy and let it drain on some kitchen towel. Leave to cool. Fry the girolles in butter and add some pressed garlic. Add salt and pepper and leave to cool. Dice the chicken and mix with the mushrooms and bacon. Mix 2/3 mayo with 1/3 creme fraiche, add dijon mustard, salt and pepper and add to the chicken mixture. Add some chopped parsley and serve with baguette or ciabatta.