Scandelights

Dinner at Fortunen Bar & Spiseri, Copenhagen

Published on August 18, 2013August 15, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Copenhagen is only 20 minutes away from Malmö by train so you can imagine how many Swedish people there are in Copenhagen any given day. A lot of Swedes work here and lots come as tourists. And although I love to visit Copenhagen myself, I don’t like feeling like a tourist here. I feel I have spent too much time here and know it too well. Plus the language isn’t a problem; I can even count in Danish (which is a bit tricky for some).

Although very cosy and nice, I didn’t want to run the risk of ending up in Nyhavn where all Swedes hang out. It is by the riverfront and lovely but I have yet to find a nice restaurant that isn’t a tourist trap there. Instead I did some research on aok.dk (All about Copenhagen) to find somewhere low key with nice food and suitable to bring a baby to. Fortunen had all that and we really enjoyed our evening here! And the secretly enjoyed being the only Swedes in the restaurant despite the very central location.

It was super windy here by the river so we sat outside and had a drink but went downstairs into the cosy restaurant to enjoy our meal.

The menu consists of small plates (which I love) and you could choose any three for DKK 250 which we thought was great value for money. Maria and I chose the same dish to start and absolutely loved this creation of girolles, corn, potato foam and pickled onion.

Daniel chose the poached egg (which was very lightly poached and therefore when you stirred it became a sauce) with beetroot, yellow beets, peas, charred leek and parmesan. Also very nice!

The next dish for Maria and I were the hanger steak (onglet) with seaweed, shiitake (?) mushrooms and a soy jus. A great combination of flavours that really worked. And the meat was fabulous – one of my favourite cuts.

Daniel had cockrel with lentils and little gem lettuce and really enjoy the whole dish but the jus from the lentils was amazing.

After these dishes Maria and I were quite content and could move on to pudding, but since the dishes weren’t that big we completely understood that Daniel might need something more. He was so considerate that he ordered what he estimated was the quickest dish on the menu (all cold ingredients) so we didn’t have to wait too long. It was mackerel with buttermilk, broadbeans and dill and looked super fresh and light but might have been even better to start with than after a warm dish.

Then it was time for pudding. This time Daniel and I chose the same one; olive oil icecream with strawberries, beetroot meringues and white chocolate. It was incredibly nice!

Maria’s dish was even more interesting with the combination of vanilla icecream, buckthorn, caramel and dried black olives. It was gorgeous too!

I can highly recommend this restaurant. I love the mix of gourmet food combinations (that work) without the fuss, the nice ambiance and attentive service (at least from our waitress, not sure about the others).

Fortunen — Bar & Spiseri
Ved Stranden 18
1061 København K

Next stop: Croatia

Published on August 17, 2013August 18, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

It’s holiday time for me again, after only a week back at the office. Thing is, as much as I love going home to visit, it does not constitute a holiday. I can’t just lay on the beach all day drink in hand. Instead I meet up with friends and family and try to squeeze in as much quality time with my dear ones as possible. It is absolutely lovely and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but after years of doing it I have concluded that I also need a break.

Some time away in the sun reading books, sleeping lots and sipping cocktails and (hopefully) come back refreshed. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this sailing holiday with my friend Gaby. The camera battery is charged and the memory card empty so be ready for lots of pictures from gorgeous Croatia on my return.

A day in wonderful Copenhagen

Published on August 15, 2013August 14, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Growing up int he south of Sweden and it is safe to say that I know the Danish capital better than the Swedish one because of the close proximity to Copenhagen. We also had Danish TV channels growing up and I still feel like part of me is Danish.

When I was at University in Lund my friend Maria and I went to Copenhagen for the day quite often, just wandering around looking in shops and having a nice time. It is a small city but it has a lot more to offer than Malmö or Lund and the vibe is so very different.

With me living in the UK now I have less time to visit Copenhagen, even though I try to fit it in sometimes, and this summer Maria, Daniel and I decided it was time to go together again. We also had their son Otto coming with us. And as it was a really hot day it was handy to blame the baby for all the pitstops we did when we needed refreshments or to sit down.

We drove over the pretty Öresund bridge (as in The Bridge) and after having found parking and a quick walk it was lunch time. We opted for the outside tables at Wanna B and their burger (also the lunch special) but their avocado salad with cashew nuts looked lush too. The burger was really nice, served with cheese and bacon in a ciabatta bun with chunky fries and a chilli dip.

Then it was time for some shopping. We made a stop at Kirk an interior shop at Strædet that I really like. The style is quite British and masculine.

We also discovered Hay House, one of the two shops in Copenhagen from the very popular brand. Hay House has apparently been in the same spot for the last four years and yet neither of us has noticed it. It is well worth a visit though. The shop is set in a large flat with decorative molding on the ceiling, parquet floors and large windows. It would be great to live here but it works as a shop too, displaying their lovely designs in the different rooms. We also had coffee and cake at Illum and dinner in the evening, but that restaurant review will get its own post.

Barbecued spatchcock chicken with lemon, honey and fresh herbs

Published on August 14, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

I’ve been wanting to try to barbecue a whole chicken spatchcocked (butterflied) as it cooks quicker than keeping the bird whole. This way the bird is still in once piece but flattened out, so it still holds the moisture but almost cuts the cooking time in half.

To insure a juicy bird I marinated it in rapeseed oil, honey, fresh rosemary, thyme and lemon zest and I grilled it with the lid on for most of the time, keeping an eye on the temperature. Afterwards I let it rest before serving and the meat was indeed moist and full of lovely flavours both from the marinade and the charcoal.

Served with barbecued corn on the cob and a potato salad with tomatoes, green beans and Dijon vinaigrette this was a lovely summer meal!

Barbecued spatchcock chicken with lemon, honey and fresh herbs, serves 4

1 large free range chicken

50 ml rapeseed oil

2 tsp honey

zest from 1 lemon, I used a potato peeler – no need to finely grated zest

10 stalks of rosemary and thyme

salt, black pepper

Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Cut away the back bone on the chicken and butterfly it. Season with salt and pepper, put the bird in a large ziplok bag and pour the marinade into it. Massage the marinade onto the chicken and let it marinate for an hour in room temperature or up to 24 hours in the fridge, just make sure to take it out of the fridge an hour before cooking it.

Barbecue both sides of the chicken on high heat without the lid until brown all around, about 5 mins per side. Put the lid on and barbecue in 150C for about 30 minutes (or until clear liquid from the thigh joint). Leave to rest 5-10 minutes before serving, adding a little butter while resting.

A typical family dinner (for us anyway)

Published on August 13, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

My first evening in Sweden I just relaxed at home with my parents enjoying a lovely, yet still pretty low-key, dinner. We started off with little puff pastry quiches with girolles (love girolle season, especially as it coincides with crayfish season!) after my own recipe.

We then had fillet of beef (we do like our meat) cooked differently for each of us (mine blue, dad’s rare, mum’s medium) served with lambs lettuce, tomato salad, roasted potatoes and homemade bearnaise sauce. SO nice!

After a little break we finished off with an almost healthy pudding; fresh fruit and berries (blueberries, raspberries, melon, grapes and nectarines) with vanilla ice cream.

Sweden on my mind…

Published on August 13, 2013 by Hanna2 Comments

Nine days pass by quickly; at least the past week and a bit did for me. I went home to Skåne, my county in the South of Sweden, to visit friends and family. It was pretty busy, as always, but lovely too!

The landscape is flat and consists of a lot of fields and all around the coast there are lovely sandy beaches.

I also try to enjoy my parent’s garden, where my mother spends all her free time, and we both love the buddleia attracting lots of pretty butterflies.

When in London I don’t really eat many British sweets as I don’t think they’re as nice as the Swedish variety, so you can imagine that any supermarket with this spread of pick ‘n mix is heaven for me!

I find the ice cream better too! This is the real deal compared to a Mr Whippy; proper soft serve ice cream in a proper waffle cone.

(Birthday)Dinner at Mele e Pere, Soho

Published on August 9, 2013July 31, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

I wanted to celebrate my birthday with my girls around nice but unpretentious food just having a good time. And Mele e Pere offered just that. And they had decent prosecco on tap! Amazing!

One of my friends can’t eat wheat and the staff were really sweet trying to amend the dishes to suit her.

We started off with some prosecco and rosé at a table in the bar before sitting down in the restaurant sharing lots of starters.

We had two burratas (one with a tomato sauce containing bread and one with just cherry tomatoes and olive oil), ricotta with peas and broad beans, octopus scewer with potatoes, melon and San Daniele ham, vitello tonnao and gnocchi with speck and parmesan.

Octopus scewer with potato and a lovely purée

Ricotta with peas and broad beans

Min plate with all the different dishes

After all that we were quite happy to order small portions of our mains, which were just the right size. The different take on spaghetti carbonara with ravioli (above) looked delicious and I can’t wait to try that next time.

This time I had the lobster risotto which was amazing too! Absolutely loved it!

I really enjoyed our dinner here. It was quite spacious so you could just sit and talk about whatever without feeling like the table next to you can hear every word. The staff was friendly, utterly helpful and efficient and the atmosphere is laid back and relaxed. Can’t wait to go back. Soon. Very soon.

46 Brewer St, Soho, London W1F 9TF

Dinner at Copita, Soho

Published on August 9, 2013August 10, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

I met my friends Laura and Jess at Copita in Soho the other night for a belated birthday dinner. Sadly Jess was unwell and only had bread while Laura and I shared a selection of dishes.

Copita is a sister restauran to Barrica and although they both serve tapas style small plates, the vibe in the two restaurants are quite different. Copita is more buzzing and feels like a wine bar with very nice snacks where as Barrica has some proper tables and serves more traditional tapas, making it feel more like a restaurant.

I like both, however and food wise they are quite different to compare as their menus differ a lot.

The scallops (above) with broad beans and a creamy sauce were probably my favourite dish of the evening. Very pretty too, but just lovely in taste.

Almost as nice were the mushroom croquetas with oozing mushroom bechamel in the middle and a nice and crisp shell keeping it in place.

The aubergine with harissa and mint was nice, but not extraordinary.

The octopus with paella style rice I really enjoyed but it was pretty sparse with the fish.

Gnocchi with saffron, butternut squash and almonds was a nice and fresh dish, although I wanted another dimension with different textures. The almond slivers didn’t quite to the trick, maybe some crisp breadcrumbs or chopped hazelnuts would have worked butter. Otherwise great in flavour!

The duck breast with beetroots, apple and raisins was probably my least favourite, but only because I have a fobia for raisins in food so I couldn’t fully enjoy it. The meat was lovely and rich in flavour though and super moist and the thin apple slices worked well with it.

Drink wise I was really tempted by a proper G&T with Hendrick’s gin, but we decided on wine instead and had a caraffe of what they called super fresh, which we thought was quite funny. It was indeed a fresh wine and it worked well with the different dishes.

Copita, 26-27 d’Arblay Street, London W1F 8EP

Dinner at Clarke’s, Kensington

Published on August 4, 2013July 31, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

After a cultural afternoon at Kensington Palace our little trio (Laura, myself and birthday girl Gaby) went out for dinner at Clarke’s in Kensington, a restaurant very special to Gaby as she need to come here often with her parents when she was a little girl.

I really liked Clarke’s with its fresh produce and fuss free approach to food. Everything we had was delicious and very well prepared.

Gaby chose the warm goat’s cheese with crispy crumbs on top, lettuce, chopped nuts and soft apricots to balance the flavour. Delicious!

Laura had the smoked salmon with pheasant egg, lettuce and sour cream. It looked great and was very fresh.

I chose the San Daniele ham with figs and although this dish requires no cooking, the ingredients were exceptional. The figs were lovely and sweet, a far cry from what the supermarkets have to offer and the ham was delicious too.

Both Gaby and I had the beef tonnato; thinly sliced rare roast beef with the famous anchovy dressing and capers served with crispy chips and some lamb’s lettuce. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and thought it was a great way to serve beef in the summer.

Laura had the duck leg which was melt-in-the-mouth fantastic and served with cabbage and cherries.

Although full we still ordered starters. Gaby’s deconstruced cannoli with noozy ricotta and strawberries was delightful and Laura got the most amazing cheese plate with oat cakes.

I went for the lightest of the puddings, a summer fruit jelly with cream on top and delicate cat’s tongue biscuits (and a piece of chocolate cake and a candle because Gaby told the kitchen it was my birthday and not hers. Luckily no one sang!).

I simply adore this place and can’t wait to go back after the big refurbishment. The restaurant will be closed for five weeks altogether, opening again in the beginning of September.

Clarke’s, 122 & 124 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4BH

A visit to Kensington Palace

Published on August 3, 2013July 31, 2013 by HannaLeave a comment

Two days after my birthday it was my dear friend Gaby’s time to turn a year older, and as it was a Saturday we could do something during the day as well. Together with Gaby’s friend Laura we went to Kensington Palace to mainly look at the royal dresses exhibition but we ended up seeing all the different exhibitions and I was really impressed by them all.

In The King’s State Apartments the exhibition centered around Charles I and Charles II and it was decorated in a rather masculine style to cement that.

In The Queen’s State Apartments we got to know Mary II and learn about the end of the Stuart dynasty. This exhibition was more feminine and delicate, yet very good.

In fact, both these exhibitions were very educational and had plenty of things for children to look at, touch and do. You could practice being a princess at the court and carry books on your head for example (which we sadly felt a bit too old for).

Fashion Rules was the reason we went, though (love the title by the way). It started off with the Queen’s dresses from the 1950s and 1960s, then onto the end of the 1960s and 1970s with Princess Margaret’s dresses and finishing in the 1980s with Princess Diana’s frocks. I prefered the Queen’s gowns; they were the most stylish. The dresses from the 1980s were all very on trend then, but rather hideous now, yet princess Diana looked gorgeous in them. Amazing!

We also went to the Victoria Revealed about Queen Victoria’s life. She actually grew up at Kensington Palace and the exhibition follows her through her whole life and of course focuses a lot on her marriage to prince Albert. Very interesting!

Kensington Palace Gardens

After walking around the palace for hours we desperately needed to sit down and rest and walked over to the orangery for cake and bubbly before heading off to Notting Hill for dinner. It was such a lovely day and the palace is well worth a visit.

Kensington Palace State Apartments, Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX