dinner – Page 10 – Scandelights

Dinner at The Shed, Notting Hill

Published on May 11, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The Shed is one of those restaurants I wish I had on my doorstep. The ambiance is so laid back you just want to come back again and again. And the food? It’s wonderful!

When I was here with a friend a few weeks ago, we decided to share five dishes – the number of dishes recommended by the staff – and that was, as we say in Sweden, lagom (just right). The first dish was hake with mussels and yellow beets which was nice but not wow, and it could have done with some more seasoning. After that the dishes just got better and better.

The scallops with blood orange, fennel and shallots were lovely and the chopped onions with the blood orange juice made the whole dish – wow!

The veal cigars with slowcooked veal inside a crispy pastry shell served with mayonnaise flavoured with mustard, tarragon and if I’m not completely wrong; horseradish. A really lovely dish!

But the pork with broccoli, celeriac and leek ash was probably my favourite – it was absolutely divine!

But a close second was the lamb with malt potato, artichokes and lovage.

The Shed has actually opened up a restaurant in Chelsea called Rabbit, which is slightly closer to me than Notting Hill, but I do hope Fulham is next!

The Shed, 122 Palace Gardens Terrace, London W8 4RT

Dinner at Oc Lac Quan, HCMC, Vietnam

Published on April 24, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

We only had one evening in Ho Chi Minh City and we arrived late, so our best bet to find a restaurant open late was to go down town and we basically took the first decent place we saw.

A Western man who had just finished his meal recommended it to us as we walked past so we sat down on the small plastic chairs on the pavement. Apart from us and the Western man the other guests were all locals enjoying shellfish and snails, which seemed to be the restaurant’s speciality. The menu had a few interesting items on the menu but we settled for beef noodles and squid with lemongrass and chilli. Nothing fancy but I really enjoyed both dishes!

This was the first place where we thought it was good to just order two dishes as we always ended up with too much food at previous restaurants due to over-ordering. The portions are a lot bigger here than what we’re used too!

Oc Lac Quan, 73 Rach Bung Binh, Phuong 9, Quan 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Dinner at Posto Pubblico, Hong Kong

Published on April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Due to overbooking of our flight (grr!) we had to spend an extra night in Hong Kong. So after having checked in at the airport hotel we took the train back to Central for some dinner and drinks, it was Saturday night after all. We wandered around Soho and liked the look of this Italian place called Posto Pubblico. hk7 After a small antipasti plate we chose a pasta dish each. Ro had the one with calamari and a bit of spice (top photo) and I had the linguine with clams. Both dishes were fresh and nice. To add some vegetables we ordered a side of grilled vegetables. They were more or less covered in oil and parmesan – very nice but not all that healthy… Posto Pubblico is a nice little restaurant. The food is fresh and we had a nice meal here. With hindsight it was perfect to have seafood before going to Cambodia and Vietnam where we probably had pork every day. Posto Pubblico, G/F, 28 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong

The Jugged Hare, Barbican – revisited

Published on April 6, 2015March 31, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The Jugged Hare is a very cosy pub and restaurant, that I wish was closer to the parts of town where I roam the most. I was invited to their opening a few years ago and I am just as positive now after my recent visit.

The interior is nice with a clear pub/bar area and a specific restaurant area. After our nice meal here we went across the street to the Barbican cinema and watched the fab film The Theory of Everything.

My friend Tom had a lovely terrine as a starter (above) and then a main course whereas I chose two starters instead.

The first one was a lovely dish with croquetas, mushrooms and slowcooked egg.

And the second was snails with bone marrow. The snails and the sauce were lovely but the bone marrow was breaded and deep-fried which was a little too rich for my liking. Still yummy, though!

Tom’s classic bangers and mash was fabulous. Creamy, herb-y mash, first class sausages and nice gravy!

I promise to be back. Soon.

The Jugged Hare, 49 Chiswell St, London EC1Y 4SA

Dinner at Avenue, St James’s

Published on March 31, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

In my company we don’t have the tradition to go to the pub every Friday, so I tend to grab my after work drinks with friends rather than colleagues. A few weeks ago Sinead and I met up for a glass of vino at one of the pubs near her job. Although lots of the popular pubs are far from cosy it’s still really nice to grab a drink there with lots of other people celebrating the weekend. I love that atmosphere. But we soon left to have dinner at a restaurant nearby, Avenue in St James’s.

This place has been around for a while but for some reason we hadn’t been until now and we liked what we saw. The interior was very swanky and actually nicer than we had imagined. We were seated straight away and after having ordered a glass of bubbly we had a look at the menu. We ended up with the a’la carte put the very reasonably prised prix fixe menu looked good too.

I had a warming clam chowder to start. It was very thick and smooth with bits of potato and whole clams. Very satisfying!

Sinead had the crispy chicken tacos that were delicious too!

Our maincourses arrived the second our starter plates were cleared away. A bit too soon if you ask me; we were really struggling with our main courses because we didn’t get a breather. Sinead’s cod with chorizo crumbs and cannellini beans was delicious and a substantial portion.

As were my barbecued lamb racks with cucumber and herb yoghurt. Delicious though, great charred flavour and cooked perfectly as I wanted them (rare).

Avenue is part of D&D London, Sir Terence Conran’s restaurant empire, and although we were two very satisfied customers, there was room for improvement on some areas. The service was friendly and nice, but the fact that we didn’t even get five minutes to digest our first course means bad communication between the kitchen and service. And when we were served our main courses we thought they had forgotten one of our sides and were not told it was delayed until we waved down a waiter and asked. It may sound petty but I worked as a waitress when I was at university and it is not that difficult to get it right!

And then the loos. With such a nice and fancy interior in the restaurant you expect the same vibe in the ladies room. But no. It was just a corridor with white walls, cubicles on one side and basins on the other. With bad lighting and no hand cream. Even a regular pub has hand creams nowadays.

Avenue, 7-9 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1EE

Dinner and cocktails at Solar, Berlin

Published on March 16, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

On the plane from London to Berlin I asked the woman in the seat next to recommend a nice bar in to me, and thanks to her Emma and I ended up in this fabulous restaurant and sky lounge in Kreuzberg.

The restaurant was really nice and although we had booked a late table (that was all that s available) they could fit us in around 7.30pm, which was great as we were already starving.

After ordering prosecco we received this lovely bread basket with thick still warm slices of dark and white bread, a grassy olive oil and a sweet potato crème.

Emma loved her cod with chickpeas, leek, pickled lemons and smoked fish broth and a side of creamed spinach.

I had fregola pasta, which I’ve never had before. It’s little pearls of pasta from Sicily that looks very much like giant couscous but is a little chewier. It was prepared like a risotto and was served with coppa ham, salted almond’s, olives, lamb’s lettuce and soft goat’s cheese. Delicious!

After dinner we walked up to the sky bar with great views over the city and had cocktails and prosecco.

Solar, Stresemanstrasse 76, 109 63 Berlin, Germany

Claude’s Kitchen, Parsons Green – revisited

Published on February 2, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Claude’s Kitchen is a lovely little restaurant a nice 10 minute walk from where I live, and yet I don’t go very often. A real shame I realise when I DO go, as the food is great, the ambiance nice and the wine list and service are good too.

I was here a few weeks ago with Felicity and we had a great time enjoying the food and catching up.

I had two starters instead of a main course because there were several things I couldn’t eat in the main courses and I don’t like picking apart a dish as it then loses its purpose. The two starters I had were wonderful; first the braised octopus with orange, blood orange and a root veg purée.

The the Jerusalem artichoke with chicory, mature cheese and pesto. Delicious! .

Felicity chose a vegetarian main course the waiter said was the best dish on the menu! And she thoroughly enjoyed the baked carrots with chickpeas and turmeric yoghurt dressing.

We had room for pudding too and Felicity continued with the carrot theme and had the carrot purée, apple ice, dulce the leche and raspberries. Fun and yummy!

I was very predictable and chose (probably their most popular pudding) the peanut butter parfait with pretzels, salted toffee and vanilla creme fraiche. Wonderful and less sweet than expected.

I promise, I will be back soon!

Claude’s Kitchen, 51 Parsons Green Lane, London SW6 4JA

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

Dinner at Quo Vadis, Soho

Published on March 26, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

Quo Vadis has been on my (extremely long) to-eat-list for quite a while and last weekend I finally got the opportunity to go there. My friend from home, Linus, was visiting and as he happened to have two colleagues in town we thought we’d meet up for dinner somewhere central and my friend Laura was up for coming along too.

We met at Soho diner for a few drinks before our dinner and it was so warm we could sit outside.

As we had quite a late dinner we decided to go for both starters and mains and I just had to have the baked salsify I’ve seen Simon Hopkinson rave about on TV. They were gorgeous; crispy on the outside, not too soft on the inside and tasted absolutely lovely with the grated parmesan.

Our waiter thought one portion of the salsify was not enough as a starter so I had another snack, the duck rillette which was nice too.

Louise had exactly the same starter as I and Linus and Jacob both had the spinach and Alexanders (a new acquaintance for us all) soup. Laura had the squid above and was pretty much in food heaven she said.

Jacob and Laura both had the salt cod with soft boiled egg, anchovies and salad which they really enjoyed.

Louise and Linus had the onglet with horseradish and pickled walnut (it’s hiding behind the horseradish) and some roast potatoes and steamed vegetables to share.

I had probably the healthiest maincourse I’ve ever had. Brill in a vegetable broth with mussels, broadbeans and leek. I really enjoyed it but when I read it on the menu I actually expected more of a creamy broth.

Somehow we all managed pudding as well. Laura and Jacob had the same again; poached pear and winter fruits with Jersey cream which was quite heavy but nice.

Louise, Linus and I all had the crème brulee and it was a very good version. The custard was not too sweet and quite runny and velvety.

Quo Vadis, 26-29 Dean Street, London W1D 3LL