London – Page 9 – Scandelights

Bank holiday weekend in Stockholm!

Published on May 9, 2018May 9, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

The beginning of last week was pretty rubbish; I was ill and the weather was horrible in London.

I felt better on Tuesday and saw The Ferryman play after work. It was really amazing! Before the theatre we had a quick burger at Café Monico next door.

Wednesday I met up with a friend at Champagne + Fromage in Covent Garden, where neither of us had been before. We had some lovely champagne and a charcuterie and cheese board.

Thursday I packed for the bank holiday weekend in Stockholm as we left straight after work on Friday. Dinner was on board a plane but I made up for it the following days with lots of nice food!

My friend Carina hosted a lovely brunch on the Saturday, with eggs and bacon, salmon and BBQ followed by rosé and fika on the balcony. After brunch we walked around town taking in the beauty of it. Stockholm is definitely prettiest in the sunshine, with the sun reflections in the water.

We saw the cherry blossoms in Kungsträdgården, walked around Gamla Stan (Old Town), past City Hall and back towards Vasastan.

In the evening we had a lovely dinner at Hillenberg and then a drink and awesome people-watching at Riche.

On Sunday we had brunch at Mr Cake, and it was just as fabulous as I had imagined it to be! (Full post to come).

After brunch we went out to Täby, one of the suburbs and stayed with my friend Linus and his family. We had fika in the woods, a lovely dinner and lots of quality time.

On Monday it was lunch at my fave Rolfs Kök and then drinks with Carina at Tranan before heading to the airport!

Such a lovely weekend, with great company, good food and the best weather!

Taking it easy…

Published on May 2, 2018May 2, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

This week was very quiet by my standards, and it was much needed. The beginning of the week was quiet. I made sure to walk home from work enjoying all the flowers. I can’t believe the lilacs are flowering already, but it’s so pretty and the scent heavenly.

On Wednesday I tried a new-ish restaurant in Clapham and really enjoyed it, so a write-up is coming soon, but here is a little sneak peak.

It’s not often it happens on Friday a few of colleagues and I had drinks. Always lovely and as it starts early it means you get home early too. I was in bed by 10pm and it was perfect.

Saturday was lovely with a lie-in (so needed to sleep!) and some pampering before meeting up with Gaby for a dim sum lunch at Grand Imperial.

After lunch we met up with Rowena and then spent the afternoon at the Dominique Ansel Bakery escaping the rain and enjoying his delicious cakes!

Sunday was totally unplanned and I stayed in with the company of Netflix and a takeaway from Bleecker. So lovely and needed!

Summer in April!!

Published on April 24, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

The past week was just glorious with blue skies, 25+C degrees and SUNSHINE! It’s sadly over now but it was wonderful as long as it lasted.

On Tuesday it was my turn to host the book group and I thought a summery lemon pasta (I will post the recipe soon) would be appropriate. It went down a treat together with a simple leafy salad and wild garlic bread. Marie-Louise brought a bottle of lovely champagne as well, so it was a rather festive Tuesday!

The next day was sunny and hot, so after work I took the river boat down the Thames and had the first glass of rosé of the season, overlooking the river.

On Friday a group of us had a lovely girlie evening at Gordon’s Wine Bar (where Laura expertly managed to get us a table as soon as we arrived!) with rosé, cheese and lots of chatting. So lovely!

The rest of the weekend was fairly quiet with lie-ins, pizza and champagne on Saturday night and a lovely pub lunch in the sunshine on Sunday.

All the food; both home cooking and eating out!

Published on April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Last week was rather full on, but in the best possible way! Monday I mainly prepped for the day after when I had my friends Gaby and Ro over for dinner after work. For once I wasn’t rushed and it was such a nice feeling. We started with nibbles; obviously Jamon Iberico and saucisson from Spain, nice olives and my homemade dill hummus with pitta chips.

Then I served trout fillets with dilly new potatoes and a lovely sauce for fish and finished the dinner off with dulce de leche pannacotta. Gaby also brought a selection of canelés from Babelle that were amazing!

My childhood friend Therése arrived from Sweden on Thursday evening and we had dinner together at mine while chatting away. I made a selection of tapas including the Jamon Iberico and saucisson, Nocellara olives (our favourite!), Manchego and Ossau Iraty cheese, padron peppers, calamari and my asparagus with wild garlic mayonnaise.

On Friday we met after work and had a speedy but delicious dinner at Barrafina Drury Lane before going to the theatre around the corner to see 42nd Street.

Saturday was lovely and sunny, so we put our sunglasses on and went shopping in Chelsea where we also had lunch. A pit stop at home to change and we were off to dinner. We had amazing sushi that I will tell you all about later and finished the evening with champagne at Kettner’s Townhouse.

Therése’s last full day here we went back to an old favourite for lunch; La Fromagerie in Marylebone. The food, the cheese and the ambience is just a winning combination.

In the evening I made us a nice chicken salad and we had ice cream and chocolate chip cookies for pudding. It was such a lovely weekend and I’m so grateful my friends make the effort to visit me while living abroad! ❤

London: dinner at my new favourite pub!

Published on April 12, 2018April 12, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

I’ve already told you about the lovely Sand’s End pub that I lived near for several years. They have a sister pub (and restaurant) in Chelsea, and as I suspected it to be just as good, I took my friends Maria and Daniel and their children there for dinner when they were visiting.

And I couldn’t have found a better day to show off this cosy gem of a pub! It was absolutely freezing this Saturday and as we walked into the warmth of the pub and the saw the roaring fire and the water bowls for the dogs we felt right at home.

All of us (apart from maybe the toddler) were cold and hungry so we quickly ordered drinks and some deliciously lemony hummus and toasted foccacia.

Then we had a hard time choosing from the menu, and in the end decided on the burger for all of us – to avoid food envy! But the rest of the menu looked great too.

It came with lovely triple-cooked chips and had a celeriac remoulade in the burger, which was lovely, but I would have liked a little bit more sauce. Otherwise it was great; nice patty and a good brioche bun.

The Cross Keys, 1 Lawrence Street, Chelsea, London SW3 5NB

Spring and snow in the same week!?

Published on March 19, 2018March 20, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Friday was such a wonderful day here in London; it was 14C and sunny and it felt like Spring really was here. Fast forward until the next day and it was -1C and snow. Most of the snow has melted again now and I really hope this is it. Spring, please come back!

Apart from the weather changes it was a lovely week. I had some time to myself to just relax and catch up on feel good series such as Grey’s Anatomy (don’t judge!), Madam Secretary and Elementary (yes, crime makes me feel good. Any questions on that?).

But I also had quality time with friends. On Tuesday I met up with my friend Laura at Flesh & Buns for sushi, fried squid, steamed buns with duck and wonderful doughnuts with black sugar caramel.

On Friday I had sushi again, at Sticks ‘n Sushi and an early night. Saturday started with a long lie-in and a blissfully quiet morning before I reorganised my whole wardrobe and tidied up at home. So nice to get it done and so needed!

Yesterday I met up with dear friends from Sweden in town. We had a lovely afternoon with lunch at Carluccio’s, a trip to the playground in the snow (!) and tea and cake to warm up afterwards.

So lovely to spend quality time with my friends in London. It’s always such a whirlwind trying to fit everybody in when I go home so this was a real treat!

Spring and a rather decadent Saturday night

Published on March 12, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

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As soon as the snow melted spring arrived. Hallelujah! I’ve swapped my ankle boots for ballet flats and it feels so much lighter.

The snow disappearing certainly put me in a good mood for the week and I’ve had a lovely one. I had some time to do chores at home (love to get organised!) but also made it to the cinema to see Red Sparrow (it was alright but not as good as I had hoped) and had a girlie night in with Ro and Gaby watching rubbish TV, eating a lovely pasta dish that Gaby cooked and some pampering in the shape of gold (!) face masks.

The weekend was quite packed as well with after work drinks at Gordon’s Wine Bar on Friday, outside but under heaters. Saturday I got some more things done at home and I finally feel back on track, before going out for a lovely dinner in the evening.

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I finally made it to a restaurant I’ve been meaning to try for a while (review to come) and after a lovely dinner there we carried on with champagne at The Charlotte Street Hotel and Kettner’s Townhouse in Soho. It was such a treat! I just love discovering new places in this amazing city!

Snow in London and a weekend in Sweden

Published on March 6, 2018March 6, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

It snowed in London last week and everything came to a grinding halt like it always does. Although there is a slight improvement year to year. At least they don’t cancel ALL the buses anymore. But some more salt and grit on the pavements wouldn’t go amiss.

Once it settled it was rather pretty (I must admit) but I’m so glad it’s all melted again.

As it was freezing as well, I made some soup to warm me up one night. I used to make soup all the time and I must get back into it; it’s so warming and delicious and takes only minutes to make!

I also went to the cinema and saw Phantom Thread and managed to celebrate a friend’s birthday despite the snow disruptions. But the best part of the week was my weekend in Sweden. a) Because I actually got there – which wasn’t certain at all because of the snow, and b) because I was the godmother at the christening of my best friend’s baby girl. It was such a special moment that I will treasure forever.

Because there was a lot of snow in Sweden too I just stayed in with my parents for the rest of the weekend which was lovely. We had a lovely dinner on Saturday night and just enjoyed having quality time together!

Dinner with the girls and a weekend in Norfolk

Published on February 26, 2018February 26, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

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This past week was just lovely. I had a few evenings to myself but also had a wonderful dinner with Ro and Gaby one night. Ro cooked this really yummy chicken dish with mustard and panko breadcrumbs – recipe here – and we had a lovely time chatting and drinking prosecco.

Gaby brought pudding; amazing doughnuts from Crosstown Doughnuts! We tried three different ones and they were all yummy (yuzu & passionfruit; cinnamon and raspberry) but I think the winner was the raspberry one.

On Friday night I went up to Norfolk for the weekend and had such a lovely time walking on the beach, breathing in the (very) fresh air and just taking it easy.

The countryside there actually looks a lot like the part of Sweden I’m from so I felt right at home, although the beaches here were even wider. It was so nice to be in the countryside and lower the pace for a bit.

And eat nice food in cosy country pubs and have fish and chips by the beach. Now, it’s back to the real world, but that’s quite nice too!

Almost spring (?) and visitors from home!

Published on February 19, 2018February 19, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

The past week was full-on busy but in a good way! I made sure to celebrate pancake day in both a British and Swedish manner.

There were savoury pancakes (with cheddar, pancetta, chives and avocado for example) and sweet ones (with nutella, whipped cream and raspberries) and of course a Swedish cream bun (fastlagsbulle) from Swedish bakery Bageriet.

On Thursday my dear friends Maria and Daniel and their two children arrived in London so I met up with them in the evening for a quick burger at Fire Station and a catch up.

On Friday after work we met up again for a longer dinner at Tredwells, which was as child friendly as I had hoped. In fact all places we ate at were very child friendly.

On Saturday Maria and I left Daniel to look after the kids while we went to the V&A and the fabulous Balenciaga exhibition. I’ve wanted to see it since it came on ages ago, and am so happy I managed to see it just before it ended.

Afterwards we treated ourselves to some cupcakes at Hummingbird bakery, a little tradition of ours.

In the evening it got cold (compared to 10C and sunshine during the day) so it was perfect with dinner in the cosiest of pubs, complete with dogs (and dog treats), a fire place and comfort food.

Yesterday we had a nice relaxed lunch at Whyte & Brown in Kingly Court before we hit the shops on Regent Street and Carnaby Street and even ventured into Hamleys (phew).

It was so lovely to spend so much time with my lovely friends! It’s far more relaxed when my friends come here than when I go home and try to make time for everyone. Such a treat!