lunch – Page 6 – Scandelights

New Year’s Eve luncheon

Published on January 22, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

I know a lot of people think NYE is a real anti-climax, but I really enjoy celebrating it. Any excuse to dress up and drink champagne works for me!

Growing up, my parents and their friends made it special, always making it an occasion. Us children got to play with each others new toys (one NYE turned into Super Mario tournament), but also celebrate with the grown-ups, cheering with alcohol free cider instead of champagne, watching the fire works through the windows (to this day I still don’t like to go outside in the cold on the stroke of midnight), and watch the speech and the countdown on Swedish Television. It felt magical and that’s the feeling I carry with me now on New Year’s Eves with friends.

Nowadays the food make it special, and we really enjoy the Kalix roe, lobster and fillet of beef, but we have also realised that it’s really nice to do something on the day. So we prep as much as we can the day (or days, depending on the ambition) before NYE, so that we have the day free to hang out together until it’s time to get ready and cook dinner.

This year, we thought a lunch in Malmö would be ideal. We went to Copenhagen last year for lunch and although lovely it felt a little rushed. But, it turned out, no restaurants in Malmö were open for lunch on New Year’s Eve. Maybe it’s un-Swedish to go out for lunch before a big evening celebration, who knows?! Luckily, after a lot of googling, we did find ONE restaurant open for lunch so we quickly booked a table and enjoyed a nice French lunch.

La Bonne Vie is a cosy French restaurant in the middle of town, just on Davidshalls Torg, and when we arrived for a late-ish lunch the restaurant was full up. And, just like us, most guests were drinking bubbly.

The lunch menu was classic French with a few Swedish touches and very affordable. Emma and I both had the Toast Skagen with a very generous portion of prawns with mayonnaise and dill on butter-fried bread. Delicious!

Claes had the moules frites and also received a very generous portion of mussels, nice crispy fries and rouille.

We had a lovely lunch and will certainly be back this year too. Thank you for staying open!

La Bonne Vie, Davidshallstorg 7, Malmö, Sweden

Lunch at Mishkin’s, Covent Garden

Published on November 17, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

One of my trusted London restaurants is Opera Tavern on Catherine Street. I’ve been there lots of times and every time I have thought to myself that I need to visit the place next door soon, because it just looks so nice.

Soon seems to be a relative term for me; it took me a few years to actually go but a while back I finally went to Mishkin’s! I had lunch here with my friend Marie-Louise who also works in the area and it was just as nice as I had hoped it would be (company included).

Although part of the Italian restaurant empire Polpo, this is a kind of Jewish deli (at least that’s what it says on their website), so expect things like Reuben sandwiches and salt beef. The whole menu looked great but most irresistible was the mac ‘n cheese with salt beef and mustard, so we ordered one small each and some other nibbles to share. The mac ‘n cheese was really nice with a cheesy layer on top and soft macaroni underneath.

The sliders with lamb, white bean hummus and feta were also great, and perfect in size.

We also shared the cod cheek popcorn which were nice, although a little bland without the tartar sauce.

Now that I’ve finally been here, I will definitely take turns between Mishkin’s and Opera Tavern. Might see you around!

Mishkin’s, 25 Catherine Street, London WC2B 5JS

Another lunch in Rome

Published on November 16, 2015 by Hanna1 Comment

My last day (of two) in Rome started with hardcore sightseeing of The Colosseum and Foro Romano, and I also had time to visit Crypta Balbi before my lunch reservation at Ditirambo near Campo de Fiori.

I don’t know how I heard about the restaurant, but it seemed like one of the better restaurants in the area I knew I’d be in for lunch, so I booked a table. And I’m glad I did; it was just as full for lunch as Armando al Pantheon (even though the restaurant had twice the amount of tables).

I chose a trio of starters as I couldn’t make my mind up on what to have, but two of the dishes were rather disappointing. The ricotta filled deep-fried courgette flower was rather soggy and didn’t taste of much and the steak tartar with truffle was also under-seasoned. The slices of smoked duck with melon and nuts was wonderful though. I wished I got a larger plate of that.

I inly had the starter and a pasta as I’d had so much (too much!) to eat the previous day. I actually asked for a half portion of cacio e pepe, a wonderful Roman pasta dish with pecorino and black pepper. And it was absolutely gorgeous! A glass of wine with my meal and an espresso afterwards and I was ready to take on my last afternoon in Rome.

Ditirambo, Piazza della Cancelleria, 74-75, 00186 Roma, Italy

Wonderful lunch in Rome (Armando al Pantheon)

Published on November 9, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Book! That’s my best tips for visiting Rome. Book everything you possibly can beforehand; taxi from the airport, tickets to all the sights and tables at sought after restaurants.

During my lunch at Armando al Pantheon, which is a small and cosy restaurant, I saw the maitre d’ send away at least ten people that hadn’t booked as not a single table was available for walk-ins. So I was extra pleased I had made a reservation (you can do it online so no hassle at all) because this was a restaurant I certainly didn’t want to miss.

I took the old adage When in Rome seriously and had antipasti, primi and secondi. And wine. Oh, what a lunch!

I started with bruschetta; one with lardo and walnut (nice!) and one with quail’s egg and truffle (wow!).

I then had the spaghetti alla carbonara (a typical roman pasta just like cacio de pepe), and Armando’s version was lovely. Not too creamy but with plenty of flavour and nice pieces of pancetta this was exactly what I thought proper Italian pasta was about. Only downside was the size of the portion – if I had finished it I wouldn’t have been able to eat anything else, so I ate about half and saved myself for the next dish.

It was one of the specials that I thought I might try if I could finish the pasta, but when the waiter told the table next to me about the specials I just could not not order the slow cooked veal with truffle. Although really full after the pasta, I almost felt less full after having had just meat, jus and truffle. The meat was very tender and the jus nice and light but with nice flavours.

Armando’s is, as you can see, small and cosy. So cosy I made friends with the people at the next table (we sat very close) who loved the place so much they’d come back six times during their two weeks in Rome. Armando al Pantheon, Salita dè Crescenzi, 31, 00186 Roma, Italy

Lovely halloumi wrap for lunch

Published on October 26, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

I sometimes buy my lunch at Leon, and it’s almost always a halloumi wrap since I seem to have a constant craving for the salty squeaky cheese.

But it only takes a few minutes so make your own wrap so sometimes I do that too, and I must say that my version is even nicer than Leon’s. Sorry, but it’s true!

Halloumi wrap, serves 1

1 flatbread

1 handful lettuce leaves, I used baby spinach

Hellman’s mayonnaise

sweet chilli sauce

6 slices fried halloumi

1/2 avocado, cut into cubes

Mix equal parts mayo and sweet chilli sauce and spread onto the flatbread. Add spinach, halloumi and avocado. Roll up and enjoy a nice lunch!

Lunch at Torvehallerne Food Halls, Copenhagen

Published on September 8, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

My friends Maria, Daniel and I have this great tradition where we go to Copenhagen for a day. I love Copenhagen but living in London I usually go back to Sweden to see my friends and family so having a day in Copenhagen together with some of those good friend each summer is perfect. We were quite hungry when we arrived so after hitting a few shops we walked to Torvehallerna, the lovely food halls just by Nørrebro Station.

We started with some lovely pinxtos at Tapa del Toro, recommended by a my food blogger friend Helena. It was the perfect way to start the day in Copenhagen; with a glass of cava and Spanish charkuterie.

The pinxtos were just the appetisers so we soon moved on to Hallernes Smørrebrød for some traditional Danish open-faced sandwiches.

Maria had the prawn sandwich to the left, Daniel the chicken salad with bacon on rye bread and I had the plaice fillet with remoulade. All very good!

I can’t say that we were still hungry after all this (at least not Maria and I) but the pizzas at Gorm’s Pizza smelled so lovely we couldn’t resist trying one with prosciutto, mascarpone and mushrooms. It was very nice but I sadly only managed one slice.

After this carb loaded lunch we had plenty of energy to walk around the city in the sunshine. We walked along the river for a while and ended up in the Botanical Gardens, a lovely oasis on a summer’s day. (The main entrance is actually just by Torvehallerne but we used a different entrance and exited at Nørrebro). We then carried on walking looking in some shops and then stopping for coffee and cake at a bakery I will tell you more about in another post.

Torvehallerne, Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark

Wild garlic pesto

Published on May 20, 2015 by Hanna7 Comments

When I was in Sweden last my mother gave me a large bag of wild garlic she picked for me, so back in London I made a batch of lovely pesto that I’ve been eating lately. The same day I made it I just had it with spaghetti and (more) grated parmesan as a light lunch. Delicious!

Wild garlic pesto, approx 250 ml pesto

ca 50-70 g wild garlic (about a bunch as stick as a small banana)

30 g almonds

40 g parmesan

1/2 lemon, juice only

mild oil, approx 100-150 ml

salt & pepper

Mix wild garlic, almonds, lemon juice and parmesan with a bit of oil to a paste in a food processor or with a stick blender. Keep adding oil until you have the consistency you like. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keeps in the fridge for 5-7 days.

Lunch at The Orange, Pimlico

Published on May 15, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

When Maria and Daniel were visiting a few weekends ago, we did what we always do; go shopping on the Kings Road. By lunch time we were near Sloane Sq and I thought it would be great to go to Daylesford Organic as they loved the Notting Hill branch. But it was no longer there. Luckily there are plenty of other nice places around and we went to The Orange instead.

It was a lovely sunny day so we all wanted something light for lunch, like a salad. And so we did. Maria had the hot-smoked salmon salad with broad beans and pomegranate which she really enjoyed while Daniel and I went the more traditional route and had a Caesar salad each. And it was perfect. Crispy salad, not too much and not too little dressing, crispy pancetta and just enough croutons. Also juicy chicken breast and soft-boiled eggs. My only complaint would be that the eggs were a bit too cold, but that’s a minor details. Great cooking on the whole!

There may have been another reason for having salad for lunch as well; we had our eye set on a stop at The Hummingbird Bakery in the afternoon. Daniel had a carrot cake cupcake while Maria and I agreed that salted caramel was the way to go! Super sweet but yummy!

The Orange, 37-39 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8NE

The Hummingbird Bakery, 47 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3JP

Lunch at Khmer Food Restaurant, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Published on April 22, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

Siem Reap, the town near Angkor Wat, is quite small and touristy so finding a nice place to eat is actually quite difficult. But Ro and I were pleasantly surprised by Khmer Food Restaurant near the market. First we shared a portion of summer rolls that were nice and fresh (although towards the end of the trip we had sampled both good and bad ones and I was a bit tired of them to be honest).

I completely forgot to photograph Ro’s soup which was really nice and fresh with prawns, winter melon and other fruits. It was quite different to other soups we tried and very soothing!

My main course was water spinach (which I love!) with garlic and chilli and pork mince with oyster sauce. Really nice!

Traditional Khmer Food Restaurant, Old Market Area, Siemréab, Cambodia

Lunch at Petersham Nurseries, Richmond

Published on March 27, 2015 by HannaLeave a comment

The weekend before last my foodie friend Anna was in London and we had a lovely long wine-fuelled lunch at quaint Petersham Nurseries in Richmond on the Saturday.

It was my first time there but I love the greenhouses made into a restaurant and tea room with plats, and nice furnishings every wear. So rustic and so lovely!

We started our meal with a delicious rhubarb bellini and had a scallop each; marinated in olive oil, rosemary, lemon and chilli.

Anna then had a very springlike salad of rabbit, radicchio, polenta cubes, prosciutto and violets as her starter. It was wonderful and pretty as a picture.

I had the nettle soup which was lovely too. Just look at that colour! It was served with a dollop of thick tangy creme fraiche which was the only sidekick needed.

Four our mains we both chose the same whole lemon sole stuffed with creamy spinach, spiced butter and brown shrimps. The flavours worked really well together and we thoroughly enjoyed it – and the side of purple sprouting broccoli.

After a little wine break (much needed after all the food) we were ready for some cheese and tried these three (one was a Cornish Yarg but I’ve forgotten the others), all delicious and a perfect end to our meal.

Petersham Nurseries, Church Lane, Off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7AB