steak – Scandelights

London: Meat Feast at Temper Covent Garden

Published on April 23, 2020 by HannaLeave a comment

Late last year, my former colleague Ria (a fellow meat lover!) and I met up for dinner. It was my suggestion that we go to Temper Covent Garden since it’s close to the office where Ria still works and I used to work, and of course because they have nice meat!

The first time I visited Temper, I went to the original Soho branch with my friend Daisy and we both loved it. It was a little too loud but a fun atmosphere and the food was great! Then the Covent Garden location opened and I went there one night with another friend but it was almost empty. So I was afraid it lacked the popularity and atmosphere of the Soho restaurant. But everyone deserves a second chance and this time around it had a nice atmosphere, more people, and the menu was almost identical to the Soho one with all those great dishes that made me love Temper to begin with.

So we sampled a bit of everything. Some tacos – including the famous one, the lovely nachos. Steak, of course! And the most amazing cheesy beef fat potatoes and burrata with jalapeño and lime.

It was a real feast and we loved every bite!

We started with the beef fat nachos which I’ve had every single time I’ve been to Temper and they’re just lovely. It’s a small (but rich) little sharer, perfect for snacking on when you’re contemplating the rest of the menu. Because it is not easy to choose between all the lovely dishes. Still, we managed to make a selection. We had the cheese burger tacos (yes, you read that correctly) and the pork and pineapple tacos and they were both delicious. But the bonkers cheese burger tacos probably won the contest, if I was forced to pick a winner. Tacos as a starter though – what a brilliant idea!

Next we had the piece de resistance, also known as the most amazing sirloin I have ever had. Ever! It was so full of flavour, perfectly cooked and just melt in your mouth fantastic. Especially paired with the beef fat and Ogleshield potatoes and the beef fat béarnaise sauce. We also shared the burrata with jalapeño and lime which was delicious too and, despite its creaminess, added some freshness to it all.

We ate and we drank and we were certainly merry! And I am so glad I went back once more because this time Temper Covent Garden had it all. The food was on par with the Soho branch, but the atmosphere was more relaxed and quieter, perfect for a girl’s night out.

Temper Covent Garden, Yard, 5 Mercer Walk Mercers, London WC2H 9FA

Boring work week but a nice weekend!

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

I was battling a cold most of last week so didn’t get up to much at all. Apart from work I just tried to rest as much as possible. I even had the same thing for supper four days in a week due to lack of imagination, working taste buds and energy. But this always comforts me!

I felt a lot better by Friday and so could go out for dinner and drinks at some favourite haunts; Bar Americain, Zelman Meats and Kettner’s Townhouse).

On Saturday I did some pampering at home and watched a lot of golf on TV, met some friends for drinks and had a quiet night in with dinner (bleak roe toast and crab pasta) and a movie. But it was rather disappointing. Great cast but the book is so much better!

Sunday had more golf in store, but also more nice food (crab toasts and soft meringue with ice cream and berries) and three episodes of Handmaid’s Tale.

Burgers, theatre and a weekend in the country

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

I’m so pleased I managed to do some more cooking last week, than in the recent weeks. Nothing life-altering but I feel so much better eating proper home cooked food. On Monday I made my go-to fast food supper of rosti with creme fraiche, lumpfish roe and chopped red onions. It’s quick and yummy and I even made some extra for lunch the next day.

On Tuesday we went to the theatre, but as it was a long play we made sure to eat something beforehand. Luckily Bleecker on the Southbank is perfectly located for a pre-theatre burger, which also happens to be one of my favourites!

The play we saw was The Lehman Trilogy at The National Theatre and it was OUTSTANDING! Amazing actors and amazing story! A must see!

And as always when I walk from the office across the Thames to the Southbank I always stop on Hungerford Bridge to admire the view (and take a few snaps). London is such a beautiful city!

The rest of the week I tried on dresses and packed for the weekend. As I like to be prepared I even brought backup dresses, but luckily I didn’t have to use them! But I also cooked and made enough of this pasta with spinach and nuts for two suppers. Really yummy!

Friday night was a chilled out night in, with some yummy food. To stop me from becoming hangry while I was cooking the mains, we had some shop-bought blinis with smoked salmon, soured cream and chives to start. Then steak, roasted new potatoes, homemade bearnaise sauce and vegetables. And we watched some more Handmaid’s Tale and Stan Lee’s Lucky Man.

On Saturday morning we left London for Somerset and enjoyed the beautiful countryside on the way there and stopped at a pub en route for a quick bite. Then it was party and dancing all night long followed by a lunch day before driving back to London and collapsing on the sofa in front of (more) Handmaid’s Tale and some yummy grilled cheese.

Malmö: tapas at Escama

Published on September 7, 2018September 7, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

That Friday night in Malmö was lovely and balmy and when we arrived to Escama for dinner the outside area was of course packed. I had booked a table but the outside area was first come first serve. A shame, but I get it. So we put our names on the list and and sat down at the bar.

And we divided our dinner into two sittings; nibbles inside at the bar and more substantial dishes outside once we got our table.

We started with some excellent jamon iberico (tapa negra) and Monte Enebro cheese. Real classics. Especially the cheese section was a little unimaginative. Nice cheeses but a very standard selection. Luckily the ham made up for it!

It took a good while until we got seated outside, but we nibbled, drank cold Albarino and talked.

When we sat down outside we got a different waiter, and it was like somebody had forgotten to “hand us over”. We got no attention and had to flag waiters down several times to order, ask for side plates and so on. Really not fun when we were finally going to order the main part of the meal.

We had the tuna tartar which I was a little disappointed with. It was literally just chopped tuna with a little seasoning. Some crunch, more flavour and a nice emulsion would have been nice!

But the entrecôte steak that we’d seen our table neighbours inside enjoy was amazing! I would come back to have one of those to myself. Easy! We both enjoyed that VERY much, so they do know their meat here. The patatas bravas were also nice, although on the spicy side, but I quite like that.

All in all, we had a nice but very long (due to the lack of service at the end) dinner with some varied service. But the jamon iberico and the steak were so good that all is forgiven!

Escama, Fersens väg 4, 211 42 Malmö, Sweden

Second week of holiday!

Published on August 16, 2018August 16, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

My second week in Sweden I tried to take it a bit easier than the first. Try to wind down, not set an alarm and lower the pace. The first day that didn’t happen as I had invited eight adults and five children over for lunch, but I think I managed OK the rest of the week.

But back to the lunch. I skipped a starter so the children didn’t have to sit still for too long; instead everybody could mingle around with a glass of rosé in hand and snacking on these lovely crisps with browned butter, lemon juice and grated cheese.

For the main course I made chicken with lots of garlic and lemon, potato wedges, caramelised garlic sauce and a nice salad.

And for pudding I let everybody put together their own pudding of soft meringue (everybody loves this one!), ice cream, lightly whipped cream, chocolate sauce. berries and figs.

In the evening I had a simple supper consisting of Danish red pølse and all the trimmings. So yummy!!

The next day I went to the beach in Skanör with friends and their three children.

They brought a lovely picnic and there was a lot of swimming with the kids mixed with chatting to their parents. Such a lovely day that we finished off with a late lunch in the harbour nearby followed by ice cream.

Wednesday I slept late and spent my time in the sun in the garden before going for dinner at a friend’s new house! They’d made salmon with salad, potato wedges, two sauces and nice bread and for pudding we had rhubarb pie with ice cream. A perfect summer’s evening.

The next day was another quiet one, with some rain but also some time on the beach (yay!) before having dinner with my parents in the evening. I made lots of pizzas which I will blog about later.

Friday started off the same way (not bad eh?! three lazy days in a row!) and finished with dinner at Badhytten with all the seafood!

My last full day in Sweden I spent partly with my best friend, partly with my parents. Friends of the family came by for fika in the afternoon and in the evening my parents and I had something we never get tired off; fillet of beef with homemade bearnaise sauce. This was the first time we had dinner indoors as the weather turned, but I’m grateful for the sunny days I got!

Sunday was my last day and my best friend and her family came over for lunch with my parents. I got lots of cuddles from my god daughter but we also had some lovely food. Mamma cooked arctic char with potatoes, mange tout, carrots and two sauces; one with caviar and this one with apple. The pudding was a huge success too (although dad would have liked a sweeter version) and I will blog all about it later.

Then off I went to the airport with a quick pit stop at my parents’ house where I hadn’t been all summer. Thank you, near and dear ones, for a lovely two weeks! ❤

Ah, summer is here!

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

How is it June already?! I so want to hit the pause button (at least the days that are sunny!) so the summer can last even longer. Summer is without a doubt my favourite time of year. Finally I can be outside without being cold and wear dresses (without tights!) every day.

Last week was a bit uneventful on the social side (although much needed) so instead the weekend was a busy and fun one!

It was gorgeous weather on Friday and after work I could enjoy the setting sun while playing crazy golf and sipping on rosé. Once it got darker we headed indoors and had lots of steak and red wine for dinner.

Saturday started with my favourite past-time; a lie-in and scrambled eggs for breakfast, followed by quite a long walk in beautiful Richmond Park. We saw deer, swans, squirrels and the rather exotic parakeets that reside there.

But the best part was the view from King Henry’s Mound, and the ice cream we got nearby!

In the evening a friend invited us round for a BBQ and in typical British fashion we sat outside despite the light rain, which luckily didn’t last long. The menu was perfect burgers and sausages, salad and ice cold rosé followed by berries and ice cream.

Sunday was a day of chores and getting ready for the week ahead, and in the evening I finally started watching the third season of Broadchurch. SO good!

Visby: dinner at Donners Brasserie

Published on October 10, 2017October 10, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

We arrived Visby in the afternoon, having been up since 5am, so we were quite happy just walking around the town for a bit (taking some photos) and then have an early no-fuss dinner.

We ended up at Donners Brasserie and sat outside people-watching (so much fun when most people were dressed in medieval attire). You could tell it was the end of the season as none of the restaurants were full up but at least we were not alone dining here.

The menu was quite simple and although the smoked prawns for a starter appealed we were all ~~hungry~~ starving and went straight for the main course.

Mother had arctic char with potatoes baked in tin foil and served with a coriander mayo. Not ground-breaking but it was cooked well.

I had the steak with bearnaise sauce and fries. The meat was slightly over-cooked but still nice.

Father had the largest portion (so generous!) of lamb racks I’ve ever seen, with sautéed vegetables and a potato salad.

The food was nice, and not very elaborate but I can see it appealing to the crowds in the summer. It was all fresh and cooked well just lacking a bit of oomph.

Donners Brasserie, Donners plats 3, 621 57 Visby, Sweden

Sweden: dinner by the beach at Badhytten

Published on September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 by HannaLeave a comment

My first night in Sweden was sunny and glorious and I spent it the best way possible: with dear friends having dinner at the beach.

This restaurant, bar and nightclub is our favourite place to go in the summer as the setting is beautiful and the place has a fun atmosphere. In recent years it’s been rebuilt, so although the charm from when I was younger is gone it feels a lot more modern and grownup in it’s current design.

We all enjoyed our meal here, it’s not a place where you come just for the food, but combined with the decent wine list, helpful waiters and lovely atmosphere it’s a lovely place.

For the starter, we all ordered exactly the same, the Scandinavian classic Toast Skagen. It’s essentially prawns in mayonnaise and dill served on toast. Here the toast was brioche (nice!) and it was nicely presented with a ribbon of cucumber holding the prawns in place. Extra plus for the generous size!

For our main courses two had the cod loin with pea purée, new potatoes and carrots, two steak and fries with bearnaise sauce and one fish stew.

We were all pleased with our choices, and although the menu is very similar to last year, it’s consistent. My only remark was that my steak was rather overcooked, but still nice.

After the two courses each we were far too full to have pudding, so instead we moved to the lounge area of the restaurant to finish our wine and have teas and coffees. Then later on we hit the bar and dance floor upstairs!

Badhytten, Skanörs hamn, 239 30 Skanör, Sweden

Meat feast at Zelman Meats, Soho

Published on June 14, 2016June 14, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

The team behind the amazing meat restaurants Goodman (and Beast and Burger & Lobster) opened a new meat restaurant in the space where the fish restaurant Rex & Mariano (also owned by the same company) used to reside. In fact, they still use the Rex & Mariano crockery.

Zelman Meats (after the founder Mikhail Zelman) is a mid-market steak restaurant offering “All we do is beef, and we stick to what we know best” according to the website.

The menu is simple, with just a few starters, four different cuts of beef, sides and a few puddings. I like this simple no-fuss approach, which also makes the ambiance relaxed. It’s not white table cloths like Goodman, just good steak and sides in a relaxed restaurant.

This is where to go to pig out on great steak, because the bill won’t be that bad and the meat is just as nice here as at Hawksmoor or Goodman. Take your date or a group of friends and just let your hair down. The staff is really friendly and relaxed but with a sincere passion for steak so they can guide you through the cuts and let you know what’s best served rare or medium.

I came here with two colleagues for lunch, and as only one of us has a big appetite we ordered modestly to begin with, some delicious picanha and amazingly smoky and tender short rib. Once that was demolished we ordered more of the same and enjoyed it with crispy chips, salad and the two sauces on the menu. It was great and even the least meat eater out of the three of us (obviously not me) loved every bite!

Zelman Meats, 2 St Anne’s Court, London W1F 0AZ

Smith & Wollensky, The Strand

Published on March 9, 2016 by HannaLeave a comment

When a famous New York restaurant opens its London restaurant a mere stone’s throw from the office you certainly want to check it out. In fact, I think everybody at the office have been there at least once.

Smith & Wollensky is a very good steak restaurant, which of course the prices reflect (in fact, I would be scared if the meat here was cheap!). But the lunch menu offers a few smaller steaks, as well as burgers, pork chops and plenty of other nice things, so it’s a good idea to go here for lunch.

I was here with my colleague Max, who likes meat, so we tend to go to steak restaurants of nice burger places for lunch. Max actually chose the burger here too, a huge one ground in house, with cheddar and bacon. Delicious!

I chose the steak on the lunch menu, fillet of beef, cooked to perfection, served with bearnaise sauce (very good), nice crispy fries and creamed spinach, that was also very good.

I really like this place, and I recommend going either for lunch or for a real splurge. And if you have room for pudding, the chocolate cake is pure perfection.

Smith & Wollensky, The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam St, London WC2N 6HT