SMAK restaurant in Stockholm - 25th of March 2011

We went to Stockholm last weekend to organise our up and coming wedding. I had thought long and hard about where to go for dinner in the evening and after lots of research on the internet i picked SMAK www.restaurangentm.com/  which is part of the F12 group.
We both loved this restaurant! The concept is that you create your own tasting menu and you tick what food you want to include. You can have 3, 5 or 7 courses and you can mix and match savoury and sweet in any combination. You can also add on even more courses if you have a really big appetite. You can also choose to have "tasting glasses" of wine to match some or all of your dishes, or go for normal glasses or by the bottle.. i love the freedom of choice here!
Really liked the atmosphere and the very friendly staff.. the only downside is that the tables are very close together so you can overhear everything that is being said on either side of your table.
We decided on 7 courses each - 5 savoury and 2 sweet and we both picked the same dishes apart from 2. In hindsight it would have been more fun to pick all different dishes to try more but hey, this means we have to go back again!

My first dish was called: “Clay pot” matjes herring, red onion


It was so lovely and typical scandinavian with matjes herring, slicec boiled potatoes, egg and onion. Lovely and savoury.

My second dish was: Yuzo – “Sashimi” scallop, tofu, soya

Very fresh and clean tasting!

My third dish was the star of the show: Truffle – “Black ‘n’ white ‘n’ green” asparagus, parmesan

This is the dish where everybody around us (including ourselves) were seriously considering licking the dish clean! Such a simple dish but oh so good...

My fourth dish was: Wild garlic – “Oeuf cocotte” morells, chicken, bacon 
 An egg poached in a creamy concoction of cream, morell mushrooms, chicken and bacon.. yum.

My fifth dish was: Miso – “Glacée” lamb cutlet, daikon radish, sesame

Perfectly cooked lamb with japanese flavours.

My sixth dish was: Pistachio – “Gauffre” preserved strawberries

I went for it because i love pistachio however, i was disappointed since i did not think the flavours worked together as a dish. Everything was fine individually but not together.. plus i found it a bit boring.

My seventh and final dish was: Licorice – “Fondant” chocolate, sour cream, cherry
This was great! Chocolate fondant with a hint of licorice.. heaven

I would higly highly recommend this restaurant if you are visiting Stockholm.. we are definately going back again.. and again...

Obsessed with baking - 22nd of March 2011

I am currently in a phase where i just want to bake cakes and cookies whenever i have the time.. so, my colleagues at work are currently on the receiving end of home baked cookies a couple of times a week.
This time i actually remembered to get photographic evidence so here are my coconut cookies and my peanut cookies - both very nice! It us just a shame i forgot to photograph my gooey brownies with caramel and banana.. the whole HR department wanted the recipe! ;-)

Kettners - 13th of March

Had a nice and relaxed Sunday lunch with our DaCosta friends at Kettner's in Soho http://www.kettners.com/
They had a 50% off the a la carte offer going on toptable which we immediatley booked.. well, Pernilla did.. we just came along for the ride.
Kettners is such a nice little place with some lovely interior - really like what they have done with it.

I started with some deepfried and crumbed goats cheese served with yellow and red beetroot and salad with a balsamic dressing. Just what the doctor oredered for a Sunday lunch after a Saturday night out.
Following that i had beef with salsa verde, rocket and chips which was very nice too.

Highly recommend Kettner's for a casual lunch or dinner.

Dinner at Anokha - 26th of February

Booked a dinner for the Saturday night on a spur of a moment.. decided that we fancied some Indian food and i found this very stylish Indian restaurant called Anokha on Toptable with a 50% offer on. http://www.anokha-indian.com/
We went there with the address programmed into the navigations system.. and couldn't find it! It is hidden away amongst small one way streets and even the iphone's map system had problems finding it.. we finally arrived 30 min late.. slightly flustered (me - i have being late).
We were the only people in the restaurant but it soon picked up with more people arriving. The menu is very comprehensive with both modern indian dishes and the old favorites.
I had the "Spicy Tandoory lamb chops" (£6.95) and they were lovely and french trimmed with no excess fat - lovely. Karim had "Sheek kebab" - no surprises there (£4.95) which he was very happy with.
I then had a Goan speciality called "Xacutie chicken" which had lots of shredded coconut and chillies in it.. quite a dry curry but very tasty and not too hot. Karim had a mild "Lamb Passanda" and we had some Chana masala (chickpeas) and Saag Aloo (spinach / potato) and naan breads.. A very nice feast of a dinner and we felt rather full afterwards.. would happily come back again.. now that we know how to find it.

Lunch at Pho - Westfield - 26th of February

I really like Westfield shopping centre and i really like all the little food options that they have there.. you might fancy Turkish, Mexican, Chinese or Spanish tapas.. and they have it all. We went for Vietnamese this time and it was very good.
We decided on the pork and the vegetarian spring rolls to share.. i have to say that the pork spring rolls were very good.. i then had the "Spicy green mango salad with pork, dried shrimp and peanuts" whilst Karim happily slurped away on his Pho soup with beef and meatballs.
Lovely flavoursome fast food - highly recommend!

Dinner at Meza with the girls - 18th of February

Had a girly evening out on the 18th of February with the lovely ladies :-) We met up at Detroit bar http://www.detroit-bar.com/ close to where i work (they have some good happy hour cocktails until 7pm which we then followed up with dinner at Meza on Wardour Street http://www.meza-bar.co.uk/. Our birthday girl, Erika, had managed to bag a 3 course deal for £15 which is great for Meza. We had a limited menu with around 3-4 choices per course but for £15 - who can complain?
Meza was really buzzy when we arrived just after 7pm.. great ambiance and we got a very good table .. i think we scared away the group that sat nearby with our laughing but hey, you can't please everyone... and 8 girls after a few cocktails can not be expected to be quiet ;-)

For my starter i had "Marinated scottish salmon, belgium endive, sweet mustard and dill dressing" which was perfectly acceptable but quite small. For my main i had "Pan fried seabass, grain mustard mashed potatoes, mussels and a beurre blanc" This was only let down with the mash which had been totally overworked so the texture was a bit like glue.
My dessert was "Orange flower & dark bitter chocolate tart with mascarpone and chestnut honey" which was nice.
Definately a good place to go with a group for a fun evening. A big plus was our lovely waiter Kurt, who did not get intimidated by us and just took it all in his stride :-)  A big minus for Meza having pushy toilet attendants who expect you to give them a pound for just handing you a paper towel to dry your hands...

Lena's Restaurant - 24th of February

Had a dinner date with my lovely friends Fredrik and Ian on a lovely and warm (for being February) Thursday evening. They had booked a restaurant called "Lena" in Shoreditch on a 50% off the a la carte deal (the price next to each dish below is the full a la carte price and we had 50% off that)
http://www.lenarestaurant.com/
The restaurant looked very white, zesty and modern and we were lucky enough to get the lovely sofa's by the entrance (i think Ian had requested the sofa's when booking) which were comfortable.
Service was good after some initial issues with the wine order due to a missunderstanding (the old language barrier) but that was sorted out and we were "good to eat".
I had "Seared hand-dived Devonshire scallops, crispy pancetta, salsa verde" (£14.50) which was nice but the scallops were not seared properly.. so could have been better - i love it when scallops have been properly seared and almost caramelized on the outside and still soft on the inside.. sadly not this time.
For main i had "Sliced char-grilled Scottish sirloin steak, rocket leaves, black truffle shavings & white truffle oil. (£22.90) Perfectly cooked beef, medium, with lovely truffle aroma. Very tasty indeed!
I really enjoyed this restaurant and i would come back again on a deal but i would not pay full price.

Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley Hotel - 22nd of February

I booked a table at Marcus Wareing @ The Berkeley for Karim's birthday dinner on the 22nd of February. I have always admired Marcus cooking from the days when he used to head up the kitchen at Gordon Ramseys' Maze (which actually used to be at the Berkeley).. i have fond memories of the "bon bon trolley" and to my great surprise it is still there!
We were both very excited about the dinner ahead and the restaurant was very busy when we arrived on a Tuesday evening. It is not exactly the right place to take up a camera phone and snap away so i am afraid there are no photos to show... however, the food was beautiful and the service very good and attentive without being intrusive.
We decided to go for the "Menu Prestige" which showcases the restaurant's cooking and gives you a little bit of everything. This is also so much more fun since you get to try things you normally might not order. All the appetizers/starters were great and looked like little pieces of art. Karim picked the beef for his main and i picked the lamb... both of us enjoyed our choices. We skipped the cheese course and went straight for dessert (incl. 2 pre desserts). We then were so full up that when the bon bon trolley came around we could not eat anything.. but luckily for us we got a bag of chocolate truffles to go instead! I would highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion but note that it is very expensive so save up before you go! (like i did :-))

Prestige Menu

Foie gras, prune, armagnac, walnut, apple
•••
Dorset crab, potato bread, pear, chestnut
•••
Quail, chorizo, tomato marmalade, goats’ cheese, coriander
•••
Langoustine, black pudding, clementine, leek
•••
Cornish lamb, falafel, cucumber, carrot, pink peppercorn yogurt
Or
Aberdeen Angus beef fillet, onion, parsley, smoked bone marrow
•••
Selection of cheeses from La Fromagerie (£12 supplement)
•••
Pre dessert
•••
Espresso arctic roll, bitter chocolate, blackberry
£ 98