Chirashi don from Atariya. A bit pricey, but they were quite generous with their sashimi portions, and even including a scallop and a nice heap of ikura.
Although this is pretty standard British fare that you can get almost anywhere in London, the one from North Sea is one of the better ones I've tried (although it doesn't seem to be as good when I take out). The seafood platter offers a wide variety of fish, as well as other seafood like squid and shrimp, which helps a little with the jelatness. The seafood was fresh and paired very nicely with their homemade tartar sauce (that seems to have a bit of mustard/horse radish mixed in). It comes with refillable chips which is always a plus!
Niku beef udon (£11.50) from Ichiryu Udon. Consisting of (quite a generous portion of) sukiyaki beef, ontama egg, spring onion, fishcake and seaweed, it's quite a hefty portion and the quantity is well worth the price. Udon noodles were cooked perfectly, although the beef itself was a bit underwhelming - some of it was clumping together, and parts of it were chewy.
Pistachio cheesecake from Bertels Salon. Really, really good cheesecake - it was really light yet rich at the same time, so you won't get jelat at all. It basically just melts in your mouth and isn't sticky/chewy like some tend to be. The base is sufficiently buttery and of the right consistency such that it doesn't disintegrate with a slight touch. Pricey, but I would say worth it!
Taiwanese fried chicken from Good Friend (used to be called Bigbe Chicken - now located just a few doors down from its original location in Chinatown). The fried chicken here was surprisingly very authentic and good. The chicken was juicy and thick enough so that each bite was quite substantial. The batter was thin and crisp, but still slightly chewy inside. But what made it great was the seasoning - not too salty such that it leaves you reaching for water after every bite, and with just enough chilli/pepper. The fried tofu is also a must!
Salted beef brisket bagel (beigel?) from Beigel Bake at Bricklane. Amazing, tender, fall-apart-in-your-mouth brisket with melty fats to go along with it. Just when you think it's getting a bit too jelat, the pickles kick in and provides some much-needed acidity while the mustard gives a nice heat to the whole thing.
Fried and boiled plaice with white asparagus, shrimp and caviar. Recognised as a Danish, or more broadly a Scandinavian, speciality, the open-faced sandwiches from Restaurant Sankt Annæ (which has a Michelin Bin Gourmand) were definitely one of the culinary highlights in Copenhagen. Although the boiled plaice and shrimp combo got a little fishy at times, it was balanced out by the creamy tartar and a squeeze of lemon. The caviar was a nice addition which gave it an additional saltiness.
Raclette cheese on top of boiled potatoes with a side of pickles. Tbh it looks/sounds a lot better than it tastes. While the cheese was nice and melty, with the slightly charred bits having a nice crisp, ultimately it's just melted cheese and you're really paying for the wow factor of them scraping melted cheese on your food. Having said that, it does make for a nice snack - the boiled potatoes are just plain potatoes which is a good thing since the cheese is quite rich. It goes quite nicely with the pickles which helps provide some acidity to balance out the cheese.
Kili breakfast from Kilimanjaro Coffee consisting of bacon, sausage, egg, potato scone, haggis, mushrooms, tomato, and toast. Essentially a typical English breakfast with the addition of the potato scone - which has the consistency of a slightly tougher pancake - and haggis. Traditionally, it's sausage meat, barley and other stuff cooked in an animal's skin (stomach I think) - basically a Scottish 'sausage' so to speak; not a big fan of it. Price is decent for the amount given and a good place for coffee in the morning since they open quite early (7.00am).
Currywurst (€2~) from Curry Mitte in Berlin! Essentially a sausage drenched in ketchup and dusted with curry spices to get an instant curry sauce of sorts. Very typical/standard German street, but I really liked it! Not sure if it was because this shop made particularly good ones. It was great that this shop fried the sausages on the spot for you. Bread rolls are also toasted fresh so they come out crisp outside and fluffy inside, which pair nicely with the sausages. Cheap and good! Interesting fact: apparently in what was West Germany, the currywurst had their skins left on while those in East Germany had the skins removed, giving the former a crispier texture.
This was SO GOOD - a thin, crispy layer of katsu batter outside with tender onglet cooked to a perfect medium rare. Usually with deep fried beef there's a risk of it being overlooked and dry but this was just the right doneness. The sauce was slightly tangy, and provided some acidity to help cut through the grease, but other than that was nothing spectacular. Still, the beef is all you need tbh.
Spice fried venison from Bistro Bestick - something that I really wanted to try when coming to Stockholm. I wouldn't say it's bad, but I don't think anyone is missing out by just sticking to beef. The meat has a similar texture to beef, but slightly more gamey and not as flavourful. However this could just be because I'm more accustomed to the taste of beef than venison. Anyway, the spice they added (I think star anise?) was quite strong and distracting, but the meat was cooked to a nice medium rare and seared perfectly. The accompanying side was quite delicious - pickled yellow beets, hazelnuts, Jerusalem artichoke cream, mushrooms, cabbage and smoked Västerbottens cheese. The cheese added a nice saltiness which complimented the sweetness of the artichokes and beets, while the different textures from the various components came together nicely #burpple #burppletastemaker #sweden #bistrobestick #dinner #venison #stockholm #exchange #steak
