Category: Dining Out

A weekend in Stockholm.

A weekend in Stockholm.

After one and a half years, I finally get to see my lovely friend Stina again. Last I saw her was when I left on this adventure, leaving her in a limousine with the rest of my friends at Melbourne Airport. We meet up in Sweden, with a plan to drive out into the countryside for Midsummer, as is the traditional Swedish way. But first, we all spent the weekend in Stockholm. Holed up in an apartment in Södermalm, a trendy island neighbourhood in central, we whiled away the time exploring design stores, coffee roasters and bakeries.
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The Great Cornish Pasty Adventure Part 1.

The Great Cornish Pasty Adventure Part 1.

Ah. The Great Cornish Pasty Adventure.

‘What?’ I hear you ask. ‘Is this an actual thing?’

You betcha it is! In Arizona they have an awesome, mildly hipster Cornish pasty restaurant. Mildly hilarious given that pasties are kind of considered equal to hot dogs – cheap, filling, and generally a takeaway food eaten from a paper bag. But they are good. And they can be amazing.

So, I decided way back in March when I got to the UK I would hire a car and drive to Cornwall.
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A Scone Adventure in Marylebone + barista training at Climpson & Sons.

A Scone Adventure in Marylebone + barista training at Climpson & Sons.

The past few months in London have been lovely, because it has been like a revolving door of friends from Melbourne popping in and out. It’s been ridiculous actually – a lot of my spare time has been spent with friends from back home, whether they have moved here or are just passing through. My friend Namita has been on an epic Europe adventure on her own, and has been in and out of London over the past few months. She is heading back to Australia next week so we decided to go on a scone adventure as our last hurrah.

It was her first English scone, so I of course took her to my go-to when downtown, Gails Artisan Bakery. They toaster-press their scones, and they are moist and buttery, just like home. I have an issue with many British scones, in that they are too dry! But not these.
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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal.

So, I was meant to be heading back to America tomorrow. But the past three months in London have heralded so many amazing opportunities for my career. A few days before I was scheduled to leave, another opportunity popped up which just seemed to serendipitous to pass up….. more on this in a month or two, as it becomes more concrete.

Husni and I went out to celebrate everything. Before coming to the UK, I’d been planning on visiting the Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal’s famous restaurant out in Bray. But recently, the World’s 50 Best restaurant list was released for 2014. Fat Duck came in at No. 47, and just revealed that they are packing up and moving to Melbourne, only a few months after I made that exact journey in reverse.

But Dinner By Heston, the Mandarin Oriental-housed restaurant in Knightsbridge, ranked in at No. 5. Surprisingly, I’ve never been to a Top Ten restaurant. Even Blue Hill at Stone Barns (which I personally would have placed in the top ten) was much further down the list. Dinner By Heston is perhaps his most interesting restaurant, as the recipes are all adapted from historic British cookbooks or manuscripts, making your dining experience a trip through 16th-19th Century British cooking. The menu lists the decade each recipe comes from, and the back of the menu provides a list of cookbook sources for the recipes. So move aside Fat Duck, Dinner by Heston is calling.
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Mackerel + South Australian wine in Bloomsbury.

Mackerel + South Australian wine in Bloomsbury.

Husni’s dinner parties are always amazing. We always used to head over to Prahran Market, pick up some amazing ingredients and then go back to his and cook up a feast – our last big dinner party was on Election night, which we soothed tensions with a Beef Wellington and Blood Orange Curd tarts.

So when Husni moved into his new place in Bloomsbury here in London, and all his things arrived from Australia, we knew it was time for another housewarming. His old house in South Yarra in Melbourne had a fabulous housewarming, with waiters and champagne and multiple courses that we slaved away on for a few days. A few musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra set up in his lounge.

This time it was a lunch, and he cooked us mackerel, steak and a pile of amazing starters and sides. The wine flowed, and as we all met each other we realised Husni has been gathering Aussie friends – while few of us knew each other, we were majority Australians (or at least married to one!).
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A drive through Cheddar, Bath, a visit to Stonehenge + a Sunday roast at River Cottage Bristol.

A drive through Cheddar, Bath, a visit to Stonehenge + a Sunday roast at River Cottage Bristol.

I got back from Lincolnshire late yesterday evening, and went straight to the hostel for an early night as Husni was picking me up early this morning to go for a drive out west. We had tossed up over a few locations, Oxford, The Cotswolds – but finally settled on a drive to Cheddar, one of the ‘Great British Drives’, stopping off at Stonehenge on the way.
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Guinness Brewery, a Pub from the 11th Century, Irish Stew + Boxty Pancakes.

Guinness Brewery, a Pub from the 11th Century, Irish Stew + Boxty Pancakes.

Today we were off the the Guinness Brewery, so a hearty breakfast was in order. We started the day walking the grey sidewalk in the rain until we hit Brother Hubbard, a little cafe inviting those cold, wet souls in from the sidewalk with baked goods, heat lamps, and a funky decor. We couldn’t decide on what to order from their Moroccan-influenced menu, so just ordered a pile of things.

We started with their Ginger scones, slathered in orange blossom butter and topped with a selection of jams: apple with a hint of clove, berry with rose and almond, and spiced marmalade.
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