Winner House - after change of owner

28 December 2025

Today, I went to Winner House for lunch. To see how the food and price are like after the change of owners from 1 November. Some of the prices of the menu are the same (here is the menu from the previous ownership) and some of the dishes were removed. Then, I ordered my favourite dish - braised pork with preserved vegetables SEK238 (increased by SEK10), and another dish - fish flavoured aubergine with minced meat SEK188. 

We were given prawn chips as appetisers, as the previous ownership did. But no fried spring rolls. No refill in the prawn chips either, like I used to get. 

Disappointment in the braised pork. The pork did not melt in the mouth, and worst, there were slices of taro (a potato) in the dish too. The waitress asked if taro can be added into the dish. I did not think that it will replace some of the pork slices instead. Both taro and pork slices were brown in colour from the sauce. I had braised pork here before and the presentation is totally different. Difficult to compare the size from the photos but the portion is smaller now. 

The taro slices with the braised pork. Sneaky. Guess that is their way to reduce their cost by adding vegetables inside the dish.

No desserts after the meal. Used to get jasmine tea, fortune cookies, fried bread with custard sauce and red bean syrup from the previous ownership. Well, I am not coming back here again. 

Tastebud : Matcha Ya (2nd time)

26 December 2025

Today, I had Japanese dessert at Matcha Ya. I was here last year in October and I had dinner plus I shared a cotton cheese cake with my friend. This time, I shared a matcha mille crepe SEK79 with a friend too and I had matcha warm chocolate SEK68. The matcha taste is strong. Kind of bitter too but a mild bitter taste. Matcha pattern in the drink was beautiful. I could not taste any chocolate but I enjoyed the drink. 

Tastebud : No 17 Palace (3rd time)

17 December 2025

Third time at this restaurant. I am sure we will come back here again. 

There were 3 of us so we could share 3 dishes. We had boiled entrecote in hot chilli oil SEK278, cabbage with sichuan flavour SEK168 and favourite dish, braised pork SEK238. Rice is included. An extra bowl of rice costs SEK20. 

I had braised pork during my second visit and it came with preserved mustard SEK298. I am glad that the price did not increase. Probably the owners realised that no one eats the preserved mustard. Seems like they are not greedy owners and price the dishes accordingly. During my first visit, I had boiled entrecote with duck blood, tripe and chilli SEK358. I did not see the dish on the menu anymore. Probably there is if one orders separately or if there is a Chinese menu. I saw a group of Chinese diners who had their own room so they may have different dishes. 

The entrecote dish came in a large bowl and it is sufficient for the three of us. It is an affordable price for the huge portion. 

Love the braised pork where the fat melts in the mouth.

Tastebud : Chingu Korean BBQ

16 December 2025

Today's dinner is Korean BBQ. I had Korean BBQ the first time at Asahi BBQ and it was a usual barbeque meal for me. But this one is really good. We had gochujang-marinated pork belly and bulgogi-marinated chicken thigh fillet. We did not have any marinated meat at Asahi. The marinated meat was very tasty! However, quite pricey. Not surprising as this restaurant is located in the town center. 

I had a Chingu set SEK499 that has 200g of meat which consisted of Ribeye (or known as Prime steak - cut of beef from the rib area) Blue Label from Argentina, brisket (a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef) from Spain, chicken from Sweden, pork belly from Sweden. The set includes mushroom, zucchini, onion and bell pepper, rice, salad leaf and threee types of sauces - sesame oil, bean chilli paste (ssamjang) and korean barbeque sauce. There are 5 banchan (side dishes) - pickled radish, bean sprouts, pickled cucumber, sweet potatoes noodles (japchae). Sauces and side dishes are refillable. Description per menu.

Another set is Gam set which includes Waygu beef from Japan. SEK699. I think it is quite expensive and I was worried if it will be too much meat but it was not a lot of meat after my meal. We could have ordered this set too. 

We grilled the non-marinated meat first. On the grill is ribeye and brisket. We were given a pair of scissors to cut the meat into smaller pieces. A waitress helped us to set up the grill by arranging the vegetables and the meat. The meat came in a nice fancy box.

The gochujang-marinated pork belly. My favourite!

Surprisingly, I did not smell too much of barbqeue smoke. The fan on top of the grill helped a lot.

Nobel Week Lights 2025

9 December 2025

After dinner at Tradition, we continued with our evening to look for the lights set up for Nobel Week Lights. That was the reason we met up today. A much-welcomed event by everyone as it is very dark and cold in December. Not to mention, raining almost everyday. No snow either. The lights installations at the Town Hall (Stadshuset) was the most mesmerising of all. The first two stops were boring.

First one are benches lit up and there were recorded talkings in the background. Honestly, I don't think anyone pays much attention to the talkings. Many sat and took a picture. Or just walked pass by. 

Second stop - a giant screen with a video. We did not stop to watch it. There is nothing exciting for me to see a giant outdoor screen. It is like a cinema.

Then, we saw the Town Hall from a distance. The photos from my phone do not give them enough justice.

We walked towards the Town Hall and saw these signboards. I thought they were signs for roadworks but they turn out to be motivational words.

There are many photos on the lights set up at the Town Hall but nothing beats the real experience. It was accompanied by music and the light show changed to various moving motives. 

I was very surprised to see Buddha and Goddess of Mercy.

I love the flying folded cranes.

Last one is a giant tree with falling leaves. 

Then, we had dessert at Wayne's Cafe. A cup of coffee latte SEK49 and a slice of chocolate cake SEK48. Big mistake in having coffee at night as I could not sleep well. My friend wanted whipped cream with her cake. I am not a fan of whipped cream. I don't know why most locals like whipped cream with almost every dessert. Something wet to balance the dry cake? 

Tastebud : Tradition

9 December 2025

Today, we had a fancy dinner at Tradition. I was here in 2019 to celebrate my 2-year anniversary in Sweden but it was lunch. I had salmon pudding (laxpudding) SEK245 as I don't usually have fish very often that came with a bit of browned butter and a slice of lemon. I did not realise it was butter and thought it was a cheese bit. Haha! We were served complimentary bread and hard bread that we had with cottage cheese and butter. Really good appetisers. I was quite full after my meal.

Salmon pudding is an oven-baked dish that is layered with slices of boiled potatoes.

I look really happy in this picture. Haha!

Tastebud : Le Kebab Södermalm

7 December 2025

After watching the musical play A Christmas Carol, we had a late lunch at Le Kebab Södermalm. Initially, we wanted to have hotdogs which is the restaurant next door but it was packed. The space is small but it does look people prefer giant hotdogs stuffed in a baguette.

I was fine having kebab and I did not want to queue. Not in the rain! It was full inside and one has to queue outside. So, I had my kebab chicken on a plate SEK157. Kebab chicken was the top layer and lots of salad and beans underneath.

Musical Play - A Christmas Carol 2025

7 December 2025

Today, I had the opportunity to watch my favourite Christmas musical play - A Christmas Carol, a story on Ebenezer Scrooge who disliked Christmas and was visited by Christmas spirits, past, present and future. I watched this last year and I left the theatre with a happy feeling. Today, I felt the same too. The Christmas songs are joyous. The play was in English and I really loved it. I am also a volunteer this year, similar to last year, for Kompis Sverige to bring the participants to watch the show.

This year, I took a picture with the stage as my background. I did it after everyone left. Too bad none of the actors were around. I would have liked to take a photo with Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim. 

Tastebud : Crave Cafe

7 December 2025

After a long morning walk towards Folkoperan to see a Christmas Carol, we stopped at this cafe to have a light lunch before the musical play. I had a bowl of lentil soup that came with a slice of bread and some croutons SEK75. It is not sourdough bread. Lentil soup was bland to me. It would have been nice with some vinegar, maybe a little more salt and for me, I like chilli but of course, it is not for everyone. I was surprised that the brewed coffee costs SEK40. The owner told me that it includes a second mug. 

Almost as expensive as the one at Ulriksdal Slottsträdgården that I went in 2023 and a mug costs SEK45. Ulriksdal cafe is part of a mansion and so, the price is expected to be expensive. But here, at this random cafe made me wondered if we were in an expensive area. SEK40 is a price for a discounted 450g coffee packet. The reasons why I rarely eat and drnk outside unless it is a new place. 

Tastebud : Renard Bistro

27 November 2025

Dinner at a French restaurant as a belated birthday treat to me. I can count the number of times I ate at a French restaurant and I have vague memories of the restaurant. But with my blog, I can easily read back on my experience. My first experience with French food was at Relais de la Gare where I had work lunch here three times and the last time having beef tartar, and the second restaurant is at Cassi restaurant. I find nothing exciting with French food. 

Today's French dinner started with appetiser - croquette filled with chicken, sprinkled with truffel and served with mayonnaise SEK120. The crispy layer was yummy as all crispy layers should be. Croquette is deep-fried patty made from mashed potatoes.

Main meal is flounder fish cooked Meuniere style SEK285. Meuniere means to bread and fry in butter. My dish was very buttery and I was full from the meal, probably from all the fatty butter. The fish fillet was quite thin almost flat to the plate. It was surrounded by small slices of beetroot. They could have been more generous with the size of the beetroot. The dish is served with lemon, capers and boiled potatoes. They were generous with the lemon because the sour lemon was very strong.

 

My drink is sparkling apple juice SEK60. I like the candlelight. It does not give much warmth but it is pleasant to the eyes.