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!

Ghost walk with dinner

6 December 2024

Just came back from an activity that I have been wanting to do for a long time - ghost walk! I bought an experience coupon that came with dinner too from Upplevelse website. I got it during Black Week so it was 50% discounted to SEK397. I compared with the price in the company's website and it was cheaper than SEK780. My walk was guided by Historiska Vikingslag. There was another group by Stockholm Ghost Walk and I saw some of their photos in Upplevelse website. For Stockholm Ghost Walk, their ghost walk activity with dinner costs SEK620. However, for Stockholm Ghost Walk, there are no acting scenes as Historiska Vikingslag has. 

Our ghost walk was in the Old Town (Gamla Stan). Our guides were funny when they acted out some scenes. The first guide died from pest disease while he was narrating about the pest outbreak. Then, the second guide took over and he played the executor. Then, the first guide came back into the scene acting as the architect who designed the Royal Place. Our walk took about an hour and ended with dinner at Sten Sture restaurant. If given another chance, I will just buy the ghost walk only. 

For dinner, it was a package of Deer Rydberg and chocolate cake. The price in the menu showed SEK365 and SEK85 respectively so I was very surprised about the small food portion. When I checked the reviews by other guests for the restaurant, the food portion was bigger and look very different. There were definitely more meat pieces if you are not part of the ghost walk. My potatoes were pre-cut and cold and meat was at room temperature. When I mentioned to the waitress that my potatoes were cold, she apologised and said I will get a bigger portion of chocolate cake which I did not receive. Drinks are not included in the meal package and I had an alcohol-free drink for SEK55. Even tap water costs SEK10! Ridiculous.

Tastebud : Cong

27 May 2024

SUPER YUMMY Vietnamese street food! The only downside is the loud background music which made it difficult to talk to my friend. It was very warm in the restaurant too. Although it is just May, it is very warm in Stockholm now. I don't understand why do restaurants set loud music. How are customers going to talk to each other? We were in the restaurant for an hour only and left the place so that we can talk. There were many tourists in the restaurant as this place is located in Gamla Stan (Old Town), a must-see place for most tourists. 

I love the food! The two of us shared five dishes. In total, the food costed 740kr. 

1) Spicy tofu stick 138kr. Good thing it was spicy because I dislike the bland taste of tofu. 

2) Summer rolls (chicken) 148kr. Typical Vietnamese spring rolls. This is more expensive than the summer rolls (with shrimps) I had at An Nam for 128kr. 

3) Grilled pork 198kr. This is when we realised that we needed a bowl of rice and we ordered one to share. Yummy with the fish sauce and pickled salad. I ate with some of the lettuce leaves. 

4) Chicken burger 218kr. I love the fried chicken! The menu states that the fried chicken weighs 280g. Well, the burger was not necessary but it was quite impressive to see a knife holding the bread and the fried chicken together. Put together with mayo, coriander and chilli. The fried chicken in the burger reminded me of the fried chicken on the doughnut served at Bird.

5) Bowl of rice. 38kr. I think this is expensive after going through my older posts. For example, a bowl of rice at Lilla Kina costs 15kr! But the price may have increased today as I visited Lilla Kina in 2022. I browsed through the menu again and the price of the dishes I tried have almost doubled!

Once again, I put my hand for size perspective. I do not mind coming here again to try other dishes. 

Tastebud : Engelen (Christmas buffet)

25 November 2019

This year, I experienced my first Christmas table buffet, also fondly known as julbord (pronounced as yool-board which means Christmas table). Christmas buffets start as early as the last week of November. You will be surprised to know that Christmas table buffets cost a lot per person and it is difficult to find an affordable. We found one that costs SEK395 per person in Engelen pub on a Monday evening. Christmas table buffets cost more from Thursdays to Sundays. As it costs only SEK395, they have the basic dishes for a Christmas table buffet. I was happy enough to try the basic ones because I was very stuffed by the end of the dinner. I ordered a non-alcoholic cider for SEK45.

There was a live band in the dining room which made it difficult for us to hear one another. So, we ate and enjoyed our meal. 

Takvandring = Rooftop Tour

27 August 2018

Today, I did a rooftop tour! And this is thanks to Kompis Sverige again. Earlier, I had joined their activities for theatre plays and concerts. They have super awesome activities and I check their website pretty often. 

There were 8 of us and we gathered at Gamla Stan to meet up with 2 guides from Takvandring. These ladies are really knowledgeable about Stockholm. We stood at the rooftop and the lady with the blond hair explained to us about the history of Stockholm.   

Our rooftop tour was at the top of Gamla Riksdag Huset which means The Old Parliament House. The rooftop was located on the 7th floor. There were harnesses and helmets provided, as well as a plastic pouch to hang around your neck to store your mobile phone in case you don't have a neck holder for your phone.  

Storkyrkan (Stockholm Cathedral)

3 July 2018

Last year in 2017, I went to all the free churches around Stockholm (Katarina, Sofia, German, Saint James) and paid for one which is Riddarholmen Church. One of the high churches that I have not stepped in is Storkyrkan - Stockholm Cathedral because one needs to pay an entrance fee. One can see this church when one takes a panoramic view of Gamla Stan. 

Today, I finally got enough funds to pay for the entrance fee - SEK60. Yes, it is a lot for a jobless person! 

Storkyrkan (The Great Church), officially named Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of St. Nicholas) and informally called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral), is the oldest church in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Source from Wikipedia.

Riksdagshuset (The Parliament House)

27 February 2018

The first time I went inside Sweden's Parliament House, I was on a tourist visit in 2015 and I was surprised that visitors are allowed to go in. I went inside the debate hall and left after 30 minutes because I could not understand a word of Swedish.

Today, I went again, with a full guided tour of the public areas in the Parliament. It was a school excursion trip - and by school, it was a job employment program and we have occasional one-day excursion. 

The Swedish Parliament has 5 functions - set legislation, approve budget, control government, determine Sweden's position in international political situation and participate in EU matters. The guide mentioned these functions frequently which somehow stuck inside my head. Haha!

Christmas Market at Gamla Stan

3 December 2017

My third Christmas market is in Gamla Stan (Old Town), a very famous tourist spot in Stockholm. Your visit to Stockholm is not complete without it. Sweden's oldest Christmas market since 1915. Of course, being a tourist spot, you can expect throngs of tourists and expensive stuff on sale. This Christmas market was held everyday in December until Christmas eve. The location is at the little square which is right in front of the Nobel Museum.

There are so many Christmas decorations and Christmas presents-potential sold here. There is really no reason at all for one to say that they cannot find a present. The question is just if you are willing to pay!

Glögg (pronounced as 'glerg') is mulled wine (warm wine with spices drank to warm one up and have together with raisins or a walnut) and is sold for SEK25 for a small cup. I saw a sole booth outside the Christmas market selling for SEK30 and a tourist was excited to try it. This drink is also sold in the supermarket (e.g. ICA) for SEK28 in a 750ml bottle. So, imagine the profit but also the booth rented here is expensive.  

Dansmuseet (The Dance Museum)

9 August 2017

Dance Museum. Stockholm has museums for the oddest thing. I thought it was free entrance as stated in the website but it was apparently not updated, and the entrance fee is SEK120. Since no one was manning the counter, I went in unaware that one needs to pay. I only found out when I walked out of the museum and a tourist got stopped at the counter that he needed to pay.

Dansmuseet (the Dance Museum) is a museum for the performing and visual arts located in Stockholm, Sweden. Opened in 1953 in the basement of the Royal Swedish Opera, it originally displayed a large collection of dance-related art that belonged to Rolf de Maré, a leader of the Ballets suédois in Paris from 1920–25. In 1969, a library, named after the Swedish dancer, Carina Ari was endowed by Ari and attached to the museum with Bengt Hägar as its curator. The library contains the most comprehensive archive of literature on dance in Northern Europe. The museum is currently located at Drottninggatan 17. The library, receives no state funds, as it is privately endowed. The majority of its collection are materials from Western Europe which date between 1500 and 1850, a journal collection dating at the turn of the 20th century, and a video library of thousands of films. There is also a large collection of books on Russian dance. Source from Wikipedia.

Tyska Kyrkan (German Church)

31 July 2017

Now, I am on a Church hunt. There are 3 obvious churches when you see the panoramic view of Gamla Stan. Their domes are high up in the skies. They are Riddarholmen Church, German Church and the Swedish Church. I did not go inside the Swedish Church (Stor Kyrkan) as one needs to pay a fee to go inside, and so that was left out until I got sufficient monies. 

Today, I am at the German Church. It became my favourite church after I went in. I have no idea why did I made that decision. It could be because of the pictures on the ceilings, the very elaborated paintings inside the church or the high spire that is very distinguished in its design. I was very surprised that there is no entrance fee. 

Kungliga Myntkabinettet (Royal Coin Cabinet)

30 July 2017

This is the Coin Museum, my simplified version for Royal Coin Cabinet. It is situated right opposite the Royal Palace. There were not many visitors here though. 

The Coin Cabinet is an institution with a national responsibility for the conservation and the historical studies of coins, medals, and finance in general. Through expositions, the institution offers insights in the economical history of the world; by lending objects from its collection to researchers and expositions all over the world, it helps develop the knowledge within its scope; and by maintaining a national register of coin hoards, it is of great importance to scholars in Sweden. Over the portal is a piece of art by Elisabeth Ekstrand from 1996 called Vattenporfyrlek ("Water Porphyry Game") made of porphyry and marble. The museum includes exhibitions of coins, banknotes (the first in the world was issued in 1661 by Stockholms Banco), treasure hoards and piggy banks. Source from Wikipedia.

Free Tour Stockholm : Gamla Stan (Old Town)

26 July 2017

My next guided tour is to Gamla Stan (Old Town). Gamla Stan is one of the must-see in Stockholm. It is a definite tourist destination. This place is always crowded with tourists and everything is over-priced here. I back with the guided tour from Free Tour Stockholm again! My first experience with them was a guided tour to Sodermalm. I got the same guide again the second time - Peter. Of course, he did not remember me. The amount of tourists that join the group is so overwhelming but it is so cool that he could hold the group together with his jokes and stories. We met in front of the exit of T-Central station.