Tastebud : Kanto Bistro (2nd time)

7 October 2026

After dinner at Rara, we took a stroll to look for a place to have dessert. First, we went into Bröd & Salt (Bread & Salt) but they have buns only. Then, we passed by Mellqvist Kaffebar. There were so many people sitting outside on the outdoor serving enjoying their drinks and it was quite lively. I thought it was cold but I guess that don't stop anyone from enjoying a cold beer and wine. Continued on to the end of the street and we saw Kanto. We were here in 2024 to have Filipino food. I loved it here! 

We had ube cassava SEK120 and ube ice-cream SEK120. My friend had the ice-cream and I had the cassava. Price increased by SEK10 from the last time we were here. I had cassava too when I was here the first time.

Tastebud : Rara (2nd time)

7 October 2026

Today's dinner is Nepalese food. Well, the only significant dish is momo that is from Nepal. A different name for dumpling. Looks exactly like a dumpling, like how I make mine and the fillings are similar, pork, chicken, mushroom or prawn. The rest of the food in the menu is similar to Indian food. The restaurant was full and there were even walk-ins who had to wait. I was here in 2025 and had fried momos, curries, naan bread and starters with individual prices. Today's price, a year later, has increased, as expected.

We shared 3 smalls SEK365 - pork belly cooked in gochujang, puri, and spinach sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. SEK122 per plate is quite expensive since the portion is small. Also shared two of 8 momos SEK400 - one set with hot soup and the other with butter gravy (cooked in tomato sauce. Each set costs SEK200. 

Based on the description in the menu, puri dish is made of Semolina puff, potatoes, yogurt, mint &

coriander, tamarind and lentils. There is 5 balls. 

Chill belly - Slow cooked Pork belly, schezwan, gochuyang, soy, onion and paprika. There are 4 pieces of pork belly. It is sweet due to gochujang. No taste of sichuan pepper though although it is one of the ingredients in schezwan. I like this dish.

The momos. The one on the left is momo is tomato-butter sauce. We chose the filing with pork, shrimp and chives. The filings did not have any special taste. The sauce is good. I hope there were 8 momos because I am seeing 7 momos in the photo. The one on the right is momo in Nepali hot soup that is infused with Himalayan spices. I can taste the spices and I prefer this compared to the butter sauce. 

Tastebud : Farsi (2nd time)

30 August 2026

Iranian food for lunch at Farsi located in Mall of Scandinavia. I was here last year and had lamb stew. This time, my friend and I had grilled plate for two persons - Grilled lamb, grilled ground lamb, grilled chicken, cucumber yoghurt, grilled tomato and salad (some cut tomatoes, onions and cucumber). With a plate full of rice. So full. Shared between two persons SEK499. Not spicy. Meat is juicy. Not the kind of food I will go back to again. I thought I could not finish my rice but I did. We chose this place because all the other places were packed as a football match was taking place in 2 hours' time and many people were in the mall occupying the restaurants to have lunch and beer. 

Tastebud : Tres Taco Joint

15 July 2026

Mexican tacos for dinner! I booked two seats for the Ocean bus tour in Stockholm and we had to be there 15 minutes before the ride so we chose this restaurant which took us 8 minutes to walk there. Good meal too. I like that the lady bartender was strict about toilets reserved for paying customers only. But she gave in to a man who walked in who needed to use the toilet. The man could be persistent. He did not look like he had a place to go as he was in a down jacket (for winter) and a beanie.

We shared an appetiser - nachos plate SEK165 and I had a combo plate with 3 different kinds of taco fillings SEK225. I enjoyed my meal and was very full.  

Nachos plate (from the website) Home made tortilla chips topped with rib eye, spicy cheese sauce, red onion, jalapeño and cilantro. I enjoyed the jalapeno and spicy cheese sauce. That slight spicy tingy was yummy. 

My combo cuate consisted of 1 birria (Fried tortilla, melted cheese, beef stew, cilantro - served with consomme), 1 conchinita (Corn tortilla, pork stew, crispy cheese, guacamole, cheese, onion, cilantro) and 1 campechano (Corn tortilla, rib eye, chorizo, chicharrón, onion, cilantro). Filling description is from the restaurant's website. I like that the menu has both Swedish and English description. So, I did my favourite activity of calculating if it is cheaper with a combo or eating the individual tacos. It is cheaper with individual tacos by SEK16. Based on the tacos-set menu, 2 birria SEK185, 3 campechano / conchinita SEK175. So, one of each comes to SEK209. But unfortunately, there is no combo set that allows to choose individual tacos. However, Maiz Mexican has that option to choose any 3 tacos for SEK199 and an individual taco is SEK99.  

Tastebud : Matcha Ya (3rd time)

7 July 2026

It is Japanese dessert at Matcha Ya. We went here after dinner at Nopo 1988. They were on the same street. Had the same dessert as during my first visit in 2024 - cotton cheesecake SEK68. Price is still the same for the cotton cheesecake. For the drink, I had matcha tea SEK58. It was bitter and watery. Well, it is tea. During my previous two visits, I had matcha red bean tea and matcha chocolate. I should check my blog next time before having the dessert. My friend and I were considering between cotton cheesecake and mango roll. I chose the cheesecake because I read that Japanese cheesecake is nice. Well, it is not very firm and also, it is a small slice. 

Tastebud : Nopo 1988

7 July 2026

Today's dinner is Korean food. My friend and I shared a hotpot for two that came with rice cakes, very thinly sliced fishcakes, egg noodles, an egg sliced in half (couldn't we get an egg each?), spring onions SEK359. We ordered an extra dish - beef 100g för SEK59. No kimchi or other side dishes that one usually gets in a Korean meal. Very different setting here. The broth in the hotpot was gochujang paste. So, it is sweet and to me, I think it is still bland. There are no flavours inside. Probably because I like spices. My best experience with Korean food is still Madame in 2023.

Tastebud : Thelins

30 June 2026

After dinner at Pom Friterie, we had dessert at Thelins. It is difficult to find a cafe that does not close at 7pm. Only larger cafe chains close at 8pm. Thelins and Vetekatten. I had a slice of Budapest SEK62. If one takes away, it costs SEK59. Apparently tax 25% for eating in and tax 12% for taking away. Gosh, what a difference. At least, the cafe is honest with the pricing. Last year, I was at another Thelins franchise at Sankt Eriksgatan and had the princess cake with green marzipan. Also SEK62. 

Sweet cake. Luckily, I cycled today. So, I did not feel bad eating cake. 

By the way, I just found out that there is a difference between cafe, bakery and in this case, konditorei. Did you know this? I learn something new everyday.

A konditorei sells wide variety of pastries, cake and desserts and typically also serves as a café. No bread sold here. 

A cafe serves various types of coffee and beverages. Sells food too. 

A bakery bakes and sells bread. 

Tastebud : Pom Friterie

30 June 2026

Today, I had the world's best french fries. No kidding! This restaurant won the award in the international category in the World Championship French Fries in Arras, France in 2024. This competition is in its 4th year now. This is how Pom Friterie does its fries:

Our Pom Frites are made from a unique Dutch potato, selected for its texture and flavor. Sustainably grown by a single farmer on mineral-rich sea clay close to the North Sea. The fresh potato is turned into crispy Pom Frites through a natural process, without additives. Fried in high-quality sunflower oil and finished with handharvested sea salt from Bretagne.

Wow, sourced from a single farmer. This farmer must have a huge land to plant so many potatoes. Also, one cannot use the same land to plant potatoes after two years due to disease and pests builtup. The land needs to take a break for 4 years. Interesting, right? 

Honestly, the fries were really good. Crispy on the outside and airy in the inside. So good! I had entrecote and fries SEK299. Quite expensive for a small portion. Okay, I know the fries won an award and comes far but still, I wished the meat could be bigger. 

Me and my small portion. I was disappointed. Probably this counts almost like fine dining food. Small portions, large prices.

I took this photo to show that tea light are being used during the warm summer! Oh my goodness. So unnecessary. Waste of money. I moved the tea light and holder away to the next table and the staff took it away and blew out the fire. 

Tastebud : Björkvik Bistro (5th time)

27 June 2026

The annual visit to Björkvik Bistro. This time, I am not taking fish and chips that I had been doing for the past two visits. There is a new dish on the menu which has the lowest price - crispy chicken with coleslaw SEK265. Another dish on the menu has the same price which is fried chevre but I did not take it because I am not a fan of a huge piece of cheese. I think this dish could be cheaper because the chicken piece is not huge and it is a lot of vegetables. It is summer and vegetables (salad and cabbage) ought to be affordable.

Tastebud : Minigolf Kristineberg

24 June 2026

We wanted to play minigolf today and we dropped in but the place was packed with many like-minders. Not only that, they were in big groups and one can place a booking for a group of 8. We could only play at 7.15pm and it was 6pm. Sad. So, we skipped the minigolf. Anyway, I had a double smash burger SEK179 before my wishful game of minigolf. Really tasty meat patty. Lots of fries. I am not a fan of fries but I finished them though. Not a fan of wasting food either.

Tastebud : Taza Artisan Cafe

9 June 2026

Filipino cafe that has both main meal and dessert. I was curious to find out what artisan means. I have seen that word but never really understood the meaning. So, according to the Internet, artisan cafe mean cafe that focuses on quality and craftmanship of its coffee rather than mass production. Well, the cafe here has a coffee machine and a coffee brew machine just all cafes. So, I thought if it includes food and artisan food means food made using traditional techniques and crafts. Most likely, the dessert here is cooked the traditional way as it has a main ingredient widely used in Phillippines, the ube.  

The green dessert on display is pandan coconut roll. I was not keen with the very green colour. It looks like there is a lot of colouring and not just pandan extract.

I had tapsilok SEK170, a dish of marinated beef with rice and fried egg and some mango pieces. Nothing extraordinary here. I am happy there is fried egg. My friend and I shared a slice of ube cassava SEK62, and a sweet ube bread filled with sugar and butter SEK35. I enjoyed both dessert. The texture of the  bread reminded me almost of croissant. Almost crunchy but not.

My friend had chicken adobo SEK160. I made adobo before so I was not excited by it.

Tastebud : Lalibela

6 June 2026

Ethiopian food for dinner. I have tasted Ethiopian food twice at Ethiostar in 2019 and Gojo in 2024. An ex-colleague from Ethiopia told me that the food in Gojo is the best. The food here is good too, it does not differ from the ones I had at Ethiostar and Gojo. The meat stews and injera bread were similar in all these 3 restaurants.

The four of us shared a Lalibela special SEK330 that had Chicken stew, beef stew, lamb stew, two types of vegetables (cabbage and beans), roast beef or Kitfo served with cottage cheese that was supposed to be sufficient for 2 persons but it would have suffice for 4 persons. The portion is huge! We had also Yedoro Wott SEK195 which is Chicken drumstick in spicy sauce, boiled egg and cottage cheese. The staff told us that both dishes were put together in the big woven basket. We could have just stick with the Lalibela Special only.

Tastebud : Hasselsson

6 June 2026

Fish and chips at Hasselsoson. Really yummy. Served hot with tartar sauce. Sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Crispy. Sumptious! SEK139. I like. 

Tastebud : El Birria Kista

5 June 2026

Mexican food for dinner. 4 tacos SEK179 where I chose a different filling for each slow-braised and pulled meat, but I could not taste much difference in them. One taco had some chilli in it so I could taste the spicyness which I enjoyed. The rest tasted almost similar. Anyhow, all the tacos were delicious and yummy. It came with a small bowl of dipping sauce and tomato salad. I had lemonade mango SEK69. Mild mango taste. Not really worth it, though.

Tastebud : The Fishery (Ringen)

4 June 2026

Fish and potatoes for dinner. Out with friends and found a place in Ringen food court where the fish stall has many good reviews. It was good! SEK150. It is affordable. Received three small fish fillets and many small fresh potatoes. Dish comes with some carrots and tomatoes. 

Tastebud : Smedjan

30 May 2026

Tried a new restaurant in the neighbourhood - Smedjan that was reopened by the owners, after renting out to multiple tenants. It is not a long menu so it was easy to choose a meal. Four choices for the main meal - smashburger, fish, pork ribs and beef tender loin. 

I had the smashburger that came with two beef patties SEK225. Very filling and unfortunately, tasteless. We thought that the cook forgot to salt and pepper the patty. It was juicy so the tastelessness was forgiven. The burger had a slice of cheddar cheese, tomato, cucumber, bacon (don't remember chewing this), onion. The meal came with fries and sauce. I enjoyed the bread. I did not have any appetiser as I don't think I could finish my main meal. 

Tastebud : Ärla

27 May 2026

Today, I was treated for dinner. Team activity. Eating. Sounds like a good activity to me. Haha! Sometimes, I feel out of place at work and a team activity has less significance for me so I don't mind going for a food event as at least I feel happy enjoying good food even if I am left out. Oh, I am used to it now so I don't mind writing it out. We had dinner at Ärla, a Bib Gourmand-recognised restaurant by Michelin which means it serves high-quality food at a good price. I like trying new places! So I am grateful I get to come here without paying. Yay!

I got intrigued by Michelin recognition and I researched about it. Michelin is a tyre brand but is also recognised for restaurants' ratings. These ratings are given by Michelin employees that are selected to taste the food without annoucing who they are. An ex-employee revealed that some ratings were given due to tradition and nothing to do with the food. After reading that, I got annoyed about Michelin ratings. What a scam! Besides, one person's tastebud differs from another. 

Back to my dinner experience. We had the tasting menu for SEK795. It includes snacks (world's tiniest food  - you can see from my photos), bread, three asparagus, a small piece of ling fish, four slices of duck breast (the best), and strawberry for dessert. So, I described it too simply, very much simplified from the elaborated menu. I am usually skeptical of fine dining as I don't get full from it because portions are really small. We had fine dining as a team activity in Fotografiska Museum last year and I was still hungry after the meal. 

For drinks, I chose cider which turns out to be canned cider from France SEK89. It tastes of apple. I wanted sour beer but they have that in 750ml only. Oh my goodness. 

Snacks came first. Check out my finger next to the snacks. A piece of ham, middle is cucumber with puffed rice and the yellow snack is a tartlet filled with an ingredient that I cannot remember now. It is not on the menu, unfortunately.

Then, the main dishes came in. I did not realise there were three main dishes. First, came the three asparagus served with walnut ketchup, salad cream and sprinkled with crispy chicken skin. Chicken skin did not taste like chicken. They are so small that I think it is almost negligible in the dish. Walnut has its own taste but I don't taste any walnut. However, the asparagus is good as it is. Warm and easy to chew. 

Next, ling fillet with white turnip puree, miso, a slice of orange tomato, and fried bread crumbs. The fish tastes good as it is. 

I was surprised to get a third main dish so I was full after the third dish which made me happy. This is my favourite, per menu - Challandaise duck, spring onion, spinach, rhubarb puree, Sichuan pepper gravy. Here is what it means to be a Challandaise duck - a premium French breed from the Vendée and Pays de la Loire regions. It is renowned for its tender, juicy meat and rich, slightly gamy flavor. 

I totally agree that the duck is tender. I usually find duck meat chewy and not enjoyable. But this was very different. I am glad that the sichuan pepper is not obvious in the gravy. The triangular-shaped crispy dough is filled with duck confit - duck legs cooked in its own fat. 

Well, I was also full thanks to the warm bread that we received. The bread is sliced in quarters and each gets two quarters. 

For dessert, strawberries with yuzu cremeux, red tea consommé, and sorrel granita. I know only strawberries. The waitress did not explain what those extras are. She just named them. Not very helpful. I can read that from the menu myself. 

AI explains sorrel granita as a semi-frozen, crystalline dessert made by blending fresh sorrel leaves with sugar, water, and sometimes lemon juice, then freezing and periodically scraping it. Sorrel is a leafy green herb and vegetable belonging to the knotweed family, known for its bright, intensely sour, and lemony flavor. 

A yuzu crémeux is a rich, velvety French pastry cream flavored with yuzu, an aromatic East Asian citrus fruit that tastes like a fragrant hybrid of a lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit.

A red tea consommé is a rich, clarified savory broth made by infusing a classical consommé base (like a rich chicken, beef, or roasted tomato stock) with red tea—most commonly rooibos. I don't think chicken or beef would be used in a dessert? 

So, after reading the explanations given by AI, I know which are them in the dessert. For me, the dessert did not taste spectacular despite the additions. I would have appreciated the dessert better if the waitress could have explained how the additions were prepared. Strawberry and ice-cream would have been good too and at least, I would know which ice-cream taste it is.