This weekend my lovely and I decided to stay put in Zug for the weekend, and enjoy a sunny weekend in the mountains. The weather here has also been amazing in the past few weeks, completely out of this world! Ski season really haven’t started yet and instead the summer sun has stayed around. Honest truth though, despite living here I never ski…on Sunday though I finally made it up Zugerberg on a rather sweaty but gorgeous hike! Check out the pictures below. Absolutely fantastic! The mountain is something around 1000 meters so the hike isn’t too challenging. Once you’re up there you can stop at the restaurant, before taking the ”bahn” down again.
Apart from the hiking we also checked out the wining and dining situation in Zug and Zürich. On Friday we ventured to the Sky Lounge in Zug. This is a rooftop terrace with a view of the whole of Zug. I’ve always had a weakness for rooftop bars. With the view below…it’s hard not to fall in love with life all over again! We rounded off Friday with hitting Bären Restaurant in Zug and indulging in some fondue, after all now is the season. Bären was above and beyond my expectation, live music, nice food and classic Swiss interior. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a pic, but it was great!
sky lounge view
evening view from sky lounge
Saturday was spent in Zürich. My favorite area of Zürich is probably Seefeld and we decided to pop by again a favorite spot called Schiller Bar. We had the sample menu for two for lunch…yumyumyum as always! WHat I love with Schiller when I was living just around the corner from them is that you can pop into Schiller any time of the day. It’s an equally perfect spot for a quick coffee in the morning as for a very late night drink. If you’re in the Seefeld area I can also recommend having dinner at Terrasse, a true institution in Zürich. If you on the other hand want to go over to the other side of the lake and the Sihlpost area I’d recommend trying out Helvetia Hotel and Restaurant. They have a great little terrace outside that you can sit in even during the winter, their Sunday brunch is legendary and the atmosphere is wonderful!
sample menu at brasserie schiller
brasserie schiller
All in all Zürich and Zug after fantastic places, I’m such a lucky person to have the chance to spend time in these places. If you’re thinking of visiting though…be-warned…the beauty does come with a pretty hefty price tag. Zürich is not the cheapest city to visit?.
sunset on Zugersee
Yesterday I ventured to Izakaya in Amsterdam to try out their Sunday brunch. This is a concept they only do on an ad-hoc basis so securing a reservation wasn’t easy but my love and I finally did and boy am I happy I went! The afternoon starts out like a regular brunch, and the Izakaya kitchen serves up a feast of small Japanese dishes just like their regular menu…but as the afternoon unfolds live acts come out on stage and brings up the heat quite a bit and after three hours the roof was lifting and the music was beating. Below are some pictures from both the menu and entertainment! They also served Veuve Clicquots new champagne specifically targeted to a citrusy slightly sweeter pre-dinner drink!
Veuve Clicquot started the party!
Asian deliciousness
Some afternoon wine went down as well☺️
Live performances
Night club action at 3 pm in the afternoon
Despite the fantastic weekend I’m still feeling a bit under the weather though and I don’t know if it’s from general life/work stress or if there’s some bug just refusing to leave my body. Either way I’ve committed to myself to taking it a bit easy the next couple of weeks. After this upcoming weekends havoc in Stockholm I’m going to just relax with a wonderful weekend on the Zugersee. Nothing cures a little low energy like the mountain air. More updates to follow my friends!
Every year since I met my love I’ve taken him on a surprise birthday trip for his birthday…well it has seldom turned out to be a surprise exactly because I can’t keep a secret from him but all in all I think he’s loved all our trips. This year the trip went to Rome.We started off the celebrations on Thursday with a surprise birthday party (and yes this was definitely a surprise) with all of his friends, and then on Friday we flew off to a long weekend in Rome! Of course as many things in my life the trip revolved around some good food! I was weight wise in very good shape on Friday so I decided to truly enjoy a relaxed weekend in Rome and not worry too much about my next weigh in at Esther’s in a couple of weeks time. As icing on the cake I managed to lose my voice at the birthday party the night before so I spent two days without any voice in Rome!!? I did managed to kick off Saturday morning with a strong Italian coffee and a Sicilian Cannoli!!
Sicilian cannoli
For authentic Italian cuisine in a classic trattoria setting go to Costanza in Trastevere. The food was out of this world, it was so good I even forgot to take a picture! I indulged in truffle pasta and a saltimbocca! Trastevere is probably one of my favorite areas and despite being a bit touristy there are an abundance of lovely restaurants to chose from.
On Saturday we first had a lovely lunch just off Fontana Di Trevi at a little place called Chianti. I went for a simple cold cuts and radicchio salad…and yes we also managed to consume two bottles of wine??. Then we strolled around Via de Babuino down towards Piazza del Popolo. I managed to find the one and only thing I was in search of in Rome…a pair of black boots for the winter!
Post the shopping we sat down for some of the most expensive drinks in Rome at Hotel de Russie. The drinks may be 22€ a pop but again I have to admit the atmosphere sort of makes it worth it! Only downside to our Saturday was the dinner restaurant which my Italian colleague had actually recommended. It was called Trattoria Settimio all’Arancio. The carbonara was burnt and the service was lousy. We even sent back our food and the waiter refused to accept it at first. I’m not a person known for sending back my food, it probably happens once every five years so then appreciate how bad the food was! Whatever you do in Rome don’t go there!!
Sunday lunch however brought up the mood, and lunch was enjoyed at Casina Valadier with a stunning view of all of Rome. We first rented a scooter and drove to Colosseum and the Vatican but after some culture Saturday lunch was repeated in a different setting?. The restaurant is set in the outskirts of Villa Borghese so a leisurely stroll through the park can also be recommended. I went for some mozzarella dumplings and fried calamari and prawns.
fried mozzarella dumplings
Rome skyline
Taking charge of the vespa!
Colosseum
Pantheon
Of course there are a million other places in Rome to go and as long as you’re with someone you love you can’t go wrong! ??+❤️=??
I’m spending my weekend in Rome celebrating my loves birthday. Since we met I’ve started the tradition that we go for a weekend trip every year for his birthday. The first couple of years sported Paris and Barcelona and now the turn has come to Rome. I only have time for a short update but our first day has been spent walking through Trevi, down to Piazza Navina and over to Trastevere and there’s only one word for Rome…food! I’m seriously torn whether the spaniards or the Romans have the upper hand. What I do know is that after my afternoon massage I’ll be enjoying an Aperol on a piazza!
The past couple of weeks has truly shown the autumn rolling into Europe. That slight hint of cold breeze makes me want to take out my woolen sweaters and sit inside with a good book and a nice drink. Last weekend the place of choice for this relaxation was Andaz Amsterdam and the Bluespoon Bar. I’ve had the intention to go here many times during the weekend but if you want a long snooze in the morning with a good cup of java and maybe even a stop at the gym before heading to lunch Bluespoon has always been open a little too little to get the time in to go. For lunch now Bluespoon is open until 15.00.
autumn vibe
So what’s on the menu! It’s a healthy, slightly smaller dishes (however definitely not small) and delicious menu as always. I opted for the gazpacho with aged cheese, a lovely gazpacho however very rich. I often take a gazpacho because of it’s light start to any meal but this gazpacho could have sufficed as a main. Following this I had the endive salad with goat cheese. Both dishes were great and the mozzarella salad was also a great option as a starter. The only criticism was the salad nicoise…which didn’t contain any tuna!! Ok fair point it didn’t explicitly say tuna on the menu, but I think if a salad is to be called a salad nicoise tuna is a given. The ambiance at Bluespoon is lovely and I absolutely love the view of the inner garden. Surprisingly enough the place is also not too busy on a Saturday at 2 p.m. so I truly enjoyed a super relaxing lazy Saturday with a magazine or two! If you’re in town and you want a lighter and healthier lunch yet refined and relaxed Bluespoon is the choice!
rich gazpacho
yummy mozzarella
the goat cheese and endive favorite!
So I’m back and I had an absolutely magical food weekend in the sign of Japanese dining primarily!
Before heading straight into the weeds of my dining experiences I have just started Dutch lessons to finally tie together my German and Swedish command with the language I suspect I will spend most of my life speaking! It’s off to a good start and to be fair my command of Dutch is reasonably good which I think most Nordic people experience so I have opted for private lessons once a week. Due to my travel schedule lessons during the week and attending classes won’t really work for me. I’m studying at Dutch & Such…and although I loved the class going back to the school bench is rather traumatizing and as we speak I’m ploughing through my first week of homework?!
So heading into the dining experiences it started off by visiting the new restaurant EN Japanese Kitchen & Sake Bar in Amsterdam De Pijp. A chef from the famous Okura has decided to open his own restaurant and the result is fabulous. In true Japanese style everything you’re served is beautiful and like piece of art. I also warmed up with a glass of prosecco and cheery liquor, lovely start to the evening. One piece EN is famous for is its salt stone where they fry anything from tuna, wagu beef or vegetable. Naturally I had this and opted for the tuna. I also tried the crowd octopus, delicious but a little on the fatty side, suspect the fryer wasn’t quite heated up there. The sashimi was fresh and delicious. The quality vs price elasticity of EN truly makes it a place to visit!
I wasn’t done with the Japanese flow at EN though, but rather my love and I had already booked at table at the one star Michelin teppanyaki restaurant Sazanka at Hotel Okura. Pure heaven as always and I love sitting at the plate and watch your food being cooked. As luck had it we were seated together with only Norwegians so a truly Nordic table and I had the chance to speak some Swedish which doesn’t happen to often these days! So, how about the menu? We opted for the pre-selected Classic menu which includes tapanyaki starter of wagyu followed by the fish of the day which is a seaboard seabass. Already last time around this was by far my favorite! Naturally the menu also includes some classic Angus steak, which you can also upgrade if you wish.
All you can say is that the Okura restaurants are classics in amsterdam and they won’t disappoint you! And before sitting down to eat…don’t forget to head up to the 23rd floor for a drink and to enjoy the beautiful views of the city.
This recipe literally takes two minutes and is delicious for a Sunday brunch…which is exactly why I cooked it up yesterday?!
You need:
One slice of white brea
One egg
One slice of cheese (preferably a matured one)
One slice of good ham
Spring onions and a mushroom (I took portabello)
Then you whisk up the eggs, chop all of the other ingredients and chuck everything into a mug. Then pop it into the microwave for two minutes or until the eggs are cooked and the bread is getting crispy on top!
This weekend has been absolutely fabulous and I spent yesterday all day at the beach! Where I also managed to enjoy a lobster salad at Alexander Beach Club teamed up with some white Rueda?!
You wouldn’t think that Holland is famous for its beaches but actually they are fabulous! Even though Zandvoort is easier to access from Amsterdam, I would recommend going to Noordwijk which only around half an hour drive from Amsterdam…unfortunately yesterday though we weren’t the only ones who had that brilliant idea?☀️!
This Saturdays healthy start was oven baked portabello mushrooms that I filled with red onions, tomatoes, an egg and some feta cheese on top! Yummy goodness.
I also saw my dietician yesterday for a monthly checkin and she was happy with the progress and we are well on our way to reaching my goal!! It’s been a bit of a journey but ultimately around eighteen kilos need to go. I’ve also recruited a couple of friends to join the journey so once we’ve hit our goals we will all venture to Stockholm for a girlie weekend!
Enjoy some food porn below and stay healthy and fit?
oven baked mushrooms
On one of my recent travels across the pond to NY, I had some extra time to write this post. Amongst the heavy travels it’s a well known thruth that KLM is amongst the best in the world, if not THE BEST in the world at inflight dining. A privilege of my work and heavy traveling is that I have the luxury of traveling business class. I could definitely spend a long post just discussing the joys of flying business class, however as this post is around food I’ll restrain myself from this.
On the food note, those of you who have been flying KLM as of late may have noticed that the resident chef of the past few months is Librijes Jonnie Boer. I’ve had a few airplane meals however this beats most of them!
On the flight over I started off with a type of smoke salmon roll, named “cream of smoked salmon”, followed up with a signature dish of Librije, oven baked cod in spiced juice. After this experience teamed with my previous enjoyment of the Librije inflight food I had in February flying down to Cape Town a real life visit to the famous food destination restaurant Librije is in the cards eminently…just after I squared off Beluga in Maastricht. It’s a pain to have this many lovely restaurants to visit but somebody’s got to do it;-).
If you want to check out Librije restaurant do so here
A few pictures of the dishes and the menu!!
Main course
Starter
Menu