单身的幸福晚餐

Yesterday I read an article in LianHeZaoBao (联合早报周利zbW) about eating alone. Sometimes, I do think it is a bliss to eat alone - at times when I need the space to think (e.g. lunch time when I need to get away from anything related to the office), at times when I am out alone (e.g. meals after running an errand).

The subhead struck a cord and I wanted to blog about it before it slipped my mind for some reasons. It went like this '无论早餐，午餐或晚餐，唯有懂得享受孤独的人，才会知道：一个人的餐饭里，有最大的自由和最深的寂寞'. Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, only those who know how to enjoy solitude can understand that eating alone gives the most freedom and the deepest loneliness.

The first part is very true for me. I really felt this way when I was travelling alone in Scandinavia last year. It was carefree to eat alone because I could eat whatever I felt like, at any time, at any place without having to discuss with anyone. As for the second part, it can get lonely because you have only yourself for company, especially with couples or friends or families around you, which made me wonder if they find me a weirdo :P

At times, having meals alone in a foreign land can be the most beautiful moments too. For one, you can focus on the food and think about how delicious (or not), observe the people around you, appreciate the scenery if you are lucky to get a good seat... Well, the article reminded me that I captured some of these moments with my smart phone in Scandinavia and I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy :)

Breakfast on board cruise to Helsinki, Finland. Lovely view of the waking day :) A day cannot start more beautiful than this!

I love Karelian rice pastry found at breakfast in Helsinki. It is stuffed with rice with egg butter spread on top. Very special. One of  my favourite memories of Helsinki!

Lamb pasta in a restaurant I passed by in a shopping mall near the hotel I stayed. Glad lamb was the meat of the season. I really enjoyed my meals in Helsinki (although I was alone). Thanks to so much good food!  

Enjoying breakfast in hotel in Helsinki. Long glass window that revealed a lovely view. How to be lonely with so many beings and beauty surrounding me? :)

Love how the Scandinavians have their yogurt mixed with cranberry, nuts, cereals and whatever you can find on the table! What a healthy start to a day in Helsinki. I enjoyed every spoon of it!

 

An exotic dinner in Helsinki - top is reindeer wrap and bottom is a type of fish with risotto. The first time I had reindeer - tasted like tuna, I thought. Interesting!

Had brunch in the oldest café in Helsinki. Café Ekberg has a lovely European décor.

And the loveliest cake! My combination of cappuccino and napoleon cake was delicious.

Another yummy pastry I discovered in Helsinki. At the Old Market Hall near the South Harbour where one can find so much food!

Took a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. Lunch from top clockwise: Estonia soft drink (tasted like fizzy herbal tea); Pork knuckle (there is a German past in the country's history); meat loaf (lovely bread with meat mince in it).
 

 

Cannot recall the name of the lunch I had in Stockholm. Top is rice + salad + shrimp. Great window seat where I watched the world go by...

Brunch of Quiche and hot mocha in Cafe Soderberg at Jacobs Square. The chicken quiche + salad with vinegar dressing was so good! A quiet and quaint café.

Chai latte and brownie at the café next to the Uppsala Cathedral. I recall: Quiet. Whispers. Shy smiles. :) I think I fell in love with Chai latte here...

At a cosy café in Gamla Stan, old town in Stockholm...glad I could find a seat at this popular café...

...and had a most delicious hot chocolate in winter...

High tea in Copenhagen... nicely done-up café hidden in an alley along Stroget...

Danish pastries for breakfast in Copenhagen at Andersen's Denmark next to Tivoli.

Window seat lunch at Denmark’s National Art Museum (Statens Museum for Kunst). It was like having lunch in front of an impressionist painting! Blessed I am.

My first ice cream in winter! :P while strolling down the shopping street of Stroget :)

Last Fika (means coffee break) in Stockholm. I am glad to have picked up the art of Fika in Stockholm :) It has inspired me to visit so many cafes after I returned to Singapore... And we do have so many nice Fika places at home now!

There were many more lunch-alone experiences I did not take down with my phone, hence could not share them with you. If you want to read more about my Scandinavia trip, you can visit my wordpress blog ilovelongvacation :)