A somewhat delayed eighteenth-birthday dinner for Ingrid, at Berns Asiatiska, by her request. Her boyfriend Albin also joined us, for the first time.

Berns Asiatiska was Stockholm’s first Chinese restaurant back in the 1940s, and it still has and old-school luxurious interior, reminding of days gone by, with crystal chandeliers and wood panelling. Very festive.

The sound level was very modern, though, actually making it difficult to talk to people across the table. We all kept having to ask each other to repeat our words. So there was more focus on the food and less on the conversation.

Ingrid, of course, ordered sushi. So did Eric and I.

She chose Berns because they serve not only excellent sushi but also excellent Asian fusion dishes for those who aren’t fond of seafood. (Like Adrian and Albin.) Adrian had a giant serving of tonkatsu, while Albin had Korean barbecue chicken. Both were happy with their dishes.

My dessert was a bit of a disappointment. Titled “Cherry and lime”, it led me to expect an explosion of flavours. But the cherry sorbet(?) barely tasted of cherry, and the fluffy, creamy lime was also very delicate in flavour. Not bad, per se, but after eating sushi with wasabi and soy sauce, this felt very tame.