Julbord is Swedish for Christmas Table and refers to the feast that is served both on Christmas eve as well as at nearly every restaurant in the country during Advent. They are usually a fixed price meal where you serve yourself from a huge selection of foods, many of which are only seen at this time of the year.

We don't usually go to the restaurant julbord, though I've been very keen to try out the one at Utö one year. One memorable julbord we have been to with a group of family and good friends was that at the restaurant pictured here - Ulriksdals Wärdshus. This restaurant is set in the grounds of the castle Ulriksdal, just north of Stockholm and boasts a beautiful view across the parks and the waters of Edsviken. The actual food was presented in the glass conservatory that glittered like a fairy crystal palace in the snow and we loved sharing time with friends as well as trying out all of the special foods that you never normally eat.

So what did we find to choose from? Tons and tons of food. But one must eat it in correct order. Not like we'd do in Australia, where we'd load up our plates with as much as we could all at once. You first begin with the Fish course. Here it consists of a choice of 17 different herring dishes and 8 different dishes of salmon and smoked eel. There were a dozen or so varieties of salad as well to accompany this, as well as the firm favourite of Janssons Frestelse. This is washed down with an ice cold snaps.

Following that, we move on to the cold meat course. This had 20 different types of ham, turkey, brawn in aspic, paté and game (moose, red deer, reindeer and wild boar). Not a course for the vegetarians or faint-hearted. After, there came the warm dishes - a choice of 15 or so, plus 8 different types of Christmas sausage. Then there was the cheese selection, along with a big selection of desserts, cakes and lots of Christmas lollies.

After that, I didn't want to eat for a week!