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Home  >  Blog  >  Finland for Foodies

Finland for Foodies

Trish Burgess Posted on21/07/201517/09/2017 Finland, Helsinki, restaurant 10 Comments
Image credit: Boulevard Social.

I’m not normally a foodie. I don’t often blog about restaurants and rarely photograph my dinner apart from the odd Instragrammed cocktail. When writing about our Helsinki holiday, however, I’m going to make an exception – apart from the photography: I still feel uncomfortable snapping my supper.

The restaurant scene in Helsinki was a revelation. I worried it might be all rolled herring and meatballs. I was wrong. Inspiration came from all corners of the globe. And the fact that all evening meals were taken within spitting distance of our hotel is another reason to heartily recommend the Klaus K as the place to stay.

The quality and dining experience was so good in the city, it certainly warrants its own blog post so, without further ado, I shall try and whet your appetite. If you really need a photo, have a look at the one above from Boulevard Social’s website: that’ll do nicely…

 

Pastor – Drink and Dine
Errottajankatu 4, 00120 Helsinki
pastorrestaurant.fi 

 

It describes itself as an ‘urban living room where you can eat, drink and hang out’. Its proximity to the Klaus K is quite remarkable: it can be accessed through a door from the hotel reception or you can walk round the corner and enter the traditional way.

A bar and restaurant, the place was buzzing on the Saturday we arrived with people drinking cocktails at the bar and lots of groups of friends sharing meals. Sharing was the key here and elsewhere on during our stay: food to be tasted and swapped and dipped into.

The inspiration is Peruvian with the ‘nikkei’ tradition mixing it with East Asia and a dollop of Spain.

What did we eat?

Maki 
Tiger prawn & pineapple maki, Japanese BBQ sauce, rocoto chilli jam
 
Tostada
Marinated whitefish, guacamole, crisp tortillas, Peruvian chilli sauce
 
…………………………………….
 
Carne huancaina
Marinated grilled beef entrecôte, marinated tomatoes, chimichurri & huancaina sauce
 
Pescado
Pan fried sea bass, Peruvian antibiose, coconut scented rice





We drank mohitos but I should have tried the pisco-based cocktails for a more authentic Peruvian experience. If we had managed a pud, I would have chosen a ginger and lime brûlée or maybe the roasted white chocolate mousse with caramelised banana and toffee ice-cream.

Restaurant Gaijin
Bulevardi 6, 00120 Helsinki
gaijin.fi
Owned by Tomi Björck and Matti Wikberg, Gaijin takes diners on a journey to North Asia, combining traditional Japanese and Korean dishes with those from the north of China, with a modern twist.

The tables are quite close together but otherwise this was a superb dining extravaganza as we chose the Sunday special tasting menu which was accompanied by sake and three matching wines. Looking at the menu, I had no idea what much of this would taste like but it was extraordinarily good. In fact, I would go as far to say this was one of the best meals I have ever had.What did we eat?

Squid cracker & whitefish
Crispy squid cracker, whitefish sashimi, red dragon dressing, togarashi-mayonnaise
 
‘Salt & Pepper’ soft shell and apple salad
Soft shell crab, tobiko roe dressing, fennal and apple salad
apple mustard dressing, hazelnut, dried mustard seeds
 
Grilled miso chicken skewer
Miso marinated grilled chicken, kombu soy, miso mayonnaise
 
X.O. scallops
Fried scallops, rare Chinese X.O. sauce, bonito, seaweed caviar
 
‘Ramen style hot pot’ pork cheek
Braised pork cheek, red dragon mayonnaise, ‘spicy ramen’ sauce, crispy noodles, spring onions.
 
Gohan
Japanese rice
 
Apricot & Vanilla
White chocolate crème, crispy almond cracker, apricot sorbet
 
Matching drinks
Maboroshi Junmai Ginjo – Hiroshima, Japan
Gewurztraminer Riesling Fusion 2013 – Pillitteri Estate Winery, Ontario, Canada
Sidetrack 2011 – Chalk Hill, McLaren Vale, Australia
Superior – Choya, Osaka, Japan (ume wine)
 
 
Restaurant Boulevard Social
Bulevardi 6, 00120 Helsinki
boulevardisocial.fi/en



Another Björck and Wikberg offering, next door although the same address as Gaijin. This time the flavours are from Greece, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco. A warm, bistro-style room with an emphasis again on sharing and socialising.

What did we eat?

Green gazpacho & prawn cocktail
Prawns, apple grape gazpacho, coriander crème
 
Grilled chicken & vine leaf
Grilled chicken wrapped in vine leaves with chestnut, lemon aioli 
 
…………………………..
 
Roasted chicken ‘ras el hanout’
‘Ras el hanout’ flavoured roasted chicken, grilled lemon sherry dressing, sesame hummus, 
grilled baby gem


Grilled lamb kafta ‘Khashkhash’
Grilled kebab skewer of minced lamb, spicy tomato sauce, fennel salad, sesame hummus,
harissa, pita bread



To accompany the meal we had some wonderful Lebanese wine and a couple of cocktails:
Moroccan Flower Power – Absolut vodka, Aperol, grapefruit, elderflower and lemon
Burned Orange Sour – whisky, caramelised orange and lemon


We declined a dessert (what were we thinking?) I’m sure, with some belt loosening, I could have made room for a strawberry and pistachio baklava.

On our final evening, after experiencing another night of great food and warm, friendly service, we tipped the waitress and she brought back our change. We waved the saucer away, thanking her again for her hospitality. She seemed quite astonished and then whispered, “Thank you so much, You see, we don’t have a tipping culture in Finland.”

Having gamely tipped throughout the weekend, Dougie muttered ‘Now you tell me!” and I realised that, despite all my pre-holiday planning, I hadn’t picked up that little nugget of travel advice. I’m sure the staff of these fabulous restaurants are quite delighted about that.

 

Previous Article A message from Greece – what can tourists really expect?
Next Article The benefits of a Helsinki Card

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10 Comments

  1. MsCaroline Reply
    21/07/2015 at 11:55 am

    These all look really good, but Restaurant Gaijin especially catches my eye. I think I'm a bit homesick for Korea!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      21/07/2015 at 10:23 pm

      I knew that would tempt you, Ms Caroline. In fact, when we were there, I kept thinking that you would have been so much more familiar with the menu.

  2. Funky Wellies Reply
    22/07/2015 at 6:59 am

    Here I am reading your post in the morning not long after breakfast, but still it is making me hungry!
    Did the chef really look like this? ;o) xx

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      22/07/2015 at 3:19 pm

      Yes – that's Tomi – and it was an open kitchen so I had a great view 😉 x

  3. BavarianSojourn Reply
    26/07/2015 at 7:13 pm

    I am salivating after reading that post, it all sounds incredible. I remember having some really good food in Helsinki too, the Scandinavians do know how to eat well! 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      30/07/2015 at 1:02 pm

      They do eat well and in such a relaxed way, which suits me so well – am not keen on fuss.

  4. Sarah Reply
    27/07/2015 at 2:58 pm

    Mmm, what lovely-sounding food. 🙂

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      30/07/2015 at 1:03 pm

      It really was delicious, Sarah. I was far more adventurous in the Asian restaurant and it was a revelation.

  5. Older Mum Reply
    02/08/2015 at 8:36 am

    All looks delicious. I've been to Sweden but I've never been to Finland….. I remember the food being rather lovely in Sweden. Yes, there was all the traditional Nordic food but there was also plenty else on the menu too. X

  6. Wander Mum Reply
    14/08/2015 at 9:58 pm

    Wow! That all sounds delicious Trish! What a treat. I love the Asian influences in the cuisine. I've heard great things about the food scene in Helsinki – now I want to go even more x

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