Finland 4 - Blini for Bleenie

This post is dedicated to my 4 magnificent kids, who, for some reason I can't even remember, call me Bleenie. Friday night dinners will never be the same again!

Blini.

I saw them in the markets in Helsinki and was a bit, well, nonchalant about the whole thing. I mean in Oz, you see Blini often (which are Russian pancakes by the way, usually served with sour cream and caviar) but they have been bastardised the world over, turning into rubbery small pikelets served with whatever you want as an hors d'oeuvres. It's a food crime of the worst sort.

I was having a chat with a woman in the old foodhall down by the harbour who didn't want to sell me her Blini to eat there (it was really for take home), she said I should go to a restaurant and eat the real stuff - straight from the kitchen.

Well, as you can imagine, I didn't need to be old twice after my previous Russian experience. I was going back to Troikka to eat Blini (see previous post).

Troikka is closed on a Monday. Bugger.

Never fear, the lads at Reception pointed me in the direction of Saslik, THE most famous Russian restaurant in Helsinki, and only a 5 minute walk down the back streets of my hotel. Oh yeah baby. Off I went.

Well, it was Bear Feast week at Saslik! Can you imagine??!!! But I wasn't seduced, I was there for Blini...and well perhaps a little bear as well!

Blini is served as an entree - you could choose from Blini with Wild Mushroom Salad, or Blini with a range of different fish roe and caviar. I went for my waitress's recommendation of the Blini with Whitefish Roe. And I sat back, in major anticipation, enjoying the dark green and gold interior, feeling transported back to pre-Revolutionary Russia. Beautiful.

She arrived. With the Blini. Piping pot and smelling divine. Clarified butter is poured over the thick crispy pancake, then the topping plate is carefully set down - you can see there above, red onion, chopped egg, wonderful sour cream, and a huge spoonful of Whitefish Roe. Oh my!!! The ceremony of it all was magnificent, the smells fantastic, and the simplicity pure art.

Bleenie was about to do the Blini! At first, I was tentative with my toppings...a lit bit of everything all on top. Cutting in...and tasting....OH ME OH MY. I closed my eyes, and tears welled up. Seriously. It was so good I couldn't quite believe it. Another mouthful, then another. The tanginess of the crispy on the outside fluffy on the inside pancake, with the creamy, tangy, crunchy, salty, fishy flavour of all those toppings...it was a euphoric experience. The perfect mouthful.

I am proud to say I ate my Blini with the reverence and passion it deserved. That's all a food can ask for.

Sigh. This sort of bliss is almost too much. Sigh again.

I had my Bear Pelmenis (see previous post on these succulent Russian dumplings) to follow, which were beautiful - done in a wonderful mushroom cream, and then a Cranberry Iced Souffle with Hot Caramel Sauce for dessert. But, dear readers, this day was all about the Blini.

Blini forever. Bleenie and Blini forever.

Finland 3 - From Russia With Love

Playing the theme to Doctor Zhivago (and if you don't know that it's beautiful balalaika music, you get Ra Ra Rasuptin by Boney M instead)...

Yet another romantic story from haunting Helsinki...this time a Russian love story.

I met Helga (not her real name!) in the sauna at the Yrjonkatu Swimming Bath (nothing suss - see Finland 1 post!) and we had dined together the night before at one of her favourite places, a Turkish restaurant.

Enjoying her food almost as much as me, the two of us got on rather well, so a date was set for the following evening - we were to meet under the clock at Stockman (the very elegant Finnish department store) - and we were going Russian.

Cue: sounds of the balalaika playing

We met at 5pm. Under the clock. Ready for our Russian adventure.

We strolled to our first stop, the beautiful, and by Finnish standards, rather small, Russian Orthodox Church, which is behind the very grand Lutheran Cathedral on Senate Square. There it is, the first pic above.

We were there for the 6pm service, my first ever Russian Orthodox Service.

It was breathtaking. Sigh. Magical, even. The whole service was chanted by a beautiful 4 person choir, the priests helped out now and then as they swung their incense and walked the room. We stood in the middle with the other worshipers, there are no pews, you stand for the hour and a half. It was so beautiful, it had me teary in only a few minutes. The beauty of the gold and icons, the voices, the warmth, and the ceremony of it all...well, it had me at hello!

My date and I slipped out after an hour (who on earth can stand for that long?!) for the second part of the evening. We hopped a tram (the bonus of knowing a local) and headed for our final destination, a Russian restaurant called Troikka.

Now this was even more magical than the Orthodox service.

Turn up balalaika music

I discover that Troikka has been around for a long long time and is a famous Helsinki Russian restaurant. Helga has been passing it for years and always wanted to try it, she said she used to see the owner and waiter sit out the front cleaning mushrooms as she passed. Now, that's always a good sign.

Another good sign was the arrival of an amuse bouche, completely unexpected in such a small local restaurant, and it was my favourite thing ever these days...Wild Mushroom Soup. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. So delicate, so tasty, so foresty, so wild. DIVINE.

And the date only got better from there. My next course was my first ever Pelmeni, it was Siberian Pelmeni. I didn't even know these things existed, but now I'm so glad I do. Pelmeni are Russian dumplings - little spoonfuls of meat wrapped in very thin unleavened dough, they're sort of like small tortellini really. Mine were served in the tastiest, heartiest, saltiest, darkest broth, and served with a bowl of wild mushroom cream, which I started to spoon on by the ladleful!

OH MY GOODNESS. There was silence at the table as I tasted, then prayed (part 1 of the date had left an impression, clearly), then tasted some more. Absolutely unbelievably good. No words. Not one. Sigh. Whatever the Russian word is for heaven, I needed it!

As I floated on my cloud of bliss, the plate was cleared away and space was made for my next course. Wild Boar. With Wild Boar Sausage, sauteed caraway seeded Cabbage and a mysteriously deep gravy. OH MY GOODNESS again.

I had no idea Russian food was this good (Just as an aside, my experience in Russia with HOS in 1995 left me thinking there actually wasn't any food in Russia except bananas, paprika chips and cold and very dodgy hamburgers - but that's a whole other story).

Troikka had me putting Russia on the map, in gourmet terms. I wanted more more more. I was so wonderfully surprised at the guts, grit, and simple elegance of the food...I was hooked.

Thank you to the special Helga for introducing me to the romance of Russian food, I think you've lit a fire that may burn out of control...

Crescendo of balalaika music...then fades out...

Troikka
Caloniuksenkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki
PH: +358 9 445 229
(they speak English)

Finland 2 - Attack of the Killer Seagull & Other Foodie Things

Yes, I was attacked by a killer seagull.

That's it there above in the first pic, bloody bugger.

You see, each morning in Helsinki (except for one), I would skip the hotel breakfast and take the 3 minute walk down to the Harbour to the old foodhall, Vanha Kauppahalli (or Gamla Saluhallen in Swedish - Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish). I would buy my breaky there, and just hang with the locals.

Well on the second day of my coolish attempt at not being a tourist, I made the biggest tourist blunder imaginable. I ordered my fabulously quirky Whitefish Bread (pic 2) - which was heavenly by the way...wonderfully silky raw whitefish with delicious pink peppercorns and fresh dill on top, all on top of a piece of leaden black bread - and my coffee, and wandered outside to sit in the sun and watch the world go by on the beautiful Harbour.

Yes, well. BIG MISTAKE. All I can say is that I was lucky I took a couple of bites before I left the foodhall...in less than two steps towards the harbour I heard the flapping of giant wings...saw a flash, then screamed as one giant seagull took the whole piece of fish from the bread I had 2 inches from my mouth, and another bloody giant seagull then came for the bread - STRAIGHT OUT OF MY HAND. I was stunned - as were all the Russian tourists who had arrived to enjoy their Saturday on the Helsinki Harbour and heard my screams followed by my rather uncouth swearing at said killer seagulls who seemed to have no shame in waiting around for more! Bloody Nora.

Oh well, after my swearing had turned to laughter, I sat on one of the tie-up ship metal things and enjoyed the sun, the view...and my coffee!

So, sportsfans, the moral of the story is make sure you go and explore the wonderful old foodhall down on the harbour - but DON'T take it outside!

And while you're at the foodhall, check out the local specialties...there's the very wacky Finnish tradition of Pirakka, which is like a pastry - and you can see there (pic 5) the traditional Riisipirakka, which is pastry with a rice porridge filling. These are just too wacky for words...they are savory, and well a bit wrong in my view...but hey, we eat Vegemite! You can get different types of these traditional Pirakka, like pumpkin, or potato, but they are always savoury. Having said that, you can see up there a Blueberry danish type thing, this is a Mustikka-Pirakka, which is a blueberry danish, but with a twist. The Finns, and Swedes for that matter, seem to love putting cardamon in their pastries and bread - both sweet and savoury, and it sooooooooooooo works.

You can also see one of my favourite little morsels up there (pic7), Munkkipossy, or "Little Pig". This is soooooooooo yum. It's essentially a donut in the shape of a pig but with an apple jam inside. I um had more than one of these during my stay here in Helsinki...BUT I NEVER ATE THEM OUTSIDE!

There's more food there from the foodhall. You can see the focus on seafood, both dried, cured, raw, and ready for the Russian delicacy of Blini. I ate fried whitebait for breakfast one morning which was so good, and reminded me of my previous trip to Helsinki about 12 years ago with a van full of kids! I'll never forget HOS and I looking on stunned as the kids (aged 9-14 at the time, I think) devoured fried whitebait, fried salmon and copious amounts of the sweetest forest berries imaginable at the Harbour Market Square, which is just next to the foodhall. Go figure. Unfortunately, all the Harbour Market Square had to offer at this time of year was Cranberries, vegies, and fur...it's not really the same, is it?!

The food really was excellent in Helsinki, from the ravings above, to a simple cafe lunch along the water's edge at Cafe Ursula (pic 10), to the famous Finnish chocolate company, Fazer's outlet off the Esplanade and next to the cinema, and even extending to yum gourmet chocolates, and tacky but wonderful Ben & Jerry's (perfect for after the Swimming Bath, pure hedonism!). If you're there in the cold, like me, then a Hot Chocolate in the elegant Kappeli on the Esplanade (final pic), is a must - it's not the most amazing hot chockie in the world...but god, it's the most romantic!

Now, Helsinki also has some incredible restaurants. People recommended The Fish Market on the Esplanade and Sea Horse in the beautiful old streets behind my hotel. I didn't eat at either...I seemed to have a Russian bent, and went looking for some Ruski food! And found it. MMMMMMMMMMMMM...read on...

Finland 1 - Head Over Heels for Helsinki

This post is dedicated to my real life boyfriend, HOS, the absolute love of my life. Don't get jealous baby, you'll always be number 1 (and let's face it, Helsinki can't do what you can!)!

I have a new boyfriend. He's oh-so-handsome, I would go so far as to say beautiful. He is elegant, charming, good fun, down to earth, incredibly cultured and breathtakingly romantic.

My new boyfriend is Helsinki.

It was love at first sight, actually, from the moment I checked into my wonderful hotel, Hotel Fabian (just off the famous Esplanade), and I never left his side for 6 glorious days.

You can see in all those pictures above, just how handsome he is. We strolled hand-in-hand exploring together...the beautiful white Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral, and the magnificent red brick Orthodox Uspensky Cathedral, the pathways along the waterfront, the beautiful back streets to uncover wonderful architecture and the cutest shops...sigh.

We wandered through the main shopping district admiring the beautiful old shops, and stopping now and then to purchase something irresistible or just to look in the windows or admire the pretty food counters and cafes...sigh again.

We got physical, too, hitting the pavement a little faster through parks and magical old suburbs discovering more and more each time...laughing as the rain drizzled down on us one day, and basking in the freezing sunshine the next.

There was one exception to this joined-at-the-hip romance. The Yrjonkatu Swimming Bath. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh...the Yrjonkatu Swimming Bath...what a really really wonderful place. This is a beautifully romantic place to be, and you can't be there with your new boyfriend because there are days for girls and days for boys. You see, these roman style baths, built in the 1920s and more recently renovated, are for swimming in the nude. Yep, in the nude. It's the ultimate skinny dip. You can swim laps and have a sauna, a cup of tea, and a sandwich...all sans clothes. It's absolutely wonderful. I went twice and enjoyed every single second of it. The women were wonderful, all very chatty in the saunas, no embarrassment, just pure enjoyment and relaxation. WONDERFUL.

The baths have a 25m pool and a sauna plus the original 1920s changing cabins on the lower floor, then there's a wonderfully romantic first floor balcony overlooking the pool that has private "rooms" with little tables and chairs to have a refreshment and watch the swimmers. Magnificent. You pay almost double to have access to the second floor, but it's worth every single Euro, you get a little bed in your room (pic above), but you also get to use the wood sauna, electric sauna, and the steam room, as well as all the ground floor facilities. So beautifully romantic...sigh...it was like being in another era, another world. It's one of the top five experiences of my trip. You must go. Make the effort to find the place, it's sorta hidden right in the centre of town, you can see the doorway there above (second last pic). Go on, be brave.

So...my sweet new boyfriend waited patiently while I indulged myself in the wonders of the water...then we just picked up where we left off...wandering, gooey-eyed, through the cobblestone streets in the freezing cold...snuggling up to each other, enjoying what could be, my new favourite city in the whole of Europe. Sigh. Wonderful Helsinki, you are very very special to me.

Sweden 12 - Big Brother is Watching the Booze

Aussies would spew.

Imagine buying your alcohol from the government!

That's what they do here in Sweden (and in Finland).

I couldn't leave Sweden without touching on this unexpected situation.

Here's the explanation straight from my Lonely Planet Stockholm Encounter little book:


Systembolaget

Sweden's tough stance on lowering alcohol consumption and alcohol-related illnesses sees the state-owned bottle-shop chain Systembolaget solely responsible for selling to the masses alcoholic beverages with an alchohol volume above 3.5%.

According to the bureaucrats, curbing private profit from alchohol sales means a less competitive market and lower alcohol abuse. Even in the state-owned stores, discounts, two-for-one deals and preferential treatment of products is strictly prohibited.

Nanny state or not, it seems to do the trick - Sweden has one of the lowest death rates from chirrhosis of the liver in Europe. Not that Systembolaget isn't "with it" - in recent years, slick supermarket-style outlets have replaced the former queue-by-number shops and the stock is thirst-quenchingly impressive.

Can you imagine!?! These places, which you can see above, are never open on a Sunday, and some are open till 8pm at the latest - which means, if you're desperate for an alcohol fix on a Sunday, or want to keep on drinking on Saturday night after you went through your stash...well you're up the creek.

At first I couldn't believe it. TM spent an evening at a Whiskey Fair, and when I asked what he bought, he said "Nothing. You can't buy there, remember!". Bloody hell!

But after the initial shock, well it sorta started making sense. I can see what they're doing - and it seems to be getting the results.

Oh, and the other thing I noticed is that even with the Big Brother approach, I still saw some very um...under the weather Swedes at a Saturday night party!!! Apparently, it's all about planning!