Estonia 2 - Pigs in Trolleys & Lust!

Yes, that first pic is what I saw as I was trawling through the market in Tallinn. It totally cracked me up. I had to be careful, though, I realised after about my third photo, that the locals weren't so happy about having their and their stalls' picture taken. They looked very suspiciously at me.

This market wasn't on any of the tourist info, I stumbled on it by accident during my hour wait for my train to Nomme. You'll find this place, which actually has no official name, right next to the Tallinn train station, just across the tracks...I simply followed old, old women with their shopping bags, and found it. It's a market of all sorts, from fruit and veg, meat, pickles, old Soviet paraphernalia, and you can even get your headstone here! It is definitely worth a look, and hardly any tourists are found (which is always a bonus!).

As for the rest of Estonian food, well, it's a bit wacky. My experience is that they do wonderful pastry, which you can see from the pics above, there's the local specialty, Plaadikook, which I ate at a cute place called Chocolats de Pierre tucked away in a side alley in the Old City (pics 8 & 9). This cake is divine...it's essentially made from curd cheese and jam (whichever jam is in season) and has nuts sprinkled on top...it is HEAVENLY stuff, especially on a cold afternoon with hot chocolate!

Other pastries you see there are a simple cake and of course the Tallinn "berliner" (German word for donut) which I had at the beautiful cafe at Kardriorg Park (pic 12 & 13). Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. The old cafes are quaint and romantic, and the coffee's not bad either.

I was also fortunate to have a little social gathering in the Tallinn version of the medieval restaurant, Olde Hansa, which is in the Old City, and like the one I ate at in Stockholm, only serves food from ingredients, recipes, and techniques of medieval times. I went with some of the people on our city tour. After a warming Hot Welcome Drink, that pretty much had me plastered in a few minutes, it was a hearty serving of sublime Wild Mushroom Soup...oh myyyyyyyy...followed by the even more amazing Rose Pudding (second last pic). That pudding was heaven. It was like a thick creamy cheesy yoghurt with an intense rose flavour...it's like nothing I've ever had before. I was intoxicated by it all...so romantic and gutsy and well...lusty is the word!

I'm not sure they have a great grip on modern dining just yet though. I saw some taste-bud turning dishes on menus, and my experience at a very smart restaurant in the Rotermann Quarter felt almost schizophrenic - the restaurant didn't seem to know if it was French, Italian, Swedish, or even Estonian, the menu was all over the place, and the food was well...confusing! I had the most wonderful Carpaccio, that was so perfect in the silkiness of the thinly sliced raw beef and the beautiful Grana Padano shaved on top... unfortunately, it was the crunchy chunks of rock salt thrown all over it that didn't really work for me! This confusion seemed to be reflected in other menus I looked at. Having said that, my biggest surprise was the Pickled Beetroot Salad I had for dinner late one night at my hotel - oh my goodness...I couldn't believe they pulled that out of the hat - wonderfully thin slices of pickled beetroot with creamy goats cheese, wild mushrooms and crispy lettuce...a thing of beauty! I honestly didn't expect it to be good, so I didn't even have my camera on me - that'll teach me to make assumptions!

But, when it's all said and done, sportsfans, I only scratched the surface with the food...when I go back, I think Tallinn deserves a lot more time spent exploring the wacky and lusty gourmet wonders of this beautiful city.

Estonia 1 - The Brave & The Beautiful

I knew nothing about Estonia when I left from Helsinki for the hour and a half catamaran ride to Tallinn, Capital of Estonia. All I knew was that it must have been unimaginable hell during the Soviet years knowing that freedom was only a few hours away by boat.

Five days in Estonia taught me more than just the tragic history of this small and beautiful Baltic country, it taught me just how incredibly tough, resilient and unthinkably brave people can be. I was enchanted by Tallinn after just a few hours, and by the time I left I had cried my heart out for a people and a country that was abused over and over, and still survived.

Estonia, after being invaded by pretty much everybody over centuries, finally gained their independence from Soviet Russia in 1991. I won't delve into history now...check it out for yourself, suffice it to say their story is so dark, yet so inspiring, I was moved beyond words during my short stay here.

I was also moved by the beauty of Tallinn. The Old City is as quaint as you can imagine, most of it remained intact from the wars, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Sight. You can see above, just how romantic it is.

One of the other great things I discovered about Tallinn, though, is that it's more than just the Old City. Tallinn is a modern city, having gone through an incredible construction boom post-Independence. I decided to stay in the modern part of the city, in the Rotermann Quarter (pic 3) which is also just by the Old City Gates (pic 9 & 10), in a wacky modern hotel, The Nordic Hotel Forum (view from my room window pic 2), which I think was the perfect location for me. I had access to the whole city, either by foot, train, tram or bus. And the wonderfully quirky Rotermann shopping area was just behind - don't miss the fabulous Loovala, which is a series of art studios and workshops all joined together on one big floor, where local artist work and sell their wares. I had a wonderful chat with a local spinner and knitter. Fabulous.

Tallinn is a city to explore, so I got out and about. I visited the rock of Estonian culture, The Song Festival Grounds (pic 11), which has been holding Estonian folk song festivals as well as concerts and cultural events since 1928. It has a very special place in the heart of Estonians, this was the only place, during their many occupations, that they could express their nationalism as Estonians. It was also the vehicle for Estonians to "gather" (read: protest) moving into the late 80s when the hint of freedom was in the air. It is a very special place.

I also trekked out to Nomme on the train to see the beautiful old wooden houses of times gone by. These houses are hundreds of years old, and Nomme is a suburb with some of the best preserved houses. I wandered the romantic streets for a couple of hours, in the drizzle, imagining times gone by. Oh and by the way, if you decide to take the train, just a note, some of the doors don't open, so check out which ones do before your stop arrives - otherwise it's an embarrassing sprint to the other end of the carriage!

I also spent a whole day in Kadriorg Park. It's only a 20 minute walk from town. This beautiful park was built by Tsar Peter I in the 18th Century for his empress, Catherine. He built her a small cottage first (pic 15 & 16), then a huge Palace, Kadriorg Palace, which now houses the foreign art branch of the Art Museum of Estonia. The Park also houses the current Presidential Palace (pic 14), and another branch of the Art Museum of Estonia, Kumu.

Kumu Art Museum (pic 17, 18,19) was quite something. I have already confessed that I am a total cultural ignoramus, yet I managed to spend 4 hours wandering around this museum. It houses work from the last two centuries, including both the German and Soviet occupations. I found the whole place fascinating - they have pamphlets in English to explain how artists worked under Communism and Nazi rule. It was fascinating and sad at the same time. They also had an excellent exhibition on the DP Camps (Displaced Persons), which again, was both incredibly fascinating, sad, and ultimately inspiring.

I may have overdone the whole Soviet thing - I had visited the Occupation Museum the day before, where I spent over 2 hours (I was finally thrown out after closing time) watching the excellent documentaries on the 20th Century history of Estonia. Don't miss this. I learnt more than I ever imagined I would, and now feel incredibly embarrassed I knew nothing of the history of the Baltic States. INCREDIBLY INTERESTING.

Yet, with all this heavy talk of Occupation, tragedy and darkness, I found Estonia to be so beautiful, friendly, touching, and very very inspiring. I would go back to Tallinn in a second, in fact I would love to have a couple of months to explore Estonia better. What a truly amazing story of survival, courage, and intense national pride - I'd like to find out more.

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)