Helsinki was named the 2012 World Design Capital in recognition of its “accomplishments and commitment to design as an effective tool for social, cultural and economic development” and is well-known for their global design brands, outstanding architects, and education at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Many tourists love window shopping in the Design District with its interesting kitchen gadgets, gorgeous handmade jewelry, fashionable clothes, unique home décor, and modern art galleries. As most of you have probably noticed, Jimmy and I aren’t huge shoppers or into modern art and architecture. The way to our hearts is through our stomachs. We still can’t believe that Helsinki surprised us with two of our favorite meals from our entire time in the Nordic countries (FYI…Nordic = Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark; Scandinavia = Norway, Sweden, Denmark).
Although we aren’t huge architecture buffs, we do love wandering each new city we visit and learning about the city’s history and the buildings that help create its personality. So, before diving into our favorite topic of food, we will briefly cover Helsinki architecture for all you design and architecture fans.
Helsinki’s Iconic Architecture
Pulling into the harbor by boat, two beautiful churches dominate the skyline: the white Lutheran Cathedral with gleaming green domes and the red-brick Orthodox Cathedral. The Lutheran Cathedral, finished in 1852, is Carl Ludvig Engel’s masterpiece. Twelve apostles line the top of this neoclassical building overlooking Senate Square and the harbor.
The Eastern Orthodox Cathedral was designed by Russian architect Aleksey Gornostayev and finished in 1868.
Across the street from the harborfront square is a fountain called Havis Amanda, designed by Ville Vallgren in the early 1900s. Although originally deemed as a bit too risqué for this conservative country, the fountain has now become a symbol of Helsinki as the “Daughter of the Baltic.” Ville felt that he was underpaid for the statue, so the view from city hall is of her backside.
Leaving the harbor, a stroll into town takes you along the esplanade for some window shopping and then by the iconic train station.
We probably should have gotten a better picture of this because it is the masterpiece of Finnish Art Nouveau master Eliel Saarinen. But…it’s a train station.
Next up on our stroll through town was the Kamppi Chapel of Silence. This Lutheran church rarely holds services and is meant as a quiet place for people of all faiths to be able to come to contemplate, relax, and find assistance. This example of contemporary architecture won the International Architecture Award in 2010.
One of Helsinki’s most famous architects was Alvar Aalto who used abstract forms and innovative materials in his modern designs. Finlandia Hall, a concert hall and events venue, was built in 1971.
Jimmy thinks it looks like an airport. Sadly, as non-architects, we are hard to impress and struggle with modern architecture. But, moving onto the pinnacle of our walk showcasing Helsinki’s iconic architecture, we were quite impressed with the “Church in the Rock” Tempeliaukio.
From the outside, the church doesn’t look like much, but the interior is gorgeous. Blasted out of solid granite and built in 1969, this modern church is an architectural treasure. Unfortunately, the brilliant light streaming in from the skylight between the granite walls and the giant copper dome made it difficult to capture the beauty in our pictures.
Helsinki’s Cuisine
After spending more than a month in Nordic countries, we weren’t super excited when we got to Helsinki about Finnish cuisine (more meat and potatoes and fish dishes). Although we love meatballs and a good steak, we were itching for something different. In addition, we had already been to Stockholm and Copenhagen, the two Nordic capitals that have been the most highly praised as foodie destinations. For our few days in Helsinki, we made no specific meal plans and just walked into recommended restaurants after long days touring around and hoped for the best. We had no idea we would luck out with two of our favorite meals during our time in the Nordic countries.
The first restaurant that really stunned us was Juuri, a hip bistro in the Design District. They specialize in sapas (suomi tapas), small plates that highlight local, seasonal Finnish ingredients. Throughout the Nordic countries, we had skipped indulging in an expensive Michelin-star restaurant that specializes in New Nordic cuisine. (We took it as a hint when we were disappointed to discover that Noma, the world’s #1 ranked restaurant, only a block from our apartment in Copenhagen, was closed for “renewal.”) When we decided to go to Juuri, we were really just looking for something different, so we thought a modern twist on traditional Finnish cuisine would be a nice change of pace. To our surprise, Juuri presented us with plates just as beautiful, creative, and delicious as fancier restaurants but at a fraction of the price. We didn’t even dress up for the occasion because they consider themselves a bistro, but now we feel like we should have as it felt like such a luxurious splurge. The descriptions on the menu didn’t even sound fancy or interesting, so we were struggling to pick something and ultimately decided to just be surprised with their chef’s choice tasting menu. And wow, not only were we surprised by what was presented to us but by the quality and beauty as well. Here are some of the highlights:
Lamb with pea puree
Morel mushrooms with egg yolk cream and sour cream with roe on a toasted brioche bun
Tomato and rice ball with onion and finncattle milk
Chicken and broccoli
Strawberry with oat crumble
As you can see from the second to last description, seeing chicken and broccoli on the menu didn’t seem exciting but, as you can tell from the picture, this dish is far more than the chicken and broccoli that I make at home. I think the beautiful pictures speak for themselves. We had an amazing dinner at Juuri and would go back in a second if we ever made it back to Helsinki.
After success at a modern Finnish restaurant, we decided to give traditional cuisine a try at a restaurant recommended for those looking for an authentic Finnish experience. Restaurant Savotta is a bit touristy but popular for good reason. They serve simple, delicious, traditional Finnish cuisine with friendly staff. We opted for their Finland 100 Feast celebrating the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence. The four-course meal takes you through a culinary adventure highlighting the bounty of fresh, local ingredients and showcasing how locals in the past survived off the land during some of the difficult times. Each course was also paired with an appropriate local, traditional beverage.
The first course was a rabbit and duck terrine served on “bark bread”. During war times, rabbits were essential for survival and were raised for both fur and meat.
The drink served alongside the terrine was an aperitif to get your stomach ready for the big meal. The traditional pre-dinner shot was of a clear liquor made from barley with spices from a secret family recipe. We aren’t used to a shot of hard liquor before dinner, but this tradition surely warms you up in this notoriously cold environment.
The second course was a gorgeous platter showcasing the wide array of fish available in the region. We normally prefer red meat over fish, but just like the smörgåsbord on the overnight cruise, we were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed this fishy assortment: mustard herring, beet root salmon, white fish tartar, smoked pike, mushroom salad, and a Karelian pastry.
Here’s a little side story demonstrating how our international food exploration adventure sometimes works. The first time we found the Karelian pastry (at the top of the plate in the above pic) was on the breakfast buffet of the overnight cruise. This rye pastry is filled with either rice or potato. We thought it was extremely bland and weren’t sure why these were so popular in Finland. After a bit of research, we realized that we missed the egg butter that should be drenched on top. We next found the Karelian pastry in our hotel breakfast buffet and smothered it with a thick layer of the special egg butter, just like we saw in pictures on the internet. But, whoa!! Egg butter was not what we expected. We thought it was going to be more like an egg salad with a hint of butter, but it was the other way around, butter with just a hint of egg. We had to tone down the amount of egg butter on future Karelian pastries, but the egg butter definitely gave new life to our appreciation for this popular Finnish pastry.
On to the main course…a ten-hour braised roast of lamb with root vegetables and potatoes in a wooden Särä dish.
The lamb was so tender and flavorful and worthy to be the star of this celebratory feast. Sheep have always been an essential part of Finnish agriculture for milk, meat, and wool. They definitely know what they are doing here with this precious meat. The lamb was paired with a black top-fermented beer. Normally, this style of beer is not my favorite, but it meshed beautifully with the flavors in the lamb.
The final dessert course highlighted one of the subarctic berries that is popular in this region: the crowberry. We enjoyed a lovely crowberry and buttermilk pastry.
To my delight, the dessert was paired with a sweet berry wine made out of green currants. A berry wine paired with a berry dessert was the perfect end to a tasty, and informative, traditional dinner.
In addition to our two amazing restaurant experiences, we also enjoyed the culinary bounty in Finland with a stop at the salmon grills for an easy, cheap meal.
In Market Square along the harborfront, multiple orange tents serve fresh, fun food on paper plates for lunch. After a couple multi-course dinners, we were happy with the simple, healthy option of grilled salmon and vegetables.
Of course, we also couldn’t pass up sharing the reindeer meatballs (sorry, Rudolph).
Reindeer are prevalent across the Nordic countries, and reindeer steaks are featured on almost every menu. We ended up eating the grilled salmon here twice because it was easy, healthy, local, and delicious.
Lastly, I can’t write up a foodie blog about a Nordic country and not mention the pastries. As with Sweden and Denmark, cinnamon rolls (called koorvapuusti in Finland) are popular and found in every bakery. The only difference between the Swedish and Finnish cinnamon rolls is the shape. (And, if you have forgotten or missed the previous Swedish blogs, the Swedish/Finnish cinnamon rolls use a cardamom-based dough unlike the Danish version of cinnamon rolls…and all are quite different than the gooey, frosting-laden US version) Alongside cinnamon rolls, we have also seen cardamom rolls in Sweden and Finland, so we decided to share a cinnamon roll and a sweet cardamom roll (pulla in Finnish) to compare.
Finnish cinnamon bun on the left and cardamom bun on the right
We actually thought the cardamom roll was better than the cinnamon roll. The pastry was of a similar sweetness, but the cardamom spice in exchange for the cinnamon was an interesting twist. We still think the flakier (yet still a bit gooey in the center) Danish version of the cinnamon roll is the best, but the Swedish/Finnish cardamom roll was surprisingly delicious. Until Scandinavia, cardamom would normally bring thoughts of Indian and Thai cuisine, but the sweet breads in Scandinavia have given us a new appreciation for this versatile spice.
Although we wish we could have spent more time in Finland, our quick stop in Helsinki was a great addition to our adventure across the Nordic countries. We learned a bit about modern architecture and ate some exemplary food that gave us an appreciation for the wave of New Nordic cuisine and the local ingredients that are abundant in this beautiful northern European landscape.
Leave a reply