I might have been an “outsider” ( translation of Gaijin ) to Gaijin when I have visited it last year, but this time around I knew what I could expect from a long standing Asian fusion kitchen and still one of the top choices in Helsinki to go for a private dining or special occasion one. I was very eager to come back to Gaijin and try the highlights from the new menu.
There is a saying that love goes through stomach. I can absolutely confess that I did let my heart skip a beat or two each time I ate great food. I’m thankful for being able to explore different cuisines and restaurants in the past and esp. throughout the last year. I could have never believed that I could fall for some food so much that I just had to keep on coming back over and over again for more. 🙂
In my newest post of “Visit Helsinki” cycle of articles, I’m bringing you a full-on review of restaurant Bronda! I did write about this same restaurant a little bit less than a year ago and you can read about it here in case you’ve missed it.
Unlike the 1st time, this time around we’ve been testing out Bronda as a lunch spot and it’s set lunch menu with vegan options too. Even though, it’s not pointed out on Bronda’s website, they do serve vegetarian and vegan options as well as a set menu during lunchtime too. You can either call them in advance and pre-order your vegan/ vegetarian options or you can just walk in and let them surprise you. They’re very skilled personnel, in the kitchen as chefs and as a very friendly and quick service.
It’s been a little bit over 8 years since I have moved to Helsinki. No matter where I go, to known or the unknown cities/ countries, I always love to wonder around and discover new, exciting and interesting spots. I was so happy when I found out that even after 8 years of living here, there are some undiscovered places in Helsinki which I was more than happy to visit and find out what makes them so special. One of those places was the island Tervasaari! I took a walk from the city center all the way to Tervasaari ( it’s easily accessible via small bridge ) and it took me about 30 mins of nice and slow paced walk. I believe that with the car, getting to Tervasaari, even in the worst of traffic it wouldn’t take you longer than 15 mins.
Croatian gastronomic scene grew tremendously in the past 2-3 years and many already “established” restaurants such as previously written about Pelegrini, took their service, food philosophy and presentation to a whole new level that meet the worldwide standards of fine dining.
Unfortunately, there’re still way too many tourist traps, restaurants with endless menus which are always very convincing about freshness and quality of their food… That is until you’ll possibly fall for it, order your food and that’s where the romance will stop because you’ll realise that food is not freshly made, fish wasn’t caught “this morning” and most of the owners and restaurant managers couldn’t care less about what people are going to eat, as long as the portions are huge, prices are low and endless pasta, pizza and meat prepped in million ways with the grande finale of pancakes for the dessert are on the menu, tourists and locals will keep on returning.
On the other hand, there are people who are world travelers, people who are true foodies, people who don’t see food just as a fuel and who are taking a visit to restaurant equal to a mini trip to another “world” which will give you an amazing experience that you’ll gladly share with your certain special someone, family or business partners. Food is more than just a gas for your body, food is the best and most hedonistic way to enjoy your life, socialise… Food is a cultural thing and just like with fashion, I take a very sophisticated approach to it and see the whole picture, from how much love, time and effort it’s needed to just start a restaurant, all the way to how much nerves, smarts and once again appreciation for food and believing in what you’re doing is needed to present you with only ONE plate of perfectly homemade pasta with the best truffles and a glass of white wine specific only for the a certain part of the country or region…
This was the case with a charming restaurant in the middle of Zadar’s old town known as Poluotok among the locals. Pasta & svasta is the name you should mark down if you’ll be visiting Croatian coast this Summer since it’s worth taking a small d-tour even if you’re not planning to stay in Zadar.
Pasta & svasta opened it’s doors about two years ago, back in Spring of 2014 by it’s masterminds and true foodies Mr.Ivan and his lovely wife Ivana. Ever since the opening, Mr. Ivan, together in collaboration and agreement with his kitchen staff have been creating a wonderful crossover kitchen of traditional Croatian food/ cuisine presented with a modern twist. Whilst the authenticity of taste is “spot on”, the presentation is far from traditionally known in Italian/ Mediterranean restaurants. No big portions of everything and anything on the plate, but carefully presented, simple but bursting with the taste dishes are about to blow you off if you haven’t or have tried this cuisine before.
Just when I thought that I can’t be impressed by “yet another” bruschetta, pasta, etc. I was completely proven wrong. Mr. Ivan, who has a phd in costumer service and hospitality is very strong driven restaurant owner, meaning that he has a clear vision of what he wants to offer to his costumers who come from all over the world. One of the most surprising facts is that his restaurant has a Kosher food certification which is to me “unheard” of in this part of the country. He is the only one who has such certificate on Croatian side of Adriatic coast and that def. sets Pasta & svasta highly apart from any other restaurant nearby.
As a starter, we were presented by a home wine, bubbly Krauthaker sauvignon which comes from a certain vineyard in Istria of which Mr. Ivan is being part owner. Warm, crunchy and perfectly salty bruschetta with marinated sardines on the bed of arugula were divine “appetite opener” for everything that was about to follow up.
For the, so called 1st plate we were served home made, wonderfully al dente tagliatelle with hand de-shelled prawns in tomato sauce with big slices of truffles. I must say that I was having a very high expectations for this dish because I’ve been told by the owners that if I ever try this same dish somewhere else, it must taste the way it did at Pasta & svasta or better if possible but def. nothing less than what I was about to taste. Only one bite was already enough to understand what they meant, it was a perfect marriage between al dente pasta, sourness of tomato sauce and taste of the sea via the most delicious prawns I have ever tried anywhere. To top it all off, the truffles were like eating pure gold, absolutely prime ones, straight from Istria which is famous all over the world as the region for some of the best truffles.
We drank perfectly matched white wine, Galic chardonnay with our 1st plate.
2nd plate was slow roasted lamb with baked potatoes and pancetta. The meat is slowly roasted for many hours on a low temperature. This is one very traditional dish known to be prepped in Dalmatian households for generations, but the sophisticated and the most delicious version ever has been right this dish at Pasta & svasta. This is very manly dish which is perfect for all of the meat lovers. The meat was so soft that it’s been falling off the bone as you start to “dig into it” and it was beautifully matched with the crispy pancetta and aromatic potatoes. To maximise the ultimate experience of this dish, we drank red wine Skaramuca Plavac mali premium .
By this point of our dinner, we have already become great buddies with our hosts, Mr. Ivan was happy to see that his food philosophy was understood and appreciated, so we have already made agreements to come and visit him again sometime soon to try couple of more dish-gems that he has hiding up his sleeve. 🙂
No ending of any dinner is good without something sweet, so we couldn’t resist the calling of deconstructed cheesecake with berry sauce and warm, melty goodness of chocolate suffle! Yum!
It was one of the best traditional, Mediterranean food experiences I’ve had in a long time. Without any doubt, I’ll be back again to Pasta & svasta. 🙂
*This collaboration has been made in agreement with Pasta&svasta. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Mr. Ivan and Mrs. Ivana for the warm welcome and for making this collaboration possible.
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
Who could ever say that Mediterranean cuisine has anything to do with the Japanese one? Who could ever say that these two could be “mixed” and deliver the best of two worlds together in one place? Bota Sare made me believe that this is very much possible.
Oyster and sushi bar Bota Sare comes from a 40 years long family tradition of love for the sea food originating from their hometown Mali Ston. First fusion restaurant like this one was opened in Dubrovnik, followed by the one I’ve visited in Split. Ever since, Bota Sare has been the ultimate choice for many locals and tourists as a “must try” sushi place as well as a place where you get to try the best of traditional meals such as seafood risotto, octopus salad or mixed shells in Buzara sauce.
Bota Sare is tucked away in a small side street, just a short walk away from the most visited spot in Split – Splitska Riva, one of the most beautiful promenades that a sea side city can have. Thanks to the benefits of Split city being situated at the Adriatic sea coast, fish is caught fresh daily and that is something that you can make sure of – Bota Sare serves only the best of the quality produce and never make compromises. Oysters are also daily caught and shipped from Mali Ston to Split.
Menu is really interesting and “colourful” so it was a bit though to decide on what to choose from it, but since I’m a huge sushi lover, I had to take different nigiris, rolls and sashimi as starters and main course. Another two options were for more of a meat eaters, spring rolls stuffed with cream cheese and veggies as for the starter and beef teriyaki with rice as the main course.
Sushi rolls were great, especially a dragon roll, but the spotlight def. goes to the super fresh and delicious nigiris and spicy tuna tataki!
If you want to enjoy the unique crossover of Dalmatian vs. Japanese cuisine, make sure to stop by Bota Sare and let the kind and skilful staff welcome you with the plates full of goodness for all of the true seafood lovers.
*This post has been made in collaboration with Bota Sare restaurant, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Antonella Sare for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
When people travel across the country to the small, seaside city just in order to dine at a certain restaurant and when the reservations are highly required since all of the tables are almost always completely booked, then it must mean that you’ve come across a very special place… This special place is a restaurant and it’s called Pelegrini. It’s situated in the old town of Sibenik, Croatia, right next to the majestic and UNESCO protected cathedral of St. Jacobs. For the third year in the row, it won a prestigious gastronomy award as the best restaurant in the whole country, accompanied by this year’s award for the best chef as well.
Mr. Rudi, the head chef, the visionarie who has “built” Pelegrini from a small, unpretentious restaurant to the most innovative and hyped about one. It’s worth mentioning that this restaurant is a part of Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe, a prestigious association of young restaurateurs who want to share their talent, innovations and profession with each other.
Between billion “konobas” along the Adriatic coast, which are usually just a tourist traps, often unappetising and 3 m long menu kind of restaurants, places like Pelegrini are real jewels. I was very excited to visit Pelegrini for late dinner last Sunday and experience the privilege of enjoying a chef’s Secret menu of all together 9 courses. All of the dishes were wonderfully paired with the finest local wines such as Bibich, Rak and Gracin.
We started off our foodie trip with the little “golden bombs” of the best what a sea can offer – oysters! We were told that those oysters are local ones which are from the Krka river, just in the spot where the sea mixes with the sweet river water. Oysters were served with a bit of lemon gel on top which has enhanced the taste of these sea diamonds to the max! Along with that we have snacked on homemade bread and black olives, capers and anchovies tapenade.
Next up arrived a fish tartar of a lightly seared sea bream on a cuttle fish inked rice chips. This was a perfectly warm, crispy, salty and simply such a fish delight of a starter/ snack.
Right after, followed a very interesting presentation of beef tar-tar! I was impressed by a very original idea of serving raw, chopped up meat in a panko crust with a bit of mayo on top and tomato gazpacho soup on the bottom. I have never seen a beef tar-tar taste or look like this anywhere else. 10 points for this starter!
All of these three courses were paired with Brut Bibich bubbly.
Now, onto the first plates – Gnocchi with squid like nothing I’ve seen before either! Love how a very, so to say traditional Croatian dish got a whole new makeover at Pelegrini. Soft and warm gnocchi wit the squid ink was paired with thinly sliced squid, topped with fish caviar on the bed of homemade, reduced fish sauce. Match made in heaven!! This was my favourite dish off of the menu.
Next up was a mashed potato with cream cheese and chili with cooked and thinly sliced pig ears, topped with marinated mustard seeds and on the bed of reduced meat stock. I have to be honest and say that I have “forwarded” this dish to my assistant and rely on his opinion about it. He approved it with two thumbs up and said that when everything is mixed together, the explosion of tastes happens and that’s when the dish becomes alive. Def. a chef’s strong card to impress an eater who has “seen it all”.
Besides gnocchi and squid, my 2nd favourite dish was Egg in Shorbul. It’s basically another very traditional dish, interpreted in a very inspiring and modern way. It’s a runny egg ( soldiers ) with foam of fermented cow’s cheese, local truffle slices, local prosciutto and snails from the fields. I have no words for this dish, it’s so “simple” but incredibly delicious and unusual.
All three dishes were perfectly paired with another local and family run vinery Rak – Marashtina wine from 2013.
As for the final, main course we were served puree of celery with raspberry, cooked kale, slowly cooked ( 6 hours in su-vid machine ) in the red wine beef cheeks and covered with demi-glace sauce. First I was wondering why the raspberry “on top”, but let me tell you, that was a party in my mouth little bomb of sweetness which connected perfectly the smooth and creamy pure, crunchy kale and buttery, cooked to perfection beef cheeks. Once again, such a simple, but perfectly done dish.
This dish worked wonderfully with Gracin Babich red wine from 2011.
As a pre dessert, we were served bisque with the strawberry compote, cream with lavender scent, lemon gel and fresh strawberries. The main dessert was Rogach cake, made of rogach, raspberry panna cotta, strawberry coulis along with apple puree, cooked apple and choco thins. This goes straight to the top 3 best desserts of my 28 years of existence. 😀 SO GOOD!!!
As the dessert wine, we were served with Ambra Bibich prosecco.
I must mention that besides brilliant surprise menu, tasty food and fine wines, the service was absolutely impeccable, better than in many Michelin starred restaurants. Yep! Believe it or not, Pelegrini deserves the hype, awards and everything in between… You must visit this place if you find yourself anywhere near or in Sibenik this Summer. 🙂
*This post was made in collaboration with Pelegrini restaurant. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Lucija and Mr. Rudi for making this collaboration possible.
*All photos by: Natali K. photography
It’s time to introduce you to one of the newest jewels on the Helsinki’s culinary scene and that is Bystro! Bystro are celebrating Russian traditional kitchen with an accent on blinis which are thick, round pancakes usually topped with different kinds of sweet or salty toppings.
Bystro are proud to welcome you to taste Russian cuisine in the middle of Helsinki city center with an incredible sea view on the port of Helsinki and Old Market Hall. Bystro are offering a lot on their menu, there’s a wide selection of finest roes and caviars, as well as a great choice of vodkas, Russian beers, tea and house shots.
Besides the regular menu, the restaurant is serving a popular lunch on every working day from 11:30 to 15 and that’s a great time and “reason” to try the all you can eat blinis with different types of roe, homemade smetana, pickles, etc. as toppings.
Usually, Russian restaurants in Helsinki are quite on the pricy side, while Bystro are maybe having “shorter” menu and are more concentrated on blinis, the prices are very affordable for the quality and authenticity of the food that’s being served.
As starters, we have tried blinis with mushroom salad, pickles and salmon trout roe with homemade smetana. Hands down, these were the best blinis I ever ate in any restaurant. So far, only my moms and Russian grandma’s ones were the ultimate winners, but Bystro’s blinis came the closest to that perfection and definitely brought me back into my childhood while we were eating those delicious bites.
As warm, main courses, we had to go with the classics such as Borscht soup and Pelmenis. Borscht soup was served in a big bowl and could easily be shared between two people. It was a warm, rich with flavour and comforting soup. I ate it with the slice of rye bread and house made Adzika spread. I gave it 5 stars! 🙂
My companion ate Pelmenis stuffed with minced meat and topped with caramelised onions and smetana. Smetana is Bystro’s own and it’s just incredible, I couldn’t believe the taste, it was like no other smetana that we have tried before. Pelmenis were done perfectly, it’s such dish that requires a great chef not to mess it up, because it’s one of the staples of Russian kitchen and not everybody can turn this simple dish into a fine dining one. Top notch! Well done Bystro!
Finally, we have finished off our lunch with Syrnikis ( small pancakes filled with fresh cheese ) served with raspberry jam and whipped cream and quark mousse with sherbet and pomegranate. Wonderful desserts that brought me back to Summers spent at my grandparents’ Datcha and the taste of fresh berries that I used to pick with them as a child and make homemade jams from, later on.
As Russian born, I am more than happy to welcome a newcomer that serves authentic, unpretentious but wonderful, homemade cooking style Russian cuisine. Thank you Bystro for welcoming us, we will be back! 🙂
*This post was made in collaboration with Bystro Helsinki, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Annika for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
About 9 years ago, I came to visit Helsinki for the first time in my life and I was overwhelmed with how beautiful, different and somewhat mysterious this city was. I knew right there and then that I must come back to this city as soon as possible… I felt that there was just something calling my name and that 7 days spent in it were “not gonna cut it”, if you know what I mean.
Only about half a year after, I had my bags packed and I have moved to Helsinki. Ever since, I’ve been all the time learning and exploring more and more about Finnish culture, traditions, food, etc.
Let’s stay on that “food” part of exploring because today, I’m bringing you a new post from my cycle of “Visit Helsinki” posts in which I’m recommending you and presenting you the finest places in this city to stay at, dine at, go shopping, etc.
In the past 2-3 years, there’s been a boom of fine dining cuisine restaurants opening in Helsinki. It’s been very popular to have a restaurant serving Finnish food French style with a modern twist. While I’m not the biggest fan of such dining ( not that I dislike it either ), I’ve been constantly on the lookout for a restaurant that serves traditional Finnish food, the traditional way, so to say.
Savotta has it all my dear readers, the interior, the food and an overall warm vibe of a Finnish countryside. All of the waiters are dressed in typical “workers” old traditional clothes, interior is styled in “Finnish grandma’s house” and the food is hearty, delicious and as authentic as it can be.
If you want to enjoy the best of Finnish food dinner with your family or a partner while overlooking the majestic Tuomiokirkko ( White Cathedral ) and a Senate square, then Savotta is your ultimate destination! 🙂
For the starters we’ve opted to have a fish starter plate for two which consisted of: fish roll known as “kalakukko”, Carelian pastry with the egg butter, boiled and buttered new potatoes with dill, mushroom salad, salmon carpaccio cured with beetroot, marinated pickles, smoked pike with horseradish puree and baltic herring with sour cream and dill. Along with this came a small green salad and a bread basket.
Carelian pastry was one of the best ones I ever ate in Finland during my whole 9 years of living here, salmon carpaccio cured with beetroot was something completely new which I haven’t seen in other restaurants and it was one of my favourites from the starters too.
To be honest, all of this was so delicious and filling that even just eating this platter would have been enough for the two of us. Luckily, we came hungry and “food adventurous” so we were very excited to get our mains anyway.
One of the main courses was arctic char with kale, caramelised onions and baked carrots and potatoes. Alongside with it came a cucumber, dill and sour cream sauce. Everything was fitting so well together and even though it was a “simple” dish, it was explosive in richness of taste. Do I need to mention that the plate was empty really fast?! 😀
Another main course was reindeer meat with baked parsnip and mashed almond potatoes in a “sweet & sour” like sauce. Red wine gave the sweetness to it while cranberries gave it a crunch and sour kick. Wonderful, very traditional and perfectly made dish. Highly recommend it as a main course choice.
I don’t know how, but we did managed to squeeze in some desserts too! 😀 As per tradition, we went for Finnish style french toast with berries, vanilla and whipped cream and as per “modern” choice we went for Sisu ice cream with biscuit crumble, liquorice and berry sauce. I have one sentence to say: “God Lord of my sweet tooth, that was uber delicious!”
Savotta is proud to use only Finnish ingredients picked from the carefully selected small business suppliers. They’re also a part of wonderful, long lasting and one of a kind experience, restaurant chain A&S ravintolat so if you wish to check some of their other restaurants read my posts about Saslik and Saaga.
*This post has been made in collaboration with A&S ravintolat/ Savotta. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thanks to Miss Johanna Haataja for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
Growing up in Croatia and eating the finest of Mediterranean cuisine, including my mom’s and grandma’s impeccable cuisine, I was born to be a self-proclaimed foodie master! 😀 I’ve always loved good food and my standards to what tastes good have developed through the years, so by this age, if I’m eating at home, I make sure to buy only the high quality ingredients when cooking my lunches and dinners because I’d rather buy something bit more expensive in the food aisle and save on that 10th, unnecessary skirt for the Spring/ Summer “wardrobe refreshment”!
Yeah, I know, not so fashion thing of me to do. When I do go out for a lunch or dinner, I wanna go to places which deserve a dollar to be spent there… There’re way too many restaurants nowadays but not many do give what they ask you to pay for. Bummer, I know, so that’s why I’m more than happy to once again bring you an article from my cycle of “Visit Helsinki” posts in which I’m presenting you the best places to visit, dine at, hotels to stay at, etc. in case that you find yourself visiting my city this Summer perhaps! 🙂
If you are a local or somebody who’s living nearby, even better, then you get to test these places even sooner and share your experiences with me!
Going back to me growing up in Croatia, I have practically lived on an Italian food for a good amount of my life. I know how “the real” Italian food should taste and look like, so upon moving to Helsinki, Finland almost 9 years ago, I didn’t really have a chance to satisfy my Italian cuisine cravings. What was presented to me here as “Italian food” was a far cry from that. Ever since, I’ve been on a hunt for the real deal and I finally found it at Toscanini restaurant ran by a proper Italian chef! Hallelujah!! Pasta perfection here I come!
Toscanini restaurant is a “house restaurant” of a design hotel Klaus K which happens to be one of my favourite hotels ever. That’s how I came in “touch” with Toscanini for the first time about a year ago, by ordering in a room service for dinner. I remember thinking that my dinner was so delicious that I must pay a visit to this restaurant in person and not only via room service delivery.
I did it… Ok, a year later, but I still did it and guess what? The food is absolutely amazing and if I wasn’t looking outside the window on the Boulevard street and seeing the Finnish “Spring weather”, I would totally think that I’m in Italy, by the sea and any moment now Eros Ramazzotti songs will start blowing from the speakers. 😀
Besides weekly changing lunch menu, Toscanini are serving a full course, a-la carte menu in the evening times and over the weekend. There’s a little bit of everything for everybody and I’m so happy to see a menu which is not 3 meters long one with various pasta and pizza options, as it’s usually the case with all of the touristy versions of Italian restaurants I’m used to see around.
As starters we’ve opted for fish and seafood soup aka bouillabaisse flavoured with chilli and garlic bread and San Daniele ham cured for 18 months and a modern version of crispy bruschetta with Buffalo mozzarella cheese. The soup was one of the most delicious fish soups ever. I could “taste” the sea, it was so fresh and a perfect starter for a fish lover like me while ham + mozzarella might have looked like a simple combo but the explosion of tastes was incredible.
Main courses were perfect follow ups to starters – fresh spaghetti chittarra with oyster mushrooms and crispy Parmesan cheese and fresh rigatoni pasta with juniper flavoured hare ragu.
My mushroom pasta was so simple, but perfectly creamy and satisfying perfection of mushroom and cheese taste while the hare ragu made in red wine and tomato sauce was cooked to perfection and had a wonderfully balanced and rich taste. I don’t have to mention that both pastas were cooked al dente, which is also something I had problems with finding in Helsinki.
To complete the already successful Italian feast, we couldn’t pass on classics like Tiramisu which is truly the best one in this city and Citrus semifreddo with chocolate cake and berries. We loved every single spoonful and left back home with smiling faces and dreams of Italy.
*This post has been made in collaboration with Toscanini restaurant, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Sissi E. for making this collaboration happen.
*Photography by Natali K. photography
