Look at that!! I woke up and somehow, it happens to be Sunday, end of the week(end) and I have a whole new set of cravings… Food cravings that is! 😀
I’d like to wish a lovely Wednesday morning to everyone!! I hope that you’ve embraced the magical vibe of December and are in time with all of your plans and “to-do” lists before the Christmas and New Year’s Eve festivities take over. 🙂 I’m bringing you another collaboration post as part of my Visit Helsinki series of posts in which I recommend you the best places in Helsinki for dining, shopping, exploring, staying at, etc.
I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen. It’s not something that I have to do but something that I truly enjoy doing and am passionate about. There are no dull dishes coming out of my kitchen and that’s something I’m proud of, esp. since I have a family and to see their happy faces each time I present them with a new dish is simply a priceless moment.
Toca! A Finnish take on Italian cuisine! Gennaro and Elina are a Finnish – Italian couple with a burning passion for great food and are 100% proudly standing behind each dish that comes out of the kitchen. Upon entering TOCA, I had an instant vibe of being somewhere in Brooklyn, NYC and not in the middle of Helsinki.
If you know me at all by reading this blog and by checking my Instagram account, you might have concluded by now how impressed and in love I am with anything Asian, esp. Japanese food, language and traditions. After travelling around the Europe and US, I have experienced wonderful Japanese/ Asian fusion restaurants, out of some have Michelin stars, but little did I know that I would get so positively surprised by discovering some real gems in my own hometown, Helsinki.
Gaijin is a Japanese word for an “outsider” or “foreigner” . After being an “outsider” for more than 8 years in Helsinki and being a huge Asian food and culture  lover, visiting restaurant GAIJIN was more than exciting! I have been to some of the best Asian restaurants in Europe such as Yauatcha in London and in US such as Katana Robata and Matsuhisa (LA) but I must admit that Gaijin impressed me so much. It can easily meet the standards of such high level as the other three mentioned restaurants.
After recommending you two jewels of Helsinki’s culinary scene, it’s time to discover the third one. If you find yourself visiting or just stopping by in Helsinki on some of your trips, you must check out restaurant DOMO. I’m a HUGE Japan lover, anything related to Japan from their long and interesting culture, traditions to food is something I’m very passionate about and am always wanting to learn more.
Seeing that you have fell in love with my first post in new series of “Visit Helsinki” posts, I’m continuing by presenting you another gem and a “must” spot when visiting Helsinki. Being born in Russia and half Russian from my mother’s side, the respect for Russian culture, food and traditions has been deeply instilled in me. I have always loved Russian cuisine but due to me growing up in Croatia, the only time I got a chance to eat amazing Russian food was when I would visit my grandparents in Moscow, once or twice a year.
I love Helsinki! Period! 🙂 This city is a little gem in North of Europe and I feel that it somehow get’s “lost” in between Denmark, Sweden and Russia. Only for the past couple of years is that I can see more and more tourists coming and staying in Helsinki, not just passing through/ having a layover.
Good morning to you my dear readers! How has this week been so far for you? I have been working non stop and I do like it a lot, but oh man, does it get though towards the end of the day when my body just “tells me” that it had enough and I get SO tired and fall asleep with the phone in my hands ( yep, Instagram obsessed gal here 😀 ).
