Cheese monger "The Rolling Cheese" in Töölö: 3 small pieces of (very) good french hard cheeses without bread or anything else + 2 glasses of ordinary french red wine: 47€. If it's not a scam, I don't know what is!
Now, this is what you can have at home...
Today is the french national day (called the Bastille Day in anglo-saxon countries), and for the occasion we're making a classic french dessert, a "Clafoutis aux Cerises" or cherry clafoutis. The recipe below comes from - believe it or not - a tv program magazine called "Télé 7 Jours" (7 days tv). Since the 60s, the mag dedicates its back pages with easy to do food recipes, and last time we were in France, I took photos of some of them.
Last year, while biking around Turku's Ruissalo, we came across - by acccident or by chance - restaurant "Alex Eatery 1917". At an end of a remote road in a forest, a wooden house stood there overloking a small harbor. While my other half decided to have a look inside, I waited by the entrance reading the menu on the door declining ordinary stuffs like burgers, curries, pies, etc... Then wifey came back and said I really should come inside. So, reluctantly I followed her inside and then... *trumpets & drums*... a classy dining room "The Chef's Table". A large table U shaped with 15 seats and a menu reading like this: caviar, oyster, lobster, scallop, dry aged beef, champagne, etc... And in the middle of nowhere??? WTF!!! Of course the place was fully booked that day. So we decided to come back the next spring/summer to try it. And so here we are, one year later, june 21 "Juhannuspäivää" (midsummer day). The restaurant is run by chef Richy - an irishman with mauritian heritage - and his crew, and propose a 10 courses menu at a price of 120€/pers. All the ingredients used are locally sourced, with the exception of caviar (germany) & scallops (ireland). The menu ranged from ok to great. As for us, 10 courses are probably too much because after a certain point, flavors start mixing in the mouth and your tastebuds don't know for certain what you're eating anylonger. We finished up the diner with a degustation of irish whiskeys and a 100 years old cognac Grande Champagne at a cost of roughly 450€ for the whole package. If you don't want to spend that much, there's a second dining room with a sea view terrace, where you can enjoy the aformentioned burgers or apple pie at more reasonable prices. Certainly something different.
We came across "Noodle Story" through ResQ (which is a great way to make one's own opinion at a discount price). Gotta say, their homemade noodles - fried noodles with bbq pork in our case - are to die for. Really, really yummi... and cheap (by Hki standards).
best pizza we've eaten in years @ Pizza Pala. Worth trying if you're around.
A grilled piece of salmon, a few whites asparagus, an hollandaise, and a bottle of Chablis Grand Régnard. I mean, what else? Not an nespresso anyway!
