Korvapuusti is the most genuine pulla in Finland. What is pulla and what is korvapuusti? According to Wikipedia, Pulla (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈpulːɑ]) is a mildly-sweet Finnish sweet roll or dessert bread flavored with crushed cardamom seeds and occasionally raisins or sliced almonds. Braid loaves (pitko) are formed from three or more braided strands of dough. The braids may also be formed into a ring. These braided strands or rings are typically coated with melted butter and then sprinkled with white sugar or almonds.^[1] Other types of pulla include small round ones that resemble English scones but have a sugar and butter topping, and larger cinnamon rolls called korvapuusti. The outside typically has a shiny brown glaze, formed by a coating of egg white, milk or a mixture of sugar and brewed coffee. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulla)

プッラといえば誰もが最初に思い浮かべるのがKorvapuustiではないかと思う。プッラとはフフィンランドのいわゆる菓子パンでカルダモンのフレーバー。Korvapuustiがその代表的なものでいわゆるシナモンロールなのだ。（でもシナモンロールと言われて私たちがすぐに思い浮かべるものとはだいぶ形も違うし、甘さも違う。そんなに甘くないし。（詳しくはぐぐってみてください。）

Or you can see it in the above picture.

というわけでこれがKorvapuusti。

Last Thursday, in the rainy afternoon, I went for coffee to a  charming cafe, Fleuriste, on Uudenmaankatu. It is one of my most favorite cafes in Helsinki and serves lovely pulla, cakes, coffee, tea, lunch, brunch etc.  In addition to really good food and drink, they have lovely interior decoration and atmosphere. Also the staffs are super nice and smiley. I always feel happy as soon as I open their door and feel welcoming and peaceful atmosphere.

先週の木曜日に行った近所のカフェFleuriste。このカフェはいつ行ってもとても素敵。ケーキやプッラ、サンドイッチ、ランチやブランチもやってるしお茶やコーヒーもとてもおいしい。その日はKorvapuustiがあったのでフィンランド風に普通のコーヒーとkorvapuustiでお茶。はぁ～、至福。お茶タイムはこうでなくちゃね。このお店、おいしいだけじゃなくてインテリアも素敵。花屋とカフェが一緒になった店内には上品な花がたくさん。お店の人たちもみんなやさしくて穏やかな感じ。そんなカフェが近所にあるなんてほんと素敵。お店のドアを開けたら、すぐに心がほぐれる、そんなカフェ。ちなみにここのkorvapuustiはわたしがフィンランドで食べた中でもトップ３に入る感じ。もちろんコーヒーもとてもおいしかった。

On that Thursday, they had lovely korvapuusti (slap on the ear in English) pulla which made me happy again! Also the good-quality coffee I had with pulla was perfect with the sweet bun.  

To read my previous post about the Fleuriste, click here　(Fleuristeについては前にも書いてます。リンク)

I had another smiley coffee time at Kawa cafe which I often go for green smoothies after yoga practice. Today, a friend and I had a plan to go for a walk to Hietaranta beach (in Helsinki) which was located about 3km away from our neighbourhood and have a coffee break at Cafe Ann Mare which is located just in front of the beach. Weather was not the most suitable for going for a walk to the beach but it wasn't raining then! (We have had so much rain, almost everyday, for one month! and it is raining now) 

今日は友達とヘルシンキにあるHietarantaビーチまで歩いてそこにある素敵なカフェ　Ann Mare　でお茶しようということになった。ビーチで散歩という感じの天気でもないけど、今日はとりあえず雨も降ってなかったし。(ここ1ヶ月くらいほとんど毎日雨。実際、今も雨・・・)　近所に住むその友達と待ち合わせてビーチまで約3キロ。雨でもう全部散ったかと思っていた紅葉もまだ残っていて秋の景色を楽しみながら散歩。

We enjoyed walking surrounded by beautiful coloured leaves and liked the quietness of the beach (almost no people!) but … You can't imagine how disappointed we were when we noticed the cafe was closed for private occasion!!! We checked it in the web page before leaving home and it was supposed to be open for public today… And I was so excited to have coffee and pullat at the cafe I hadn't been to… 

Ann Mareは素敵なカフェだと聞いてたし　まだお茶したことはなかったので　新しいカフェ発掘！と盛り上がっていたのだが・・・ビーチに着いてみると・・・今日は貸切・・・そんなこともあるかもしれないと思ってWebページで調べて今日は貸切じゃないって確認していったのに!!! (しかもそんな確認作業をしたのは私だけじゃなくて友達も!)　超がっかり～。

Well, there is no other cafe at the beach… We had to move on and find some cafe as coffee and pulla was the main purpose of going for a walk ;-) 

ほとんと人気のない寂しいビーチにカフェは1件だけ・・・散歩のメインの目的はお茶することなのだ・・・どこか別の場所でカフェを探さなくちゃ・・・

We found two more cafes which were closed and another two which were open but did't look so fancy. In the end, we arrived at our favorite Kawa cafe. By the time we got there, it had been 1.5 hours since we started walking from our neighborhood. 

カフェを探してさらに散歩は続く。土曜日の3時過ぎ・・・2軒のカフェは土曜日休み・・・あとの2軒はなんだかいまいちな感じ・・・（行ったら後で後悔しそうな)。さらに歩いて・・・ここなら間違いない、お気に入りのKawa cafe までたどり着く・・・新しいカフェ発掘・・・というわけにはいかなかったけど、ここで超～おいしいプッラに遭遇！オーナーのお母さんが作ったこのプッラ。出来立て！ 

And… voi la! They had freshly baked pulla that the owner of the cafe told us her mum baked :) 

It was one of the very best pulla I had ever had and we were so glad that we came to the cafe all the way 🙂 It contains a lot of butter (I could tell it from the taste and it was firmly confirmed by the owner 😉 and combination of butter, sugar and cardamon was super! We were talking we could have one more but, of course, we didn't (Girls are always on a diet ;-). With the lovely cardamon thread pulla and the smooth and tasty cupucino, we have one of the most lovely coffee time today 🙂 Thank you, Kawa cafe!!!

おいしいのが一目瞭然。そして一口食べてさらに納得・・・ほんとにおいしい。やわらかくてたっぷりバターと砂糖とカルダモンの組み合わせが至福 🙂 途中で妥協しなくてよかった～～～。お茶の時間はとっても大切。特にこんなふうに雨の日が続いて暗い秋の日に心温まるおいしいプッラと滑らかでおいしいカプチーノは素敵。そんな素敵な Kawa cafe　に心から感謝 🙂 ところでプッラ、思わずもう1個食べたくなったけど・・・がまん(笑

I have written about the same cafe at / このカフェについては以前にも書いてます。

http://smileyumi.typepad.com/flying_girl/2012/03/kawa-cafe-helsinki.html

"Gaijin" had been one of the restaurants I really wanted to dine in Helsinki for some time. Friends and I booked a table on my birthday last year but we didn't make it as I had a high fever and couldn't get out of the bed. Since then, we have talked about going there some time soon and got there last evening 🙂

1年越しでずっとずっと行きたかったヘルシンキのレストラン、"Gaijin" (外人)。ミシュランの星はついてないけれど超おいしいと評判で、予約が取れにくいと聞いていたこの店。去年の誕生日の日に友達が予約してくれて行こうとしたけど、当日わたしが高熱を出して行けなくなって以来、さらに行きたい度が高まって、今年の夏に一度予約しようと思ったけどやっぱり予約が取れなかった。昨日はそんな Gaijinでディナー。

Gaijin doesn't have Michelin stars but it was reviewed a lot and told to be one of the best restrants in Finland. I can tell you now it is true!  

We chose Sunday to dine there for their Sunday menu. On Sunday, there are only two choices in the menu, either 5-course(55€) or 3-course(38€) menu. And the price is much more reasonable than other days of week. We tried 3-course menu started with Wasabi Scallops 🙂 Presentation was absolutely beautiful! (above picture) and it tasted awesome! It definitely tasted "Japan". 

金曜日の夜とも思ったけど、予約が取りづらかったし、実は日曜日のほうがお値打ちなメニューがあるということに気づいたので日曜日のディナーを予約。トレンディでおいしいこの店は値段もちょっと高めなのだ。サンデーメニューはコースが２つあるだけでその他のチョイスはない。5品(55€)のコースと3品(38€)のコースだけ。わたしたちのチョイスは3品のコース。

最初の一品はほたての料理。グリルしたホタテと鮮やかなソース。盛り付けも美しく、味も最高! 日本の味が・・・

The course menu was served with Japanese rice (I think it was Japanese) with seaweeds. It also reminded me of Japan a lot. (You know what I mean if you have ever lived in Japan 🙂 And I liked to eat the rice with sauce from scallop dish.

コース料理には青海苔のかかったご飯がついてくる。ほたての料理のおソースと一緒に食べるととてもおいしい。(って日本的に言うとあまり行儀がよろしくない？笑) 

The main dish was Braised Veal Cheek which also went super well with rice. And it was quite a big portion! At this point, we were so full!

そしてメインは子牛の肉の角煮というかラフテーというか。メキシコ人の友達がこれどうやって切ればいいのと割り箸を片手に聞いてきたが、そう聞いた瞬間に肉がとてもやわらかいことに気づいた彼女。ほんとにやわらかく煮込んだお肉。おいしかった。ボリュームもたっぷりで最後の一塊を譲り合うほど。

So, it was great that dessert was not huge but yummy :) 

もうここでお腹がいっぱいだったので次に出てきたのが小さいデザートだったのはとても適切な感じ。

Dessert included in the three-course menu was chocolate cake but I told them I would like to avoid chocolate if possible when they asked us about our allergies. And I got another dessert, sake-blueberry sorbet, which was served for five-course menu. I, of course, tasted friend's chocolate cake a tiny bit (who wouldn't?!) and it was lovely. 

コースのデザートはチョコレートケーキだったけど、できればデザートでチョコレートは避けたいわたし。オーダーするときにアレルギーはあるかと聞かれたのでできればチョコレートじゃないものが欲しいと希望を伝えたら、特別に5品のコースメニューのデザートに変えてくれた。(チョコレートのデザートを避けたいのには理由があるのだけれど、これはまた後ほど)　もちろん、友達のチョコレートケーキもほんのちょっぴり味見させてもらっておいしかったけど 😉

And my sorbet was also smiley being so fruity and fresh :) 

わたしのデザートはブルーベリーと酒のソルベ。とてもフルーティでフレッシュなデザート。これも美味。

Having such a lovely dining experience at Gaijin, I guarantee you wouldn't be disappointed by them!

どれもこれも美味、盛り付けも美しい Gaijin! 超お薦め!

ah.. only one tiny tiny disappointment was that they had really narrow space between tables. I understand the restaurant is so popular that they want to accommodate more people by putting more tables and chairs but even for a tiny Japanese girl, it was almost impossible to walk through between two tables to get the chair! 

あっ、でも1つだけがっかりしたことが・・・　人気のお店なのでできるだけ多くの人に一度に食事してもらいたいという気持ちは分かるのだが、店の規模に対してテーブルといすの数が多すぎ。わたしたちのテーブルと隣のテーブルの間にはフィンランド人に比べたら小人のように小さい私ですら危うく通れないというくらい。　もうちょっとテーブルとテーブルの間が欲しいところである。

And.. I should probably explain what "gaijin" means. It is a Japanese word and means foreigners.So, in Finland I am "gaijin" and yesterday, I was "gaijin" eating Gaijin ;-) 

For more information　お店のWeb Pageは: gaijin.fi and the below is the menu we had yesterday.　そして昨日食べたのはこのメニュー。

14.10..2012 ..2012    -    -  -- SUNDAY MENU    SUNDAY MENU  35/person   
   

WASABI  SCALLOPS: fried scallops, wasabi butter-dashi emulsion, roe 

CHEEK, PUMPKIN & NUTS: braised veal cheek, pumpkin, nuts, ramen broth 

GOHAN: japanese rice 
   
MINT & XOCO  chocolate cake, almond & sea caramel, mint crème, mint sorbet

and my dessert from the other course

SAKE BLUEBERRY: sake & blueberry sorbet, lemon flavoured white chocolate creme