murasaki Korkeavuorenkatu 47 00130 Helsinki, Finland More info
Today, I suggested my gourmet friend/collaborator to go to Murasaki for lunch. Murasaki is a Japanese restaurant which opened on the first day of December. With recommendations of friends and a Japanese chef, I had been looking forward to tasting Murasaki’s “teishoku”, Japanese set menu, lunch.
Murasaki challenges “Japanese food = sushi, ramen or tempura” concept which most people think of when they think of Japanese food in Finland and many other countries. The chef Saki would like to introduce other Japanese food, especially, the ones we eat at home in Japan.
The lunch menu consisted of such home-cooked dishes and the tastes reminded me of what I used to eat at home.
Lunch Menu 14.12.2022Teishoku with chicken wings
I chose simmered chicken wings with sweet vinegar soy sauce for main and sesame tofu and spinach in broth. Both are typical side dishes we eat at home in Japan. The lunch was served with a bowl of rice and miso soup. Warm main dish was perfect for the cold day with a lot of snow on the street. Side dishes were also lovely and remined me of Japan.
Pork belly
The friend chose the stewed pork belly with sweet soy sauce with the same side dishes as mine. Pork belly dish also looked perfect for this kind of weather. And it looked authentically Japanese.
Murasaki is open for “teishoku” lunch (11:00 -13:00) and in the evening as Izakaya (17:00 – 21:00) for seven days a week. Izakaya (Japanese pub) serves small dishes as they do in Japan. There are good selections of sake and other drinks. There is only chef Saki working in the restaurant and he is open for requests and suggestions.
Price of lunch is more expensive than average lunch, but quality is great. Also, the teishoku has enough volume and satisfies your appetite. Chef Saki had worked in a traditional Japanese restaurant in Kyoto going through strict chef training. One can trust his cooking skills.
There is a L-shape counter and a table for 6 people. We sat at the counter and enjoyed talking with the chef. It’s possible to book a table via FB or Instagram.
Summery Ravintola Kannas is the place you should go if you would like to good traditional Finnish food. The atmosphere is cozy and relaxing. The space is large, but you need a reservation as it’s a popular restaurant.
One of big groups had left. Immediately tables were cleaned and next group came.
Kannas opened on the corner of Eerikinkatu street and Köydenpunojankatu street in Helsinki in 1939 and it’s still there. The restaurant is one of Helsinki’s classic restaurants and serves many different traditional Finnish dishes.
I had heard about Kannas from friends and wanted to dine there for some time. On the cold evening of November, I finally had a chance to go there with the friends who had been telling me about the restaurant and great Finnish food. They were a good help when I was wondering what to order from the menu which listed a lot of nice dishes. I, somehow, had imagined that the inside of the restaurant would be dark and moody, but it was bright and lively with a lot of customers, several big groups were gathering as well. Reservation is a must here. The big groups were at the combined tables in the middle of restaurant hall and we and other small groups of people were at the window tables.
Starter
My friends ordered their favorite, pickles which was served with cream and honey, and homemade sausage with sauerkraut and mustard. It took some time, for me, to make my mind but as I often do, I chose escargots. I hadn’t read the menu carefully but realized their escargots was a bit different from the typical ones. It was seasoned with blue cheese, white wine and garlic and I only realized it when I saw the dish. With the blue cheese, the dish was heavier than I expected, and I left a lot of melted cheese on the plate. In addition to my own starter, I could taste a bit of pickles and sausage and they were both very tasty. Pickles is not my favorite food, and I usually don’t eat it, but it was much better than typical pickles being not overwhelmed by vinegar. Among these three starters, I liked the sausage the best. And next time, I think I will order it.
Photos from left: PICKLES, SOUR CREAM AND HONEY, HOMEMADE SAUSAGE WITH SAUERKRAUT AND MUSTARD, CHEF´S ESCARGOTS PAN seasoned with blue cheese, white wine and garlic
Main dish
Among many nice traditional Finnish dishes in the menu, I chose fried vendace which was served with mashed potatoes, beetroot, pickles and aioli. At the first glance, I was glad that amount of vendace wasn’t too much. In Finland, I have seen dishes with a hill of vendaces on overwhelming amount of mashed potatoes. But this one wasn’t. Appropriate amount is enjoyable. The fish tasted a bit too salty at first, but it worked quite well when I ate it with mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the dish. I also tasted grilled liver which a friend ordered. It was very good! In fact, the grilled liver was one which I thought of ordering at first. Giant pork escalope that another friend ordered was literally giant as the photo could tell! It was also entertaining to see it. Even though it was huge, my friend finished the escalope and chips. It must have been very nice as the friend never compromise on food. The warm and tasty dishes made our stomachs and taste buds happy.
Photos from left: GRILLED LIVER with Creamy bacon and onion sauce, fried bacon, lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes, GIANT ESCALOPE：Pork escalope 300g and country-style fries and either garlic butter or lemon-anchovy butter, Fried vendace, mashed potatoes, beetroot, pickles and aioli
Dessert
Both friends were too full to have dessert, but I wanted to have something sweet. In the menu, I found frozen cranberries with caramel sauce which I like a lot. I love the combination of those ingredients. It’s sweet but not too sweet and I love the bitter taste. Warm caramel and frozen cranberries were the perfect. Great finale of the dinner!
Omadi Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 23E (in the hotel Helka) 00100 Helsinki
I visited Omadi with Japanese friends. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were told that it’s only us, four people, who were going to dine that evening. This restaurant has only a counter table and I heard that omakase menu was served to all the customers at the same time. “Omakase” (おまかせ）is a Japanese word that means that leaving the choice to the chef when we are talking about restaurants. I had heard great reviews on the restaurant and been looking forward to dining there.
What I thought about the dining experience
Overall, it was a lovely experience with a lot of interaction with the chefs. As one of the chefs was Japanese, we could talk deeper about Japanese cuisine and ingredients.
I had heard from one of my friends who had dined there before that a chef studied chemistry and chose the way of combining ingredients to bring chemical reactions to create the best taste with ingredients, for example, marinating. The dished tasted nice but I wonder if it could have been much less tasty if the raw fishes were served without such method. Would tuna be less tasty if it was served only with soy sauce and wasabi? I wish I had an opportunity to compare the tastes between simply prepared dishes and the dishes created utilizing chemical reactions. Am I asking too much? Maybe…
Sushi served at this restaurant was done with edomae method. Sushi’s history goes back to Nara-era, about 1300 years ago and to preserve the fish from Tokyo Bay, salt, vinegar, and boiling method were used. Tokyo was called “Edo” at that time. At Omadi, I was not sure about the sushi rice they used for the edomae sushi. The explanation was they chose the best rice available which works the best for edomae sushi, but it was not my kind of rice. A friend, Tokyo native, said that she liked the rice and edomae was perfect. So, it’s pretty much about preference.
They do not accommodate dietary restrictions as they cleared says in their website. It might be difficult to serve wider customers while people have many different dietary requirements nowadays and it was accommodated at almost all other restaurants. But if you like fish and Japanese food, or sake, it’s worth visiting Omadi and see if you like their style of food preparation. As to myself, I would go there again if I had an opportunity to do so.
Below, have a look at the dishes that we had.
One of us loves sake and she wanted to know all the sakes they have and try something which she ca not usually find in Finland. Unfortunately, they did not have sake list and had to show us many sake bottles. We hoped they will make a list soon. In cases, variety of sake was extensive.
The course started sashimi, bass, arctic char, and yellowtail. The way they prepared sashimi was not ordinary. Sashimi is usually eaten with soy sauce and a bit of wasabi. But here, all sashimi was either marinated or seasoned and soy sauce was not served.
Tartar of medium fatty tuna（中トロ） with caviar was one of my most favorites in the course. Both medium fatty tuna and caviar are my favorite foods, and the combination was impressive! Texture of tuna was perfect.
Tempura（fritter）of fermented matsutake mushroom. Matsutake is the most appreciated, thus the most expensive mushrooms in Japan. An occasion to be able to taste matsutake is regarded special. In Finland, you could pick up matsutake for free in the forests. Texture of flitter was light and crispy which I liked.
Grilled tuna cheek meat, soy mirin cured egg yolk and ginger juice. I love all dishes served with eggs. This was not exception.
Chawanmushi, Japanese steamed brothy custard). Borth was made from mushrooms, bonito flakes and kelp.
Grilled king fish belly, rice, and nori.
Sushi: Scallop. I forgot to take a picture of sushi but scallop shell. I did not even remember what kind of scallop dish I had but friends reminded me by sending pictures. I was too excited about a big, beautiful scallop shell.
Sushi: Pulled crab meat, miso (internal organs), fat of crab with fresh wasabi from England. I had to ask which part of carb has fat they used. We were familiar with miso and meat of crab but did not know about fat.
Sushi: Yellow tail with Yuanji sauce. Yuanji is made of soy sauce, mirin, sake and citrus fruit.
Sushi: Red (lean) tuna marinated in soy sauce.
Sushi: Fatty tuna (the fattest part). I loved it. I prefer fatty part of tuna than lean part. And I was happy for the opportunity to eat the fattest part of tuna in Finland.
Sushi: Neck of tuna and pickled radish. I do not like Japanese pickles very much but this one was ok.
Miso-soup in a nice bowl.
Koji rice ice cream with dried umeboshi(pickled plum) and shiso (Japanese basil). Unfortunately, the flavors were not my thing. I do not like umeboshi… But I am sure it tastes very nice if you do not dislike umeboshi. All three of my Japanese friends liked it.
This year, the laskiaispulla season started much earlier than I had ever remembered. Laskiaispulla is one of my most favorite things in Finland. It’s obvious that there are a lot more people who love laskiaispulla than me. I saw the first laskiaispulla of the season as soon as the new year started!
At the beginning of the year, I noticed laskiaispulla at the bakery in the local shopping mall. Since then, I had wanted to have it. On the 5th of January, a friend and I visited Kanniston Leipomo in Punavuori, Helsinki, after having lunch. To our surprise, there was only one piece of laskiaispulla left though it was before 15:00! So, we shared one piece. It was after lunch and half piece of laskiaispulla was appropriate, I think. When we talk about laskiaispulla, we often discuss which filling you would like, berry jam or almond paste. I usually choose almond paste but there wasn’t a choice on the day. We enjoyed the last piece of laskiaispulla with berry-jam filling. Kanniston’s history goes back to 1914 and it’s one of my favorite bakeries in Helsinki. I could always rely on the bakery!
As to laskiaispulla, I missed most of the season last year as I was in Japan. M, one of my most trusted friend when it comes to food was telling me, via messenger, about laskiaispulla with different fillings that Chjoko, a popular chocolate shop in Helsinki, was offering . He sent me such messages with different pictures and I was jealous, naturally. Even though I was in Tokyo where you can find pretty much everything yummy, I missed laskiaispulla. I was looking forward to the laskiaispulla season 2022 so much and checking Chjoko‘s Instagram posts every day so that I wouldn’t miss any of their special laskiaispulla!
Finally, Chjoko posted about their laskiaispulla marathon which continued for 7 weeks. They were going to offer laskiaispulla of the week. Every week, their special laskiaispulla has different fillings. The same special pulla is available only for a week. I felt I had to try the marathon. 🙂 The first day of the marathon was 14 January. I planned to get to the chocolate shop at 11:02-03. I texted the friend M that I was on the way by tram without expecting he would come there at the same time. He texted me back saying he was already queueing! I replied to him with a surprise face emoji, and he said it was only him queuing. (hahaha!) While we were chatting, the tram arrived at the stop near Chjoko. When I arrived at the chocolate shop, M had already got laskiaispulla as take away. He was proud that he was the first person who got the special laskiaispulla but, I was the first person (customer) who tasted it as I ate it in their cafe. 🙂 I enjoyed the special version of the week. I visited there again in the same pulla week and tried the basic version, raspberry & dark chocolate whipped cream. It was actually my most favorite of all marathon laskiaispullas.
It sounded fun to try laskiaispulla with different fillings every week for seven weeks. However, eating hamburger-size laskiaispulla with chocolate-based filling was not easy. Sometimes, I almost gave up though I finished all of them! When I talked about it with a classmate of the Pilates class, he said to me, “Don’t give up!”. It sounded like that I was trying a real marathon! I got familiar with staff of Chjoko. I didn’t have to tell her what I wanted every time. She knew exactly what I wanted, laskiaispulla of the week and coffee with milk!
7週間、毎週チョコで今週のデラックス・ラスキアイスプッラを食べるマラソン、絶対やってみようと思って始めたのだが、いくら甘いもの好きでもチョコレートショップのチョコレートベースのフィリングのハンバーガーほどの大きさのプッラを毎週食べるのは楽ではなかった。ボリュームありすぎ。ときどき甘すぎて途中でギブアップしそうになったこともあった。まるで本当のマラソン。毎週行っているピラティスのクラスでこの話をしたら、クラスメートから『Don’t give up（笑）』とも言われたりも。チョコのお店の人とも顔なじみになり、オーダーしなくても今週のデラックス・ラスキアイスプッラとミルクを入れたコーヒーが出てくるようになった。
I ate 7 laskiaispulla in 6 weeks (6 different special versions and one basic version). One more week to go. The 7th-week pulla was chosen out of last 6 verions by vote. It was the legendary pistachio. I was busy at work and had had the pistachio before. So I decided to skip it and finished my laskiaispulla marathon.
3. White chocolate cream with lemon, lime, orange, chocolate crumbs, filled with bitter dark chocolate grapefruit ganache, caramelized kumquat jam レモン、ライム、オレンジ、砕いたチョコレートの入ったホワイトチョコレートクリームと、ダークビターチョコレート、グレープフルーツガナッシュ、金柑をカラメル化してジャムにしたもの
4. Legendary pistachio, white cholocate-pistachio cream, pistachio ganache, raspberry jelly and pistachio 伝説のピスタチオ、ホワイトチョコレートとピスタチオのクリーム、ピスタチオのガナッシュ、ラズベリージェリー、ピスタチオ
5.Milk chocolate cream, chocolate cookie pieces, coffee-white chocolate ganache and fresh cloudberry in the middle ミルクチョコレートクリーム、チョコレートクッキー、コーヒー・ホワイトチョコレートガナッシュ、真ん中にはフレッシュクラウドベリー
6. Chjoko X Snickers Caramel-chocolate cream, dark chocolate ganache, caramel heart, salted nuts and caramel-salted chocolate bar pieces キャラメル・チョコレートクリーム、ダークチョコレートガナッシュ、真ん中にキャラメル、塩味のナッツ
Now, you might expect to hear which one was the best. But, after eating different flavors, I realized that the best one is up to your taste. For example, a friend liked the one with orange, but it wasn’t my favorite as I am not a big fan of orange in sweets.
By the way, I ate the last laskiaispulla of the season, at Kahvila Kariranta, in Lahti. They noticed I love laskiaispulla looking at my Instagram account and I received a message from them. They told me they have the best laskiaispulla in Lahti. I replied and told them that I knew they were one the best and my favorite cafes in Finland. I had also had their laskiaispulla before. I happened to have an opportunity to visit Lahti for work. After working intensely, we visited the cafe. They also had special versions of laskiaispulla, but I had the traditional one with almond paste. Both the bun and the cream were soft and light. I loved it. I had filtered coffee with laskiaispulla as I always do. Filtered coffee goes better with pulla than cafe latte or cappuccino.
I ate a lot more laskiaispulla than I have written here. I feel I ate too much this season and am thinking of having only one next season. At least, I don’t think I will try the marathon. 😉 It is not healthy to eat a lot of sweets. However, in the cold and dark season, something playful brings fun in the life. Keeping playful spirit is important. Perhaps, I shall come up with healthier ways to brighten the days in winter.
Last Sunday, I went out for a walk with a friend and her dog. It was a cold day and wind was harsh as often it is in the city center of Helsinki. Three directions out of four are sea in Helsinki and it’s often windy.
We walked to Lapinlahti to have coffee at Metsä Paahtimo. I had known about it but hadn’t been in the cafe. In the menu, I found all-day breakfast and ordered Columbian breakfast. It’s because I love toast with butter more than anything. I think the bread was from Primo which is selling bread in Lapinlahti on weekends. And butter on the toast was plenty! I enjoyed warm butter toast so much. It could be the best toast available in the town.
Raw chocolate had salty taste together with a bit dark chocolate. I loved it!
As to coffee I had, it was too light for me. It’s a matter of preference and I like dark-roasted coffee. My friend said she liked her latte. And I would like to try other coffee there some time.
We enjoyed our conversation in the relaxed atmosphere of the cafe. The breakfast and a good friend made my day despite of the cold weather outside.
Kahvila-Ravintola Wanha Pehtoori is located in Helsinki at the boarder to Vantaa. It’s a café in a farm premises. The farm is famous for sunflowers in summer. I have visited the cafe twice, once in summer and the another time in winter when there was much snow on the ground. I had heard that they offer one of the best munkki (Finnish donut) in Finland and wanted to go there. As it was a bit far from city center of Helsinki, I had to wait for the opportunity. I suggested friends with a car to go and have coffee there one summer afternoon. Even before seeing their premise, we noticed it’s a popular place. There were a lot of cars parking on the side of the nearby roads. At this point, I was already so excited. It’s a good sign! There is relatively large area of outdoor seating. I ordered munkki and coffee for myself and enjoyed them in the nice yard.
Second time was at the beginning of January 2021. My boyfriend was borrowing friend’s a car. We wanted to go for coffee after 19:00 on Sunday. At such time especially on Sunday, it’s challenging to find a good café. I remembered this café and looked for the opening-hour information in my phone. It’s open till 21:00! Wonderful! In the middle of almost nowhere, such a nice café is open till 21:00. It is wonderful. We were not sure about where to park the car but hoped there would be a parking nearby so that we wouldn’t have to walk a lot in the snow. Luckily, we found the seems-to-be official parking space which was close enough to the café.
It was winter and the tables and benches in the yard were covered by snow, and it was too cold to sit outside and drink coffee. At the previous visit, I didn’t know there was a café space inside the building as well but this time, we found it. There was also a tent set up in the yard. Being already so impressed by lovely yard covered with snow and decorated with lights, we went inside the wooden building where the café was. It was cozy. All customers seem to be enjoying the cozy atmosphere, warm or cold drink and sweets or savory with good company.
I had again munkki and coffee. I had such a lovely time. We liked how they decorated the yard, outside and inside of the café. Being such a nice cafe in the farm is something unique.
