Restaurant review: Yume – modern Asian cuisine

28 02 2014

Restaurant Yume - reijosfood.com

Restaurant Yume is part of Kämp Group, which also operates legendary luxury hotel Kämp. Yume serves asian flavours and dishes in a modern decor and is located in the same building as hotel Kämp. Inspired by the Jack Yoss Experience pop up restaurant which was at Yume in July 2012, restaurant’s menu changed and offers today a wide variety of modern asian food.

We arrived early at 5PM when restaurant opens. Reason for early arrival was Michael Buble concert, where we should be at 8PM latest when the warm-up band or actually accapella group Naturally 7 should start singing. Although we would have a little bit more than 2 hours to eat, we decided to order longer tasting menu

Menu Tiong Bahru

which included 7 dishes. Shorter menu would have included one dish less.

First two dishes were brought to the table at the same time

Fresh Spring Rolls

Fresh veggie spring roll, sweet chili sauce and black vinegar

Yellowtail Sashimi

Yellowtail sashimi, sweet soy-chili sauce

Veggie ment mainly sprouts which made first dish one-sided although rolls were delicious with sauces.

Sashimis were perfect, two pieces of soft fish for both. Suitably flavored sauce and vegetables made the dish masterpiece. We used chopsticks for sashimis as they were an option to be used for eating.

Sprubg rolls and sashimi at Yume - reijosfood.com

Third and fourth dishes were again at the same time on the table.

Pork Ribs

Pork Ribs and thai-chili sauce

Som Tum Salad

Spicy green papaya salad with cucumber and carrots

Pork ribs were juicy, crunchy and crisp at the same time. Sometimes candied pork, which is usually offered in modern asian restaurants, can be dry. These ribs were not candied and the way the were prepared was new for us. Extremely scrumptious, if you happen to like a little bit greasy pork.

Salad supplemented well this combination, better than rice would had. Noticed that kitchen had not yet served any rice which was good idea. Sometimes you might eat too much if rice is all the time on the table.

Pork ribs and salad at Yume - reijosfood.com

Pork ribs at Yume - reijosfood.com

Hot Stone

Beef/Lamb/Tofu tai Tiger Prawn

We chose tiger prawns instead of meat. Waitress instructed us first to fry prawns on the hot stone, then dip them to the sauce and add salt and chili powder. Understandable, because otherwise whole restaurant would have been filled with stick smoke as most of the tables would have used hot stones.

Tiger prawns at Yume - reijosfood.comTiger prawns on stone at Yume - reijosfood.com

Whitefish “sweet and sour”

Roasted whitefish, black sweet and sour sauce, fresh herb salad

Whitefish was best of all portions. First fish was roasted perfectly and then placed to the sauce in in order to get more flavor. Mint and other herbs completed this taste of heaven. And if you would still be hungry big bowl of rice would take it away. You could choose whitefish also from a la carte list from “warm dishes to share” section but for two I would suggest to order two portions. You would not like to share this one 🙂

Whitefish at Yume - reijosfood.comWhitefis and rice at Yume - reijosfood.com

Passionfruit Pudding

Passion pudding, coconut sorbet

Dessert was one of the best in asian type of fine dining restaurants. Not too asian but still asian flavors. Means that sometimes different type of vegetables and herbs used in desserts make them almost snack or main course, not dessert.

Pudding at Yume - reijosfood.com

Interesting detail was the location of extra cutlery. They were hidden in a small box under the table, but only on one side.

At 5PM restaurant was still empty as it has just opened it’s doors. At 7PM most of the tables were occupied although Canada played against USA in Sotshi Olympic Ice-Hockey games. Unfortunutely Finland had just lost to Sweden and will play for bronze medal.

Cutlery at Yume - reijosfood.comYume - reijosfood.com

For wine we chose Gysler Weinheimer Riesling Trocken 2010 from Pfalz, Germany. Dry, but not too dry riesling with enough acidity and fruit flavors paired well with oriental tastes. Also had glass of pinot noir from Bourgogne, France with ribs. This wine would have been served if you would have ordered matching wines with tasting menu.

Yume is one of the best “gourmet” asian cusine restaurants in Helsinki. As it is in the center of the city, next door to Hotel Kämp, it’s location is also perfect. Modern rhythm music is not too loud and most of the tables are not thick on the ground, which makes discussion possible. A little bit more spices in some of the dishes and then food would have also scored 4,5. Service was professional as expected.

REVIEW: FOOD 4+/5 – SERVICE 4/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5

http://ravintolayume.fi/en/





Wine review: Cono Sur Single Vineyard Block 23 Riesling 2012

24 02 2014

Cono Sur Riesling - reijosfood.com

Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery was founded in 1993, with the vision of producing premium, expressive and innovative wines that convey the spirit of the New World. The name refers to the company’s geographic position, representing wines proudly made in South America’s Southern Cone, on whose western edge lies Chile and its gifted wine valleys.

Single Vineyard wines should be of exceptional quality in which each variety comes from a specific block of grape vines with singular characteristics.

Cono Sur Single Vineyard Block 23 Riesling 2012 is selected for its extreme southern origins and cold climate, the Rulos del Alto Block is part of the Quitralmán Estate and contains the oldest vines planted in the Bío-Bío Valley. Experiencing some of the lowest average temperatures during grape ripening, along with its red clay soil, add to this Riesling´s freshness and impressive minerality.

THE LOOK

Cono Sur Single Vineyard Block 23 Riesling 2012

Wine is bright yellow but not golden as in the picture. Flash light changed the color a little bit.

THE NOSE

Fruits and acids, elegant bouquet. Riesling should be like this wine.

THE TASTE

Crisp and fruity, apricot and lime. Slightly petro-flavored with some minerals. Nice and balanced taste.

Facts and figures:

Alcohol: 13,50 %
Extract: 28 g/l
Acidity: 7,3 g/l
Sugar: 6 g/l
Energy: 90 kcal / 100 ml (360 kJ / 100 ml)
Closure: metal screw cap

Wine is suitable for aperitif and paired extremely well with whitefish, which was prepared with asian style. Means that is suits with spicy food but also with white fishes and meats.

Would definitely purchase again because the price of this wine is not bad at all compared to value for money.

OVERALL GRADE: 4/5 – BANG FOR THE BUCK +++ / +++

http://www.conosur.com





Home cuisine: Asian style whitefish

23 02 2014

Asian style whitefish - reijosfoo.com

Whitefish, one of the best Finnish fishes, can be prepared in a myriad of ways. This time made whitefish with asian style, one of our favourite cuisines.

First of all you need fresh whitefish. If you want to take a shortcut, purchase scaled and fish bones removed ones. Less messy and it saves time.

Whitefish - reijosfood.com

Recipe:

1 whitefish fillet for each diner

Rice (used whole grain instead of white)

Sauce: water, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, cane sugar, red chilli, ginger, fresh mint and coriander

Salad: carrot, cucumber, sweet pepper, fresh mint and coriander, balsamic vinegar

Riesling - reijosfood.com

Instructions (30 minutes preparing time, step 1 not included)

1. Take whitefish out of the fridge 1 hour earlier, add salt and pepper for both sides

2. Prepare sauce by mixing all ingredients depending how spicy you want to make it. You might want to add more sugar but tasting is important.

3. Prepare salad in separate bowls by using peeler in order to get thin chips and add sweet pepper and herbs

4. Boil water and add rice according to instructions on package (boiling time 10-12 minutes)

5. Put whitefish in the oven for about 15 minutes, 220C degrees (depending on the size of fillets)

6. Serve immediately; first rice on the warmed plate, then fish fillet and herbs. Pour sauce on top of the portions at the table.

Whitefish and rice - reijosfood.com

This dish is healthy and palatable. It is your choice how spicy food you like. This can be really spicy if you add plenty of chilli, ginger and herbs. It also can be dilute without those spices.

Suitable wine for this dish is white wine from riesling grapes. Tried Cono Sur Single Vineyard Block 23 Riesling 2012, which has enough acidity and character; therefore it paired perfectly. Wine review will follow later.





Burger King opened 2nd restaurant in Helsinki – it happened again

22 02 2014

Have Helsinki resident’s missed Burger King so much, they have to queue up for hamburgers?

First Burger King was opened opposite the Stockmann department store on the 13th of Dec, 2013. What happened (click the link)?

http://www.metro.fi/uutiset/a1392272604404

Second Burger King was opened on the 14th January 2014 at Helsinki Central railway station, what happened then (click the link)?

http://www.metro.fi/uutiset/a1387800585624

Actually I like a lot of well-made burgers and crispy french fries, examples from Hard Rock Cafe Helsinki and Pirate Helsinki.

Hamburger at Hard Rock Cafe Helsinki - reijosfood.comHamburger at Pirate - reijosfood.com

But gosh! No more about this matter……





Hotel review: Fuerte Miramar (Marbella, Spain)

16 02 2014

Pool at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfod.com

As we shall visit Malaga early May, noticed that have forgotten to post one hotel review from last August.

4-star hotel Fuerte Miramar is located in right on the beachfront and close to the Marbella Old Town. Hotel is beside a pedestrian promenade (Paseo Maritimo) that links up in 5 minutes to the fishing harbour and the marina. You can also walk to Puerto Banus via Paseo Maritimo in 1 1/2 hours if you are sporty. Actually it is a nice way to observe Marbella from the beach side.

Hotel Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.com

Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.comFuerte Miramar lobby - reijosfood.com

Note that hotel is open only from March to November.

Hotel has three restaurant areas: Bar Noble, mainly drinks and light lunch. El Olivo, offering buffet-style dishes and breakfast. Beach Club Restaurante Grill that serves a large variety of fish and paellas beside the beach. Beach Club was open only during the lunch time.

Bar Noble at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.comBar Olivo at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.comRestaurant El Olivo - reijosfood.comRestaurant El Olivo - reijosfood.com

Hotel also has The Miramar Spa & Beauty, which is fully-equipped hydrotherapy centre that has sauna, Turkish bath, whirlpool bath and a wide range of treatments such as massages, algae wraps, etc.

There is also small pool available behind the hotel with sportive activities and free pool towels. Pool was quite occupied during the busiest season but one option was to go to the beach opposite of the hotel. Major shortcoming at the beach was that there was no showers.

Pool at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.com

Rooms are quite spacious and most of them have a balcony with front and side sea views. All of them are equipped with Wi-Fi, satellite TV, minibar, desk and safe. We had Double Room with sea side view.

Doublre room at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.com Sea view at Fuerte Miramar - reijosfood.com

Best of all of staying at Hotel Fuerte Miramar was location; closeness to the Olf Town and by Paseo Maritimo. Hotel is excellent base for culture and shopping purposes. Also spa in the spring and autumn times sounds attractive.

Marbella Old Town - reijosfood.comMarbella Paseo Maritimo - reijosfood.com

When it comes to service e.g. at Bar Noble, there is opportunity to improve. Small pool and simple beach closest to the hotel do not encourage to sunbathing, if you are only looking for that. Fuerte Miramar has bigger sister hotel Fuerte Marbella which fulfills also this requirement. It is more expensive due to spacious pool area and better beach, of course.

However, hotel seemed to be favored by Spanish vacationers which is always a good sign of popularity and loyal customers.

Reviews of some of the restaurants we visited in Marbella, can be found at reijosfood.com (August 2013)

http://www.fuertehoteles.com/en/hotels/fuerte-miramar-marbella/





Restaurant review: Lumbini – Nepalese cuisine

11 02 2014

Naan bread at Lumbini - reijosfood.com

There are 28 Nepalese restaurants in Helsinki. Yes, 28 which is amazing amount! (source: Fonecta). Means that Nepalese cuisine is the second most popular ethnic kitchen after Chinese.

Lumbini is one of these restaurants serving traditional food in their dining room but also with take away opportunity. Nepalese food is affordable as well as few wines they have in their list.

Dinner at Lumbini starts always with Nepalese crackers. Crispy, well seasoned thin crackers increase the feeling of hunger appropriately.

Crackers at Lumbini - reijosfood.com

As portions are quite big we ordered for starter only one Deep Fried Chicken to be shared. Crispy pieces of chicken breast, not swings, were appetizing and with mint sauce the end result was perfect.

Fried chicken at Lumbini - reijosfood.com

Main courses always include Naan bread baked in Tandor oven, Basmati rice, Mint sauce, Raita and Green salad as side dishes. Portions at Lumbini are generous because the actual main courses are in separate bowls. Most restaurants serve them in the same metal plate as all side dishes.

Naan bread is really delicious, better than Indian version.

Food at Lumbini - reijosfood.com

Ordered for main courses our favourites Butter Chicken Chicken cooked in coconut-cream butter & tomato sauce and Spinach Chicken Chicken with spinach sauce.

Tender pieces of chicken in well-seasoned sauces are palatable. Thick sauces actually make the dishes what they are. If you do not like this type of sauces, you do not like Nepalese cuisine.

butter chicken at Lumbini - reijosfood.comChicken Saag at Lumbini - reijosfood.com

Wines are not so typical drinks for Nepalese food but this one pairs extremely well. Basic, affordable Gato Negro from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes makes the dinner complete.

Gato Negro - reijosfood.com

Nepalese or Indian desserts are not our favourites, therefore we were satisfied for starters and main courses.

Actually it does not make sense to compare Continental, Scandinavian or Finnish cuisines with ethnic ones because they are totally different. However, you can always judge food, you like it or not. We like Nepalese food, therefore score is high. Service is always polite, thoughtful and humble. Sometimes you are not so happy about too familiarity and effusive freshness which new fine dining bistros present.

REVIEW: FOOD 4-/5 – SERVICE 3+/5 – OVERALL GRADE 3,5/5

http://www.ravintolalumbini.com/





Restaurant review: Alberga – dinner and comedy theatre

8 02 2014

Alberga - reijosfood.com

Our visit to Alberga, one of the oldest theatre restaurants in Finland, was probably the 20th or at least something like that. And proof of our long history with Alberga was warm welcome handshake by owner,  when we arrived.

Theatre restaurant Alberga is family owned scene in Espoo, Leppävaara (Alberga in Swedish). Restaurant was established 1988 and since then it has presented over 1000 plays, mostly comedies.

We came to see “Rich, Dear and Work” performed by Minna Kivelä and Annu Valonen. Both are well known comediennes from TV series “Handy hostess”.

What a play! These comediennes are the best in Finland and made us laugh bellies ache.

There is always special theatre menu available consisting of one starter, two alternative main courses and one dessert. Dinner is served before the show which usually starts at 20.00.

Dinner started with Beetroot flavored salmon which is basic delicious Finnish dish and never let’s you down. Salmon must be enough thin in order not be chewy.

Salmon at Alberga - reijosfood.com

For main courses kitchen served Roasted Arctic char with lingonberry sauce and Fried sirloin with red wine sauce.

Fish included cooked potatoes and made portion again basic scrumptious Finnish plate. Sirloin was tender and properly roasted, meat inside was rose. Side dishes, oven potato and roasted root vegetables complemented the dose perfectly.

Acctic char at Alberga - reijosfood.comSirloin at Alberga - reijosfood.com

Dessert served was Parfait which included orange, chocolate and strawberry. Could have eaten three of them.

Parfait at Alberga - reijosfood.com

Theatre restaurant Alberga is more sedate than Kaksi kanaa, which is also popular scene (review was posted 4.3.2012).

Alberga - reijosfood.com

You should visit Alberga although you would not like theatre. It is totally different to follow up the show two meters from the small stage than sit in the back row of big hall. And most of the plays are enjoyable, well written and acted out. Athmosphere is relaxed and informal. Therefore Alberga earns 4,5 for overall grade.

REVIEW: FOOD 3,5/5 – SERVICE 4-/5 – OVERALL GRADE – 4,5/5

http://www.ravintolaalberga.fi/





Restaurant review: Blue Peter – all year round open yacht club

2 02 2014

Blue Peter - reijosfood.com

Blue Peter, covered by snow and ice, is a restaurant in Lappland…….Not exactly, but snowfall during the past 24 hours made me imagine so.

Blue Peter - reijosfood.com

Actually Blue Peter is situated on Lauttasaari island by Gulf of Finland 4 km from Helsinki city centre. In the summer time it is really popular due to large terraces and HSK sailing club members. Restaurant is open all year around hosting private events also in the winter time. On the evening we dined, there was a private party for 140 people. Not bad at all for summer restaurant.

For starters decided to order Smoked salmon mousse with malt bread and Thai-salmon soup from Soup and Salad menu, which ended the same day we dined.

Smoked salmon was more like hash than mousse because it was quite dry. Otherwise tasty starter. To add asian style spices to salmon soup is brilliant idea and must try also at home.

Smoked salmon mousse - reijosfood.comThai-salmon soup - reijosfood.com

Main courses were Reindeer fillet with game sauce and potato gratin and Whitefish, soy-ginger sauce and jasmin rice.

Reindeer was soft and tender and perfectly prepared. Potato gratin, I think, might have been more or less convenience food or not. Whitefish could have been fresher than it felt and sauce seemed to be more soy than ginger based. But whitefish is always delicious, choose it always if it is available in restaurant you eat.

Reindeer at Blue Peter - reijosfood.comWhitefish at Blue Peter - reijosfood.com

For desserts had to order the favourite one; Crepe with strawbarry jam and vanilla ice-cream. As the only lactose free dessert was sorbet we asked if kitchen could prepare something else and they did; Chocolate muffin with vanilla ice-cream.

Crepes are best in Helsinki, as I have stated in previous reviews, and can confirm it again. But pimped dessert was bull’s-eye, just baked muffin with ice-cream was really a sweet. We even suggested that restaurant should add it to their a la carte list. Let’s see if that will happen.

Crepe at Blue Peter - reijosfood.comMuffin and ice-cream at Blue Peter - reijosfood.com

For wine we had Weingut Liebfrauenstift Riesling QbA Trocken which is guaranteed safe choice. Suitable amount of acidity and minerals.

As you will get Geisha and/or Fazerin Sininen chocolate with coffee and bill that might be enough for dessert. Or nice take away to pamper yourself later.

Wine at Blue Peter - reijosfood.comCeisha chocolate - reijosfood.com

Blue Peter is especially summer restaurant but it does not mean that in can be cozy also in the winter time. Evening we visited there were decorations from past DTM, German Touring Car Masters, race in Helsinki. Wonder if there was some kind of remembrance earlier on coming next weekend?

???????????????????????????????Fireplace at Blue Peter - reijosfood.com

Desserts earned 4+ for Food but unevennes in starters and main courses dropped points. Our waitress forgot one of our orders, but as we got espresso and green tea for free, it corrected the event.

But it is great that there is stylish dining place outside of Helsinki centre because it is not easy to survive all year round. Especially in the summer one of the restaurants you should visit.

REVIEW: FOOD 3,5/5 – SERVICE 3,5/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4-/5

http://www.bluepeter.fi/articles/632/





Wine review: Freixenet Elyssia Gran Cuvée Brut

1 02 2014

One of the best Cavas ever tasted!

Freixenet Elyssia Gran Cuvée Brut  - reijosfood.com

Spain´s sparkling wine, Cava, is part of a controlled appellation (D.O. Cava), which is concentrated in the Penedés region, just south of Barcelona.

Freixenet sparkling wine house has a long history that began in the early 1200s. Production of sparkling wines of Freixenet company began in 1900 as early as Ferrer and Sala winemaker families merged. Freixenet is now one of the largest producer of cavas which are made with champagne method.

Freixenet Elyssia Gran Cuvée Brut includes Chardonnay, Macabeo, Parellada and Pinot Noir grapes. Macabeu is the most popular grape in Penedes region, but Chardonnay makes this Cava special.

THE LOOK

Shape of the bottle is elegant, more stylish than basic Cava bottles.

Color of wine is pale yellow. Small bubbles last long.

Cava - reijosfood.com

THE NOSE

The bouquet is balanced without disturbing side scents. Pleasant, elegant aromas like ripe pineapple and peach can be found.

THE TASTE

The palate is soft and appealing to start, opening into those same flavours, combining a clean, crisp acidity, and developing into a long balanced finish. No disturbing savors.

Facts and figures:

Alcohol: 11,50 %
Extract: 22 g/l
Acidity: 5,4 g/l
Sugar: 7 g/l
Energy: 70 kcal / 100 ml (300 kJ / 100 ml)
Closure: natural cork

Elyssia is perfect for aperitif and pairs well with mildly spiced food. As bottle was received as a gift, bang for the buck can not be reviewed, but it is worth of it.

REVIEW: OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5 – BANG FOR THE BUCK N/A

http://www.freixenet.com/index.asp








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