Best Asian style fine dining restaurant in Helsinki and Finland? Also one of the best restaurants in Finland? Are you ready to eat with fingers and without knife?
Restaurant Farang serves modern Asian cuisine utilizing traditional habits like only fork and spoon available for eating. Dining rooms are located within the premises of the Taidehalli. You could also enjoy aperitif in the bar at the back of the main dining room. However, we were suggested to enjoy aperitifs in our table. We had planned to visit the bar but now missed it.
Farang has been nominated on Michelin guide as charming restaurant third year in a row and it was chosen the best of the 50 restaurants in Finland 2011. Therefore it was fully booked at 6PM when we dined on last day of July as it usually is.
Our second review was now based on enjoying TASTING MENU ‘SIAM’ because Farang Menu had not changed so much. 2012 Farang got best points (see review via link below). Siam Tasting Menu included 9 dishes + rice.
GREEN SHELL MUSSEL, GREEN NAHM JIM DRESSING
coriander, seaweed caviar, crispy onion
Spicy and delicious small bites, really well prepared. Must eat with fingers.
CHA PLU LEAF WITH SMOKED EEL
roasted peanuts, seaweed caviar
Some more eel would have crowned this otherwise so scrumptious portion. Must eat with fingers.
GRILLED BLACK ANGUS BEEF ‘DRY RED CURRY’
grilled beef, salad of green papaya flavored with red curry, thai basil, organic coconut oil
Spicy and delicious, more beef thank you! Rice was served now.
PORK RIBS ‘ROASTED RICE’
red nahm jim dressing, roasted rice, ginger, coriander
Best ribs ever, if you get these you will not ask anymore for any other ribs. Must eat with fingers.
FRIED SCALLOP ON HALF SHELL ‘SATAY’
satay sauce, peanut relish, coconut cream
Scallop was splitted which released the flavours perfectly and satay sauce complimented dining pleasure.
MORNING GLORY, CRISPY FRIED SALT & PEPPER TOFU
chinese water cress, bok choy, soft bean curd, battered crispy tofu
Nice combination; if bok choy had been chopped it would have been easier to eat because knife was not available.
YELLOW CURRY ‘MALAY’, ROASTED CHICKEN
roasted peanuts, lime leaf, thai cucumber relish
Chicken was delicious! As a suprise we were not informed, that due to some of our requests one portion was replaced by salmon. As salmon (fish) is quite far from chicken, maybe it would have been fair to tell about it. However, salmon was well prepared and not too dry.
THAI JASMINE RICE
‘SAMUI SUNSET’
passion creme, lychee blood orange sorbet
‘KOPI LUWAK’
peanut cake, coconut parfait, coffee ‘gele’, mango sorbet
Both desserts were served at the same time. Mango sorbet was like ice-cream, soft and “creamy”
Tried also recommendations for wines. However, the quantity of wines (about 50 cl for one person) might be a little bit effusive. Muskateller was not perfect choise for first three dishes as it is quite modest and light. Especially with Black Angus beef it was totally lost. All other wine recommendations paired perfectly with food.
Muskateller 2011, Satterhof, Gamlitz, Sudsteiermark, Austria
Edelsatz 2012, Philipp Kuhn, Platz, Germany
Mencia 2008, Godelia, Bierzo, Spain
Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Errazuriz, Casablanca Valley, Chile
Let’s be careful out there…why use old tv series phrase? One waitress asked us not to take photos of other customers which we never do. This time customer was the red box which is in the first picture. So…..use your camera wisely. On the other hand some training for one waitress. In this modern society when all mobile phones have cameras it would be difficult to ban photographing but recommend Farang would do it in order to avoid misunderstandings. This incident dropped service and overall grades which otherwise would have been as good as last time.
However, if you like Asian fine dining and spicy food and do not convey to eat with fingers and without knife, you are in the right place. Also restaurant is really skilled to change the composition of portions according to your wishes when it comes to food allergies. Recommend to taste Farang Menu because it shows best how outstanding food you can get.
REVIEW: FOOD 4,5/5 – SERVICE 4/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4+/5
Reijosfood 
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