Wine review: Leindl Irrbling Riesling Reserve 2013

29 03 2015

What, again riesling….?! Yes, because at the moment think it is THE best white wine grape.

The Austrian winery Leindl is a young company from Zöbing in Kamptal. The main focus is on grapes Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, Muscat, Burgundy and Zweigelt and Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and St. Laurent.

Tasted wine, Leindl Irrbling Riesling Reserve 2013, has been maturated 9 months in stainless steel tanks, and on top of that 3 months in bottles. Most of riesling wines get some flavor from oak barrels, which usually improves the taste. I have tasted really “hard” steel tank rieslings like Gun Metal, which was not so pleasant experience. However, Leindl’s Irrbling, at least the reserve one, exceeded expectations.

Leindl riesling reserve - reijosfood.com

THE LOOK

Pale yellow with some light green apple, no visible acidity.

THE NOSE

Pleasant balanced aroma, nothing disturbed sniffing, not even possible steel metal tank bouquet

THE TASTE

Dry, some minerals but not so much as usually in Austian rieslings. No metal flavor, not too much petrol or acidity. Some might thing, that this is too light for riesling, but I do not.

Riesling - reijosfood.com

Facts:

Alcohol: 13,5 by volume
Extract: 25 g/l
Acidity: 6,6 g/l
Energy: 90 kcal/100 ml (360 kJ/100 ml)
Sugar: 5 g/l

This wine is suitable with white fishes and white meats but also good choice for aperitif.

Tasted the wine first as aperitif and then with spicy salad thai style and grilled giant shrimps. For main course had blue halibut with noodles again asian style. Leindl Irrbling Riesling Reserve 2013 paired nicely with both dishes.

Bang for the buck is two plus because wine costs a little bit over 20€ in Alko. Cut few euros and this wine would be bull’s eye.

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

Weingut Leindl | Wir verbinden Tradition & Innovation.





Restaurant review: Gastrobar Emo – Michelin Bib Gourmand status

23 11 2014
Gastrobar Emo

Gastrobar Emo

 

Gastrobar Emo provides easygoing service and good food. Emo (Dam in english) was opened in August 2013 in the same place where Michelin star restaurant Olo used to be. Owners are also partly the same. Emo earned Michelin Bib Gourmand status quite soon after opening, which is a proof of quality food and reasonable prices.

Gastrobar Emo - reijosfood.com

Gastrobar Emo at Kasarimikatu

 

Emo - reijosfood.com

Gastrobar Emo dining room

There is also separate wine bar which provides opportunity to enjoy an aperitif or glass of wine. With drinks you can order snacks from bar menu.

Emo Wine bar - reijosfood.com

Emo wine bar

Quite soon after you arrive you will get fresh bread, but only one slice for each diner.

Bread bag at Emo - reijosfood.com

Paper bag for bread

We also ordered some Snacks with glasses of Taittinger. Unfortunately some bubbles had already dissapeared, because we got the last drops from the bottle.

Taittinger at Emo - reijosfood.com

Champagne Taittinger

For snacks we had Salami, which is actually basic salami slices and Dried tuna, which was delicious with mayonnaise. There are about 8 different alternatives to choose from, each cost you 4€. Good way to start the dinner.

Salami at Emo - reijosfood.com

Snacks – salami

 

Tuna at Emo - reijosfood.com

Snacks – dried tuna

 

You can choose your dinner from 13 different choises, each cost 10€. The sizes of portions are like starters, except new main courses, which could also be shared. Sharing food portions is THE TREND now, but we decided to order Salt baked Rainbow trout just for one.

Our dinner started with Potato pancake with whitefish roe and warm smoked salmon and Roasted saithe with vegetables.

Pancakes or blinis with roe are usually top class starters and so there were also at Emo. Excellent combination, really worth to try. Saithe was well roasted, but included a little bit too much salty ingredients like olives and capers. However, tomatoes softened the taste to a turn.

Blini ar Emo - reijosfood.com

Potato pancakes with whitefish roe and smoked salmon

 

Sei at Emo - reijosfood.com

Roasted saithe

 

Next came the fish! Preparing local Finnish fish under salt cover is really rare at restaurants in Helsinki. And this one was bull’s eye! Right cooking, not over or under, just perfect. Some add on’s like fried potatoes and green salad was there, but focus was on fish.

Second “starter” was Shellfish paella, excellent composite of small octopus, clam and rice.

Rainbow trout at Emo - reijosfood.com

Salt baked rainbow trout

Emon kirjolohi - reijosfood.com

Rainbow trout

 

Paella at Emo - reijosfood.com

Shellfish paella

Third “starter” was Piglet with sauerkraut and apple compote. Sauerkraut was hidden under three pieces of meat pieces. Nice and soft composite.

Hoped that this dish would have arrived a little bit earlier because rainbow trout was almost eaten while waiting piglet.

Pork at Emo- reijosfood.com

Piglet

Fourth and last “starter” was Charcoal grilled horse skewer with mayonnaise. Meat was a little bit dry, but taste of charcoal is always attractive.

Horse at Emo - reijosfood.com

Horse skewer

We ordered wine, which was suggested on the blackboard. Dry and fruit riesling, Boeckel, from Alsace, France paired well with seafood. For meats ordered glass of suggested Merlot which paired well with piglet and horse.

Riesling at Emo - reijosfood.com

Boeckel riesling

Waitering by about 5 different waitresses/waiters was professional. Saithe had to be changed, because it was first served with one ingredient we were asked to leave away.

All seafoods are close to 5, especially salt baked fish earns special note. 4 dishes from the list is enough, 3 might leave you hungry.

Gastrobar Emo is Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant and it deserves to be such.

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

Home – Ravintola EMO





Wine review: Jamek Jochinger Berg Riesling Federspiel 2013

3 10 2014

Jamek Jochinger Berg Riesling Federspiel 2013 - reijosfood.com

Wachau is a small wine district on the Danube River in northern Austria. The  crystalline rock soils on steep terraces produce outstanding rieslings like tasted one; Jamek Jochinger Berg Riesling Federspiel 2013.

As riesling has been our favorite grape quite a long time, had to purchase this one, as it is not so widely spread wine. And was glad that did so.

THE LOOK

Color is straw yellow, quite light for riesling

THE NOSE

Some sweetness although wine is really dry, sugar only 6 g/l. Acidity compensates bouquet of peach

THE TASTE

Fresh fruits aromas, a refreshing acidity. Excellent riesling compared to price

Jamek Jochinger Berg Riesling Federspiel 2013

Facts:

Alcohol: 12.50 %
Extract: 26 g/l
Acidity: 8 g/l
Energy: 80 kcal / 100 ml (330 kJ / 100 ml)

One of the best riesling findings from Alko. Although wine is young and it will develop, it is already enjoyable.

Tasted wine with cod, fennel and zucchini, perfect match. Because of acidity suits well with all fishes and shellfish, even with white meats.

Cod, fennel and zuccini - reijosfood.com

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

Herzlich Willkommen beim Jamek.





Restaurant review: PureBistro – hidden terrace in Torikorttelit blocks

25 07 2014

Pol Roger Champagne at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

PureBistro is a modern bistro with hidden terrace next to the Market Square in Torikorttelit blocks.  Restaurant is owned by Michelin star restaurant Luomo (on the 2nd floor) chef”s Jouni Toivanen and Mika Mattila. That explains partly why PureBistro is one of the five Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants in Helsinki.

PureBistro entrance - reijosfood.com

Dining room at PureBistro is quite small and therefore in the summer time you might decide to dine outside, which we did as temperature was close to 30C degrees. The entrance to the terrace is either through restaurant or gateway which is in Katariinankatu. There are only about 30 seats at the terrace, therefore better arrive early because restaurant does not take reservations there.

PureBistro terrace - reijosfood.com

If you dine inside, ask for window table and you can enjoy sea view and observe bustle at the Market Square.

PureBistro and Market Square - reijosfood.com

Restaurant used to have 3 course dinner at the price of 45€. But not this time! Maybe PureBistro wants to utilize high tourist season and not offer any special prices if you eat starter, main course and dessert. Many fine dining bistros are closed at the moment, that might be another reason to cash in. On the other hand prices are reasonable compared to food quality.

Because of excellent weather had to start the dinner with Champagne, Pol Roger Extra Brut. To be honest, too dry for us.

Pol Roger Extra Brut - reijosfood.com

After placing order you will get fresh bread paper bag on the table. I am sure that you will eat every piece of bread, they are so tasty.

For starters we ordered RAINBOWTROUT WITH TRADITIONAL FINNISH SALAD and BARBEQUE PORK “JAPANESE STYLE”

Trout confit was slightly cooked but so little that it made us wonder how it was prepared. One change was made; “scrambled eggs” replaced dill-potato salad because it included some milk. Pork was as it would have been prepared in qenuine Asian restaurant. It included miso, teriayaki sauce and mushrooms. PureBistro usualluy have one or two portions available with Asian flavors.

Rainbow trout at PureBistro - reijosfood.comPork at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

For main courses we had two times PAN FRIED PEARCH, CHANTERELLES AND CRAYFISH- POTATO TERRINE but two different versions of it.

First picture is portion without any changes. Perfectly fried small pearch pieces were delicious. No single fish bones although perch is one of the most difficult fishes to remove them. Sweet fennel supplemented the taste of chanterellers. Ingredients which included milk were replaced with turnips and oil dressing. Have not ever before tasted roasted turnips but will definately try them at home.

Perch at PureBistro - reijosfood.comPerch at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

For desserts we ordered STRAWBERRYMILK” and CHEESEs.

“Milk” in the first dessert was replaced with strawberry sorbet and sauce. Again excellent example of kitchen’s creativeness and competence to take account of food allergies. Cheeses were tasty as expected. Especially Comte paired well with jam.

Strawberry dessert at PureBistro - reijosfood.comCheeses at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

For wine we had Tesch 1 Liter Riesling, only riesling on wine list. Wine paired well with all dishes we had; well, maybe not with desserts. Dry, about 6 g/l sugar, balanced acidity and minerality. If you prefer vintage wines you could also order from restaurant Luomo’s wine list.  

With coffee and tea had to try “soft” Jacopo Poli Grappa di Sassicaia Elevata in Barili. Not basic grappa, more like real dessert “wine”.

Waiter left the bottle on our table so that we could study it more detailed. Label on the backside of the bottle told that Grappa had been matured in Sassicaia barrels and it was made mainly from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Savignon grapes.

Grappa at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

PureBistro is genuine Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant and actually one of the first fine dining bistro type of restaurants in Helsinki. Chef’s at the kitchen create flexibly excellent portions and menu changes regularly.

If weather is suitable, you must try the terrace where you can dine in restful and relaxed athmosphere.

Previous PureBistro reviews can be found by using search.

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





Restaurant review: PureBistro – with Bib Gourmand status

1 06 2014

PureBistro and Market Square - reijosfood.com

PureBistro is a modern bistro and bar with two terraces next to the Market Square in Torikorttelit buildings.  Restaurant is owned by Michelin star restaurant Luomo (on the 2nd floor) chef”s Jouni Toivanen and Mika Mattila. That explains partly why PureBistro is one of the five Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants in Helsinki and earns to keep that status.

PureBistro entrance - reijosfood.com

Dining room at PureBistro is quite small and therefore in the summer time you might decide to dine outside, if temperature allows that, which it did not on the last day of May. If you dine inside, ask for window table and you can enjoy sea view and observe bustle at the Market Square. That is exactly whatwe did.

PureBistro - reijosfood.comPureBistro terrace - reijosfood.com

Menu is short – 3 starters, 3 main courses and 2 desserts. If you choose 3 course dinner, the price is 45€. One option is to have drink at the bar and taste some small bites, in Finnish Snadit. As English and Finnish versions of the names of the portions are not exactly the same, I included both language versions.

After placing order customers will get fresh bread paper bag on the table.

PureBistro menu - reijosfood.comPureBistro menu and bread - reijosfood.com

Starters we ordered had fancy names; Hamashi Sashimi with Avocado & Seaweed Piikkimakrillisashimia, avokadokreemiä, soijaa ja levää and Carpaccio, Bloody Mary Sorbet & Tallowvinegar Kotimaista rotukarjaa, bloody mary sorbet ja emmentalia.

Sashimi was fresh and side dishes accompanied fish in oriental portion well. Lack of salt was only minus. Beef carpaccio was so soft that it could have eaten with spoon. I am not sure if kitchen tried to create picture of hedgehog on the plate, but portion looked like it.

Sashimi at PureBistro - reijosfood.comCarpaccio at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

For main courses we had two times Fried Trout, Cauliflower & Cassis Ahvenanmaan taimenta, kukkakaalia ja herukkaa but requested some changes to one of them. Restaurant created excellent version of this portion by replacing cauliflower with ratatouille.

Trout itself was perfectly fried, you could also eat fish skin as it was enough crispy. And what is most important, fish was not over-fried which happens too often also in so called good restaurants.

Fried trout at PureBistro- reijosfood.comTrout at PureBistro

For desserts ordered Tosca, VanillaIceCream & MilkXoco Toscakakkua, vaniljajäätelöä ja maitosuklaata and “Macedonia De Frutas” Liqourice “Hedelmäsalaattia” ja lakritsisorbettia.

Tosca cake was scrumptious. Amount of toffee sauce was maybe too much, but had to eat all of it anyway. Take a look at how fruits and sorbet was placed on the plate! PureBistro really has an artist in the kitchen, remember the hedgehog.

Dessert at PureBistro - reijosfood.comFruit dessert at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

Had to order bottle of Tesch 1 Liter Riesling for two reasons; riesling weeks with special menus had just ended but Tesch riesling was still available and the unsual size of the bottle (1 liter) is rare apparition.

Wine paired well with all dishes we had; well, maybe not with desserts. Dry, about 6 g/l sugar if I remember right what waitress told, and balanced acidity and minerality.

 Tesch 1 litre riesling at PureBistro - reijosfood.com

As we got window table, overall grade is 4,5. Propably next time we shall dine at the terrace; waiting for warmer summer days….Service is in balance with kitchen’s creativeness and skills.

PureBistro is genuine Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant and actually one of the first fine dining bistro type of restaurants in Helsinki. Nowadays there are several sophisticated bistro restaurants close to each other, like Gastrobar Emo, Gastropub Rikhard’s, Spis and Copa’s y Tapas. Reviews of there restaurants can be found by using search. Also previous PureBistro reviews can be found the same way.

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

http://www.purebistro.fi/

 





Wine review: Weingut Liebfrauenstift 2012 Trocken Riesling

12 04 2014

Weingut Liefrauenstift - reijosfood.com

Our favorite and trusted choice, Weingut Liebfrauenstift 2012 Trocken Riesling, finally now reviewed!

Right inside the urban boundaries of the German city of Worms, ancient brick walls shelter a piece of living history. This is where, around the former Monastery of THE Lady (Liebfrauenstift),wines have been growing for five hundred years. Historical sandstone walls help create the special microclimate of the Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück vineyard in Worms. Together with the mineral-rich muddy soil of the site and the proximity of the Rhine, which provides the water, they lend the vines thriving there their unique wealth of aromas.

This wine is easy choice to start tasting rieslings. Not too much acidity either petrol or minerals compared to strongest rieslings.

THE LOOK

Typical riesling color, light yellow straw.

Riesling - reijosfood.com

THE NOSE

Fruity apple and peach and fresh citrus aromas

THE TASTE

Dry, fruity and fresh. Pleasent amount of minerals and petrol if at all.

Weingut Liebfrauenstift 2012 Trocken Riesling is perfect wine for aperitif and pairs extremely well with white fishes like lavaret. So far have not found this riesling in any other restaurant than Blue Peter and it is not available at Alko. Should be because it would help in starting getting familiar with world of rieslings.

Riesling - reijosfood.com

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

http://www.liebfrauenstift.com/en/index.html

 





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.





Restaurant review – Gastrobar Emo

1 11 2013

Gastrobar Emo - reijosfood.com

Gastrobar Emo is easy to step in to enjoy easygoing service and good food. Emo (Dam in english) was opened on the 21st of August 2013 in the same place where Michelin star restaurant Olo used to be. Owners are partly the same which should be a proof of excellent food experience.

There is also separate wine bar which provides opportunity to enjoy an aperitif or glass of wine. With drinks you can order snacks from bar menu. We visited wine bar after dinner, there is narrow corridor between dining room and bar but it also has separate entrance.

Emo Wine bar - reijosfood.comEmo Wine bar menu - reijosfood.com

Quite soon after you arrive you will get some snacks and fresh bread with celery butter which was really tasty. Brown paper bag is one way to serve bread but it would have been easier to take bread from bread basket.

Bread at Emo - reijosfood.com

You can choose your dinner from 3 “starters”, 4 “main courses” and 3 “desserts” up to assemblage of 6 foods. Our group decided to go for 3 courses and ordered first 2x FINNISH VENDACE’s and 2x WILD DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE AND APPLE.

Name Finnish vendaces might be misleading; we got Finnish fish but the way it was prepared was actually better than traditionally fried vendaces. Frying in oil instead of frying in a pan with butter made vendaces more crispy but not so greasy. On top of that side dishes were a perfect match.

Vendaces at Emo - reijosfood.com

Next courses were 3x GREENLAND HALIBUT WITH POTATOES “GOBBAS GÅRD” and 1x WILD DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE AND APPLE.

Halibut was bull’s eye. Cooked to a turn and two different ways to serve potato complemented fish nicely.

If you take wild duck for starter it is served on stone plate, which is clever idea to convert “main course” to “starte”r. There was three different ways to serve duck and again duck paired perfectly with cabbage and apple.

Halibut at Emo - reijosfood.comWild duck at Emo - reijosfood.com

And for dessert 3x EUROPEAN CHEESE SORTIMENT and for me second main course 1x GREENLAND HALIBUT WITH POTATOES “GOBBAS GÅRD”

There were 3 different cheeses on the plate: blue cheese, cow and goat cheese. Apple and onion conserves supplemented taste of cheeses nicely.

Cheese plate at Emo - reijosfood.com

One kind request; please make portions a little bit bigger 🙂 Or maybe intention is to eat at least 5 portions which hopefully are not too small. Otherwise Emo manages food part fine and earns a place as laid-back little brother of Olo.

We asked recommendation for dry riesling and waitress suggested MAX FERDINAND RICHTER MülHEIMER SONNENLAY RIESLING ZEPPELIN 2012 MOSEL from Germany which we ordered. After tasting, as wine seemed not to be dry, asked for the amount of sugar. 35g for “dry” is quite a lot, but wine itself was basically OK. A positive thing is the pricing of wines; most of them were less expensive than they usually are in a fine dining restaurants like Emo is.

Waitering was thoughtful and professional but we could have managed without overflowing twitter.

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

http://emo-ravintola.fi/en/





Wine review: Jim Barry Watervale Riesling

19 10 2013

Watervale Riesling

The late Jim Barry was a pioneer of the Australian wine industry. He was the first qualified winemaker to work in the Clare Valley of South Australia and with his wife, Nancy, built a successful wine business which has produced trophy-winning wines since its establishment in 1959. Today, the company is headed by Jim’s second son Peter Barry.

Jim Barry Wines has four distinctive climatic and geographical sites in the Clare Valley:
1) Watervale towards the southern end of the Valley 
2) Lodge Hill in the eastern ranges 
3) Vineyards at the northern entrance to Clare and 
4) Armagh to the west 
In addition, the company has a 14 hectare Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Coonawarra region.

Tasted wine was Watervale Riesling 2012, of course from riesling crapes.

Riesling - reijosfood

THE LOOK

Like the label of the bottle, simple black W on white background. Sometimes labels attract to try the wine which was the fact this time.

Wine itself is bright straw yellow in appearance with green nuance. Light riesling white wine.

Jim Barry - reijosfood.com

THE NOSE

Nice light riesling bouqet without disturbing side effects. Acidity, petrol and minerals are far away. Nothing disturbs…

THE TASTE

WIne is really dry as you can see from the facts and figures below. However, wine lacks typical riesling minerality which makes wine is a little bit unbalanced.

Facts and figures:

Alcohol: 12,20 %
Extract : 22 g/l
Acidity: 6,7 g/l
Sugar: 4 g/l
Energy: 80 kcal / 100 ml (330 kJ / 100 ml)
Closure: metal screw cap

_

Wine is suitable for all kinds of fish and white meat foods as well as pasta and pizza which we made by ourselves. With pizza we also tasted Don Camillo Sangiovese which paired better with it. Of course it also depends what toppings you add on pizza.

Home-made pizza - reijosfood.comHome-made pizza slice - reijosfood.com

REVIEW: OVERALL GRADE 3/5 – BANG FOR THE BUG + / +++

http://jimbarry.com/

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Restaurant review: Fishmarket

22 09 2013

Fishmarket - reijosfood.com

Fishmarket, restaurant for seafood lovers! Could be the best of the best fish restaurants in Helsinki, if………

Restaurant Fishmarket was re-opened in May 2013. It serves wide selection of sea and fresh water cucine like fish, roe, lobster, craysfish, oysters and shellfish. If you like to eat meat choose some other restaurant because there is no single meat food on the a la carte list.

Fishmarket is located in Torikorttelit next to the Market Square (Kauppatori) on the ground floor of the same building as restaurant Sasso (see Sasso review by using search). New decor is modern and luminous after change in ownership and property renowation.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.comFishmarket - reijosfood.com

You could choose from different kind of seafood platters and even eat those at seafood bar and kind of recommend to do that.

We decided to choose “basic” fish portions which meant this time long waiting times. We chose one Helsinki Menu consisting of Finnish fish goodies; for starter Baltic herring, cheese from sour milk and whitefish roe, for main course Grilled pike perch from Inkoo, pumpkin, sage dressing and for dessert Chocolate fondant, black currant with vanilla ice cream. Another menu included for starter Finnish vendace roe with brioche, sour cream and onion, for main course Catch of the day with a price of the day which was Smoked trout with carrot and salvia sauce and for dessert mixed combination of milkless products which was not so easy task for the restaurant.

Dinner started with kitchens greetings Whitefish tartar which was excellent and served in small glass jar. Unfortunately starters were served right away after we got the jars. So we had to keep them in our hands while plates were put on the table. Timing mistake from the restaurant.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.com

Sweet archipelago bread and home made yeast bread with salted butter were awesome.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.com

Both starters were perfect. Baltic herring was not too salty and side dishes complemented the flavor well. Same but odd way to set the food on the edge of the plate as was in Sasso. Finnish roes always require black pepper which now had to be asked as it was not served with portion.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.comFishmarket - reijosfood.com

Main course dishes were prepared with skill, not overcooked and hot. Pumpkins with pike perch matched well, in the future must use pumpkin more ofter when cooking at home. Think waiter said that with trout there should be carrot pyre but maybe it included milk and was left out.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.comFishmarket - reijosfood.com

Helsinki Menu chocolate fondant was scrumptious. Double the size and you are there! Waiters were not exactly up to date which kind of milk was used; therefore mixed dessert for one of us. Again food was set on the edge of the plate.

Fishmarket - reijosfood.comFishmarket - reijosfood.com

One extremely positive thing is the wide selection of riesling wines. Too often you have to choose from few alternatives because chardonnays and savignon blancs dominate wine lists, but at Fishmarket you really can celebrate with rieslings. Chose Gun Metal Riesling Eden valley 2009 from Hewitson because of two reasons. First reason was the name Gun Metal which describes the grey-coloured stone amongst the vineyard, nothing to do with guns. Second reason was that Hewitson is more known of it’s red wines, not whites. But think Hewitson should stay in red wines because this riesling was too “soft” lacking acidity.

Fishmarket has all prerequisites to be the best seafood restaurant in Helsinki. Food was excellent but maybe one waiter was missing because waitering took so long time. Therefore it might make sense to order platters for starter or main course because you can pass the time by opening crabs.

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

http://www.fishmarket.fi/en





Wine review: Villa Maria Cellar Selection Riesling

2 09 2013

Villa Maria Riesling - reijosfood.com

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Riesling, a real bargain from Alko! And again riesling, now from New Zealand.

Villa Maria wineyards was founded 1961 in Auckland, New Zealand. Today, although it is not the biggest in the area, company exports wines to over 50 countries Finland being one of them. Vineyard is in Marlborough region which is mainly known from it’s Savignon Bland wines, but after tasting this riesling would say it is now known from riesling wines.

THE LOOK

Color of the wine was pale yellow with quantum of green.

Riesling - reijofood.com

THE NOSE

The wine displays youthful dry riesling characters of citrus fruit, lemon and lime. Some minerals and acids, but they do not interfere with the overall flavor.

THE TASTE

Taste was one of the best for riesling wines ever. Flavor was balanced including all elements of riesling; some minerals, acidity, lime/lemon and fruits.

Facts and figures:

Alcohol:             12,50

Extract :             26 g/l

Acidity:              7,4 g/l

Sugar:                8 g/l

Energy :             80 kcal / 100 ml (320 kJ / 100 ml)

Closure:            metal screw cap

Recommend this wine for aperitif and it matches with all types of fish, chicken, shell fish and escpecially with crayfish and even with Vorschmack. For pasta and pizza…, why not, but this wine is too noble for them.

REVIEW: OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5 – BANG FOR THE BUG +++/+++

http://www.villamaria.co.nz/





Restaurant review: König

11 05 2013

This review is exceptional! If you want to know why, please continue reading…..

Tommy Hillfiger shop

Karl König was the very first owner of restaurant König and gave it his own name. Since that the name “König” has remained – in different floors with different kind of concepts , sometimes succcesful – sometimes not. Today, König serves variable menu, lunch buffet, karaoke, grooving bar and grand athmosphere? Excellent location, on pedestrian street Mikonkatu 4, opposite are Tommy Hilfiger shop and Galleria Esplanad. In the past years König had quite popular terrace, remember eating there several times.

But after Center-Inn sold König and few other restaurants to S-Group, would say it is time to say goodbay for efforts to serve anything else than fast food.

Dropped by in König restaurant & bar without knowing about the downturn it has faced. Arrived at 5PM on Friday, only one table in use. That should have ringed alarm bells!

A la carte menu did not include actual starters so decided to order only main courses.

Ordered Salmon salad Asian style salmon salad with fresh lettuce, grilled salmon, marinated vegetables and chili vinaigrette and as there was Asparagus weeks from special a la carte list Asparagus, lavaret and shrimps White and green asparagus, fried lavaret, shrimps, potatoes and vegettables.

Salmon saladLavaret and asparagus

What a dissappointment! Salmon piece was small and salty and salad wet. Marinated vegetables were mushrooms and onions! Maybe old salad was tried to hide under vinaigrette?

Lavaret had not seen salt (maybe salmon had it all) and asparagus were, how should I say it, interesting…Only positive thing was that fish bones had been removed from lavaret. Price for asparagus speciality was way too high considering the quality level. Can not remember when we had to leave restaurant eating only half of portions and had to eat again at home.

Salmon saladGreen asparagus

As König is part of huge bar complex with famous summer temptation “mummotunneli” (not so polite to translate), choose some other place for dining. It is not anymore what it used to be. We have not given so low grade before, but it is also partly because of price level which does not match with the bar type of dining room and quality of food. On top of this all wine bottles are over 40€’s which in this restaurant is odd. Had glass of Cono Sur Bicicleta riesling which partly saved the dinner.

One suggestion for the restaurant; please change the name….

Restaurant König

REVIEW: FOOD 1/5 – SERVICE 3-/5 – OVERALL GRADE 2-/5

http://www.center-inn.fi/konig/en/home

PS. Luckily Finland won Russia in Ice Hockey World Championship game 3-2 and leads now Preliminary round in Helsinki (half of the games are played in Stockholm)





Wine review: “Von Unserm” Rheingau Riesling Trocken

17 04 2013

What, again riesling….?! Yes, because at the moment think it is THE best white wine grape.

With a vineyard area of ca. 3,000 ha (7,400 acres) the Rheingau numbers among the smallest, but most important, wine-growing regions of Germany.

For more than 130 years, Weingut Balthasar Ress has been in the middle of this wine-growing region, in Hattenheim. Unique feature is that wineyard offers opportunity for leasing of grapewines. 3, 5, 10 and 25 year leases are available. Each grapevine that is leased is identified by an engraved tag bearing the new owner’s name, and the new owner has the right to visit the vineyard at any time to monitor the development and care of his/her grapevine. Those with a lease in the Hattenheimer Englemannsberg site can also take part in the grape harvest in autumn. Must consider!

Tasted white wine “Von Unserm” Rheingau Riesling Trocken comes from above mentioned Balthasar Ress wineyard. Grapes used are 100% Riesling, of course. BTW, “Von Unserm” means “Ours” in english.

Riesling von Unserem

THE LOOK

Pale yellow with some green apple, no visible acidity.

Riesling

THE NOSE

Mild flavor of aroma, riesling grape does not feel so strongly. Some honey can be found.

THE TASTE

Dry, some minerals but not so much as usually in German rieslings.

Facts and figures:

Alcohol: 12% by volume
Extract: 23 g/l
Acidity: 8,2 g/l
Energy: 80 kcal/100 ml (320 kJ/100 ml)
Closure: metal screw cap

This wine is suitable with white fishes and white meats but also good choice for aperitif.

REVIEW: OVERALL GRADE 3,5/5 – BANG FOR THE BUCK ++ / +++

http://www.balthasar-ress.de/en/








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