High, higher, dinner in the sky!

  What an experience! Today we had lunch in 45 metres in the air by Dinner in the sky. As a person who is slightly scared of heights it felt like I was facing my fears. I'd never do a bungee jump or sky dive, no, I need food to lure me to the skies. It worked!

 Dinner in the sky is in Helsinki at Rautatientori for this week only, so go if you can (and are not too scared!) It was definately worth it.

 The table is being set.

 "My only regret in life is that I didn't drink enough Champagne"
John Maynard Keynes

 One of the chef's greeted us once we got up.

 Beef tartar

 Salmon tartar for me

 Cheers! At this point I was still very uncomfortable and couldn't really look down or turn on my chair. After a few sips of Champagne it got a lot more relaxing though.

 Main course of slow cooked monkfish, chanterelles and artichoke purée.

 Dessert of Oolong tea mousse, tomatoes and berries. Not our favourite, but certainly something different.

It was fun, but I was rather happy to get back to street level!

Patrona- Authentic Mexican in Helsinki

 One night last week we had an opportunity for another date night and I am so happy that I remembered that the guys behind Cafe de Nopal had finally opened a new place on Annankatu 20. I managed to get a booking to Patrona for the same day, and it seemed pretty lucky as the place was packed and had to turn some walk ins away.
When we got in the decoration immediately caught my eye and I couldn't help taking pictures straight away. I love all the paintings on the walls, especially the Mexican version of the Last Supper with all sorts of characters. There were also headless chickens flying around with some Mexican wrestlers trying to catch them. Hilarious.

 The menu was more restaurant-like that the one at Cafe de Nopal, with plenty of choice. They really want the dishes to be authentic and for us that seems to be happening pretty well. There is a nice selection on wines, cocktails and beers. A lot of different tequilas.

 A sharing platter of starters; amazing guacamole, spicy prawn cocktail, Whitefish ceviche and pineapple. Fresh, moorish, tangy, creeps-up-on-you-kind-of-spicy stuff. Came with homemade totopos(?) and crackers.

 My main course was stuffed green chilis with a beany sauce and rice and plenty of tasty cheese. Looked pretty, tasted awesome. The chef brought me some fresh tortillas even though they weren't mentioned on the menu just because "In Mexico, they make a taco out of everything!", and he said how they want to provide the real experience of Mexican food. How cool is that!

 The chef had some tacos with a pork filling and a green chili sauce.

 He was rather chuffed.

 I think the dessert was a key lime pie even though the waiter called it lemon pie. But who cares, it was awesome. During the meal we tried several different drinks; prosecco, Mexican beers and  Mexican "lonkero" (me likey!!).
The service was fantastic and the guys really make this place, creating the right atmosphere that is laid back and relaxed, a bit loud and happy. The guy serving us said that it was a stressfull day and later on we were laughing cause for us they all seemed really relaxed. I think I should mention that this is not fast food, but in my opinion we never had to wait too long for anything. With quite a few drinks and three courses the bill came to just over a hundred euros, and I reckon the night was totally worth it. Gracias Patrona, we will be back!

 

After the meal we checked out the English Comedy Night at Apollo. We really loved the Swedish mime guy Lasse Nilsen, and the Aussie host Louis Zezeran was hilarious too. Hope we get a chance to go again at some point, the English nights are held about once a month.

Lunch at Postres

To celebrate my dear friend Ilona's birthday a special lunch was in order and so we decided to book a table at Postres, one of the few Michelin starred restaurants in Helsinki. The cuisine is modern Scandinavian based on the classic French style. They have two menu choices for lunch, 29€ or Chef's menu for 53€. We mixed a little bit and the price was from between the two menus.

We started with the house Champagne, which suited our occasion and was pleasantly toasty, waking up an appetite. The bread was irrisistably fresh, the best "saaristolaisleipä" I have ever tasted. I liked how the butter was set on a small stone.

We asked for a white wine that would go with both the starter and the main and got a nice Rheingau Riesling which was exactly the kind of wine I love; acidity, fruit, freshness, maybe just off dry. (And it didn't break the bank either.)

Our starter was a beautifully served mussel soup, with a touch of Thai flavours such as coconut, curry and coriander.  The flavours were fresh and balanced, and of course there was a pretty foam. Wonder when that will go out of fashion...

 The main course was the very seasonal burbot, which I have eaten only once before, if you don't count the roe of burbot, which is great with blinis. There were panfried pieces of burbot, burbot liver and a sort of quenelle with a fish mousse inside, as well as a mayonnaise (blisfully forgot what it was flavoured with but it was very tasty!), a parsley puree, carrots, ryebread croutons and a potato snow. It wasn't only beautiful in presentation but also tasted good and satisfied the appetite. The flavour of the fish is quite delicate and everything on the plate was in balance.

 Dessert was a baked chocolate mousse with "tiger ice cream". The mousse was like a softer version of a fondant, fluffy and moist. Tiger ice cream was like a gourmet version of the shop bought stuff and the orange flavour came in the ice cream and a quark as well as gel, jelly and segments of orange. Couldn't fault it, and the dessert wine from Mas Jullien (Southern France) really complimented the orange flavours.

Cloudberry filled profiterols were presented with our coffees, and even we were quite full they were the cherry on top.

All in all the lunch was perfect, and pretty much what I expected it to be. Service was friendly and professional, at the level that the Michelin inspectors would aspire it to be. If I have to come up with any criticism it is that I personally wish that even the Michelin places would relax just a little bit. Who really wants the napkin put on their lap or their table brushed off breadcrumps? However, for me it is a place that is well suited for a special occasion, and I will definately want to go back. Would recommend for anyone who enjoys this kind of food!