Feasting on Finnish archipelago's treats

Our precision attacks around the Finnish archipelago have left us with lots of lovely memories... especially around our waists. Oh, one eats and lives so well there!

Unfortunately we never got around to the girl's roadtrip (destination of which last summer was Hanko) but instead  I've been tripping (on and off the road) with The Boy Next Door. And eventually we made it to Hanko, too. Of course. It is one of those once in a summer things after all. (For snapshots of last year's trip to Hanko, pop in here.)

For The Boy Next Door the trip was first in nearly two decades, but a very familiar place form his childhood - the summers of which were largely spent there. And sure enough Hanko never fails. It's always as adorable as one remembers.

I did make it known that in addition to owning a boat (!) I also wouldn't terribly minding having a house in Hanko. You know, one of them ornate 150- year old villas that dot the promenade. Though he'd probably name it something like Aston Villa - just to spite the Manchester United loving me...

But what's a trip around the archipelago without the archipelago buffet? It was too late for that in Nauvo, but luckily there's always Hanko. I'd already eaten my way through På Kroken's very nice selection (€26) some years ago so this time decided to feast on Restaurant Origo's spread, located on the West side of the Hanko next to the other restaurants (remember last year's heroic lunch at Hangon Makaronitehdas?)

Because we we're still on our summer holiday, it was still technically summer. And since it was summer, it must be warm? And during warm summer one sits out on a terrace, right...?

And so we did. With two pints of Erdinger. Shivering, yes, but out on the terrace.

The decor of the restaurant borders on fancy.

The candles, placed in the nooks in the stone wall make for rather romantic atmosphere.

The sign advertizing the place as "Restaurant and music bar" didn't exactly impress me. The archipelago buffet (€29.80), luckily, did.

For those of you not familiar with this glorious archipelago tradition, archipelago buffet is something restaurants in the Coastal Finland (and archipelago, of course) often have in the summer. It's got everything to make a fish-loving Scandinavian very happy: several sorts of pickled herring, salmon (cold smoked, warm smoked, gravad...), roe with all the trimmings (hard-boiled eggs, sour cream, finely chopped red onions), shrimps, fish terrines... and usually some meaty choices too. Oh, and did I mention the best part? All. You. Can. Eat. 

And that. I. Did. 

Seeing its a buffet that is served all day long, the boiled potatos (gotta have those!) had transmogrified to rubber, but the taste (oh, the joys of new potato!) was nevertheless good. There wasn't much bread left though - just a couple of slices of the archipelago malt bread (can't have the buffet without that!)

Luckily there was plenty of fish in the sea. Smoked herring, mackerel and salmon. So many varieties of pickled herring The Boy Next Door improvised an ode to this humble fish. And a couple of terrines made of fish and/ or seafood. Oh, we liked. 

They didn't have those whole shrimps that I OD on every time I ever see them anywhere, but they did have some ready peeled ones in sort of Asian marinade that almost made up for it. 

For meat lovers there were some (dried up by now) pates with trimmings and slices of roast of some sort.

Did we get our money's worth? Think so. Once in a summer, people, once in a summer...

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ANYONE FOR SECONDS?

       

Finnish-Swedish summer paradise

As much as I've been raving about those idyllic places Southern Sweden seems to be full of (like Vaxholm and Grinda), our recent roadtrip went to show that Finland isn't doing too bad in that department either. In Spain we daytrip and explore new places with Livingstonian lust almost every day, but it's so easy to forget just how much there is to see in Finland too. Just a couple of hours away there's a gateway to our very own summer paradise!

Not only did our micro-holiday in Coastal Finland have stunning scenery and charming little towns in store, but we were also in for some delightful surprises. In Degerby, in the middle of ingenstans, we found a little deli that stocked fresh sausages, scallops, fresh basil and lobster among other things. Ok, so the lobster was frozen. But still! My neighbourhood shop in Central Helsinki doesn't come anywhere close! They even make their own Serrano ham on the coast!

We continued our journey from Hanko with a picnic in Tammisaari.

In Hanko a gloriously tanned and handsome (in that wholesome, sail-boat-owing Swedish way) young man handed me an invite to a jazz festival. In Swedish. According to Vegetarian and Tzatziki champion I have my conservative, pearl earringed, blonde chignoned, sweater-seemingly-carelessly-wrapped-around my shoulders- attire to blame for that. High on all this idyll I decided to become a Swedish-speaker too when I grow up. Until I realized that in Swedish I sound like a total chav...

Coastal Finland is mainly the domain of the Swedish-speaking population (about 6% of the Finns actually speak Swedish as their mother tongue) and as delightful as our precision strike into the heart of Finnish-Swedish psyche was, we couldn't help but wonder. 

Where are the characters that shape the Finnish-speaking Finland? The homeless drunks shouting profanities at total strangers? The psych ward out-patients one can't not bump into everywhere in Helsinki? The Goth teens with their faces full of safetypins  and angst? I'd gladly trade those in for lobster any day. No matter how frozen...

Hello Hanko!

After fuelling myself with carbs at Makaronitehdas my energy levels would have seen me through a marathon. My fitness levels, however, were only enough for exploring Hanko.

Hanko really comes to life in the summer - it is so beautiful and one should definitely make the trip there at least once.

There's plenty of sea which I love and miles and miles of those legendary sandy beaches...

No matter how full one's stomach is, it's hard to say no to the cakes at this cafe, Neljän Tuulen Tupa. It used to be ran by a certain Count (and General Mannerheim) who then went into politics. With a degree of success in that field too - he went on to become the president who lead Finland through war.

Sun didn't exactly spoil us señoritas urbanitas, but with everything else coming together so nicely I couldn't really complain.



Hanko's glorious history lives on in this Southernmost tip of Finland. This used to be a spa town popular among the high and mighty where the elite used to flock, to pass the season in their absurdly beautiful lace-like wooden villas.



I wouldn't say now to one of those Chechocvian dreams either . I would waltz from one room to next in my white linen dress (Miss Havisham, anyone?), twirling my lace parasol, guarding my alabaster skin as to attract a wealthy suitor over to court me.  I don't think the current paramour could afford one of these on top of that Spanish dream...

Luckily many of the old villas have been converted to pensionats where anyone can medicate the angst of depressingly wealthless and parasol-free existence, one night at a time.



Macaroni madness in Hanko

Finnish summer is wonderful. But unfortunately it is also short. And somewhat fickle, too. Heat waves and record-breaking temperatures are over before the ink on the headlines (much like the Brits, we Finns are obsessed with weather) promising them has even dried. As I make my way to the beach in my bikini, I pack a cardi. You know, just in case. In the morning as I head to the office, I never know whether I'll be trawling back home 8 hours later in a hurricane or sunshine.

So, summer has a way of making people slightly psychotic. One has to do, see, travel and remember as much as is humanly possibe to squeeze in those few weeks. There are events, festivals and theme days for just about every day of the long-awaited summer.

I've not been safe from the voice stubbornly screaming at the back of my head either, telling me to go do some culture. So, spurred on by that Vegetarian and Tzatziki Champion and I packed the car and headed to Hanko with the latest addition to our circle: a 4-month-old bichon frisé Rocco. I'm not going to tell you who he was named after. But I'm not going to say it didn't have anything to do with certain Italian adult film star either.

The suggestion of a girls' road trip was greeted with squeals of enthusiasm. Though I think something might have gotten lost in translation. "Macaron factory! Is it even legal to drive under the influence of that much sugar?" As I explained that this was a macaroni factory, poor girls thought I'd actually arranged a tour of a pasta plant to ease my longing for proper Italian food.

And though they do in fact make their own pasta here, Hanko macaroni factory (Hangon makaronitehdas in Finnish) is first and foremost a restaurant. And what a restaurant it is...

In addition to pasta that they create with such passion and dedication the restaurant is specialized in quality wines and Champagne. The most eagle-eyed ones probably already picked up on which Champagne house they collaborate with... And I didn't complain - it's not often this yellow favourite of ours is available by the glass, so we kicked the lunch off in rather festive spirits.



Many things sounded interesting on the starter menu but the ones that found their way to our table were Carpaccio and Vitello Tonnato. Carpaccio was excellent. Vitello Tonnato was too, though the outset wasn't too encouraging: Tzatziki Champion, a closeted Italian also makes the best tonnato I've ever had. In this tonnato the vinegary edginess did cut through the rich oiliness of the tuna, but with such intensity that it was a tad too much. So it has to settle for second place in the ranking. Being in Top 2 is not a bad thing by any means. Unless you're Andy Murray, of course.

With the mains things got even trickier. Neither one of the companions feast on carbs. Which left me browsing through pasta menu, trying to choose which one to settle for with increasing exasperation. So many choices! Only one stomach! Everything in the menu sounded so inviting I simply couldn't choose. I was breaking sweat and ready to call in Ban Ki-Moon to mediate. Luckily by the time I found myself reasoning that Hanko is a 2-hour drive away so I wouldn't be back any time soon so I'd better make the most of this trip even if meant eating 3 pasta dishes all by myself the help came in the form of restaurant's wonderful and kind staff.

Children's half-portion is available for every pasta on the menu so they offered to make me those. I could practically hear the clouds parting and the angelic choir stepping through, surrounded by the divine rays and blasting out Halleluja.

And so I happily settled for not having to settle for just one and feasted on Fungi, Agnello and Sausage pasta.

Fungi "fragrantly creamy funnel chantarelle - porchini pasta") was indeed so fragrant that Vegetarian couldn't take her eyes off my plate. Wonderful, gently comforting dish. Personally I might have added a drop or two of truffle oil to give the mushroominess just a bit more depth.

I was excited about the next one as it was the most popular dish on the menu: Agnello (chunks of lamb fillet marinated in basil and garlic oil"). For this one too I was left longing for a bit more punch (my own palate is clearly to blame, being used to stronger flavours) and garlickiness. Basil wasn't very prominent, but the pots of herb they have at every table provided a quirky first aid kit. The lamb itself was so succulent I couldn't have asked for more.

In spite of the "doing things from the scratch and sourcing ingredients locally"- spirit the lamb was not from the West Coast, famous for their lamb. It came from New Zealand as the restaurant manager explained that while the Finnish counterpart does meet the quality standards, the availability and price unfortunately don't. Too bad, that. But unfortunately not the first time I've encountered this. Makes you wonder though. I knew that Finnish produce was expensive but that is just insane. How on earth can it be cheaper to fly in meat from literally across the planet than buy it a couple of kilometres away?!

And their pasta? I fear I just might like mine a tad overcooked and limp to a point it would send Sergios into fits of rage. The bucatini in this dish made me promise I'd mend my ways. Bucatini is my favourite and this one, made from the scratch and cooked to perfection was just... well, perfect.

My personal favourite was yet to arrive though. I have already before waxed lyrical about my love of sausage and earlier in the spring I even tried to sign up for a (sold out) "make your own sausage"- workshop.  So naturally I just had to have Sausage pasta ("home-made country sausage in tomato sauce gently spiced with chili"). And I'm glad I did. Personally I might have liked the sauce with a little bit more chilli, but the sausage, bursting with chilli and fennel was every bit as rustic as it could.

By now hunger was the last thing in my mind. But seeing how they don't yet have a branch in Helsinki (they're scouting the perfect location) and how Hanko is 2 hours away and how it's better to be safe than sorry and how 3 is an odd number which surely means bad luck (irrational? Crazy? Greedy? Moi?)...

Three is (a good) company

... so naturally I had to have something fishy too, right? You know, for a balanced view? So Frutti ("mussels and octopus braised in saffron- infused lobster stock") got the honour of serving as my pudding. And a good pudding it was. This pasta didn't swim in the sauce either, but the lobster stock (home-made!) packed so much flavour my shellfish stock was left doing the dishes.

Ice cream isn't made on site, but comes from Caminito in Kouvola. It was superb though. The mint on the other hand is grown in their own garden. I had limoncello instead. Surely it has some digestive superfood effects...?

The decor in this restaurant, housed in one of the old warehouses by the harbour is casual and comfortable. The only thing we didn't particuarly warm to was music- it was more suited for happy hour at a trendy cocktail bar than it was for a leiurely Saturday lunch. Or perhaps I have become that dreaded old fart.

Customer service warrants its own entry: they have that. Bucket-loads. With smile.

Prices for the pasta are a little shy of €20. You can also buy their home-made pasta to take home with you, but cheap it ain't. I bought 2 portions of bucatini (made only minutes before - it doesn't get much fresher than this!) which set me back €6/ portion. But I dare you to find better in Finland. The pricetag for my lunch, consisting of 2 full-size portions of pasta, a large glass of wine and limoncello, came to €72. Was it worthy? Oh yeah. Virginia Woolf, whose quote " one cannot think well or love well if one hasn't dined well" greets diners at the door really needn't worry.