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Koskikatu 25
96200 ROVANIEMI
Tel. +358 50 447 3543
During the summer of 2007 I experienced for the first time a very unique restaurant with a very unique theme. For those who are not aware, Rovanemi, Finland is home to the the 2006 Eurovision winner, a band called Lordi singing “Hard Rock Hallelujah.” In response to this apparently surprise win, the band “leader” decided to create a restaurant or Rocktaurant as it is known in downtown Rovaniemi, Finland showcasing memorbilia from the band as well as creating an ambiance of everything kind of “freaky” but in tune with the bands image. I reviewed this restaurant last summer to an overwhelming hit count from people all over the world who are HUGE Lordi fans. The response was crazy and it is currently, by far the number one blog post on Frozen-Reindeer thanks to the detailed video and photos of the place (and overlooking the less than stellar review on my part in terms of the quality of the food).
Yesterday, I again found myself seated as this quite unusual establishment but this time my review is quite different and overwhelmingly positive. I’ll start with the food. Below is a photo of the menu followed by a review of almost everything on the menu- I love dining out with people who try different things- makes for well rounded blog posts. I’ll start from the left in the photo regarding items on the menu with a photo of each item we had.
Lordi’s Special Burger- I didn’t have a bite of this but heard it was quite good- nothing left on the plate. Served with french fries (the fries are AMAZING by the way)
Kebab- the last time I ate here, they had something similar to the kebab- kind of a “traditional” and common Finnish food you can find many places (and when it’s good it is great). This was really good. It comes burrying a plate of fries underneath and you can choose a different sauce from medium or hot. My boyfriend got the hot and it wasn’t even close- those who come from countries where hot means HOT, don’t be fooled. Hot here is rather tame. Adds a good spice. Did I mention this was REALLY, REALLY good (and I’m hard to please when it comes to beef- that’s what happens when you grow up in the bar-b-q and steak capital of the U.S….i.e. Kansas City, MO!)
One thing they added to the menu that I could not be more happy about (refer to my previous posts on being quite the health nut). They are taking a cue from the rest of the world by offering healthy options next to their more “filling” foods 
They have the Eat Well Chicken, Eat Well Wok and Eat Well Salad, promising less than 5% fat. It was lunch time and I’m typically not a heavy lunch eater so I went for the salad. Finland has never been a big salad place- it is really kind of pathetic what they call salad actually at the dinner table (few pieces of lettuce and tomatoes and cucumber). BUT, this salad was GREAT- the chicken made all the difference and the sauce was perfect.
Eat Well Salad with Chicken, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese (you can see the center section of toppings, this is what you have to choose from on the salad and other choices that reference “toppings.” Quite a large selection. I would order this every single time with zero reservation. It was GREAT and perfect for something a little light. The chicken pieces are rather generous too. My compliments to the chef!
Eat Well Wok- well everything can’t be perfect so I left this review for the end. I should begin with saying I didn’t try it BUT, it was the only item on the table that was not finished or talked about with big rave reviews. But, the person who ordered it, I have witnessed other things she has eaten and she does not appear to be a strict or picky eater by any means so her opinion I would probably agree with myself. The Eat Well Wok is similar to the salad- you pick toppings and it is then tossed together. What the diner stated that was unexpected was that it was tossed with pasta with no mention of pasta on the menu- knowing this might have affected her decision to order it- sometimes people just aren’t in the mood for pasta. But I would have to agree with this. Whenever you are going to use pasta, you must mention it and this might even be a benefit for them to call it a pasta dish with your selected toppings. Other than that, the spice smelled quite strong- maybe peppers. I’ll say again, I didn’t try it, I’m just a reviewing bystander so feel free to try it yourself.
So, that’s the food. Up next, a little about the remodel. Lordi Rocktaurant is under new ownership which has contributed to the amazingly good change in the menu and it is now opening up into the new Kauppakeskus Revontuli mall which is a perfect location especially with all of the foot traffic in this mall. The outisde of the restaurant from inside the mall opens up to a terrace for drinking coffee and perfect for a little break in between all the Christmas shopping going on right now. I hate to say it but it has such an American feel to it its scary. From my experience in Finland, the Finns have always been quite traditional people, not eating out much and eating at home and not big on eating and running, things seem to be slightly changing moving out and about, eating, shopping and moving. Still not as fast as the U.S. but things are changing. Below are some photos and video of the new design of Lordi Rocktaurant, enjoy.
Photo from outside looking into the Kauppakeskus Revontuli mall with tables for eating and drinking coffee.
Video from the inside and one looking out into Kauppakeskus Revontuli (sorry for the darkness but that’s Lordi- it’s just all REALLY dark)
So, overall, the place is great, it is a great, unique restaurant and I would recommend everyone to go who visits Rovaniemi, Finland. Not just because of the ambiance but the food really is quite good and there is something for absolutely everyone! For more information check out their website: http://www.rocktaurant.com/index2_en.html
So, a quick update. Today was a BUSY day and I have tons of footage that I’m working to get uploaded. It’s going to take me quite a bit though so be patient. Full day of shopping, lunch at the new and very much improved Lordi Rocktaurant, photos and video from downtown Rovaniemi, Finland during the few hours of “daylight” they got between 10am and 2:30pm. And now, we’re home and beat. The photos and video from today are uploading to the net so nothing to post…yet, but when everything is ready for linking got a ton to get up. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a snapshot from my typical Finnish morning. Coffee, treats and my morning news via the computer. Stay tuned for LOTS more!
So we are now here, final destination, Rovaniemi, Finland up on the arctic circle! Made it out of Helsinki with no trouble and landed in Rovaniemi around 11:30am this morning. We were told that the day before a big wind came in stripping all of the snow from the trees. It’s a little warmer than usual so it’s a quite wet landscape up here…but it sure is pretty. I’m terribly jet lagged but forcing myself to stay up until at least 9:30…the first 24 hours are the hardest after night one when you’re so tired you can sleep no problem…night two is typically a 1am wakeup because my internal clock is in shock. Boy does this trip knock the wind out of me. An 8 hour time difference is hard. But, lots of sweats and good stuff. We were greeted by our usual plate of treats and pastries (see photos). And below is a video coming from the Rovaniemi, Finland airport. Another day or two getting caught up to the time difference and I’ll be able to roll out some good posts. We’re here! Let the games begin!
So by the heading of this post it is probably obvious that my attempt at making Finnish meat pastries failed the first time…and the second, though better…still have a long way to go on these (stay tuned for attempt #3). But, I wanted to give an overview of this recipe and see if anyone else has tried it and/or succeeded in making this very traditional Finnish meat pastry. I’ve had these in Finland often and could eat them until I puked. They are so good.
For my birthday my mom got me the book Finland Food & Cooking by Anja Hill. After initial browsing there was this one recipe I wanted to try from the beginning- Finnish Meat Pastry.
Here is the recipe, my comments follow
Finnish Meat Pasty – (Lihapiirakka)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/4 cups plain (all purpose) flour
- 2 tbsp unsalted (sweet) butter
- generous 1 cup curd cheese
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 small celery stick, thinly sliced
- 1 1/4lb minced (ground) beef
- 6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 7oz cooked rice
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 egg
- beaten egg, to glaze
DIRECTIONS
- To make the pastry, put the flour in a bowl. Cut 1 cut unsalted butter into small pieces, add to the flour and run in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Alternatively put the flour in a food processor, add the butter and, using a pulsating action, blend to form fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the curd cheese and form the dough into a ball. Leave to rest
- Melt the remaining butter in a pan, add the onion and celery and fry for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the beef and fry, stirring occasionally, until browned
- Turn the mince mixture into a bowl. Stir in the hard-boiled eggs, rice, allspice, salt and pepper. Add the raw egg and mix to bind the mixture together
- Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F/ Gas 6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into six 4in rounds. Brush the edges with water and place a tablespoonful of the filling in the center of each round. Fold the pastry over the filling to make a pastry and crimp the edges to seal the filling
- Place the pasties on a baking tray and brush with beaten egg to glaze. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm
Here are photos from the process of attempt #1 of making the Finnish pasties (excuse the quality, I took the photos with my phone.
1-The ball of the pastry (after step #1)
2- Browning the beef (after step #2)
3- mixture of meat, egg, rice, salt, pepper, allspice
4- filling the shells with the meat mixture
5- cooked pasties (final product)
6- inside look of finished pasty
MY COMMENTS
So, what went wrong? Well, these didn’t taste like anything, just crust. They smelled GREAT. I mean unbelievable. my boyfriend told me often during the entire process, “hmm, that smells good.” From the start they had great potential but something happened and they just didn’t turn out right. A few things might have happened. For starters, I think the recipe is off. It calls for 6 servings but I had TONS of the meat filling leftover. I mean tons!! But, I followed the recipe exactly and it called for six. Another thing that seemed off the whole time was the listing of ingredients. The book is setup to list both European and American conversions and they seemed off. Also needs tons more pepper, salt and more onion seasoning…. Potential but just not there.
The second attempt? Well, not so much a full attempt just utilizing more of the mixture into another batch of crust/shells. This time I made 14 of them out of the original recipe for the crust. Overall, we could at least taste something this time but it lacks a lot of taste. Oh, side note, before I forget…ketchup and these things were perfect (added the flavor that was missing).
Last question- curd cheese? What the heck do people use for this? My boyfriend and I have tried to figure this out for years- what is the American translation of this? Someone please advise?
If anyone else attempts this and they turn out good, please let me know! A good start but a long way to go. Gonna send in a request from Finland to see what we’re missing here.
Finland Traditional Christmas photos Cont.
Originally uploaded by frozenreindeer
Before Dinner (or near the beginning of the meal if there is a large
crowd of people getting food) A quick toast to the Christmas holiday
is given preceding a Schnapps shot. This year the shot was from the
Lakka Cloudberry and was quite strong in my opinion. Above is a
picture of the bottle.
Traditional Dinner on Christmas- Rovaniemi, Finland
Originally uploaded by frozenreindeer
After breakfast in the late hours of the morning, we hang around at home and have a Christmas sauna around 2pm (usually have sauna for a couple of hours so everyone can go). Following the sauna we have dinner. Traditional dinner in most Finnish homes is a roasted pig. It is prepared the day before and cooks overnight in the oven. Then, cooked and seasoned throughout the day of their “Christmas” on the 24th (I use the quotation marks because for me, Christmas is celebrated on the actual Christmas day of Dec. 25th). The pig is served with mashed potatoes and a thin, clear gravy. Sides include a variety of mashed vegetables from carrots to squash and mixed potatoes and a traditional meal layout of breads and sauces. Above is a picture of our half eaten pig following the meal.
There is a great online Finnish store that keeps a running supply of TONS of products from food to clothes, books, magazines, DVDs. I order lots of candy from them. Shipping to the US makes some products not available but non perishable stuff is usually not a problem. Through their site I have subscribed to their email list serv and I wanted to share their recent email announcing their Christmas/Santa Claus items as they get ready for the holiday season. Head on over to check out some great Finnish products shipped directly from Finland (and subscribe to their listserv to so you can be notified of new products!
Suomikauppa.fi/santaclausshop
2007 marks the first year when Suomikauppa.FI is the official supplier of Santa Claus here in Finland and the official Christmas online shop for Finnish expatriates. To launch this co-operation we have opened a Christmas shop with Santa Claus recommended products available in Suomikauppa at http://www.suomikauppa.fi/santaclausshop
“The operations of the Santa Claus Foundation is not the private business interest of any of the interested parties, it is for the good of the entire country of Finland, and its profits will be donated for charitable purposes.”
http://www.santaclausplaza.com
We have also a wide range of other Christmas products available as well (chocolates, mulled wines, calendars, music, cards..) that you can browse at Christmas Season products.
Gift products updated.
Now you can find a lot of new gift items for example for daddies (note! father’s day 10.11.2007); t-shirts, pillow case. And for children: towels, shirts, soft Moomin figures etc.
6th of December.
On the first week of December Finland celebrates its 90 years of independence!To fill up on your Independence day candle stocks or other Finnish celebratory items, see our selection of Suomi products.
Finnish music!
Our music selection begins with a line of compilation records, with mostly Finnish classic rock and pop tunes, but some other remarkable Finnish artists and records are introduced as well. Browse our selection of Finnish music here.
Tip! Remember that you can also place an order to be delivered to a different address than your own! This makes shopping for gifts easy. We’ll also add your personalized message with the parcel if you pass that information along to us on the order comment box.
Hand Made Sokeva sauna and washing brushes.
Sokeva brushes are High quality Finnish handmade products. Sokeva is also a part of the “visually handicapped association” here in Finland. http://www.sokeva.fi/kasityo
You can browse our line of new products Here, or if you want to see what’s on special sale in October click here.
PS. Remember to place your order early to receive your parcel in time for Christmas! >>Delivery methods
Best wishes,
Suomikauppa.Fi
Uutuustuotteita!
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Suomikauppa.fi/joulukauppa
Suomikauppa.FI on ensi kertaa tänä jouluna Joulupukin virallinen hovihankkija ja Joulupukin suosittelema ulkosuomalaisten verkkokauppa.
Osoitteessa http://www.suomikauppa.fi/joulukauppa voit selata Joulupukin suosittelemia Santa Claus -tuotteita.
Valikoimaa päivitetään vielä kohti joulua, mutta jo nyt Suomikaupan joulukaupasta löytyy useita Joulupukin suosittelemia Santa Claus tuotteita. ”Joulupukkisäätiö lahjoittaa vuosittain hyväntekeväisyyteen Joulupukin Lahjan maailman lapsille.” Lisätietoa Joulupukkisäätiöstä ja sen toiminnasta voit lukea osoitteessa http://www.santaclausplaza.com.
Suomikaupasta löytyy toki paljon muitakin jouluisia tuotteita, joita voit selata sivuillamme kohdassa Joulun sesonkituotteet. Suklaakonvehteja, joulukalentereita, joulumusiikkia, glögiä sekä paljon muuta!
Lokakuun puolivälissä päivitettiin myös lahjatavaravalikoimamme ja valikoimiin saatiin muunmuassa useita uusia lahjatavaroita lapselle! EIKU Ry: Koko perheen tenavaooppera. 2 x DVD-R+, lastenpaitoja, Muumi-pehmoja, käsinpainettuja froteepyyhkeitä...
Muistathan, että joulun sesonkiin kannattaa varautua hyvissä ajoin, jotta paketit ehtivät pukinkonttiin! >>toimitukset
Isänpäivä!
Isänpäivälahjat marraskuun toiselle sunnuntaille 11. päivä ulkosuomalaisille tarjoaa tietenkin Suomikauppa.FI!
Esimerkiksi: T:mi Anna Maria Pokela – Tyynyliina: Isä 50x60cm tai R-Collectionin reilukokoinen käsinpainettu laadukas t-paita 100% puuvillaa. ”hikiliikkuja”, ” suomalainen sisu”, ” pelimies”…
Suomen 90-vuotisitsenäisyyspäivä 6.12.2007!
Suomikaupasta löydät itsenäisyyspäivän kynttilät sekä muut suomi-tuotteet ja liput suuntaamalla osoitteeseen Suomi-tuotteet.
Vinkki! Muistathan että Suomikaupasta voit tilata tuotteita myös lahjaksi valitsemaasi osoitteeseen! Voit myös halutessasi kirjoittaa tilauksen kommenttikenttään toivomasi terveiset lahjan saajalle, jotka lisätään lähetykseen.
Kotimaista musiikkia!
Löydä omat suosikkisi Suomikaupan ikivihreiltä Suomirock- ja pop-kokoelmalevyiltä sekä kotimaisen musiikin unohtumattomilta artisteilta. >>Kotimaista musiikkia.
Sokeva Hand Made Käsityö.
Suomikauppa sai lokakuussa valikoimiinsa myös laadukkaita Sokeva Käsityön Hand Made -pesuharjatuotteita, jotka soveltuvat hyvin lahjoiksi pehmeään pesuun tai saunaan. Kaikki tuotteet ovat kotimaista käsityötä ja ne on pakattu lahjapakkauksiin. >>Hand Made Sokeva Käsityö
“SOKEVA-KÄSITYÖ on Näkövammaisten Keskusliitto ry:n yksikkö ja RAY tukee sen palvelutoimintaa.” http://www.sokeva.fi/kasityo
Lokakuun uutuustuotteita pääset selaamaan täältä ja tarjoukset täällä.
Kirpeää syksyä toivottaa Suomikauppa.Fi
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Muumi – Muumipappa 20cm (pehmolelu)
Hinta: 19,90€
Havi: Itsenäisyyspäivän antiikkikynttilä – Sinivalkoinen 2kpl
Hinta: 2,85€
Smurffit: Tykkihitit vol 11
Hinta: 13,90€
Kauneimmat Joululaulut
Hinta: 13,90€
Suomirokkia 1
Hinta: 18,90€
Meidän Joulu 2
Hinta: 14,90€
Lapuankankurit – Kuumavesipullo – Katti – 21 x 33 cm
Hinta: 32,90€
Suomirokkia 12 (2 CD)
Hinta: 27,90€
Hårdstedt, Martin ; Hyrkäs, Seppo (kääntäjä): Suomen sota 1808-1809
Hinta: 37,90€
Erja Raittinen – Pitkähihainen paita – “Paras vekara”
Hinta: 29,50€
MELLIS: Löylytipat – MUSTIKKA LÖYLYTUOKSU 50ml
Hinta: 6,95€
FAZER Verraton – makalös – kermatäytteisiä suklaakonvehteja 225g
Hinta: 5,85€
MYLLÄRI Myllärin Ruisleipäaines 2 kg
Hinta: 3,45€
EIKU Ry: Koko perheen tenavaooppera. 2 x DVD-R+
Hinta: 21,90€
Hand Made Sokeva Käsityö – Pieni pyöreä- ja neliöharja
Hinta: 17,00€
PANDA: Kultainen Crisp 130g
Hinta: 1,70€
Toivonen, Sami Havukainen, Aino: Tatun ja Patun Suomi
Hinta: 21,63€
Jaye, Edward; Holmström, Ritva: Pipari Sutra
Hinta: 12,00€
Tactic – Tuntematon Sotilas – lautapeli
Hinta: 34,90€
Arabia, Muki ”Muumipappa”
Hinta: 17,90€
Muumi – Mörkö 20cm (pehmolelu)
Hinta: 19,90€
Muumi – Muumimamma 20cm (pehmolelu)
Hinta: 19,90€
http://finnishbistro.com/
2264 Como Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 | 651.645.9181
In the St. Anthony Park area of Minneapolis there is a bakery style restaurant called the Finnish Bistro. When I came across this place about a month ago I knew it was some place my boyfriend (Finnish) would need to try as he is always looking for places to get the Finnish food he misses from home. So, a couple weeks ago we went over there for lunch to see what all they had to offer and let him get a taste of Finland.
Yeah, it isn’t Finnish, the name upsets me because inside, you have Marimekko table cloths and the potential “feel” of Finland but it isn’t Finnish. As you can see from the website they don’t even call themselves a Finnish place (hello, false advertise much!)
“The Finnish Bistro uses the highest quality ingredients to prepare authentic European cuisine.
Don’t be surprised, though, when the special weekly menu features a culinary trip out of the boundaries of Europe. You never know where your taste buds might travel!”
That is crap if you ask me, you call yourselves the Finnish Bistro and serve European food!? And on top of that, it wasn’t all that good. I’m not trying to give a negative review but on top of the let down of it not being Finnish (no Finnish pastries or breads, hell no Finnish coffee even!) the food was something out of a Bread Basket Cafe or Panera type of place..
Disappointing, go if you must but don’t got for Finnish food no matter what the name says!
So, Rovaniemi, Finland. There are a lot of things you need to try or see. You need to try cider, you need to get a big bag of candy, you need to experience the middle of winter when the sun doesn’t come up and the middle of summer when the sun doesn’t go down. But, over every thing else, you need to have Kotipizza. When I come to Finland this is on the top of my list. Forget Pizza Hut or Papa Johns or Dominos or any other place you get pizza! If wasn’t afraid the large billion dollar pizza market in the U.S. would crush a smaller pizza chain like Kotipizza I would be opening up franchises everywhere. It is a lighter pizza with a thinner crust (no pan or deep dish pizzas here) that wins you over with less cheese and more toppings. The crust is thinner than thin pizza but it is softer allowing the pizza to fold over. The topping combinations, however, are a little strange and you’ll be in for a treat if your palette is adventurous. my favorite combo is chicken, mushroom and pineapple (I added pepperoni before and it was also good). You can personalize any pizza the way you want but they have about 15 pizza combos that will not resemble your traditional fare. Tuna, blue cheese, reindeer, fried egg in the middle…little strange if you ask me. But, they look at our sausage and pepperoni as strange so I guess it is all relative.
I’m working on getting my hands on an Kotipizza English menu to upload but until then you can look at the pictures (or learn Finnish to understand it!) And if you ever find yourself in Finland, you must put this on your list!
Technorati Tags: Finland, Lapland, Restaurant, Rovaniemi
