The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Finland but this year all the shops in Helsinki decided to have Black Friday sales. I guess in these financial times you need to find new ways to excite customers to consume. But instead of going shopping, I decided to finally see the acclaimed movie – The Martian. And what a movie it was.. excitement galore! I highly recommend you go if you haven’t had a chance before.

You could say the weather was very suitable for a Black Friday. Even though it’s the end of November there is no snow in Southern Finland – only darkness and rain. Thank goodness for the Christmas lights bringing some shine to this season.

Bringing more joy to this Black Friday was a dinner date with friends at Pjazza (Yrjönkatu 18 B). Pjazza is a very popular and beautiful Italian restaurant in the Helsinki city center.

Unfortunately the food is not what you would expect in this setting. My starter of eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano and basil was way too heavy and cheesy (when do you ever have to say something is too cheesy?). The tagliolini pasta with salsiccia sausage and pecorino cheese tasted bland and too mushroomy. The biggest disappointment was the dessert which would’ve actually been good if the consistency had been correct.

I always like to order the panna cotta if it’s found on a menu, so you could say I’m an expert on this particular dessert. If made correctly, panna cotta will be delicate and a bit wobbly. Many of us ordered this dessert so we found that at Pjazza the panna cotta was either firm or liquidy! Something had really gone wrong there. Nowadays I try to make a point of giving feedback about the meals I have and was happy to find that our waitress was very forthcoming when I mentioned the panna cotta fiasco and even went on to let me know that she had forwarded my regards to the kitchen. A huge plus for that as often in Finland your feedback will not be appreciated.

But the main point of the evening was to have fun with friends and the food didn’t spoil that!

After, I was able to entice my friends to join me for a visit to Helsinki’s best kept secret- a cocktail bar – Liberty or Death (Erottajankatu 5). You might think there’s nothing there or that it’s closed as the windows and door are pitch black – but don’t be afraid to go in! Inside you will find the most imaginative cocktails and impeccable service. By the way, the menu is not stuck to the table, it’s just very heavy! These guys will take good care of you and you can even make requests for personalised cocktails. Do make a point to visit if you are in Helsinki.

There’s more fun in store for me this weekend, as my dear friend from Denmark will be arriving for a short visit tonight, I cannot wait to spend time with her exploring Helsinki.

With these thoughts I wish you a Happy Weekend!