June 26, 2022

Want Yummy Juicy Chicken? MR.CHICKEN★鶏飯店 GOTANDA is it!

The place like a food stand I went to had an Asian ambience. MR.CHCKEN is a casual restaurant that you can feel comfortable even entering alone.


Their specialty is SINGAPORE CHICKEN RICE. The chicken on a signboard looks soft and yummy. I should try it first! 


I ordered SINGAPORE CHICKEN RICE "WHITE", that means steamed chicken, a same one as the picture of the sign board. 

I see! I feel Asian here sitting inside like this with some fresh air outside at the same time, and knew white rice was definitely not Japanese one.


Rice is covered with steamed soft chicken, made even more delicious by shredded green onions and original sauce... Juicy!

Anytime, freely, even by yourself, you can experience Asian food here. Also, the nice thing about this place is the food is inexpensive. Wanna try? Their menu is here★ Oh, it looks good... I want to try a different menu next time.

June 18, 2022

Very lovely wine glass for a sparkling wine, of course a champagne too!

What a lovely wine glass to taste a sparkling wine! This is the most lovely wine glass ever for me.


It used to be a place I visited from time to time to enjoy a glass of wine. A sparkling wine was not always served with this glass, actually, it's only one time, I think. However, I really liked this lovely glass. The sparkling wine was so delicious and popping bubbles made me feel happy.

Since I had an unpleasant memory given by a friend at the time there, I'd gotten not to visit the place. It was like, my innocence was offended by her heartless, smug word.

Now I don't go there because of a different reason. I started trying organic wines, which broadened my horizons. My life is becoming more natural. 

I don't have to see a person dressed up, but lacking in intelligence and always late. It's been 1 or 2 years since several incidents I had growing doubts about.

Here I am at the moment, and know, staying away from those kind of persons is treating myself well. I can be myself.

May 7, 2022

FINNAIR in-flight meal and 3 kind of Marimekko paper cups on my return flight to Japan

Once I get on a direct flight, I can feel just relieved as it will bring me to Japan even if I'm sleeping!


It's fun time to lay back and see the movie with a drink😊  I enjoyed Fantastic Beasts♪ 
Look at this lovely Marimekko patterned paper cup💕  I wonder what they will serve on the plane!


I'm always looking forward to in-flight meal when I have a flight. I love to see how foreign meal is incorporated into in-flight meal. 


Speaking of fancy chocolate in Finland, KarlFazer Milk Chocolate is it! I saw it right and left at the shops in Helsinki Airport. I'm happy that it's kindly delivered to passengers and I'm able to taste it on board😍  Oh I see, it's cool same color as Finland national flag!


Now that I've photographed 2 kind of Marimekko paper cups, I want the 3rd too as souvenir pictures. Thanks to the corporation of the flight attendant, I could take pictures of a gray paper cup with a gray paper napkin. It's soft, gentle color...

I was not sure If I could visit Finland again, so I did everything I could even for paper cups. 3 colors paper cups are my precious memories together with other wonderful things at my first time in Finland.


The navy blue & white FINNAIR plane like the national flag in Finland. I came back to Japan safely. 

This is a record of 3 nights 5 days trip to Finland in June, 2019. I haven't traveled to any foreign countries since then. 
FIN
  

May 5, 2022

I recommend you to experience ★HESBURGER★ when you visit Finland♪

Do you know that HESBURGER is more popular and reasonable than Macdonald in Finland?★HESBURGER★ is a casual hamburger shop in Finland. I'd like to experience it by all means while I am in Finland! I came to HESBURGER within the station premises in Helsinki Central Station before heading for Helsinki Airport. 


I ordered a simple set : a burger, fried potatoes, and a hot coffee😊  It seemed to be the best way to know the taste of HESBURGER itself. 

What I liked about the shop is that they provided real whole milk so as to let us pour it into our coffee as we liked. I do like black coffee. The combination of fries as well as a burger, and black coffee is exceptional. And then, I add real milk (not the common portioned cream full of trans fat!) and enjoy it like 'cafe au lait'. It's the way I like as I mentioned it several times in past articles.

The mark ☆ on the coffee cup is cool, isn't it?  My last meal in Helsinki was a cute one, and it became a cute experience.


I got out of Ring Rail Line at Lentoasema station connected to Helsinki Vantaa International Airport. But it was very long until I finally got the boarding gate. The procedure was not smooth for me and what a long way lined with a lot of souvenir shops I walked! Many times I worried, like, "Am I going in the right direction?".  I felt relieved when I reached my boarding gate at last!

Used to American Airpot, it was tough for me because I didn't expect it took so long from check-in to the boarding gate. However, looking back, it's also a good travel experience I learned to help me grow as a person. 

May 3, 2022

Departure morning! Attractive castle-like buildings in Helsinki, Finland

Europe is filled with beautiful, historical structures. You will find numerous ancient buildings when you visit the place. Here in Finland, you can also find a lot of attractive buildings.

I thought tall vertical windows of the buildings are characteristic and it's one of the reason that those buildings look castle-like. Each fine building painted in its own color took my breath away.


I took last pictures of the street where I'd roamed around before I went back to Hotel St.George soon I had to leave. The citizens in Helsinki live at this condominium, or apartment, I wonder? 


Look at this architecture.  It's majestic! 


Helsinki is a clean and beautiful city. Each design of the building was amazing and seeing different buildings was joy for me. Let's take another souvenir "Kitty cat" photo here. Now 3 years later, I checked online and knew it was"Kitty Cat Beauty Center". Wow!


I came back to my room of Hotel St.George. Only 3 nights, but it was a starting point to go to every spot of Helsinki in my own way. I still got some time until I departed for Helsinki Central Station.

I lied down on the bed for a little while. In my heart, I said thank you to the room. 
  

May 1, 2022

Big Korvapuusti of KANNISTON LEIPOMO, and my favorite Korvapuusti during my stay in Helsinki is...

My trip to Finland can also be said comparing the tastes of Korvapuusti (Cinnamon Roll). Early in the morning, I could make it to KANNISTON LEIPOMO closest from Hotel St.George. It's Monday and open! How nice to be able to taste Korvapuusti I really hoped to try just before I leave Helsinki!


That was a pretty big one. It is rather a little hard than soft. I accompanied Americano with Korvapuusti like I did at St.George Bakery that blew me away. 


Hotel St.George is the time-honored hotel 10-minute walk from Helsinki Central Station. And it has a fantastic cafe https://www.stgeorgehelsinki.com/food/bakery on the street level of the hotel, which serves hearty freshly baked bread. And the coffee is excellent, too. 


Walking the side road of the Old Church Park, I reached at KANNISTON LEIPOMO I missed once.


There are a lot of sweet pastries...☆


But my heart was fixed.  I ordered Korvapuusti!


It was big!!! The texture is hard and it's not so sweet. I enjoyed my breakfast by the window. I read Finnish people often eat Korvapuusti for breakfast. The woman outside is checking what kind of bread this bakery shop has? How about my big bread? 

Korvapuuski (Cinnamon Roll) I liked most was St.George Bakery's. Looking back, it was a lovely attempt to taste and compare several Finish Cinnamon Rolls. Korvapuusti, added a touch of cardamon, sprayed pearl sugar on top, has another magical charm different from American Cinnamon Roll like 'Cinnabon'.

April 29, 2022

Satisfactory dinner from K-market at the night before I left Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland. I was on the tram, gazing absently out of the window. That was the evening before I left Finland for Japan.


Since I used trams for sightseeing during this short stay, I remembered there were some Japanese restaurants around here. Here it is! I could successfully take a quick commemorative photo from the tram. It says, IZAKAYA 居酒屋 TOKYO GASTRO LOUNGE, and TOKYO 55 SUSHI ACADEMY.


Then, getting out of the tram, and walk to the building of KANNISTON LEIPOMON, which is a bakery shop I thought cool in a travel guide book. I knew it was closed on Sunday, but just feeling the street vibe and looking at the building with my own eyes was also my quiet sightseeing.


I came back to the place where my hotel was, and tried buying food at K-market. The location is on the Etelaesplanadi Street in front of the Etelaesplanadi Park and there is K-market right across the corner near Svenska Teattery (Swedish Theater).


I chose any food from the counter as much as I wanted, and brought the bowl putted the rid on to the casher to pay. As soon as the casher saw my bowl, he was like, "You have to weigh, number 49!". 

😅😅😅   

I left the casher with my bowl, and like, "number 49, number 49...", started looking for "49" in the shop. Finally, I found the machine to put the bowl on to weight and selected "49". A seal printed the price came out of the machine. Oh, I see, this is how I had to do before going to the casher! 

I went back to the casher with a smile😊  The young guy who seemed a little abrupt at first was giving a full smile to me😄  Finnish guys might look unfriendly, but it doesn't mean they are unkind. They are shy and kind actually. This is what I learned from the guide book and my local experience.


At my room of Hotel St.George. I prepared for my dinner on the small table. A beer from Stockman I'd kept in the fridge went great with food from K-mart💚

Even if it's not at the gorgeous restaurant, it was a quite satisfactory dinner I had on the night before I left charming Helsinki. And the memories of the experience at K-market became a treasure still I miss.