A Finnish colleague at work, Tytti (Toot-tee) who is currently based out of Sweden, asked me if I’d like her to try and find some Finnish company for me one night in Helsinki. Of course I said yes as one of my favorite things to do while traveling is to meet locals. So tonight I met up with Tytti’s friend Juha (Yoo-ha) a fellow foodie who works in the restaurant industry. Juha made wonderful company and he took me to for a fantastic dinner at Kuurna restaurant which serves traditional Finnish food with a modern twist.

Both the food and company were great! Generally when I travel I can be very nervous about my food allergies, but Juha had called ahead to let them know and at the start of the meal the owner came out to talk to us and was clearly well equipped to handle my needs.

If you ever travel to Helsinki add Kuurna to your to do list.

Spinach “crepes” with black currant vinaigrette. Creamy on the inside, crispy in the outside with a slight tartness from the currants.

Oven baked white fish with salsa verde. Wow! The fish had a sort of smokey flavor and was just so fresh. All the vegetables tasted like summer and sunshine.

Dessert. O!M!G! Strawberry milkshake. I’m not generally a fan of milkshakes in the US because I think they’re usually way too think and cloyingly sweet. This, however, was my perfect dessert. You know that strawberries are my favorite food on the planet and this dessert was all about highlighting the flavor. The “milkshake” was smooth and creamy without being too thick. I could eat (ok drink) this dessert every day of my life!