Festive Nordic brunch @ FINDS, Hong Kong

I cannot believe it is already the eve of Christmas! Goodness me, where does the time go? A big part of me wishes time would slow down, to give me more time to enjoy my babies, who are growing up too quickly. It has been 13 months since #2 was born, and she now eats food with a voracious appetite (takes after her parents, that one). And the 6-year-old boy is now in Year 2 primary school. Wow. I'm trying to slow down and just enjoy life with these two little ones. Last weekend, we had beautiful weather in Hong Kong. I decided that we ought to have a family day out - first at two nearby playgrounds, and then brunch at this Scandinavian restaurant (the only one in HK) that we really liked last time we visited three years ago. We walked everywhere on foot, and we covered over 5km by the time we got back home. The poor boy was so tired that poor hubby had to carry him home for the last kilometer home. My poor feet was killing me, but I was grateful for the walk to offset the indulgent meal we had. FINDS (acronym for Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden) is a great restaurant - very good service, delicious food from the far north, lovely setting - and we would frequent this restaurant more if it was conveniently located. Finnish chef Jaako Sorsa is an affable fellow, and his attention for detail and passion for food are evident in the dishes. Bread are baked in-house, and the ice cream, stocks and sauces are made on location. Since it was the weekend before Christmas, only the Festive Nordic Brunch menu was available (HK$398 per person, minimum 2). The menu looked good with a nice variety of food, so I was happy to go ahead, but hubby wasn't so keen on the inflexibility of choices. He liked the food, and so did the kids, so this was another thumbs up from us.

Crusty freshly baked sourdough:

With creamed cheese, olive oil and butter:

Sausages from the Kid's Menu (HK$48) with a serving of fries (extra HK$20) and tomato sauce on the side. The boy finished all the sausages without any help:

Swede Soup - this was really tasty! Thick with a creamy texture but not too rich, and perfectly seasoned. We really enjoyed this soup:

Chef Jaako Sarso himself presenting the Gravad Lax (cured salmon) and carving it. The salmon was flown fresh from Norway the day before, then cured in beetroot for 20 hours, in time for our enjoyment:

Chef generously gave us a couple more slices of the beetroot-cured gravad lax to share with the kids, and ordered staff to bring more of the special flat bread that accompanied the gravad lax to our table:

Malty flat bread to accompany the gravad lax, made with ingredients flown in from Finland. Chef Jaako instructed us to first spread the smoked salmon pâté on the bread, lay on a slice of gravad lax, and then sprinkle with a bit of the mustard and dill sauce - a good way to enjoy the delicious gravad lax:

This platter was served alongside the gravad lax. We could choose between two platters, and we selected the Festive Tasting Platter - (clockwise from top right) salmon seared with fennel seeds and black pepper, marinated Baltic herring fillet with dill potato, smoked duck breast with celeriac & apple salad, and beetroot apple salad. All delicious, and I particularly enjoyed the marinated herring and the celeriac apple salad:

Hubby wanted mulled wine, and the toasted sliced almonds added a nice touch:

400g House-smoked Norwegian Salmon with stewed morels, dill potatoes, dark dill sauce. This was big hunk of salmon, and it was a hearty and delicious pot full of goodies:

Hubby was disappointed that we had to only choose one of the two desserts, but the Dessert Platter was a good choice as there were small portions of four desserts. I loved the Daim Parfait last time, and I loved it now three years later. It was presented differently, in a squat cylindrical shape, but it was crunchy and delicious all the same. The other desserts (cheesecake, spheres of yoghurt pannacotta and chocolate cake) were also good:

The boy wanted ice cream, and the only flavour he could order was vanilla. Delicious, with specks of real vanilla seeds scattered throughout. I liked the fresh berries sitting under the scoop of ice cream:

We were full! Even the baby reached her limit eventually and stopped eating (this rarely happens - she's always asking for more, and is the size of a 2-year-old!). FINDS is definitely a good option for salmon lovers!

[Prices quoted above do not include the 10% service charge.]

FINDS
1st Fl, The Luxe Manor
39 Kimberly Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
Tel. +85 2 2522 9318