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

Scandinavian @ FINDS, Hong Kong

I count myself blessed for the opportunities I get to eat cuisines from countries afar, allowing me to have a taste of faraway places (and precursor to an actual trip to those countries, perhaps?). We ate Scandinavian food only once before, but one time is enough to make a lasting impression. In this big smoke of a city, you can find many types of cuisine, and I was thrilled to discover FINDS, the only Nordic restaurant in Hong Kong and perhaps all of Pearl River Delta. FINDS may appear to be a funny name for a restaurant, but it is an acronym for Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden - a pretty cool name, really.

The restaurant with its central bar:

The decor is colourful and slightly funky, with a casual and friendly service. The food served is modern and traditional Scandinavian, and it's great to know that bread is baked twice a day and all ice cream, stocks, sauces (even the tomato sauce/ketchup!) are made at FINDS. Apparently Finnish chef Jaako Sorsa, who oversees the kitchen, has cooked for presidents and royalty all over the world, and even has written a book (called "Scapas Dining", where Scapas stands for Scandinavian tapas).

Fresh crusty bread, with butter, olive oil and creamed cheese:

At the moment FINDS is serving a Christmas set lunch, but there was also another menu available for those who don't feel like having a festive meal just yet. We chose the set lunch as it appeared to be good value, and there was flexibility to choose the number of courses we wished to partake (1 course for HK$128, 2 courses HK$148 and 3 courses HK$168). Hubby went for the full three courses, and since there was only one option for dessert on the Christmas set lunch, I got two courses and ordered dessert from the main menu to avoid having two of the same desserts. The Kids' Menu wasn't that bad (as kids' menu can be at many restaurants), and for the first time in our history of dining out as a family, we ordered from the kids' menu for our son. The 3-year-old got a kids-size Swedish Meatballs, but he predictably latched onto the fries. Hubby and I noticed that the tomato sauce/ketchup was homemade, and I appreciated the rustic-looking sauce and its taste.

Swedish Meatballs with lingonberry sauce, tomato sauce and with a serving of fries on the side - quite yummy, as far as a kids-size meal goes:

Hubby's appetiser - Turnip Soup with Crushed Gingerbread. Quite frothy, and flavour is quite plain. You could taste the gingerbread, but only just barely:

My appetiser - Assorted Herrings (tomato, mustard and onion) with Warm Dill Potatoes (potatoes not shown, in bowl to right of shot). Preserved herring is probably the most recognisable food in Scandinavian cuisine. These were good, but quite strong-tasting - better eaten together with the potatoes or the bread:

Hubby's main: Honey, Thyme & Lemon-glazed Turkey Breast with peppered cherry sauce - quite nice as far as turkey breast goes. A nice little twist with using cherry sauce instead of the traditional cranberry sauce:

The brussels sprout, roasted potatoes and stuffing that came with the turkey made good accompaniments:

My main dish - House-smoked Salmon Fillet with creamy morel sauce, fingerling potatoes, dark dill sauce. The salmon was perfectly cooked (rare in the middle), and the potatoes were fun to eat. This was really good, and worth ordering again:

Coffee or tea is included, and our cups of cappuccino were served without sugar (which is fine by me as I don't take sugar in my cappuccino, but I think hubby would have liked some sweetener):

Hubby noticed other people ordering Christmas Nordic Mulled Wine, and it piqued his curiousity. Served warm with a slice of lemon, the mulled wine was quite mellow and spicy:

The dessert from the Christmas set lunch - Chocolate Pudding & Lingonberry-vanilla Parfait. Chocolate pudding was served warm and soft in the middle, and the parfait was chilled and not too sweet - a good combination:

I ordered the 'Daim' Parfait from the main menu, as we were told it's FINDS signature dessert. Meringue, almond, caramel and nougat - inspired by the Swedish candy bar. I've never had Daim before so I cannot compare, but the dessert was nicely executed. Crunchy meringue chips, soft chilled nougat and a base of caramel and slivered almonds - it was quite a delight eating this dessert:

It was a good meal, and I'm happy to say that I love Scandinavian food! I would love to one day visit that faraway place and try the food in its homeland, but for now, I'll settle for the food at FINDS.

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

Scandinavian cuisine @ Aquavit, Tokyo

When we were in New York last year for a month, I had a long list of restaurants I wanted to try. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to visit all of the restaurants, and a certain Scandinavian restaurant was one of the ones we missed out on. Fortunately for us, there is an Aquavit restaurant right here in Tokyo, coincidentally opened in the same month that our little boy was born in. Rob and I were overdue for our monthly date, so two Sundays ago, we took the opportunity to enjoy our few hours of toddler-freedom by eating beautifully-prepared Scandinavian dishes at Aquavit.

The restaurant had a lovely spacious feel, with an elegantly simple and modern decor. It was comfortable, and we were given excellent service right from the entrance. There was a nice variety of options available during lunch-time service, with mains costing between 1500yen and 1900yen and it included iced tea, bread, salad (or soup) and coffee. There was also a Lunch Set option (2500yen) where you have the choice for the appetiser and main courses, and the cake of the day and coffee are served afterwards (bread and iced tea are included). Rob and I both got the lunch set because it was pretty good value.

Rob's Pickled Herring appetiser was simple but beautifully presented with fresh vegetables. The pickled fish was nicely tart with a slight sweetness. My appetiser was Toast Skagen, a Denmark-style shrimp salad on top of thin slices of crispy toast. We both really enjoyed this open sandwich, because the shrimps were juicy and perfectly dressed in a creamy mayonnaise-based sauce, and it complemented the crispy toast base really well.

Appetisers - Pickled Herring and Toast Skagen:

For his main course, Rob chose the Poached Cod, which was served with a butter sauce and topped with Norwegian shrimps and egg. He liked it, but I thought the fish was overcooked and a bit rubbery. Everything else was great, and the simple but rich butter sauce allowed the subtle seafood flavours to shine through.

Main Course #1 - Poached Cod:

I got the Gravlax Pudding (salmon souffle) which was just gorgeous! The eggy souffle was perfectly light and fluffy, and the tomato cream sauce went well with it. I only wish there was more salmon inside the souffle.

Main #2 - Salmon Souffle and its filling:

Dessert was Lemon Cake served with an extra rich whipped cream. It was a delicious accompaniment to our cappuccinos.

Dessert - Lemon Cake:

This was our first time trying Scandinavian cuisine, and we really liked it! Of course, I don't know if this experience at Aquavit is a good representation of Scandinavian food, but that just means we have to try out more Scandinavian restaurants!