The Finnish summery lunch and dining tables aren’t complete without new potatoes. The potato that came to Finland in the 1720’s along with German tinsmiths is a substansial part of Finnish everyday life. Finns eat a stunning 62,5 kilos a year of potatoes per person. Regardless of the fact that potatoes are perceived as ordinary, new potatoes can be regarded as gourmet delicacies due to their unique taste. Restaurant König Helsinki serves them throughout the summer with mouth watering garnishes.

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The Finnish term for the potato comes from the Swedish word pärön, meaning pear, and in early days the potato was thought of as ”the pear of the earth”.

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Restaurant König Helsinki serves this pear of the earth with butter, salt and different fish dishes. One gets new potatoes  with optional butter and salt for €12. New potatoes with all the garnishes cost €32. Seperately bought the garnishes (marinated Baltic herring in mustard sauce, marinated Baltic herring in garlic sauce, pickled salmon glazier’s style) cost €6 per garnish.

The restaurant is visitor friendly: the menu can be found in at least Finnish, English and Russian.

Evvia Tartuffo!

Again, if your truffle tooth is aching, you should head to restaurant Raffaello or La Famiglia where in honor of the summer they serve some flavored treats of the earth.

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Truffle’s history is controversial. Egyptians knew of its existance and prepared it by boiling it first and then covering it with goose fat. Ancients of Greece and Rome associated truffles with different terapeutic forces whereas in the Middle Ages truffles were put aside for a while. This, because people suspected that truffles were a sign of the devil since there are found only underground.

The three course truffle menu (€39) at Raffaello, suitable for voluptaries, includes cold Gazpacho -soup with truffle-scented bread as a starter, linguine pasta with bacon, Parma ham and truffle as main course, and for dessert fresh strawberries with vanilla-truffle creme.

La Famiglia’s truffle menu (€39,90) on the other hand, consists of Roasted scampi, truffle and caesar salad as starter, risotto with Parma ham and truffle as main course, and as dessert there is a Hazelnut pastry with strawberries and truffle balsamico.

Here’s a hint for bon vivants! At Raffaello and La Famiglia a complete menu order gets you a truffle giveaway to take home with you!

Does your spot-on sense of smell take you to Raffaello or La Famiglia or are the new potatoes more alluring?