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Helsinki, Finland

Posted 2016-06-14 by Gary

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I’ve just spent three nights in Helsinki, Finland for a work meeting. This is my first time visiting continental Europe. I’ve been to England twice (for work) but never to the continent. As I prepared for the meeting I took a look at where Finland is on Google Maps. I didn’t quite appreciate how far north it is in comparison with England. I recall watching a documentary on World War 2 and learning some history of Finland and its relationship with Sweden and Russia. Helsinki is in the south of Finland, can you imagine what it would be like if the capital was in Lapland. Being summer, the sun set well after 10.30 pm and it never really got completely dark. The sun rose before 4 am so I was grateful for curtains not that I was asleep after 3.30 am. The room I was in had a view of the water and the reflection of the low sun on the water produced a lot of glare that beamed straight into my room. The weather was very similar to Canberra at the same time. Early morning was <10 °C (I note Canberra was ‘enjoying’ some subzero mornings) and the maximum temperature was about 18 °C. It was like being in Canberra with extra sunlight. That’s not a good thing. Like Canberra, it was very dry. We all know how much I dislike the weather of Canberra. I don’t think I would like a Finnish winter. The cold dry darkness would be inhospitable and the snow would depress me.

I flew to Helsinki via Melbourne and Singapore. It was a pretty long trip. Because of the flights schedules I ended up with some time on the day of my arrival and the day of my departure to walk around a bit of the Helsinki CBD.

I’d been told that Finnish cuisine has a high seafood content and that I might also be able to try some reindeer. Regular readers will know my love of salmon. I wasn’t disappointed. I had salmon at least once every day in Helsinki and also became fond of pickled herring. I love whole baked salmon. It is just so moist and full of flavour. Whole baked salmon beats baked salmon fillets hands down. It would be great to bake a whole salmon but it would be hugely expensive and even I would have trouble eating a whole salmon at once. Friends and even my mother told me about rollmops but I never saw any. The best I could do was put a bit of gherkin between two pieces of pickled herring to make my own sort of rollmop. I don’t know that I could eat a lot of pickled herring in one sitting, but a few pieces for breakfast was really good especially with a poached egg and Hollandaise sauce.

I also got to try reindeer. It was cooked very nicely (medium rare) with a juniper sauce which offset the flavour of the reindeer nicely.

I also got to try some pike-perch which I assume is more perch than pike. It has a delightfully delicate white flesh which flaked really nicely.

Apart from proteins, I also drank my fill of lingonberry and blueberry juice. Who knew egg butter is a thing!

I was expecting the coffee to be good, but it was more akin to American and Canadian coffee.

Helsinki is a really nice city. I saw no homeless people and only a few people begging for money. The streets and buildings are all clean and I get an impression that Finnish people are very neat and tidy. I’m guessing the social welfare system is second to none and unemployment is minimal.

The city is about 150 years old, so it is about one and a half times older than Canberra. The buildings, especially the larger ones are beautiful. There are also some magnificent places of worship. They are quite architecturally beautiful.

The other revelation is the taxicabs. They are so clean and the drivers are friendly, neat, clean and they do not smell of really bad body odour. They also speak excellent English and know where they are going without referring to a GPS device and relying on a customer for directions. A trip from the airport to the CBD will set you back about €30.

While in Helsinki I stayed at the Hilton Strand Helsinki. This was the recommended hotel by the meeting organisers. I found it to be an excellent option. The staff are all friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet was very good and the restaurant served very nice meals for lunch and dinner. I did not try room service because there is an associated €10 service charge. The Wi-Fi was fast and reliable with good upload capacity if you’re backing up files to a cloud service.

One the subject of currency, euros are quaint looking notes and the coins are nice and solid. I like them more than Australian coins.

As part of the meeting we spent one night socialising at the Design Museum which was really interesting. The Finns are very proud of their designers. A significant portion of the museum is currently dedicated to the designer of the ball chair, which in my opinion is a most uncomfortable and impractical chair. This designer, viz., Eero Aarnio, also developed a pony chair for children and the bubble lamp. Again I’m not sure why these designs are awarding winning. I prefer function over form especially when it comes to posture and maximising comfort and efficiency.

On another evening, meeting participants dined in a floating restaurant which isn’t a boat. This was quite nice and gave me an opportunity to meet new people. I learnt quite a lot about Holland, Denmark and Norway. The word is Scandinavia can be seen in two weeks with good planning.

So I shot a few photographs of food and some of the things I found interesting as I walked in the CBD.

QF795 CBR to MEL Cheese omelet with sausages

Almond croissant with pineapple juice in Qantas First Lounge MEL

Crab and vegetable savoury pancake on QF35

Toasted beef, mushroom and fontina sandwich with crème fraiche and rocquet on QF35

Baked chocolate, wattleseed and almond tart with date cream on QF35

Roast pork with black bean, chilli, garlic, chives, tofu and noodles on QF35

Ice cream in Singapore Qantas Club lounge

Meripaviljonki Ravintola Floating Restaurant

Alder smoke reindeer roast from Kemijärvi, juniper berry sauce, shimeji mushroom, fennel butter brussels sprout from BRO Restaurant

The Mushroom at the Helsinki Design Museum

Vegetable tartlet with morel cream and asparagus caviar at Meripaviljonki Ravintola Restaurant

Roasted pike-perch with spinach quinoa, grilled asparagus and lobster sauce at Meripaviljonki Ravintola Restaurant

Chocolate ganache with rick salt and caramel plus vanilla ice cream at Meripaviljonki Ravintola Restaurant

Bacon and eggs with Hollandaise sauce and egg butter

Pickled herring, smoked salmon, poached eggs, with Hollandaise sauce plus crispy bacon and potato on buttered toast

Polka dot trees as part of a public art installation by Yayoi Kusama

Hors d'oeuvres including wild boar pâté and salmon — Hors d’oeuvres including wild boar pâté and salmon

Surf'n'turf with salmon, prawns and beef plus a slider. The salmon ceviche and Skargen was great. — Surf’n’turf with salmon, prawns and beef plus a slider. The salmon ceviche and Skargen was great.

Meringue and sponge cake dessert in Helsinki. This was better than Pavlova!

Pressed beef neck, celeriac purée, herb butter and spring vegetables

Have you been to Helsinki? What did you think? If you haven’t, would you like to visit?

Our last and best meal in Hong Kong and the flight home

Posted 2016-01-10 by Gary

It’s Monday morning and we fly back to Brisbane later in the evening. Today we had our last and best meal in Hong Kong before the flight home.

No it wasn’t breakfast. This is the last breakfast I had at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It was certainly not our best meal in Hong Kong.

A photograph of Scrambled eggs with condensed milk and jam on toast with dim sum — Scrambled eggs with condensed milk and jam on toast with dim sum

After breakfast we set about packing our bags. Our check out time was 12 noon and Miss14 and Ms18 had done most of their packing the night before. As for Ms20 and me, we needed to sort out our suitcases and things. We’d agreed that we would try to check out at about 11.30 so we could have one final meal somewhere close.

I was very impressed with my daughters. They had planned for a long time for this holiday. They came with plenty of room in their suitcases and they bought enough to fill the gaps without any extra bags necessary. Ms18 in particular had packing down to a tee. She was like a travelling expert. Her suitcase was immaculate in the way everything went together. She is so neat.

Me on the other hand, I travel a lot but for this trip I just threw everything into my bag. My focus for this holiday had been keeping my daughters happy and shooting some photographs for Yummy Lummy. I brought along a bag for my camera body, lenses and power supplies.

We were ready by 11.30 and set off for Times Square. My plan was to get a table at Lei Garden which I had heard was a very fine Chinese restaurant. When we arrived we secured a table on the understanding we would be finished by 1.30 pm. That wouldn’t be a problem.

The yum cha menu looked pretty good and we set about discussing and agreeing on what we’d like to eat.

You can see what we asked for in this photograph of our request sheet.

A photograph of our request sheet yum cha menu at Lei Garden — The yum cha menu at Lei Garden

The steamed dim sum came out first and occupied most of the table.

Everything was delicious.

The deep fried dim sum came out next.

A photograph of Deep fried dim sum at Lei Garden — Deep fried dim sum at Lei Garden

I love turnip cake. My grandmother used to make it for me. I could eat it all day.

Then things got a little out of order. We were served egg custard tarts but there was one more fried dish to come.

A photograph of Egg custard tarts — Egg custard tarts

A photograph of Deep fried dumplings with sticky rice and pork — Deep fried dumplings with sticky rice and pork

This was simply the best meal in Hong Kong of our holiday. That’s not to say we didn’t also enjoy the hospitality and ambience of cheap and cheerful local establishments like Toby Inn and Eat Together.

After lunch Miss14 was determined to spend her last Hong Kong dollars on her Octopus card so we explored some little shops.

As we walked back to the hotel to wait for our bus to the airport we stopped at McDonald’s for a soft drink.

The bus ride to the airport was uneventful. I wrote a couple of quick TripAdvisor reviews for the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Buffalo Tours.

When we got to the airport we were allowed into a lounge and had an afternoon snack.

Of course the girls wanted to do more last minute shopping. They found another Victoria’s Secret shop!

We boarded QF98 HKG to BNE without delay or problem and were on our way back to Brisbane after a fantastic holiday.

Yes, we shared an overnight flight with two babies!

The food on the flight home was pretty good.

I had a nice duck salad and caramel mousse for dinner and eggs for breakfast.

When I got to my parent’s place I said goodbye for my daughters. It had been such a great holiday and their absence left a hole in my heart. It had been my best ever holiday. We made the most of everyday and every waking hour. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

To satisfy my craving for Atlantic salmon I had salmon for lunch and tea in Brisbane.

The following day I flew back to Canberra. I managed to get an upgrade seat (thank you Qantas) and enjoyed a toasted sandwich for breakfast.

So this isn’t the last post for this Hong Kong holiday. I’ll post a summary with tips on travelling soon.

If you’ve been to Hong Kong what was your best meal in Hong Kong?

Big Buddha Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-10 by Gary

On our last full day we decided to visit the Big Buddha Hong Kong. I didn’t know much about the Tian Tan Buddha, I just knew it was a must see in Hong Kong.

We woke up to a cloudy day with drizzle. It didn’t look good but we weren’t going to waste the day.

First up breakfast!

A photograph of Breakfast waffle with fruit, jam, condensed milk and a croissant — Breakfast waffle with fruit, jam, condensed milk and a croissant

Getting to the Big Buddha would take a couple of hours so we made an early start. It was good that we did because the fog and mist were getting thicker.

On the way to Causeway Bay MTR station we stopped at a McDonald’s because Miss14 wanted a hash brown.

A photograph of Miss14 with her McDonald's hash brown — Miss14 with her McDonald’s hash brown

We’d become so familiar with the walk to Causeway Bay MTR station and catching the trains it didn’t feel like a long journey at all. From Tung Chung MTR station it was a short walk to the Ngong Ping Cable car terminal. We bought return tickets for the crystal cars so we could see through the bottom of the car.

The cable car ride would be spectacular on a fine day or even a cloudy day, on this Sunday we were enveloped by foggy mist and at times couldn’t see the next car in front of us let alone anything around above or below us. When we got to the Ngong Ping station high up on Lantau Island we couldn’t even see the ground at sea level.

A photograph of the Ngong Ping cable car terminal at Tung Chung station — Ngong Ping cable car terminal at Tung Chung station

A selfie from Ngong Ping cable car — Selfie from Ngong Ping cable car

A photograph At Ngong Ping Station near Tian Tan Buddha — At Ngong Ping Station near Tian Tan Buddha (this required a lot of post process editing in Adobe Lightroom).

There was a whole “Hello Kitty” thing going on up at Ngong Ping with the Ngong Ping 360 company. I don’t understand the Hello Kitty phenomenon. It’s beyond me. That said, I know people who are into it so here is one photograph.

A photograph of a Hello Kitty stand at Ngong Ping Station — Hello Kitty Ngong Ping Station (again lots of post processing editing in Adobe Lightroom).

I felt a touch cold up there

A photograph of me at Ngong Ping cable car station — Me at Ngong Ping cable car station

Ngong Ping and the path to the big buddha

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There are 268 steps to the Tian Tan “Big” Buddha. Fortunately it’s not a continuous climb, while steep there are flat sections every dozen or so steps. The cool misty morning was a good time to do a stair climb.

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At the top the foggy mist was such at seeing the Buddha’s visage was impossible. I had to do a lot of post process editing to get this amount of detail.

A photograph of the Tian Tan Big Buddha in the foggy mist — Tian Tan ‘Big’ Buddha in the foggy mist

At the top there are signs asking visitors to refrain from photography. Inside the buddha is a lot of information material on the construction and history of the statue itself. Nearby is the Po Lin monastery and a temple of gold buddhas which is beautiful.

After visiting the Big Buddha and monastery we spent some time in the Ngong Ping village looking around the shops.

Feeling hungry we decided rather than eating the monks’ vegetarian delights we’d head into Tung Chung and try some more food at the Food Republic.

Miss20 and I had a Japanese inspired rice omelet with pork chop and scallops.

Rice omelet with crumbed pork chop and scallops

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Ms18 had mentioned a few days earlier that she would like to visit the Dragon Garden in Sham Tseng which was a bus ride away from Tung Chung.

When we arrived at the front gate we discovered it was closed. On further inquiry the garden is only open one day a month. Ms18 was quite annoyed.

A photograph of Ms18 at Dragon Garden gate — Ms18 at Dragon Garden gate

So what to do when there are no gardens with dragons to walk around? More shopping of course!

We went to Mong Kok and spent some time in Langham Place.

We also had afternoon tea.

A photograph of a Double chocolate almond croissant — Double chocolate almond croissant

For dinner we went to a cheap and cheerful place called Eat Together. Like Toby Inn on our first day this place had character. The owner sat at one of the tables when we entered and offered us her table. She sat with another customer. After we received our menus she was at our table again expecting us to have decided what we wanted to eat. This place was where locals ate. We had some of the best fried dumplings there we’d had on the whole holiday.

Deep fried vegetable and pork and shrimp dumplings

After our meal at Eat Together we went back to langham Place so Ms20 could have some green tea ice cream.

Our plan had been to return to McDonald’s near Times Square but when we arrived the ice cream machines were broken. We were disappointed.

While the weather had been less than ideal the day turned out to be quite enjoyable. As a last full day in Hong Kong we were pretty happy.

Have you been to the Tian Tan Big Buddha?

Ocean Park Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-09 by Gary

Ocean Park Hong Kong is a place I’m in two minds about. I loved the rides and I loved learning about the fauna there but that fauna is held captive.

Before we get to Ocean Park Hong Kong we need to show a photograph of my breakfast from the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

A photograph of scrambled eggs and jam on toast — Scrambled eggs and jam on toast

Prior to leaving for Hong Kong, Ms20 had arranged ground transport with Buffalo Tours from our hotel to Ocean Park Hong Kong. After breakfast we waited for our shuttle bus. It was delayed but not too delayed. The guide on the shuttle bus was very good at explaining what we should see and do when we got to Ocean Park. He was also very careful to explain our pick up point and pick up time.

A photograph of The Grand Aquarium Ocean Park Hong Kong — The Grand Aquarium Ocean Park

A photograph of The cable car at Ocean Park Hong Kong — The cable car at Ocean Park Hong Kong

Closer photograph of the Ocean Park cable cars — Ocean Park cable car

A photograph of Inside an Ocean Park cable car — Inside an Ocean Park cable car

A photograph of Ocean Park from a cable car — Ocean Park from a cable car

A photograph of Deep Water Bay Hong Kong after a lot of post processing in Adobe Lightroom. The haze was very severe. — Deep Water Bay Hong Kong after a lot of post processing in Adobe Lightroom. The haze was very severe.

It’s said Deep Water Bay is the wealthiest neighbourhood in the world.

A photograph of The Hair Raiser Roller Coaster at Ocean Park Hong Kong — The Hair Raiser Roller Coaster at Ocean Park Hong Kong

The Hair Raiser was the best ride we experienced in Hong Kong.
I found this YouTube video which shows just how much fun it is.

Best ride in Hong Kong.

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with Deep Water Bay in the background — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with Deep Water Bay in the background

A photograph of my daughters in front of multiple Christmas trees. — All the Christmas trees

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a Giant Panda — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a Giant Panda

A photograph of a Giant Panda doing what giant pandas do best — Giant Panda doing what giant pandas do best

There are four giant pandas held captive in Ocean Park Hong Kong. Two are kept in the open and the other two in a closed in enclosure.

A photograph of Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a giant panda in the background — Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with a giant panda in the background

A photograph of A panda eating. I couldn't get a decent shot of its head. — A panda eating. I couldn’t get a decent shot of its head.

A photograph of Giant panda faeces. It looks like a tangle of bamboo shoots. — Giant panda faeces. It looks like a tangle of bamboo shoots.

After the cable car ride and visiting the Giant panda and panda exhibit we went back to the area of the rides. We went on two roller coasters which were great. As good as any roller coaster ride I’ve had in Australia and as good as Space Mountain at Hong Kong Disneyland.

After the rides we went for lunch. We thought we’d try the Terrace cafe. It looked nice but the maître d’ was incompetent beyond imagination. we walked away after 20 minutes of waiting and being ignored while others (who could speak Cantonese) pushed through and got tables.

We ended up in the cheap and cheerful eatery. I had roast duck and pork with rice.

A photograph of Roast pork and duck with rice from Ocean Park Hong Kong — Roast pork and duck with rice

After lunch we went to the arctic and antarctic exhibitions.

In the arctic exhibit there were seals and a couple of walruses. The walruses were huge.

A photograph of Penguins in the Antarctic exhibit — Penguins in the Antarctic exhibit

After the arctic and antarctic exhibits we went to the dolphin show. I shot about a hundred photographs but when I looked through them all I saw were dolphins held in captivity. Ocean Park Hong Kong makes a strong point about conservation, animal welfare, protecting marine ecological systems and zöological research. I still feel uneasy about these animals being trained for entertainment.

A photograph of A dolphin leaping high — A dolphin leaping high

In the south American rain forest area there were some Capybara. These rodents are huge.

A photograph of Miss14 and a Capybara replica — Miss14 and a Capybara replica

A photograph of Ms20 and a Capybara replica — Ms20 and a Capybara replica

Miss14, Ms18 and Ms20 with tree giant pandas

A photograph of us saying Farewell Ocean Park Hong Kong — Farewell Ocean Park Hong Kong

It was an enjoyable day at Ocean Park save for the lunch episode at the Terrace Cafe.

After we left we went to Times Square in Causeway Bay and enjoyed dinner, albeit an expensive dinner at Greenhouse.

I had Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon.

A photograph of a plate of Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon from Greenhouse — Singapore noodles with lobster and bacon

After such an expensive main course we went to McDonalds for dessert

A photograph of a McDonalds Strawberry Sundae — Strawberry Sundae

And so ended Saturday in Hong Kong. It was a good one.

Have you ever been to Ocean Park Hong Kong?

New Year’s Day 2016 in Hong Kong

Posted 2016-01-08 by Gary

After a late evening out watching the new year’s eve festivities we slept in a little on new years day. We didn’t get back to the Cosmopolitan Hotel until about 1.30 am and we weren’t ready for bed and sleep until about 2 am. Of course I was awake at 6 am because I don’t really sleep in but the girls were out until about 8 am.

We took our time about getting breakfast. When I got there I was hungry so I went with the abominable breakfast, i.e., scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum. Have you ever had such a combination? I say fusion cuisine and my daughters said, “That’s disgusting Dad!”

This is my new years day breakfast

This is a photograph of The abominable new years day breakfast with scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum — The abominable breakfast with scrambled eggs and baked beans on toast covered in condensed milk and served with a croissant, jam and butter along with dim sum

After breakfast we went on a bus to a local temple to take a look. The Man Ho Temple is an historic building and monument in Hong Kong.

After looking around the temple we climbed the stairs of Ladder Street to the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences.

Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences closed on new years day — Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences

Unfortunately the museum was closed on New Year’s Day.

We discussed our options and the girls want to travel to Lantau Island to visit the Citygate Outlets shops. These are discount outlet shops near the airport and apparently travellers will check in to the flight and then catch a bus there for last minute bargains.

The girls found this place to be ideal for their needs.

I found the black sesame and vanilla soft serve ice cream at the local McDonalds to be delicious. A lovely new years day treat.

Black sesame and vanilla soft serve from McDonalds. New years day treat. — Black sesame and vanilla soft serve from McDonalds

After phase one of shopping we went to Food Republic for lunch and had yum cha.

After lunch we found a grocery store called Taste. This place was awesome.

After an afternoon of shopping we went to Causeway Bay MTR and walked to Time Square and found a place for dinner, viz., Chungs Kitchen.

Apparently when it was Chungs Cuisine it was a pretty good place. We had mixed feelings. The food was good but the service was not so good. The food was served one dish at a time rather than all together and it took nearly 45 minutes from the first to the last dish. That said, this was my first goose and the beans were the best I’ve ever eaten. I also love wood fungus. This wasn’t as good as Mum’s but it took me back.

Mixed vegetables with beans and wood fungus. These beans were so crispy.

Pan fried rice vermicelli noodles with scallops. I love wood fungus.

Taiyaki with brown sugar and green tea custard. A great new years day dessert.

Yep we visited Victoria's Secret so many times I became mayor — Yep we visited Victoria’s Secret so many times I became mayor

Miss14 with her Victoria's Secret bags in Victoria's Secret bags — Miss14 with her Victoria’s Secret bags in Victoria’s Secret bags

When we got back to the hotel the girls put all the purchases to date on a bed. It was a huge haul. I remain surprised they fit everything in their bags to bring back to Brisbane.

How did you spend New Year’s Day?

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Helsinki, Finland

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Our last and best meal in Hong Kong and the flight home

If you’ve been to Hong Kong what was your best meal in Hong Kong?

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Big Buddha Hong Kong

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Ocean Park Hong Kong

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New Year’s Day 2016 in Hong Kong

This is my new years day breakfast

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