Cafe Esplanad [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Cafe Esplanad
Address: Esplanadi 37, Helsinki
Website: http://www.esplanad.fi/
Style: Finnish
Price: $$$$

To tell you the truth, I had popped into Cafe Esplanad on my first trip to Finland, three years ago. It was pre-Cake Tour days, but I was still lured in by that 'bakery' part and the crowds of people rushing in and out of this place. Seeing the prices and the somewhat erratic service, I stepped out just as quickly and continued on my way. ._. I returned solely based on the blurb in Lonely Planet about this place making the best cinnamon buns ever. Being a huge fan of Scandinavian cinnamon buns (and Finnish with their cardamom-infused dough probably reigns supreme ;)), I could *not* resist. So I returned. The same madness was back and even before you step inside, people are rushing past you. Once you're in the line for the takeaway food (basically only the baked goods), it's not much better. I think I stood there between five to ten minutes before being served (there were two people in front of me :/). Only select items are priced (mostly cakes) and some are written out on a chalkboard on the wall; either way, I found the prices expensive, almost downright ridiculous. At the very least, they should do as the Parisians do and charge different prices for eating there/away if you're paying for the cafe's location.

Nonetheless, I did leave with the cinnamon bun (a whopping 3,70 euro), a pretty huge, not very fresh bun rolled with not enough cinnamon and topped with the typical sprinkling of rock sugar. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what Lonely Planet saw in it, especially since they're usually more budget-oriented. Yes, it was good, but that's simply because I don't think Finnish cinnamon buns can ever be bad. ;) It was nothing special and, as a matter of fact, my fresh bun oozing with cinnamon I had at Stockmann during that same trip wowed me so much more than this one did, and for the price of one from Esplanad, I'd have 2.5! *shakes head in wonder* Perhaps this is one of these great places to see and be seen (as the hoards outside will attest), but it certainly isn't a place worth going to for just their baked goods. LP, you disappointed me! :(

Rating: **1/2

S Market [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: S Market
Address: Mannerheimintie 9, Helsinki (basement of Sokos department store)
Website: http://www.s-kanava.fi/
Style: Finnish, European
Price: $$-$$$

I haven't done a World Tour stop in awhile, so here's one ^^:

I really have no idea how I actually ended up with supermarket baking on two occasions during my short stay in Helsinki, but mostly due to coming late/stores closing early, this became one of the few baked good options for me. S-market is perhaps central Helsinki's biggest supermarket, though their bakery isn't so spectacular. Unlike Stockmann's awe-inspiring selection, S-Market seems to lay low on the excitement and instead serves bins full of more pan-European goods like danishes with several fillings; nothing, I could say, is very Finnish and, as such, you just don't get that pervading aroma of cardamom sweet bread as you do in bakeries (they must have cinnamon buns, though I was probably too late to witness it). Another problem is the cost; like Stockmann, buns are all by weight. Unlike Stockmann, the baked goods aren't anything thrilling and so you really get the impression you're not getting what you pay for. Case in point: there were a few dumped, priced bags next to the scale while I was there and a chocolate cupcake ended up costing nearly €3.00!?! That's crazy!

My purchase, a featherweight strawberry danish (€24.99/kg) with a whopping 1.5 strawberries on top, set me back €2.50 and I can't quite say it was worth it, but it was the only thing left at around 8pm. It's certainly not big, the strawberries are certainly on the skimpy side (though not sure if I'd be willing to pay more for a few extra on there), and it was mediocre at best. I really can't say I was impressed with the price/quality ratio there. :/

There is, however, another option: discount supermarket Alepa (owned by S-market -- in Helsinki, there's one in the wing of the train station and another in Forum shopping centre) also has a small bakery section with all their selection coming directly from S-market. There aren't so many sweets and the more fancy treats (obviously that chocolate cupcake) are saved for original stores, but you've got a few choices, they're priced per item, and are cheap! ;) An apple danish (€1.40) with dense, cardamom dough and a generous sprinkling of rock sugar ended up being yummy!

So, I guess it just depends; when there isn't time to go to a bakery, S-market is an option, though at the same time, I can't say it's an overwhelmingly good one, though in the evening you don't have much choice. Besides the somewhat ridiculous pricing, the baked goods aren't very delicious and Stockmann is just... better. :P

Rating: **

Stockmann [Mimi's World Tour]

 Bakery: Stockmann
Address: Aleksanterinkatu 52, Helsinki
Website: https://stockmann.com
Style: Finnish
Price: $$

Stockmann is without a doubt *the* Finnish department store and their head location on Aleksanterinkatu can't be missed. It's Scandinavia's biggest department store, after all (see what kind of useless trivia I can churn out ;D). But I'm not here to talk about the department store, since that doesn't concern me all that much. Instead, bypass all those designer goods and fragrance counters and head directly to the basement, where there's not only the Stockmann grocery store, but an impressive in-house bakery serving up dozens of mostly baked goods, though there are some pastries behind the glass too, if I'm not mistaken. However, I'm so into the baked goods that the rest doesn't matter to me. :P

Nonetheless, I think one of the minuses of Stockmann's bakery is that a majority of goods -- all self-serve products -- are sold by weight, including doughnuts, cinnamon buns, fruit danishes, etc. And everyone knows what that means: the chances of it being overpriced are very big. Thankfully, the scale is also self-serve, so if you don't like the price printed, you can just take your bag, discreetly deposit your item back into the bin and carry on. I didn't do that myself, but it's been done while I was on the premises. XD But yes, I did indeed, even after the weigh-in, end up with sweets purchases~!

On my first trip to Stockmann (and to Finland ^^) I ended up with this blueberry bun which had quite a bit of blueberry in it, though it was more jam-like than real fruit, which would have been better, and a lot of crumble on top. In my opinion, it certainly wasn't worth it, as anything with fruit is priced considerably higher than other baked goods.

The more recent time, I got myself a cinnamon bun (1,70 euro), both because I figured it would be cheaper (it was) and because I was curious how it would taste. This really didn't disappoint: super fresh, soft dough with just that perfect combination of buttery cinnamon filling, cardamom and rock sugar on top. Mmmm.... I had it as my uh, "lunch" right outside the department store and it was just so good. Nothing beats freshly made, Scandinavian cinnamon buns! *-* And this was without a doubt the best I had tasted in the land of the midnight sun, despite having followed my travel guidebook's advice to try it elsewhere (a future post), where it's apparently the best. Nope, Stockmann may be a bit of a ripoff with the prices (though they did have cinnamon buns which you could order yourself and which were sold per item, but were more expensive) and they wouldn't necessarily be considered first and foremost a culinary destination, but their bakery is still worth visiting... if for the sole reason that you can't afford anything else (anymore) in the iconic department store. ;DDD

Rating: ***

Cafe Ekberg [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Cafe Ekberg
Address: Bulevardi 9, Helsinki
Website: http://www.cafeekberg.fi/
Style: Finnish
Price: $-$$

World Tour 2012! I've got 14 locations in 3 countries to review this year and this is the first one!! ^__^ Actually, I went to Helsinki three years ago, but, not having started the cake tour yet in full force (Fazer was, of course, a must-visit), I was ashamed at the fact that I had really gone nowhere. Although I was only four days in my one of my two favourite places in the world (Finland and Iceland have quickly become my sweethearts; I'm in love with both of them XDDDD), I had to take advantage and just run out and get as much done as possible, cake-wise, though again, I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped. Still, it was thrilling. Especially since I love, LOVE Finnish baking!

Cafe Ekberg, a small distance away from the tourist-trodden centre, is, I believe, the oldest cafe in Helsinki. They have two parts to their Ekberg empire, the cafe serving coffee and lunches to the left and then the bakery/pastry shop where you can have things to take away. I went to the latter, and found it to actually be very well priced in comparison to city centre cafes (especially on the Esplanade -_-), but the emphasis in this old-fashioned (line up, even though it's two people, is done by numbers and the number board is *ancient*) place is on bigger purchases such as breads and full cakes... and everything looks amazing. They still have the staples like korvapustit (Finnish cinnamon buns), but as I had two other people travelling with me, at least for two days, my mom suggested we buy one of the more interesting bigger loaves which I wouldn't hope to try elsewhere.

Hence we settled for this gorgeous thing (and yes, the icing is pink ^^) which began with "mazariini"... I could have sworn it was 'kakku' or something, but nothing is giving me image results. -__- Nonetheless, it was lovely loaf (7,70 euro) which ended up being for way more than three people and pretty much a pulla (Finnish sweet bread flavoured with ground cardamom seeds) with icing and stuffed with almonds. It was so soft and moist (the crumbs are due to us not having a knife, not because it was dry XD) with that fairly generous layer of icing on top. Heavenly. *-* It only sucks that I didn't have the time to keep coming back here, though my horrible Finnish would get me remembered by everyone. ;P I actually think, as blasphemous as it sounds, that Ekberg's variety and level of uh, temptation, in terms of the sweets, exceeded that of the Fazer cafe.

What's the overall opinion? I don't think I can wait for my NEXT trip (no, nothing's planned) to Helsinki so I can go back to Ekberg, but I loved what I tasted (and saw) the first time around. Wow. *-*

Rating: ****

Fazer [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Fazer
Address: Kluuvikatu 3, Helsinki
Website: http://www.fazer.fi
Style: Finnish, European
Price: $$$

I really am a little ashamed to say so, but as soon as I'd heard that Finnish chocolate brand Fazer (they also make candies and crisp bread which are exported around the world; it may take a bit of effort to find it) had a cafe that I could visit, I was swayed even more so to visit Helsinki. Okay, okay, it wasn't like that, but let's just say that once I had my trip to Finland planned out, I could NOT wait to visit this huge place in downtown Helsinki dedicated to chocolate and everything else delicious. ;D

Nevertheless, I ended up at the Fazer cafe for lunch and it was just... wow, a real experience. *___* I mean, it was really only half a cafe, as the other half was a store, but omg, it was well worth the visit. They had a whole variety of yummy baked goods, cakes, sweet rolls. Farther down there were sandwiches as well, but come on, this is me we're talking about. I am *not* coming here for a sandwich.

This may look weird as a pic, but the first time I ordered myself an apple cake (omenapiirakka), mainly because (at around 2,50 euro [I think]) it was the cheapest treat you could get except for the doughnuts, and it was served on the edge of a soup bowl filled with vanilla sauce. You pushed the cake with apples and cinnammon baked on top in slowly, so it soaked up a little bit of the sauce and just OMG! *swoons* It was amazingly good. In keeping with the Finnish "coffee party" idea, I ordered with that a cappucino (around 3,50 euro), because it was the cheapest coffee that wasn't black. :D It was served with a Fazer chocolate. This was quite honestly the most blissful moment I had in Finland... .___.;;

 Anyways, I could not keep away from this place for long and returned a second time; it also was my last evening here in Finland, so this was my going-away party. Seeing as I had a little more money to spend, I splurged a little this time around, though I found, oddly enough, the coffee to be more expensive than the cakes. Seeing as you could get cakes at around 3 euro, but coffee was easily 4+ seemed a little strange for me...

This time around, I got a cafe latte (over 4 euro, definitely) and a strawberry/pistachio cake (I pointed when ordering it, so I have no idea what it is XD) that was absolutely delicious!!! I don't remember the price, but I believe that it was somewhere between 3-4 euros. Nevertheless, the cake pretty much consisted of three layers: a strawberry mousse on top followed by a thin layer of jam and then a dense, almost soft biscotti-like cake with chunks of pistachio. Wow. I really don't know which I liked more: the apple cake or the strawberry one. This is a question I haven't been able to answer for over a year now. ;)

Fazer... is absolutely amazing! Yup, that's the verdict. I adore this place and when (no if's here!!!) I return during my tour of Scandinavia and Finland, you can guarantee I'll be getting back in line for something else flawlessly yummy! ^__^;;;

Rating: ****