A taste of Finland @ Gordon Grill

I jumped at the chance when a lovely friend of mine asked if I was interested in this special Finnish promo at Gordon Grill. He tried to further entice me by saying that I could expect to have reindeer meat in this meal. I initially thought it was a joke, until I found out he was dead serious about it.

So here I came, with no expectations at all as I haven't tried anything Finnish before, hence there's nothing for me to benchmark with.

We had the obvious choice: The 6-Course Degustation Dinner at S$98 per person.

The meal kicked off with a glass of lovely pear cider that was light and refreshing.

 Amuse bouche: Dried reindeer steak with red onion jam on a crisp cracker

Chewy, fibrous strips of smoky meat that were reminiscent of beef jerky or in chinese terms - bak kwa. Plenty delish when eaten together with the red onion jam and thin cracker.

 And also a selection of dark rye breads and crackers. Bread was chewy and rustic, but I'm no fan of it. The sandy rye crackers were fragrant and tasted like cornflakes, in a good way.

Juniper marinated reindeer tenderloin with wild mushroom salad, smoked vendace and buckthorn-carrot puree

The meat here was a little more thickly sliced than the amuse bouche, but was miles apart in terms of taste and texture. It was slimy and moist, but had gamy notes of lamb. Wild mushroom salad was yummy, even if it was a tad salty. Vendace was delish in every nibble. Taste-wise, it was like a cross between unagi and sardine, and was non-fishy. And that smoky aroma was simply intoxicating.

 Blini-style buckwheat brioche with salmon trout roe, beetroot-fresh cheese mousse and red onion jam
Cut into two tiny halves, l thought that the brioche looked cute. Served warm and moist, it tasted like a toasty, nutty, non-sweet version of a muffin. I enjoyed eating it together with the red onion jam, which was sweet and slightly tangy. The star of this dish would be the beetroot cheese mousse. Creamy, cheesy and insanely delicious. Beetroot gave it a tinge of sweetness and this yummy stuff was polished off easily. Salmon trout roe however, was so fishy that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it.

 Reindeer roast with liquorice sauce, potato pudding and sautéed cabbage roll

The thickness of the reindeer meat had increased in this dish, as did the intensity of the flavour. Though the gaminess of it tended to overwhelm at times, I still liked the full-bodied and richness of it. and I swore I could taste hints of foie gras. The liquorice sauce was lip-smackingly delicious and did much to enhance the flavour of the meat.

Potato pudding got me at a love-hate situation as I loved its soft, mushy texture but hated the taste of star anise in it. But when eaten with the dollop of lingonberry jam, this was mighty tasty. The tiny beads of barley had an nice chewy texture but was pretty tasteless and the cabbage roll was forgettable.

 Leaf celery sorbet

This was intriguing as neither of us had tasted anything like this before. The first taste had us stumped as it tasted exactly like celery, sharp and pungent. However, it was really addictive and it grew on us after a few more bites. The sugar-crusted celery leaf was way too sweet; it seemed like we were eating sugar crystals.

 Selection of Finnish cheeses with cloudberry jam and toasted oat bread

This was the dish that my dining partner had warned me about, and I was rather apprehensive about this course as I am not a fan of pungent and sharp-tasting cheeses. Surprise-of-the-day, I actually found the cheeses to be plenty toothsome!
Crumbly, salty, with a slight astringent taste, it was such a joy to eat. I especially loved the blue cheese for its sharp and slightly rancid flavour, which bonded beautifully with the delicious cloudberry jam and chewy rye bread.

I hereby pronounce myself as a cheese convert =)

Dessert Symphony – Lapland cottage cheese, milk chocolate mousse and cold blueberry soufflé

This is gorgeous. The best part was the blueberry souffle. Yummilicious, chilled blueberry compote oozed lazily from its dark chocolate shell and had me at wow. Milk chocolate mousse was a little too sweet and got a little cloying after few bites. Lapland cottage cheese was sadly bland and no amount of vanilla sauce could save it.

At the end of the meal, we were served yummy Finnish chocolates and offered the choice of coffee/tea which we both rejected as we did not want to end up awake all night =P

Conclusion: Exotic? Definitely. This was such a rare opportunity and I probably would never have the chance to sample Finnish cuisine again. It was a real eye and palate-opener for me. Simple ingredients used, but the effect produced from the combination was gorgeous. Kudos to Chef Kim Palhus; he made the Finnish and their cuisine proud.

Gordon Grill

22 Scotts Road

Goodwood Park Hotel

6730 1744

Daily: 12pm-2.30pm, 7pm-10.30pm