Did anyone actually think you’d get through this massive Porvoo saga without this post?
Back to my favourite cafe in Porvoo, Helmi (meaning ‘pearl’ in Finnish) cafe!
Have I ever bragged about the cake counter before? I know it’s not all vegan but… just look at those colours and textures!
The tea was served in these lovely cups (notice the star and crescent moon shapes in the tea strainer). And on the left you can see an actual, real, heavy-duty meringue.
Vegetarian spinach-olive-pie above.
Needless-to-even-say-how-rich slice of chocolate cake with a cuppa.
Even though the day of this visit was a bit on the cloudy and rainy side, the temperature was still high enough to enjoy the last moments of summer breeze in the garden of the cafe.
This time I want to give you a glimpse of the well-known hipster area of Helsinki called Kallio (meaning ‘rock’ as in the solid ground in the context of geology). Above you can see the tall landmark which is the church of Kallio behind Karhupuisto (the bear park, named after the bear statue I didn’t get a shot of unfortunately).
A view from ‘Piritori‘ (direct translation is ‘the park of speed’ – but don’t let it scare you) next to the Sörnäinen/Sörnäs metro entrance.
For a tourist, I’d definitely recommend taking the metro and exiting in ‘Sörnäinen/Sörnäs‘ and walking towards the Kallio area located between Hämeentie and Helsinginkatu (use your phones or ask anyone).
The pictures below are taken from Vaasankatu which is right next to Helsinginkatu near the ‘Sörnäinen/Sörnäs’ metro entrance.
Veggie junk food restaurant ‘Soi Soi‘ is actually one of the places where I used to hang out with my boyfriend-at-the-time years ago. The food can be delicious (if they get your order right), but this time I had another place close by that I wanted to try out.
I’ve been walking past Just Vege for the longest time without actually checking it out (though I’ve seen many satisfied faces inside) – but now I had even planned it out…
The interiors are pretty small (like basically in every restaurant in the Kallio area) but they do also take-out meals. Especially during the lunch times the place can be packed but it shouldn’t be impossible to get your order through with an app or a phone call.
There’s also a lot of vegan and gluten-free options (for example the falafel!) for those of us with allergies or digestive issues. If you know what I mean.
The red sauces though!
Finally moving on to the actual food part of this post: just out of curiosity I had to have the meze platter. The majority of the components, like the falafel, hummus, salsas and bread, I absolutely adored and the other ones were okay. I mean, in general, everything was absolutely delicious, but when it comes to eating out, I kinda expect the food to taste fancier than the stuff I can prepare at home. Nevertheless, the meze platter is a healthy and tasty option for eating out!
The fries and the dip were SO GOOD.
My friend had the veggie halloumi burger though he wasn’t able to finish it due to the actual meat-likeness of the soy patty! I tasted it myself too, just to confirm you guys that if you’re up for the meaty flavour and texture (without harming the animals or the environment), this one is definitely for you! Overall everything was really tasty, there’s no doubt about it. But if you’re one of us old-school vegetarians who actually still prefer vegetables over fake meats, I’d recommend trying something else inside your hamburger bun. And they do have a lot of options for that as well.
I hope you all have a wonderful day (or night, depending)! Be sure to stay tuned for my upcoming posts since I have a ton of new stories and picks of my favourite town, Porvoo…
Okay, it’s unfortunately time for all of us to admit that the October’s Halloween season is over and it’s time to start looking forward to the nightmare before the Christmas holidays. Or do you guys already have your star shaped bracelets and jumpers ready for the New Year’s Eve like I do?
Luckily there’s always memories to recall and inspiration (especially in the form of pictures) to share!
Caramel-flavoured pie with pecans and buckthorn berry panna cotta.
On Halloween Friday 2018 me with a friend of mine went to a small local confectionery in Lohja, Finland, called Pink Lemon.
Rye bread with faux-fish topping and cucumber club sandwich.
They offered a Halloween themed evening tea menu with cakes, pastries and club sandwiches. Vegan and gluten-free options were also available though the owner told us that actually approximately half of the menu was vegan for everyone anyway!
Vegan marshmallow and macaron.
If you’re living in Southern Finland and looking for a place where to order gluten-free/raw/vegan cakes, I’d definitely recommend Pink Lemon! My English-speaking readers can check their Instagram page filled with the most spectacular creations I’ve ever been able to see in person!
I am ending this post with a pic of the witchiest chocolate cake and a promise of more content coming up soon…
I’m kinda considering the possibility of starting a new ‘series’ on this blog; called Treasures of Lark Lane! since I will do loads of posts about this bohemian street located in Liverpool, UK.
One of my favourite places for tea is Milo Lounge cafe bar right at the end of Lark Lane, near one corner of Sefton Park.
After I confessed my love for the unique tables, my companion told me that originally they used to be the floor of a sports hall in a local school. Talking about recycling!
All in all, Milo Lounge has really interesting interiors, lovely atmosphere – which is probably the main reason that the place can be absolutely full during the busiest hours.
What I love the most, is that they have a different menu for vegans and a lot of veggie options as well! In a world where getting even the basic soy milk for your latte can be a challenge sometimes, I find it almost a luxury treatment.
Milo Lounge even has a small outdoor terrace area which I didn’t know up until now! It is also a dog-friendly place; hence I can’t wait to be able to take my own furry friend to have a cup of tea (or cold water) with me…
Next on the ‘Lark Lane series’ – Gasp Vintage coming up tomorrow!
Today I happened to flaneur around the village of Woolton in Liverpool.
After visiting a couple of charity shops, I decided that it’s about time to visit one of my favourite cafes in UK.
The Old Hardware Shop has served a vegetarian menu since 2014 – and lately gone completely vegan!
Notice the cockerel shakers.
The place is painted dark blue with cute animal-themed decorative items on the tables and on the walls. Also, each table has different kind of salt and pepper shakers.
Unicorn and rainbow shakers.
The Old Hardware Shop isn’t just a place for the cool kids to hang around after high school; each time I’ve visited the place, it has been full of happy customers from all ages and walks of life. I personally find particularly cute that many seniors seem to have found the cosy and affordable cafe as well as the younger veggie enthusiasts.
Little doggie shakers here.
As a somewhat fish-fanatic I had to try the faux tuna toastie with melted vegan cheese inside. Since we arrived about an hour before the closing time, they unfortunately had run out of coleslaw (millennial tragedy right there…) but I got a serving of crisps instead. How very British indeed!
My friend had a chilli hot dog with vegan mayo and kidney beans. The waiter was kind enough to ask if everything was alright and if we wanted to have a glass of water with it. Luckily it wasn’t too hot, even for me!
Finished the meal with two (soy-based) milkshakes – banana on the left and chocolate peanut butter one on the right.
I know what you must be thinking – ew, it’s all vegan…
Mysterious Yellow 