Living in Lahti & thinking of starting a Chinese restaurant

[Hee]

Hello,

I have been to the Chinese restaurants in Lahti and Helsinki, but they all make me a bit disappointed. Everyone knows that Chinese food is very very delicious, what a pity, the Chinese food I ate in Finland seems all are not REAL Chinese food, and the types are so limited
regards,

Li Li

Outside of one of two places in Helsinki the majority of Chinese restaurants in Finland (from my experience) are of the cliched stir-fry + sauce variety. All watered down to remove any exotic flavours. Although there are many different styles of Chinese food depending on the province and area, I agree that the majority do not serve "real" Chinese food. I was quite heart-broken when I first realised this back in early 2000.

[aniorek]

Dong Bei Hu looks promising....... especially if the "Chinglish" descriptions of the dishes on the website are anything to go by

Yep, I have never been there but my Chinese workmate recommended this place very much. She said a lot of Chinese people go there to eat, too.

[jessesuomi]

Its is in some ways a bit sad how the Finnish palate is. And you would think that with all of the travelling that Finns do they would be more into wanting something quality and real. OMG... is it a changing culture?!
I find the hard part being that you cant really suggest new things to the Finnish cooks without most of them thinking you are being arrogant and talking crap about Finnish foods and cooks. I had one guy actually try to yell at me about how I was cooking a piece of fish... some guy about 3 years out of cooking school. I was doing it differently than he was shown at school. That seems to be a reoccuring theme here with Finnish cooks. The stuff they are taught... But being the good tourist, I just shut up and hope my mentors never catch word of where I am!

[easily-lost]

Well i have been here 6 months or so from England and i love my chinese food, but even the so-called best chinese restaurant in Tampere is very poor in my opinion.

How about Lotus Garden near the railway station? It's not that bad if you know what to order.

In Helsinki, I think New Bamboo Center is not a bad choice...again, if you know what to order. (Usually, meat cooked with vegetables dishes taste pretty similar to what they're like in restaurants in China, but the "westernized" ones are horrible, in my opinion.) Well, what more do we expect from restaurants?! They can never compete with home-made dishes!

Anyway, good luck with the restaurant in the future!

[Salopian]

I had one guy actually try to yell at me about how I was cooking a piece of fish... some guy about 3 years out of cooking school. I was doing it differently than he was shown at school. That seems to be a reoccuring theme here with Finnish cooks.

Haha.
I can imagine that this is the case in many places around the world. In China, if you don't want MSG, then the cook can get confused. "What? Why not? Then how do I cook...?" They've been trained to do something one way, and so some goddamned honky telling them otherwise is a bit bizarre.

[Rosamunda]

but then "intellegently" deduced that it was because they were afraid of trying something that sounded non-Finnish.

hmmm not sure about that.... from what my kids tell me they don't get the choice : "try / don't try" - they are supposed to finish what is on their plates. Not negotiable. And I'm not sure the kids even know what's on the menu in advance. They just queue up with a plate, collect the food, sit down, eat. It could be squirrel soup for all they know!!!

Lili,
As for opening a restaurant in Lahti... I went on a Business Start-up Seminar in Lahti about two years ago. It was all in English and free (organised by Lahti municipality, they used a private consultant though). Several people on the course were already in the process of starting up their own restaurants. I remember a Greek guy who was almost up and running, he had done all the preparation (equipment, finding suppliers for the ingredients he needed, staff etc) and was just looking for the right place to rent. He is probably in business by now...

I think your best idea is to make an appointment at the T&E centre in Lahti http://www.te-keskus.fi/hame Rauhankatu 10, Lahti they will tell you what courses are available and may also provide some networking possibilities (eg gatherings with other entrepreneurs).

You will have to take the Food Hygiene certificate, but you can do this in English (check at the T&E).

It might be an idea to get a job in a restaurant for a few months, or go on some cookery courses (eg evening classes) just to get your Finnish activiated and get to know some people in the trade.

PS The worst chinese food I ever had was in Taiwan, in a factory where I was working - three months of boiled fish (press button A) or boiled chicken (press button B). Both looked like dishwater. Bad The food in the hotel wasn't much better, but that was a long time ago!

[jessesuomi]

Chefs as artists....blech...
These days alot of people seem to take it with dreams of grandeur and fame or they really dont have any other options. And heaven forbid someone yelling a bit at the young cooks to light a fire under there ass to get back in the kitchen while they are on their 10th coffee/cigarette break for the day.
Oh well. Doesnt hold me back.

[rinso]

Most chefs work in the lunch restaurants. (Kuopio about 30 Lunch r vs 10 a la carte)
Therefore schools concentrate more on the everyday Finnish (bland) food.
And often the students (16 -17 years) are confronted with dominant teachers who tell them "this is the way to do it, and that is wrong". And later employers want them to please the Finnish customers and not to try exotic experiments.
Result the cooks stick to a very narrow pallet.
Off course there are exceptions. There are excellent Finnish cooks.

[jessesuomi]

Well, still it should come down to the bare basics. Finnish food does not have to be bland or not very well executed. The top restaurants in Finland are hardly Finnish in concept. Also nowhere have I seen as a whole such dirty kitchens just thrown together. Sometimes I just dont know really what has happened. I just had a co worker complain because he felt he deserved a place on the Boucuse D'Or team, yet his uncleanliness is such a huge factor. And yet.... he is a "rising star" chef here.
Where is Mr Ramsay when you need him?!

[rinso]

Finnish food does not have to be bland or not very well executed.

Unfortunately, that's the traditional Finnish way. Here in the countryside, if food isn't overcooked, they consider it raw. And when you use to much (= normal amounts) spices and herbs, it becomes exotic and uneatable.

[sinikala]

Not that it really helps ... but I had a rather excellent Chinese meal on Sunday at .... http://www.shangri-larestaurant.co.uk/

Unfortunately for you lot, it was in Liverpool, but if you are ever in that part of England, you're in for a treat.