1H+K – Vaasa (Finland)

Once in a while you stumble upon the perfect little restaurant that has it all: great food, ambience and service. 1H+K is that place, although it happens to be in Vaasa, Finland so I’m not able to pop in nearly as often as I’d like. However, I did make the most of my short stay and enjoyed dinner at 1H+K twice.

1hk-stairs

1hk-pentik

1H+K stands for one (1) room (huone) + kitchen (keittiö) and that’s exactly what it is, although there is a private dining room available (they call it a cabinet). The restaurant (ravintola) is tucked away on the first floor above the Pentik shop but it isn’t part of the store. It’s completely independent and is accessed through the main entrance with its own staircase. However, you can spot the restaurant from inside the shop.

1hk-inside-view-pentik

1hk-view-from-pentik

Its relatively hidden premises is part of the charm. It’s like discovering a secret location for those “in the know”. It certainly feels as though it’s the type of place only locals know about, as there is no English version of their website. Fortunately, I was able to find their main menu on their Facebook page that included the English translation. The dishes feature local produce and seasonal cooking, which means that the menu changes a few times a year and remains small (as it should be) with 4 or 5 items per course.

1hk-interior

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Hot Chip Official Launch in Cambridgeshire at Burwash Manor – Barton, Cambridge (UK)

Hot Chip was founded by Hugh Crossley (Lord Somerleyton) and Toby Marchant. Their combined business acumen and restaurant expertise led to the creation Hot Chip, purveyors of gourmet chips matched with intriguing sauces and toppings. Some of their combinations with the humble chip taking centre stage don’t readily spring to mind, but they work!

Collage Hot Chip

Hot Chip had a presence in Norwich for two years and built quite a following at their shop. In order to bring their delicious chips to a greater number of customers, they decided to embrace street food and go mobile… and so the eye-catching Hot Chip Land Rover was born.

Hot Chip Land Rover

Hot Chip plates

They have already started taking East Anglia and London by storm but held their official launch in Cambridgeshire on 16 October at Burwash Manor. The fabulous launch was organised by Vhari Russell and Emma Bearpark of The Food Marketing Expert.

Vhari Russell

Lord Somerleyton

I was delighted to be invited to Hot Chip’s launch to sample some of their original menu items. Firstly, I was impressed by the chips themselves. Hot Chip definitely have the foundation right. It’s not a matter of heaping sauces and toppings to disguise an inferior chip. In fact, the chip is the focus and the other ingredients serve to enhance the dish.

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