May 3, 2012 by yc

The Delightful Tamarin

Today is the interview with the former Minister of Education, Sari Sarkomaa, in the Parliament Building, the center of political power in Finland. With a window of one and a half hours, and the fact that anything can go wrong in a photo shoot, my nerves are a wreck before and during the occasion. Luckily we have two other professionals in our team, the make-up artist Laura Anderson and the hair stylist Taryn Baker, both of whom excel themselves every time in impossible settings.

Our team is exhausted after running in the underground corridors between the Little Parliament and the Parliament Building. Compared to the rest of us, baby Liam is cool as cucumber and doesn’t mind the stressful situation. It is his first visit to the Parliament Building, maybe he will choose the same career as his grandfather in Brazil and becomes a politician. Discouraged by our disastrous visit to the restaurant Dennis, I ask Taryn if she can recommend a restaurant for us. Taryn directs Daniela and me to the Thai restaurant Tamarin, which is one of her and her boss Tom Wennerstrand’s favourite places. And with the mention of Tom, I spot him entering the restaurant, and our merry group of three grows into four. Located in the shopping center Forum, the restaurant Tamarin has a late lunch campaign where you can order almost anything from the menu for the price of 10 EUR from 2 pm. to 6 pm. I order the red curry with tofu and Daniela chooses the beef with curry sauce. While waiting for the dishes, we chat about Tom’s new hair salon in the Noir Concept, the combination of a wine bar, a hair salon and a beauty salon. Tom reveals the fortunes and mishaps after embarking on the capricious journey of entrepreneurship. Tom and his team have been so busy that they haven’t had time to host an opening party, but Tom promises that the official launch will take place soon. Listening to Tom describing all the work behind the Noir Concept, I cannot but imagine him as a mountaineer climbing Mount Everest, taking strenuous steps to achieve his dream.

  Gaeng Panaeng – tofu cooked in red panaeng curry paste with coconut milk containing a mix of kaffir lime leaves, fresh basil leaves and string beans.

In less than 15 minutes, the waitress arrives with a bowl of heavenly-scented jasmine rice and serves a scoop of rice on each of our plates. The dish of red curry with tofu returns my faith in the Finnish restaurant industry –finally decent food that is eatable and well-prepared! The vegetables are fresh and the curry sauce is creamy, and the combination leaves a faint spiciness lingering in my mouth. The tofu is clearly prepared by Asian hands, I would recognize the puffy texture anywhere, and it is nothing like the sour and rubbery Finnish version of tofu you find in the supermarket. Daniela is gracious enough to let me try her dish. The beef is excellent, tender and tasty, and makes me a bit jealous of her choice.

Everyone helps themselves to seconds, and no wonder, we all have been working hard, and every bite of the delicious food is well-deserved. I listen drowsily to Taryn and Tom debate which Tamarin is the best. Apparently the one on Iso-Roobertinkatu is the winner. All good things must come to an end and we say goodbye to Tom and Taryn, who return back to the hair salon. Baby Liam is also content, especially when nice waitresses play a smiling game with him. Thank you, Tamarin, until we meet again! Pros Smiling waitresses Genuine service Excellent ingredients Great location   Follow RAWR in Facebook Follow RAWR in Pinterest