agirlnamedclara christmas finland lappi restaurant reindeer rustic design
Travel

Sorry Santa, I Ate Your Reindeer at Lappi Restaurant, Finland Before Christmas

Approaching the end of the year, the weather in Malaysia is hot and cold. Well, often cold as I’m sitting in the office with AC most of the time!

As I walked passed by in Pasar Seni Kuala Lumpur a few days ago, I could see Christmas decorations in some of the shops. Oh, it’s almost that time of the year again!

The cold weather and festive season remind me of my one-day experience in Helsinki, Finland, back in 2017.

It was my first time in Finland and first-and-last experience trying reindeer meat at the famous Lappi Restaurant.

Sorry Santa, I ate your reindeer at Lappi, Finland, before Christmas and I hope back then you had enough reindeer to deliver the Christmas gifts 😛

Lappi Ravintola – The Best Restaurant for Reindeer Meat in Helsinki, Finland

lappi restaurant ravintola reindeer finland chirstmas menu agirlnamedclara

I’m not a fan of red meat but after flying all the way to the Northern part of Europe, especially Finland, I knew that I had to try reindeer meat.

Lappi Ravintola or Lappi Restaurant is highly rated by travellers and locals for their special dish – the reindeer meat.

What I love about joining an overseas tour group is I have plenty of me-time to wander the city alone.

So, by the time we finished the short city orientation, I relied on my conventional, paper map to track the location of Lappi Restaurant. Thankfully, the locals were friendly to me whenever I asked for directions 🙂

So, here’s the photo of my 23 Euro reindeer dish:

reindeer meat lappi restaurant finland christmas mashed potato lingonberry agirlnamedclara
Sauteed reindeer served on a bed of mashed potatoes and lingonberries

Apparently, reindeer meat exudes quite a strong fragrance, something which I do not prefer for my meat dish.

Moreover, whenever I took a bite of the dish, it reminds me of eating Rudolph the cute, red nose reindeer… Aaaw, sorry Rudolph and Santa 🙁

The dish was absolutely out of my meal budget, but at least I’ve tried reindeer meat! (while imagining myself spending Christmas in Finland)

Also read: “Romeo, Juliet & the Most Opportunist City”
Also read: “Chinatown 2.0: Lorong Panggung Amps Up the KL Destination”
Also read: “These are the Two Most Important Lessons Traveling Teaches Me”

Christmas Mood & Beautiful Finnish Interior Design at Lappi Restaurant

girl solo travel pink wool jacket sitting scandinavian interior rustic finland agirlnamedclara

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the rustic, hygge-inspired design of Lappi Restaurant, Finland!

I fell in love with the interior design and forced myself to wait until I finished my meal to start snapping photos.

Sounds exaggerating?

Well, take a look at some of these photos and see if they could intrigue your Christmas imagination…

agirlnamedclara lappi ravintola restaurant christmas hygge reindeer meat finland helsinki wood interior
agirlnamedclara lappi ravintola restaurant hygge dining room wood rustic design finland
agirlnamedclara lappi ravintola restaurant hygge dining room wood rustic design finland
agirlnamedclara lappi ravintola restaurant hygge artistic toilet hygee scandinavian
Even the toilet is so artistic!

It was super cozy there, complete with wooden furniture and pillows. I could imagine myself sitting beside the window, holding a mug of chocolate milk + marshmallow and watching the snow falls on Christmas day.

rainy day finland helsinki rustic design agirlnamedclara
agirlnamedclara finland woman traditional dress clothes smiling lappi restaurant
agirlnamedclara reindeer meat dish lappi restaurant solo female traveler dining room finland

Oh, I miss Finland!
I wish I could be there for Christmas and ride on a sleigh
pulled by Santa’s reindeer… maybe, one day 🙂

Lappi Ravintola
Phone: +358 964 5550
Website: lappires.com/en/

Address: Annankatu 22, 00100 Helsinki, Finland

2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *