Café Tampopo — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

I really love bread, that’s why I came here to try shokupan toast. It’s not easy to find good shokupan toast in Helsinki, but unfortunately, Tampopo also let me down :(

First, the toast is a bit dry and not that soft. (and one side has cream soaked into it and got wet and sticky, thicker toast cut would probably prevent this problem). Good shokupan toast has high hydration. One point is that flour from Finland has a high water absorption capacity. If you use a regular recipe, the bread probably won’t taste the same because of the flour’s difference.

Second, after going through the pictures on Tampopo’s IG, I found that the color of the toast indicates the baking temperature might be too high for shokupan toast. plus you actually don’t need to brush butter or eggs on the dough if you use a lid :)

And when the sando was served to me, I could see the crumb of the toast was not ideal — it was a bit open. I guess since it’s summer, during bulk fermentation it’s important to pay attention to the dough temperature.

The essential part of a sando is the toast, so a better quality toast would be expected.

The staff are friendly, the environment is nice, and the fruits are fresh.

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I just want to clarify this in case I visit again. Is shokupan only used for non-vegan sandos? And is the fruit sando vegan or not? I got a bit confused because when I asked at the counter, I was told that the fruit sando is not lactose-free. If it’s vegan, how can it contain lactose? But if it’s not vegan, then why was I told to try the non-vegan sando to taste the shokupan? I don’t mean to question your recipes or trademark, I just really hope the bread for the fruit sando is freshly baked also, not...

Very friendly staff, although I must say it's always a bit uncomfortable with non Japanese people adopting Japanese mannerisms, even if they are subtle. That said, very capable and friendly staff.

The sandwiches were a bit disappointing. While eating, they were pretty tasty, but nothing particularly special in the end. I suspect they use a tad too much msg, as I could feel it in my mouth for the rest of the day and the day after still. As someone who has made the mistake of using too much msg when cooking myself several times, I recognize the effect all too well. The sandwiches were nice otherwise, but also a bit on the expensive side for what you get. I cannot in good conscience recommend their filter coffee.

The Cafe itself is rather small, but the space is well used, and during the summer period there are even...

Tasty food and coffee made with care in a small, atmospheric place. There is a menu online but it was slightly different on the day I went, so the offerings might change from time to time. And the staff will gladly help you choose from the selection. Good for a quick lunch as well, and if it weren't monday lunchtime when I went, I would've been interested in the selection of Japanese alcohol drinks as well.

The service is quite atypical for Helsinki, especially as I was expecting a quiet, reserved Japanese style experience 😁 But I had a fun time listening to people's interactions...