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Oodi - Helsinki's latest architectural landmark

24th June 2025 The flair of Helsinki – architecture, saunas and food

After a few days in Helsinki, Europe’s northernmost capital, I decided this has to be...

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In A Nutshell

Fiona Dunlop is a seasoned travel and food-writer who has been ‘abroad’ for much of her life. She doesn’t count countries but aims to dig deep beneath the surface of the places she visits. Food has increasingly become her focus, without forgetting art, architecture and design. Andalucia (Spain) is her second home, but French her second language!

My Instagram feed

Tao of Glass @sohoplace - performance - humour - m

Tao of Glass @sohoplace - performance - humour - monologue - puppetry + mesmerising music (the seminal Glassworks + 10 new pieces by Philip Glass) - it's all in an evening fronted & directed by quirky Phelim McDermott. At times frustratingly obtuse but also dreamy, taking you through times of inspiration, through a coma &, possibly, towards death.
For me Glassworks transports me back to the early 1980s, driving through the South of France for research - with only one cassette in the car. And that was it! Forever a devotee of Glass
:
#philipglass #taoofglass #sohotheatre #phelimmcdermott #londontheatre

Sad to hear Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist who

Sad to hear Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist who pushed every boundary in paintings & installations, died recently aged 97. What an age for someone who lived voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital when not touring the world for exhibitions. An inimitable figure in her pink or orange wig & wide innocent / piercing eyes who created mesmerising worlds for us all. RIP
#yayoikusama

Weekend eats. Divine as ever @farangldn - high on

Weekend eats. Divine as ever @farangldn - high on spice & complex Thai flavours still coating your mouth as you reach home. And pic no. 3 sneaked in is Palestinian @hibaexpress, equally dependable though this time it was just a falafel salad
#bigflavours #thaibritish #farang #hiba #palestiniansalad

Finally turned on the oven last night to bake sea

Finally turned on the oven last night to bake sea bream but the main objective was to steam fresh samphire - brought by a kind friend from the Norfolk coast. It's the last week of the season - what a treat. Next up will be tagliatelle with samphire & anchovies based on an @ottolenghi recipe. Pure yum 😋
#seabream #samphire

The evolution of a homegrown green tomato, from pl

The evolution of a homegrown green tomato, from plant to salad via a cosying-up to redder versions. Then they morph!
#tomatoes #homegrown #tomatosalad #londonsummer

#slowsunset #hunstanton #norfolk

#slowsunset #hunstanton #norfolk

#Zurbaran #exhibition @nationalgallery - sumptuous

#Zurbaran #exhibition @nationalgallery - sumptuous robes

Last night's ingenious homage to Frida Kahlo by Me

Last night's ingenious homage to Frida Kahlo by Mexican chef @santiagolas of @kol.restaurant ... these pics show not the order of the menu @tatediningroom but my order of preference.

The sensational tricolour dessert, Viva la Vida, was inspired by Kahlo's last painting of watermelons, completed a week before she died - a totally delicious ice-cream of strawberry, chamomile & cucumber flavours. She would have approved.

Next comes the starter, La Casa Azul, named after her extraordinary house in Coyoacan which I visited years ago. This clever dish of heritage tomatoes loaded with chilli & tarragon crowned by a tostada is painted by the diner using a brush dipped in a deep blue salsa; squeeze a little lemon juice & hey presto the 'paint' morphs pink - alchemy! Amazing flavours, apart from the psychedelia.

Lastly - the main course, Frida's mole. This short rib tamale comes with complex mole poblano - her favourite & cornmeal. This version, though attractive, fell short of the others - too quickly demolished

Viva Frida! Viva la Revolución! (my book on innovative Mexican food in the early 2000s) Viva Mexico! 🇲🇽
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#homagetofridakahlo #vivalavida #santiagolastra #mexicancolours #tatemodernrestaurant

Hanging out in the heat : #cats #keepingcool #soot

Hanging out in the heat
:
#cats #keepingcool #sootyandsweep #gardenretreat #londonlife

Perfect lunch for heatwave Andalucia - salmorejo w

Perfect lunch for heatwave Andalucia - salmorejo with boiled egg, tomato & a river of olive oil
:
#salmorejo #chilledsoup #cordobaclassic #coollunch #andalucia

Forbidding skies when it's still 37C towards sunse

Forbidding skies when it's still 37C towards sunset - here on a (luckily) breezy terrace overlooking the lake @hotel_rest_caserio_de_iznajar. The perfect place
:
#heatwave #sunset #restaurantterrace #iznajar #andalucia

Just realised it's Father's Day - so here's the ma

Just realised it's Father's Day - so here's the man, Bonar Dunlop, in his Mad Men days as a top fashion illustrator. That pipe used to drive me mad as a kid but now I recognise the style. Love to you always & RIP pop
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#fathersday #bonardunlop #1960s #madmen

© Fiona Dunlop's slow track rambling(s)