Game enough for a slice of roast reindeer?

Try it at Goodwood Park Hotel's European restaurant Gordon Grill this week.

Visiting Finnish guest chef Kim Palhus will serve new Finnish cuisine for lunch and dinner, which includes reindeer cooked in two styles.

At a recent tasting, Life! got to try Lapland reindeer meat, which is from the northern region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is very lean and only slightly gamey. Its texture is similar to venison.

It is accompanied by a liquorice sauce, made from candied liquorice and a red-wine glaze, which complements the game well - it takes away the gamey taste without much detriment to the meat's intense flavour.

But reindeer is not the only exotic game Finns are used to, says the 52-year- old chef who flew in from Helsinki, Finland, last Tuesday. 'We also cook moose, bear and deer,' he adds.

Whereas those game are usually hunted and consumed in autumn from August to October, reindeer is a spring game and is freshest from March till June. Reindeer tenderloin at ?58 (S$104) a kilogramme, for example, is about 21/2 times the price of beef tenderloin, chef Palhus says.

Aside from Lapland roast reindeer, other menu highlights of this Finnish promotion, which runs till Saturday, include a juniper-marinated reindeer tenderloin, cold smoked pike tartare and a modern take on traditional Karelian stew - Karelian steak, which includes medallions of beef, lamb and pork served with parsnip puree and deep-fried shredded carrot. Prices start at $58 for a four-course set lunch and $98 for a six-course set dinner.

Chef Palhus' new Finnish cuisine is a modern variation of traditional Finnish fare that includes cooking with techniques such as sous vide, the slow-cooking of vacuum-sealed ingredients in an even temperature hot-water bath, and a more elegant and artistic plating of food.

Finnish produce he brought with him include Finnish cheeses, rye crispbreads and all sorts of berries in various forms: fresh, dried, frozen and candied. Varieties include juniper berries, blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries and buckthorn berries.

Chef Palhus' credentials stem from cooking in the kitchens of Finnish embassies in Europe to heading the luxury Hotel Kamp and Strindberg Restaurant in Helsinki. He is currently the food and beverage development manager of Hanasaari, the Swedish-Finnish Culture Centre in

Espoo, Finland, west of Helsinki, where he oversees Scandinavian restaurant Johannes, as well as its events and banquets.

Married with three children, aged six to 33, he has not had time to try any local fare yet, but is bent on eating chilli crab again, just as he did 18 years ago during his first visit here. He says: 'I was warned that chilli crab would be spicy, but I went ahead and ate it. It was so, so hot and spicy, but it was enjoyable.'

The chef hopes to take some inspiration home with him and has promised a friend he will cook some Singapore dishes when he returns to Finland next week.

The well-travelled chef is often inspired by the food he eats while globetrotting. The deep-fried carrot served with the Karelian steak is an Asian touch, he says. He was inspired to match the crispy carrot strips with his modern Karelian stew after a trip to Shanghai. 'In Finland, we do not deep fry anything except French fries and cheese,' he adds.

The Karelian steak still maintains all the elements of the stew - the meats and vegetables - but instead of being cooked together, the ingredients are cooked separately and plated in a more artistic manner. Of the dish, chef Palhus says: 'It is a modern version of a traditional dish. In fine dining, a stew can seem very boring, but this version appeals to the eyes and is still as tasty.'

rltan@sph.com.sg

book it

NORTHERN STAR AT GORDON GRILL

Where: Gordon Grill, Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road
When: Till Saturday
Open: Daily, noon to 2.30pm, 7 to 10.30pm
Price: A four-course lunch menu costs $58 a person; six-course dinner menu costs $98 a person. A la carte dishes start from $18 each
Info: Call 6730-1744