A deep-fried wheat pastry stuffed with minced meat and rice, dressed at the kiosk with mustard, ketchup and sometimes a sausage and fried egg. Finland's classic late-night fuel.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
The lihapiirakka, a fried dough pocket of minced meat and rice, is Finnish grill-kiosk and bakery food at its most established. Eromanga near Kasarmitori has fried it to a secret recipe since 1946, and the loaded version with sausage and egg, the vesisemmu, is a Helsinki institution for late nights and quick lunches alike.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg
Tip from the editors. Seal the edges firmly and keep the oil at 180C so the dough cooks through before the crust burns.
Eromanga is an old-school bakery-cafe near Kasarmitori in Helsinki; the lihapiirakka meat pie has been made to a secret 1946 recipe, weekday daytime only.
Why locals love it: An old-school bakery-cafe near Kasarmitori whose lihapiirakka meat pie has been made to a secret 1946 recipe, a pre-war Helsinki ritual hiding in plain sight.
Tip: Order the meat pie with sausage and a fried egg. Weekday daytime only; it is a working bakery, not a destination room.
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