Chinese restaurant's harsh start: "Dog is so expensive in Finland" '
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The number of Chinese restaurants in Finland increased at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. Jin Wei Guo, a Chinese woman who moved from Beijing to Finland, opened a restaurant in the middle of a recession. He came up with explanations for customers who thought the dog and rat were frying in the kitchen.
The Chinese Jin Wei Guo opened his restaurant in Hämeenlinna in 1991. It was only the second Chinese restaurant in the city.
- Finnish food was foreign to me and I missed Chinese food. So I thought I'd start my restaurant. I already knew a professional chef.
The beginning was quiet as Finland was hit by a recession. Little by little, people started to visit the Dragon Restaurant and were encouraged to try an exotic-looking menu.
Even the Häme people had heard somewhere that everything was eaten in China. So they asked Mrs. Guo if she had a cat or dog in her restaurant and had to eat at the chopsticks.
- Dog meat is expensive here. We only sell pork, cattle, and chicken, Jin Wei Guo joked with customers.
Eating with chopsticks was another thing strange for Finns at a Chinese restaurant. Many tried but failed because "the eating then took too long." Some tenacious learners are encouraged by the skill of the restaurant mistress.
The Chinese appreciate Finnish graffiti
Even Finnish food is already good for Mrs. Guole.
-I like Karelian roast, new potatoes, smoked salmon and graffiti and whitefish. We also make mushrooms and make mushroom salad straight from the forest, Jin Wei Guo lists his delicacies.
The restaurant entrepreneur has now lived in Finland for 23 years. He has also learned Finnish customs.
- I like to live in Finland. It's nice to visit China at home, but I want to live here.
Slow Häme is catching on
According to Chinese friends, Guo is now slower than the Chinese in general.
- So I tell them that I live in Häme and we are slow, Guo laughs.
If Guo came to Finland now, he would have a much better chance of studying than a couple of decades ago.
- If I came to Finland now, I'd first like to study a profession, maybe something else. I would like to study business and business.
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