Budai Gourmet Festival
Budai Gourmet Festival
The Budai Gourmet Festival in Budapest (Millenaris Park) is organized by Sziget.hu, the company organizing the Sziget Festival, Balaton Sound and the Volt Festival in Sopron as well. So it is ensured that this festival is professionally organized maybe even a bit too professional in my opinion. For the relativly high entrance fee of 2.900 HUF you are equipped with a wine glass and a payment card (based on NFC -Near Field Communication technology) in order to make your payments at the stands. This payment method seems to be very popular nowadays among festivals in Budapest, this was the case at the Pálinka Festival already, and the card will be valid for the Balaton Sound, Sziget Festival as well as the Volt Festival as well. OK, enough talk about the organizational issues, let’s jump into what the Budai Gourmet Festival has to offer in terms of Gourmet.
Pörkölt
The Pörkölt is what most Europeans title as Goulash whereas the Gulash in Hungary is the Goulash soup. Pörkölt is rather a stew with a think sauce and only meat pieces inside. The Goulash Soup is very liquid and next too meat you have vegetables such as potatoes or carrots. So if you come to Hungary and want the Goulash that you know you should order a Pörkölt which you get in nearly every Hungarian Restaurant. Pörkölt is so popular that you even find festivals all over Hungary where Hungarians meet for challenging themselves in who makes the best Pörkölt, with loads of Pálinka aside and a big celebration of the winners at the end. I recommend you if you have the chance to go to such a festival, please do so. Here you will see the real Hungarian tradition and culture.
Pörkölt Recipe
Ingredients for your Pörkölt
- Beef meat
- Onions
- Paprika powder, pepper, salt
- Some water
How to do your Pörkölt
In a large pot or in the Cauldron above the open fire you need to fry the finely chopped onions. Add the meat and stir it around, once fried add the paprika powder and the salt and add a bit of water, than basically you just need to let it boil until the meat is tender. One tipp, when you add the paprika powder, leave it on top for few minutes and do not stir it in immediately. If the powder gets fried it will not add the nice red color to your Pörkölt, if you leave it on the meat for a while the juice will turn nice and red, than stir it around.
Pörkölt is usually served with potatoes but you can eat it with pasta or even rice as well. Very well next to it goes the so called “Savanyúság” which are pickeled vegetables like cucumber, cabbage or spicy peppers. Enjoy your meal.
Lángos
Lángos
Lángos is probably one of the traditional Hungarian food that you immediately connect with Hungary, just like the Goulash Soup or Paprika. There is no festival or event without a booth serving you fresh fried Lángos in all its different ways. Lángos is a deep fried dough topped with different things such as tejföl (Sour Cream), cheese and garlic sauce. Sounds all a bit wierd but in the end its a kind of bread with sauce on top. I have eaten many of those Lángos all over Hungary, on festivals or on Lake Balaton but I never thought about how it is made so just for this article I was reading different receipes and in the end it sounds fairly simple even though I wouldn’t like to make it at home because my kitchen will be a mess. Anyways, Lángos belongs to Hungary just like the Parliament or Pálinka.
Túró Rudi
Túró Rudi
Túró Rudi is Hungarian culture! There is no Hungarian who does not know Túró Rudi and probably almost nobody who doesn’t like it. It is without any doubt the most popular sweet in Hungary. So what is Túró Rudi? In few words, it is a chocolate bar stuffed with curd. On the image you can see it as an example. Túró Rudi is a 100% Hungarian product and thats probably what people love about it. Once the Hungarian Social Network IWIW has asked its users living abroad what they miss the most while not being in Hungary and Túró Rudi was the most voted because it is not available outside of Hungary. The producing company Pöttyös (only available in Hungarian) tried it some time ago to introduce Túró Rudi outside of Hungary under the name “dotted” but it didn’t work out.
The Tourist’s Guide to Hungarian Food
When it comes to Budapest river cruises, Viking River Cruises does it best and taking a cruise along the beautiful Danube is a wonderful way to see Hungary’s vibrant capital. Despite Hungary’s small size, this country has a distinct culture, beautiful landscapes and delicious food. When foreigners think of Hungarian cuisine, goulash and chicken paprika usually spring to mind. However, traditional Hungarian food doesn’t stop at these two tasty dishes.
Villa Bagatelle
Villa Bagatelle Budapest
Good bread is something I was missing in Budapest, until now. Villa Bagatelle in Budapest is a bakery, café and home decoration shop in one place. It settled in a big, beautiful villa in the 12th district in Budapest, that why it took the name of Villa Bagatelle. The building is from 1929 when an owner of a pharmacy built a villa in Németvölgyi út for him and his family. Over the years the house has changed owners sometimes and now it became a family business including a superb bakery, the coffee place and a home decoration shop in the top floor. Beautifully renovated and with a very nice garden around Villa Bagatelle invites guests to have a coffee on the balcony or in the wonderful decorated inside. Also the place is very children friendly, equipped with many children seats and a nice corner to play for children of all ages.
Pálinka
Pálinka
Pálinka is the traditional Hungarian shot which is similar to a fruit brandy most often made out of plums, pears, apricot or peaches but also very popular made from cherries, apples, raspberries or even mulberries and caraway. So you see that basically from everything you can make a Pálinka and in Hungary it is probably the most popular drink next to water.
Even though Pálinka is a really strong drink it is very popular also among young people or women who often drink it in a long drink for example pear Pálinka with apple juice which actually tastes quite nice. In almost every pup or club in Budapest you have a corner dedicated to Pálinka and producers nowadays are really fighting to be on spot in the nightlife in Budapest.
Bio Market Budapest
Bio Market Budapest
The Bio Market in Budapest is a weekly market only trading bio and organic products located on the parking place of the Budapest Congress Centrum (link to map). Every Saturday traders of bio and organic goods come together to sell their products. On the Bio Market in Budapest you can find anything from vegetables to clothes all biologically or organically produced. Most of the visitors you find there are young families having children to buy fresh vegetables, milk, bread, creams, fruits and much more for their children but also for themselves.
As stated on the picture the Bio Market is open from 6.30 till 13.00 every Saturday. Nearby you can find a park with a playground where most people are going to after or before shopping to play with their kids and spend the time after on the fresh air.
The Bio Market is a collection of little wood houses where the traders offer their goods and talk with the visitors. I think it is a good opportunity to buy fresh and local vegetables and fruits and not to buy all your grocery in the big shops like Tesco or Auchan even though it is a bit more expensive. Additionally you can find there interesting new products especially what they make there fresh. Another reason for me to go there is Mangold, the “spinach like” vegetable which you always get in Croatia next to your fish and potatoes. This is actually the only place in Budapest where I have seen Mangold.
So if you fancy bio and organic foods and drinks and want to spend a Saturday morning out in the nice weather than I recommend you to go there one day. I also wonder if there are other bio markets somewhere around the city so if you know one please let me know.
Bio Market Budapest
Goulash Soup
Gulash Soup
Goulash Soup, in Hungarian Gulyásleves, is THE number 1 food people all around the world connect with Hungary. Maybe only Paprika comes close to Goulash Soup but as we are talking here about ready foods that is definetly the one to go for. Goulash Soup is a soup made basically of beef and vegetables but there are variables in there which depend on the region or on the simply on the family receipt. One fills up the pot with wine, the others with water. Some add Nokedli (a kind of pasta) some leave it out. So there are many different varieties of the traditional Goulash Soup but on thing they have all in comon:
The original Goulash Soup is boiled in a so called Cauldron (in Hungarian Bogrács) which is a big bowl hanging directly above the fire. Of course you can just use it outdoors above the open fire but it gives the entire Soup a different flair. It is almost like a BBQ… you smell the meat, the fire is burning and slowly the food gets ready. By that time you had already some Pálinka and a couple of beers and you are ready to eat the soup with a piece of bread. These things you can experience in many public open air places around the city and also in the gardens in Budapest and on lake Balaton. There is nothing more social than having a good Goulash Soup with friends and family. But after talking so long I will give you a receipt of Goulash Soup as I know it (but remember, everybody makes it different) but I won’t give you exact amounts because I just do it by feeling.
