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.

Basically the festival is built up on 3 types of stands: Wine and Pálinka producers, gourmet stores and resturants in Budapest.

Wine and Pálinka

The wine and Pálinka part to be honest is more or less the same as what you get at the dedicated Budapest Wine Festival and the Pálinka Festival so you have well known brands such as Rázangyal Pálinka, Bock Wine, Duzsi Tamás from Szekszárd and so on. So compared to the Wine / Pálinka Festival you will not get any benefit though it is always good to have good wine and pálinka on such a fetival an the Hungarian wine is quite good. Anyways you will get the typical tasting of different producers just in case you are interested in products like this.

Budapest Gourmet Stores

This part of the Budai Gourmet Festival was actually the most interesting since it is not too easy to find gourmet stores in Budapest apart from the well known such as Culinaris or the ones I wrote about already like for example Villa Bagatelle. But as I found out there is far more to discover in terms of gourmet stores in Budapest and other shops dealing just with good food, spices and traditions from around the world. There is for example a cooking school called ChefParade which gives courses in cooking exotic dishes from Thailand, Mexico or mainly for foreigners Hungary. Also I discovered a Spanish shop, which unfortunately does not have any website to link to, which sells Spanish sausage, ham, wine and much more. So you don’t always need to run to restaurant Pata Negra in Budapest to get your Tapas. So all these gourmet stores were present on the Budai Gourmet Festival and showed their products and gave bits and pieces to taste.

Restaurants

As you know I am writing quite much about restaurants in Budapest so this part was not too exciting for me, nevertheless there were some restaurants which I have not heard off and some which I have heard off a lot but never made it to go there such as Nobu, the newly opened restaurant in Hotel Kempinski. The restaurants offered a small range of really impressive creations that you could try for fairly high prices but that is normal for a festival like that so I tried only a few things and definitely I have some more restaurants on my “To Go” list for the coming weeks and months. One highlight was for sure the Café Dérnyé which I wrote a review about some time ago and all I wrote was about having a good breakfast, which is still true due to the fabolous bread they have, but I will for sure revisit the restaurant for a good dinner.

That’s it for the culinary part of the festival. Additionally I have to say that the flair and atmosphere on the festival was extremely nice, I felt like on a small holiday for the few hours I have been there. Due to this atmosphere with live music, the good weather and much more it made the festival also extremly children friendly so it is a good place to go as a family as well. Overall I can just recommend the Budai Gourmet Festival in Budapest to taste things from around the world, discover the gourmet corner of Budapest and try Hungarian products in one go.

Budai Gourmet Festival Information

For more information you should visit the website and for impressions I recommend to have a look in the galleries on their Facebook page. In both channels you will be kept informed about the next festival.

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 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.

Lángos receipe

What you need for your Lángos

• 400g flour
• 1200g potatoes
• 20g yeast
• 30g sugar
• 200ml milk
• salt and oil for frying

How to make your Lángos

Peel the potatoes, boil them in salted water until they are soft and mash them while they are hot. After that you mix in a seperate bowl the yeast, a little sugar, the milk warmed up a bit and a bit of the flour until the mixture is smooth, leave it to rise. To this mixture you add the mashed potatoes and the rest of the flourand add so much water that the dough is easy to knead by hand. Leave the entire dough covered in a warm place to rise more. Than you roll out the dough in approximately hand sized circles half a centimeter thick. By pulling them with your hands to approximately double the size they will get thinner. That you leave for another 10 minutes to rise and deep fry it in the end until golden brown.

Now you top it with whatever you like, the best in my opinion is with garlic, tejföl and cheese on top. But many places offer more fancy ways even with chocolate, ewe cheese and onions or even with cabbage so whatever you like can go on top. Enjoy.

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 curd with which Túró Rudi is stuffed is very popular, it is also used for Palacsinta (pencakes), Túrós gombóc (curd balls) and many other sweets, and usually lemon cest and sugar or honey is added to it to make it a bit more tasty. I don’t know the original Túró Rudi receipe but I am sure that there is a bit more sugar inside and probably no real lemon cest used. Anyhow Túró Rudi is simply a pleasure to eat and it really tastes great even though I was really sceptical in the beginning I love it by now and I always have some in my fridge.

Paprika

There are a few basic ingredients that make Hungarian dishes hearty and spicy as well as giving them their unmistakable flavor. Braising onions in hot lard and adding paprika to it are the first basic steps of making many authentic Hungarian stews, paprikás or goulash. Hungarian paprika powder gives a unique taste and fiery red color to typical Hungarian meals; however dishes made with paprika are not burning hot as it is usually sweet paprika that is used to make stews, goulash, and paprika chicken while hot paprika is offered separately for the stouter of heart.

Soups

Hungary is a soup-eating nation and a traditional meal always starts with a soup. It can be a hearty meat soup like the world-famous Hungarian goulash or even a sweet fruit soup. Almost every part of Hungary has its own way of making goulash as green beans are added to Palócgulyás and Alföldi gulyás is made with potatoes, carrots and parsnip. Jókai bean soup and Újházy chicken broth (Újházy tyúkhúsleves) are other tasty Hungarian soups that you’ll find on many restaurant menus.

Main Dishes

Soup is usually followed by some kind of meat dish with potato, pasta or rice; pickles or a salad made from seasonal vegetables accompany most meat dishes. Pörkölts and paprikás are the most popular Hungarian meat dishes. Pörkölt is a ragout made from pork, beef, lamb or chicken with onions and paprika as the main spice. Paprikás are prepared in the same as pörkölt; the only difference is that sour cream is mixed into the paprika and onion sauce to add a creamy texture. Fried Goose liver (Libamáj) and game dishes are also must-try Hungarian delicacies and stuffed cabbage (Töltött káposzta) is a traditional Hungarian dish that is often made for holidays like Christmas or Easter.
There are a range of pasta dishes that are particular to Hungarian cuisine such as Túrós csusza (pasta with cottage cheese) and káposztás tészta (square egg noodles with braised cabbage). Sweet pasta dishes include túrógombóc (cottage cheese dumplings), szilvásgombóc (plum dumplings) and palacsinta (pancakes). If you’re a vegetarian, try Főzeléks which is a dish made from vegetables simmered in water and thickened with roux. You might also try finomfőzelék (mixed vegetables thickened with white sauce). However, since smoked meat or sausage is essential for the cooking of some types Főzeléks, like Babfőzelék (made from beans), be sure to ask whether meat or meat stock was used before ordering a főzelék.

Sweets and Snacks

Anyone with a sweet tooth will not want to miss the delicious Hungarian cakes and delectable pastries. Coffee houses and small cafés are the best places to find these sweet delights and some must-try desserts include Dobos torta, a sponge cake layered with rich chocolate cream and coated with crunchy caramel, Eszeteházy torta which is a cake layered with walnut cream or Rigó Jancsi, a chocolate sponge cake filled with light chocolate mousse and coated with chocolate. Of course, Hungary is known for strudels (Rétes), flaky pastries with various fillings like cottage cheese, apple, poppy-seed and cherries and the all-time favorite dessert among Hungarians. Other delicious pastries are Kürtős kalács, a hollow, cylinder shaped pastry coated with sugar, cinnamon or walnut. For a quick snack, try Túrós táska, a pastry filled with cottage cheese or Kakós csiga, a rolled pastry filled with chocolate. Lángos, a round, deep-fried dough is a savory snack that you can find at food stalls in vegetable markets and Pogácsa, a salty biscuit with various flavorings like cracklings, cheese or cabbage is another option for a quick bite.
There are few ethnic cuisines that are so varied as Hungarian cooking with its mouth-watering, spicy dishes, rich stews and sauces, hearty soups and delicious desserts. If the beauty of this country is not reason enough to visit, the rich flavor, aroma and texture of authentic Hungarian dishes certainly is.

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.

The Bakery

In the bakery called “Brót” after the German word for bread I guess you can find many different tzpes of very good baked breads, rolls and cakes but also you get soups, croissants and of course Hungarian traditional Pogácsa, so basically everything you expect from a decent bakery. The thing is for me as a German I cannot really get friends with Hungarian white bread and also the trial to make brown breads so for me Villa Bagatelle is a little heaven in the center of Budapest. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than Hungarian white bread next to a good Gulash Soup but for breakfast I prefer the German type of bread and rolls.

The Café

In the first floor you can find the Café of Villa Bagatelle which offers place to probably 50 people and also in summer time you can enjoy their balcony to have your coffee or breakfast. I have been there on a sunday morning and the café was entirely full with people having breakfast, enjoying the sun on the balony or simply have a chat with friends. You can get many things there for breakfast but of course it is recommendable to have some bread from the own bakery.

The Home Decoration Shop

Unfortunately the Home decoration was closed on the day I was there but I could have a sneak through the glass door (see image below) and check what they offer there. Of what I could see the offered things were nothing spectacular but nice indeed and it seems to go hand in hand with the other two parts of the villa where really every little detail is well worked out and wonderful decorated. When I am there next time I will have a closer look on the Home Decoration Shop.

Price wise Villa Bagatelle is for sure not the cheapest place but the quality justifies the prices. Also keep in mind that it is located in the 12th district which is a bit more expensive than other districts in Budapest so I didn’t expect something else. As mentioned the quality of the products and also the taste is really great so I will not complain about the price but if you expect a 150 HUF / kg of bread price you will be in the wrong place.

I really enjoyed the short time I have been to Villa Bagatelle and will return for sure to have a proper breakfast in the sun. So I definitely recommend to have a look, grab a good bread and a fresh orange juice or coffe.

Villa Bagatelle - Home Decoration Shop

Villa Bagatelle Contact Information:

1126 Budapest, Németvölgyi út 17., Hungary

Brót bakery:
Monday-Friday 07-19; Saturday-Sunday: 08-12
Tel.: 06 1 213-4191

Café:
Monday-Friday: 08-19; Saturday-Sunday: 9-18 h
Tel.: 06 1 213-4190

Home Decoration Shop:
Wednesday-Friday: 10-19; Saturday: 10-16
(on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays by appointment only)
Tel.: 06 1 213-4194 (appointments: 06 1 213-4190)

For more information visit the Villa Bagatelle website or join the Facebook Page.

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.

Types of Pálinka

There are different types of Pálinka but 2 of them are probably the most popular. Next to the normal Pálinka there is the so called Ágyas Pálinka which means “bedded” and simply describes the fact that there are still fruits inside sucked full of alcohol. Also you have Kisüsti Pálinka (double destilled), Érlelt Pálinka (aged at least 6 months in wooden barrels under 1000l), Ó Pálinka (aged at least 12 months in wooden barrels under 1000l) and probably the most likely to get next to a regular Pálinka is the so called Mézes Pálinka which is enriched with honey to make it sweeter and not taste so strong anymore. It is of course a question how strong and what flavour you like your Pálinka to choose in the end. As most of the Pálinkas are really strong with around 40‰ some people feel it is not their drink and therefore in many places like restaurants or clubs you get the mézes Pálinka nowadays.

How to enjoy a Hungarian Pálinka?

Pálinka is of course not only consumed to get drunk at parties but mainly it is part of the Hungarian eating and drinking tradition. As usual with shots they are drunk after a meal in order to clear up the stomache but in Hungary Pálinka is mainly an aperitif, thus consumed before the meal to strengthen the hunger and get appetite.

Hungarian Pálinka is idealy served in room temperature, not as many people believe chilled, to give the flavours the chance to really develop in the mouth. Therefore it is also necessary to not just get it down as fast as possible but also keep it in your mouth for a moment, let it get under your tongue to touch all taste points in order to develop the right taste.

Budapest Pálinka Festival

Yes, there is a festival for Pálinka as well in Festival City Budapest just like there is one for sausage, wine, “Mangalica” pigs, Pörkölt and so on. The Festival takes place ever year in the Buda Castle at the end of September or beginning of October. I don’t want to go too much into detail of the festival here, you can find more information in my article about the Budapest Pálinka Festival. It is definitely a good choice to go there to see the culture of Pálinka from different producers from all over Hungary.

Pálinka Tasting Trips

Just like having a wine tasting you can go for a tour of Pálinka tasting in different regions of Hungary right in the producers facilities as well as directly in Budapest in different restaurants or shops of Pálinka producers. In some Pálinka specialized shops in Budapest you can taste the different Pálinkas they sell. In general I think a Pálinka tasting is a good opportunity to learn something about Hungarian Pálinka itself or at least to decide on which you would like to buy.

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

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.

Goulash Soup Recipe

Ingredients for your Goulash Soup

• Beef meat
• Spices: Paprika powder, salt
• Vegetables: Green peppers, carrots, tomato, onions, parsley root, potatoes

How to do your Goulash Soup

So you finely chop an onion and fry it in some oil for a moment and add some paprika powder to it and fry together for a bit. After you add the meat which should be cut into nice chunks to have something to bite on. Than you add a pinch of salt, a bit of hot pepper, depending on how spicy you like it but rather be careful you still can give it some extra heat afterwards, and a chopped tomato. All this you let simmer until the meat is tender.You know add some sliced carrots, parsley root, diced potatoes and all other vegetables you would like to have in there and top it with wine or water. As mentioned above it is up to you what you use. Cover your pot, simmer till everything is tender and you have your Goulash Soup.

Enjoy!