Hungary

Hungary is known as the question mark of Europe. Why is that we hear you ask? Well, being in Central Europe, part of Austro-Hungarian Empire and later an old Soviet state, we expect Hungary to have a lot of similarities to either it’s Germanic or Slavic neighbours. But even the language couldn’t be more different. Hungarian is actually closest to Finish, than any other language. Where is the link there??

But we aren’t here to discuss etymology, tell us talk about the food! Well, Hungarian food managed to maintain its authenticity, while also being influenced by its neighbours. The result is delicious meals which are hearty enough to survive the harsh winters and tasty to feed all of your friends and family. And for the sweet tooth out there, there are plenty of delicious desserts.

Hungarian food has always been meat orientated thanks to the nomadic Magyar tribes in 10th century. This laid the foundation of the cuisine on top of which other countries has a significant influence.

German cooking traditions, including baking, came over as the first Hungarian ruler King Stephen married a Bavarian royal. From then, bread became a staple in the cuisine, accompanying all main dishes. The Italian ingredients, like garlic, saffron, cheese, onions and fruits, also were adopted in Hungary through marriage of King Matthais in 15th century.

Some say the most important influence came in 16-17th century with the Ottoman Empire. Not only did they introduce sweets, pastries and desserts, the Turks also brought over paprika, which to this day is a signature ingredient in many Hungarian dishes. Vegetables like aubergine, peppers and cabbage also made a significant addition to Hungarian dishes. From roaming the streets of modern day Budapest, you see many Turkish establishments which serve up a feast.

One of the final key waves of influence was of course the Austro-Hungarian empire. But it’s important to note that as the two countries merged, so did their cuisines, so schnitzel came to Hungary, and goulash became popular in Austria.

Having said that, while goulash is thought to be the quintessential Hungarian dish, it’s not eaten that frequently. Stews which utilise paprika are much more common.

Like in Germany, Hungarians don’t have what we would have considered a typical meal structure. For breakfast, sweet treats like strudel or pastries are common with tea, coffee or milk. Lunch is the main meal of the day, with the main dishes usually consisting of stews or soups. Dinner is not as important and can either have the same components as lunch or cold cuts and breads.

Brasserie Transylvania Erdélyi Étterem

As we make our journey down Central Europe, it seems the restaurants become more down to earth and relaxed, like the countries themselves. Brasserie Transylvania Erdélyi Étterem doesn’t take reservations, so we turned up early to ensure we could grab a table. The establishment is a mix of Romanian and Hungarian cuisines, and the lady in charge could only really speak Romanian.

Walking into the restaurant, it had a vibe of someone’s dining room. The walks are decorated with numerous pictures of famous landmarks from around the world, and the room had a feel of visiting a distant relative from Central Europe. You can't get much more authentic than that.

The Hungarian-Romanian dishes on the menu were all based around simple ingredients combined with various sauces, which made flavoursome meals. Most of these simple ingredients are meat based, so the options for vegetarians are limited but possible to find. The classic chicken paprikash was served with a light and tasty sauce, and came with the classic Hungarian egg noodles; Nokedli. The beef stew was amazing, with beef so tender it fell apart and a soup that had just the right amount of zing. All washed down with a shot of traditional Palinka, which was actually alright (depending on who you ask).

As we seem to be finding with the more recent restaurants we've visited, the desserts are somewhat lacking. The western style cakes were disappointing. It's not clear if they had been sitting around for a little too long, or if we should have given them a good 15 minutes to warm up from the chiller cabinet. The better option was to go with the few traditional pastry style desserts on the menu.

Overall, we were very pleased with the experience, and the final bill was extremely reasonable. It was even more impressive that the aforementioned Romanian lady in charge was the only person working in the place, both serving and cooking everyone’s meals.

Recommendations

While we are only able to go to one place per country, we want to share with you some other awesome places we found/got recommended if you want to try it out and let us know

• The Rosemary Organic Hungarian Restaurant, SE14 5AA - An organic Hungarian restaurant in New Cross Gate, supplying the highest quality organic food at affordable prices.
• The Hungry Tummy Ltd, E1 7TF - Traditional streetfoods from East/South Europe.