Sate Yourself

BOCK BISZTRO 

The Classic.

Bock Bisztro is one of the few classic establishments in Budapest. Lajos Bíró the chef is a legend here, Bock Bistro, guests can devour slightly reinvented Hungarian meals, and pair them with one of the 220 kinds of wines at their disposition.

I sincerely confess that in 6 years in Hungary I never went there. Why? I am not a big fan of hungarian food to be honest. And what bother me to be even more candid is the appropriation of other countries recipies, and saying, that these are our specialities. You have to be honest with yourself, your tradition and history, something that I think Hungarians have a hard time to do ( this is my personal opinion). Anyway, since The chef tries to revisite those dishes, and the fact that my future mother in law craved hungarian food, we made a reservation there.

 We entered the restaurant which as a very cozy interior, trully bistro style,  but a very disdainful waiter welcome us looking at us from some high castle, dude, who on earth do you think you are? Needless to say he lost his tipp on the spot. By chance another waiter came at our table and was very helpful. While checking the menu, we tasted the buttered fat at our disposition with fresh bread, god it was delicious, very tricky though, It’s hard to stop eating it.  I have to note here that that we forgot about the daily offers, and the waiter did not proposed them, which was a bit disapointing because they were some exciting items. Other than that he was great.

Finally, we chose: Hortobágy pancakes, crepes filled with meat very good, salmon tartare with cucumber wasabi dip, Cold goose liver in its own fat, Wiener Schnitzel "Bock" style with mashed potato, Beef tenderloin "Budapest" style, Filet of Pike -perch served with mixed kohlrabi and cottage cheese balls, Bizarre ice cream selection (Tobacco, cottage cheese, sausage)

The food was impeccable, the presentation was spotless except for the Wiener Schnitzel. I am the one who chosed this dish and I was very disapointed. Everyone was saying how good it is, but franckly, the only thing special here is the size of the thing. It was a bit dry, and tasted like a wiener everyone would do at home for a Sunday lunch, I expected way more from a michelin guide recommander bistro. At least some seasoning or a imaginative presentation that makes me forget its just a breaded piece of meat.

The others dishes were delicious, the steak was well cooked, as was the fish, and the kitchen even accommodated my fiancée with vegan green pea mash instead of mash potatoes for the steak. T No one had room for dessert, except me of course, so I decided to be courageous and taste the bizarre ice cream selection. Again, presentation wise, it was just 3 ball in 3 different plates so nothing special. The tobacco and cheese ice cream were hands down the best of the 3. The tobacco flavors comes at the end, and for nonsmokers, don’t worry it’s not that strong, and does not taste like cigarettes. It’s has more of a smoky flavor, it was actually pretty good, same for the cottage cheese, creamy, surprising yet simple at the same time. As for the sausage, frankly it did not taste good, perhaps because it was a sorbet, as the 2 others were good old ice creams. The sausage infused flavor was overwhelming. it’s all about balance and it just wasn’t there.

CUPÁKOS

A new butcher shop joint opened on Dob utca where the meter bar use to served beers and shots, this at least for me is a great news. Finally, a not so expensive place where you can get great pieces of meat.

The idea behind Cupákos is very simple, they offer classic Hungarian meat dishes, either with a new or international twist or prepared with new culinary technologies. I’ve been craving a place like this for a while now and but does it live up to my expectations ?

The interior design focuses on the colors white and red, quite classic for a “butcher”, still it gives a nice impression when you enter, with wooden table of course. A digital display shows your order number, but a loudspeaker also announces when our food is ready, you just have to go get it. In good weather like now, you can also enjoy the dishes of the initial menu on the terrace. Which to be honest is not very well placed, you will have to deal with tourists passing by every minute.

Among the appetizers, you have the chicken liver paté on toast (990 HUF), a traditional flavor paired with a soft and creamy texture, topped with applesauce seasoned with thyme and ginger. The starters section of the menu features of course the Hungarian classics like cracklings and a ham-and-sausage plate (both 1,190 HUF). You can choose between three kinds of sausages: classic Hungarian pork sausage (1,890 HUF), East-African merguez beef sausage (1,990 HUF), now careful with the merguez, they gave you 3 huge pieces, so you better be hungry, to be honest though it’s a little bit too much for one person even for me! And Bavarian chicken sausage (1,990 HUF). Ribs are next on the menu, a very appetizing beef version (2,200 HUF) and a pork one of course. They also offer pig knuckle (1,690 HUF) and gizzard stew (1,290 HUF), both classics among Hungarian meat dishes. There’s a wide variety of side dishes, including bread (120 HUF), green-pea soup (450 HUF) and others. The pork belly (1600 HUF) is a bit fatty, but delicious, served with a caramelized jus and fresh bread. Of course, you can have the traditional burger (1490 HUF) that I will hopefully taste very soon.

Vegan Chocolate Truffles

Recipe for a creamy dessert

Truffles are one of those desserts we can’t resist at home since times I can’t even remember and considering that I must cook vegan these days (allergies) I had to find a way to make them at home, because I am not gonna spend 25 euros on 5 truffles in a shop.

This recipe is very simple to follow, requiring simple methods, 2/3 ingredients depend on what you like, and no fancy equipment, which I don’t own anyhow. You just need to chop the chocolate, heat a little bit the coconut milk or soya milk, poor over the chocolate, wait till it’s totally melt, stir and put in the freezer. That’s how easy it is.

For coatings, you can either leave them plain or roll them in cacao powder, ground hazelnuts, whatever you wish. Me, I am going with cacao powder, simple and delicious. Prepare to lose all self-control!!!

 Prep time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Total time : 2 hours 35 minutes

 Ingredients:

300g vegan dark chocolate*, (72% cacao or higher)

90 ml light (or full fat) coconut milk

optional: 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

optional:  24 g unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder, or finely ground hazelnuts (for coating)

optional: a bit of olive oil and salt or chili

 Instructions: 

Place the finely chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl. The finer the chocolate is chopped, the easier it will melt.

In a separate mixing bowl, add coconut milk and microwave until very warm but not boiling - about 30 seconds (alternatively, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat until just starting to simmer).

Immediately add coconut milk to chocolate and loosely cover with a cooking lid to trap the heat in. Do not touch for 5 minutes, then lift cover and use a mixing spoon to gently stir. Continue stirring until completely melted.

Add vanilla at this time and stir (optional).

 Transfer the mixture in a pan with parchment paper ( you will be able to remove the chocolate easily to cut or scoop) and put in the refrigerator to chill uncovered for 2-3 hours, or until almost completely solid. 

 Once chilled and firm, prepare a small dish of cocoa or cacao powder for rolling (optional).

 Use a Tablespoon-sized scoop or a Tablespoon to scoop out small balls, then use your hands to gently but quickly roll/form the chocolate into balls. If you don’t have any item to scoop, take a knife and cut the chocolate into little squares.

Toss in cocoa or cacao powder to coat and shake off excess, then set on a parchment-lined serving dish. Continue until all chocolate is scooped.

If any of the chocolate near the center of the bowl was too soft to form, refrigerate that portion for a bit longer before proceeding.

 You can enjoy them immediately, or refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight. This allows them to set and firm up. As it’s quite hot in my apartment I rather let them in the fridge and take some out on a plate to eat. Otherwise they go soft quite quickly.

Store truffles covered in the refrigerator. To serve, let come to room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Faszalade 2.0 New menu, random experience.

 After being closed temporarily, Faszalade reopened its doors. To be honest this for me was a good news, the sausages were delicious, they had master the butchery and the mix of ingredients, and the places itself had unexpected charm. Unfortunately for us they decided to change the menu. The new experience is now quite different, they don’t focus anymore on sausages. Instead, they give two of them, Budapest sausage, quite basic with pork, and a duck foie gras sausage, the others dishes are a porchetta sandwich and a very random burger at least for me. 

The sausages are ok, but nothing compare to what they cooked a year ago. The Pork one you can find it in good butchers and other restaurants, the foie gras is good but franckly not enough for me to go back and order it again. In the past, I’ve always enjoyed go back there and try to choose which one I will have, but now there is no more excitement. The Porchetta sandwich is very good, yet again nothing you cannot do yourself, the sourdough bread that comes with it is quite delicious though, so it makes it a good sandwich if you are in a hurry, and want to have a substancial lunch. The burger like the pork sausage is the most disappointing item on the menu, the meat is unseasoned, they add cheese, onions and mustard which is not enough for a great burger, the meat is unfortunately often overcooked, bun is ordinary, and over whole nothing to brag about. They are numerous places in the city with better burgers. I get the Idea, it’s an easy selling dish during summer, but as simple as a Burger is to do everything has to be perfect.

ESCA STUDIO RESTAURANT

Budapest’s first studio restaurant reopened with a new concept, new interior and it’s truly impressive.

ESCA simply means “food” in Latin, and if you are wondering what a studio restaurant is, here is a little description. It’s described in dictionaries as a tiny apartment with a kitchenette, this can give you an idea of the concept. In Esca’s case, it’s a space that can accommodate 16 people in a very intimate setting, it’s also includes both a cocktail bar and a show kitchen, both are blended together. Chef Gábor Fehér takes is inspiration from Nordic cuisine, very trendy since the past few years, the interior is a display of that inspiration, with tables of natural wood, animal furs and the walls painted completely black. 

To be honest, I never went to the “old” ESCA, from outside the interior seemed great but somehow I never had that push to pass the door. The creators sought to improve the concept instead of sitting on their… and taking our money and that is something that we can applaud, because it’s quite courageous, since the ESCA 1.0 was working just fine. White walls were painted black, the ceiling height grew, mirrors where put on the selling somehow making the place bigger without being to oppressive. Apparently, they also improved their wine selection, and now pair each course with the most suitable wine, we tasted 4 wines, 1 white and 3 red, and the harmony between the dishes and the wines was perfect.

With this new concept, ESCA no longer offers lunch and dinner menus, there only focus is now on suppers. The Studio is open from 6pm to 11pm (of course you must make a reservation). The menu includes a tasting menu with 5 courses including dessert, and a “a la carte” offer that changes constantly. ESCA only works with the best suppliers and the best ingredients, they serve exquisite Janus wines from Hungary’s Villány wine region, and that’s ESCA’s recipe for success.

We started with the crab tartare seasoned with parsley and quail egg (2990 HUF) and bake bone marrow with scallop carpaccio and Jerusalem artichoke chips, followed by two lamb shoulder with romaine lettuce, and seasoned with a green curry pesto (4990 HUF), a lobster ravioli with a saffron jus (5990), a finally the pork belly, with baked onions and white onions puree (4990 HUF). The presentation of each dishes was absolutely sublime, minimalistic, simple, colorful and focus on the ingredients. From the starters, the bone marrow was my favorite dish, I could only taste it since it was not my starter, but it was divine, the scallop carpaccio worked as the fat of the bone marrow, since he was caramelized, plus the crunchiness of the artichoke, the combo was perfect and quite surprising and the end. The Crab tartare, which was my choice, was light had no overcomplicated flavors, a little overpowered by the mayonnaise though, but overall It was a very good starter.  

As for the Lamb the meat was cooked perfectly, no need for a fork and it all I ask. I will be short on the pork belly also which was crunchy and really tasty. What made my go crazy on both dishes was the sauce. On both plates, it was amazing, to give you an idea, I just felt like Anton ego from ratatouille, you know the asshole critic. When I tasted the sauce, the flavors just brought me bake to my childhood in my mother’s and grandmother kitchen, waiting with a piece of bread in my hand to eat the sauce.

So much flavors in both dishes, my only complaint was that I wanted more, could be serve on the side in a little glass.  As for the lobster ravioli, also not one of my dish, was without surprise delicious, like all the plates we had, the saffron jus was unctuous, the filling of the ravioli, was really tasty and the lobster was definitely the star of the dish. The balance of each course was exquisite and confirm that Gábor Fehér is one of the best of the best chef in Hungary.

URBAN TIGER It’s complicated.

My fiancee has a saying… when she pays it always Su#$& 

A new place recently opened with Southeast  Asian flavors and a professional bar that makes very small cocktails for a very big price... Urban Tiger, and its very loud ambiance and retro style were intriguing we unfortunately had to check it.

From the street, the bar and interior looked very pleasant, the long bar, the decoration, lightning give a nice 20′s touch. That’s all actually. Once you are there after few minutes you realize that somehow you not in a restaurant but more a club. You need to shout to have a conversation, while listen a horrible electronic “music” that has nothing to do here. The drinks are way to small for that price, they taste delicious i’ll give them that, but  once you have you three sips you stay with a kilo off ice in your drink. The price of the wine... just don’t get wine. 

We were welcomed with crispy petals with sesame that are just vulgar shrimp chips, the cucumber water is a nice touch though. It’s free and they refile your glass every time it’s empty. We had trouble to decide what to eat thank to the over complicated names on the menu.  But thanks to the table next to us we did no order the salmon tartar. The all dish looked like a bird regurgitates the salmon on the plate.

In one word, our experience was SPICY. The menu states different ingredients, rich flavors yet the only flavor you got is an overpowering hot chili fire that annihilates all the ingredients.

The mapo steak was of course way overcooked, chewy and like the rice blend. The tofu was supposed to be crunchy. I am not a big fan of tofu, and it will stay that way. It was soft and unnecessary. 

The Marhapofa malaccsaszar (bao) were truly horrifying. Flat, gummy dough, the pork belly was dry and cooked in water, not even sired, way too much coriander, and of course it was blend. I mean why a professional chef would try to play with spices and accommodate the flavors that offers Asian cuisine when you have near you a nice bottle of Sriracha.

Tio Felipe, A new Jefe in town.

 Thanks to Tio Felipe Italian and Spanish cuisine meet without unnecessary complexities in Simple yet beautiful plates with not only Spanish dishes, but also Italian foods and flavors, sometimes mixed together in a graceful harmony.

The interior is simple. Don’t expect paintings of bullfighters or landscapes on the walls, though we did not fully understand the typo walls, did not seem in agreement with the atmosphere. Here the focus is on the food. The music is nice and not to loud, which is something they change since the opening apparently, so they care about customer feedback.

After the disaster that was Vicky Barcelona I was somehow reluctant having tapas in a new hype joint. It’s true the pictures looked appealing. However we could not really rely on pictures. Often it is not what you get. After getting a look at the menu it did sound promising, Italian and Spanish are my favorite flavors so a place that combines both was at the end worth to try. As usual we order a bit too much but manage to finish every plate and even save place for dessert. As I said the pictures looked appealing. For once we were served what was promised. Plates were simply stunning, refine and no over complicated.

The paella will definitely won’t disappoint you, not too spicy and actually quite light for paella, it is one of the best dishes. My second favorite was the Chorizo in vino tinto. The flavors not overwhelming and with the spiciness of the chorizo it’s delicious, I could finally taste the wine in the sauce. The lamb kebab was a great surprise, I wanted to have it just out of curiosity, since most of the time it’s just dry, hard to chew and pretty much flavorless, still, they managed to cook it perfectly.

We had few more dishes like beef Carpaccio, of course a manchego plate, octopus… every dish we had can be describe with one word “gorgeous”. The desserts were incredible, the pear with saffron, meringue and passion fruit mousse can easily become addictive, also the chocolate mousse with churros. They do finish strong!

Vicky Barcelona…

I am not gonna lose too much time for Vicky Barcelona.

Vicky Barcelona is a Tapas Bar situated in the well-known gozsdu udvar in Budapest. The interior is beautiful that’s true, the atmosphere is great, dark and subtle, and it feels good to DRINK there.

I think our mistake was to try the tapas while not drunk. They thought we were and  serve us horrible and expansive “food”. 

We of course decided to taste few dishes like the olives… basically 10 green olives from the nearby Spar. The Chorizo al vino fino, cooked in white wine was absolutely disgusting. It was not even wine but oily water that we add, and boiled chorizo is just not good when prepared by someone who as clearly no idea what he/she is doing.

Rabbit in chocolate sauce, what a nice idea. Well not really, chocolate tasted like cr… and as they choose the best part in the rabbit we only had the bones. I know there is not much to eat on a rabbit but for this price at least make the effort to cut the meat from the bones and then cook it.

The Iberia Ham was the best part since they just served it. When the cooks don’t go near the food it is actually good.

Oh I forgot about the sauce with the PAN Catalan… we had salsa from Spar and nice pink cream also disgusting. We had other Tapas but as bad as they others.

Situ Anything but French.

 Dear Situ, I was so impatient to try your food. There is so much buzz around your restaurant, good reviews from Hungarian papers (welovebudapest)…I could not wait but to try good French cuisine.

I don’t even know where to start. Your place is cozy, relaxing, few tables, the lights gave a nice romantic touch, and the music for the first 4 songs gave a nice jazzy atmosphere to the place, then you change it for some light electro.

The menu your proposed was small, and that is good, because you’d think the chefs will really concentrate on the taste, presentation and give us real French food, because that is your promise. The prices are high but for French food it’s normal right? I mean for quality ingredients, cooked as perfectly as you can imagine in such restaurant?

My question for you:                                                                               How can you call that French cuisine, when half of your menu is not even close to our culinary world.

The Raclette is 2200 Forint for 2 potatoes and grilled cheese?  Really, that’s the Raclette for you? Unseasoned and a cheese close to trappista in such a great place?  I would like to explain what this dish is for A French. The principle of a Raclette is sharing, people gathering around a table with nice wine and ingredients on separate plates that everyone will mix as he wishes. So at least have the decency to serve that for 2. What you are serving is a gratin (oven dish with melted cheese) that every 9 year old can make when he is hungry.

Your Tuna Tatar (as you call It, might be a typo there) with wasabi foam, very nice idea. But when the tuna is partially cooked it’s stopped being a Tatar, It is then called a Tataki. Now what bothered us was the foam. Because unless I am wrong and it that case I apologize, a foam is not cream disposed on the side of the plate, now I saw on other plates you tried to have the mousse but it wasn’t that.

·         What is foam:  foams are just aerated liquids; and their density will depend on the thickness of the liquid and the ratio of liquid to air. A lighter foam may be more accurately described as froth – such as the head of a beer or cappuccino – while a denser foam will resemble mousse.

We did not take it, but I am not going to comment the Bisque… because for you it’s a kremleves so it says it all.

To this point, I thought the dinner could not go worse than that.                         We chose the seafood dip as main dishes. My fiancée being allergic to milk protein you where nice enough and we thank for that to propose a version without cream. So she had tomato sauce with seafood for 5400 forint.                Anyway, I had the real deal, it was pleasant I’ll admit, however, tomato sauce with cream does not make a dish French. On top of that, if you cook the seafood apart, and you don’t use for the sauce the heads, the jus, it’s just wrong and taste just like cream. And you put shrimp heads in my plate, again if you don’t use it don’t put it in my dish, it’s just gross.

We wanted to try a Coq au vin, but when you told us you put cream, it was just too much for us. There is no cream. There is a bit a flour, and butter, NO cream. A Coq au vin is not a czirke paprika.

After all that I did not wish to have dessert but my fiancee wanted to try (she was the one inviting so I listen), because you never know. We ordered the chocolate mille feuille. I told her “you will see they are going to make it with puff pastry”. She said no. She was wrong.  The desserts was the perfect ending for this dinner, horrible to watch, the pastry was fried like, and the chocolate cream was a joke(you can see the picture). It didn’t even taste good, and its chocolate, it is really hard to fuck it up.

The only positive comment that I have, is for the waitress. You have two of them. One I will name him the clumsy because he broke 3 glasses and manage with 10 people in the restaurant to serve us twice other dishes and will full of dinners had a bartender friend coming sipping a cocktail an talk to her in the middle of the restaurant, very classy indeed.

The one I am talking is a lovely young woman who tried to help us the more she could with my fiancee allergies. She explaining the dishes, how they were cooked, and what were the ingredients. Very professional, polite, you should thank her.

Pizzica

Pizzica is situated in Nagymező Street where the theaters are. And it is a truly great place.

Two Italian brothers operate it, and to be honest they do have the tastiest Roman pizzas in Budapest. It became one of my favorite spot very quickly. First because the dough is Tasty, light and crunchy, it’s a real delight. 

Secondly, the ingredients are well chosen and fresh, mushrooms, mozzarella, spec, pesto, truffles even, smells and taste great. On every pizza you have the right amount of ingredients, so none of them take power on the others, you just taste all of them and it just delicious.

Thirdly and it’s very important they do have a pizza only with the base, tomato sauce, pesto a touch of olive oil, so far I did not see other places serve that which is a shame. It is very important because my fiancee is allergic to cheese therefor she can eat a good pizza, and I don’t have to feel guilty, plus if you ask (off course it comes with a small extra), they can add ham or mushrooms. They are really helpful and professional and it does not seem a problem to them.

Funky Pho Vietnamese street food

 Serving Budapest’s most authentic Vietnamese pho soup, few articles said that, and world class quality…let’s get too crazy guys. We ordered few dishes yesterday. World class? I think we did not have the same dishes.For an award winning (street food of the year in 2014) I expected much more, in flavor and ingredients. Gault&Millau should taste again the dishes. Perhaps I expect too much, but when a place as such a good reputation It’s only natural. 

The Pho was good is true, fresh herbs, the meat, sirloin in ginger marinade was tender, lot of flavors there, not to spicy and in great portion. It was a good and fulfilling evening meal but nothing you can’t have in Vietnamese eatery in Budapest.

Mandu dumplings with Korean meat, not delicious but alright. Thankfully they added sauce to dip, otherwise I did not had an explosion of flavors, quite bland without any sauce. Not a great start. My second dish was a kind of stir fry, noodles and sirloin, paprika of course…garlic, bit of ginger here and there, zucchini and walnuts. To be honest it was a huge disappointment. The meat was really overcooked and tasteless, took ages too chew and I have good teeth so far. Noodles bland, seems like so far it’s pattern for me this evening, paprika well it’s paprika, same for garlic.. frankly It’s a shame for an award winning place to serve dishes that taste like the one I have in my work cafeteria few weeks ago.

Akademia Italia

Thanks a Latte.

 Akademia Italia open few weeks ago, and it’s already I big hit. I’ll have to go back to get a more complete idea, but the first visit was promising. Very crowded, we managed to have a table quite quickly, not the best sits in the house, in the middle of the restaurant, people, waiters where just passing by every minute. Not and ideal placement to enjoy Italian food, or any food in general.

The menu is quite large, pasta, pizza, salads, risotto everyone has the chance to find something he likes. Our journey started with the charcuterie and cheese plate, delicious, but with two small cheese bites I was disappointed, on the other hand the Speck, the Bresaola and prosciutto were delicious.

The main courses, lasagna, white pizza with mozzarella, arugula and prosciutto. I love that they propose the white pizza, not a lot of restaurant have it on their menu, and it’s a real shame. The pizza was big, and the cook to my surprise, was not too light on the toppings, lots of mozzarella and ham. The crust light and crunchy, the smell itself was delightful so was the taste. I usually don’t order lasagna because I always have in mind my mom’s lasagna (not mom’s spaghetti as one might say) I am always sad to see what most of Italian restaurant call lasagna. Usually saggy pasta far too cooked an absurd quantity of cheese, and meat I wouldn’t give to a dog. Don’t ask me why, I ordered it. Happily they looked just like the ones my mom cooks, good amount of meat, cheese, fresh pasta cook wonderfully…even the taste…really felt like good homemade lasagna.

The problem with Italian food is that after 5 or 6 days you’re always hungry, so after the main courses, we did not have much room for desserts. Luckily they make also desserts and food to take away, and I will definitely have a taste of it soon.

The price is a bad point for them if I may say it like that, even if the pasta, the dough, are made freshly every day it’s quite expensive.  For example the pizza we had was 3500 forints, as good as it was, that’s a quite a lot, when is other very good restaurants, the price is 2000, 2300. Of course once in a while it does not hurt too much, but it’s a bit heavy nevertheless. You can also find in the basement a shop where you can buy wine, cookies, pasta etc. What I found great, is that they offer cooking classes. It’s 15000forint per person for 2 or 3 hours which in my opinion is also expensive you a “normal” Hungarian salary.

Mészár Steak Kitchen

You made the cut.

I wasn’t sure what 2016 would have in mind for me. Back to work, the obvious diet after the holidays, crappy resolutions that will stand for few days. But a little fairy added a surprise and it will make my year…hopefully.

The decor is black, sober with some touch of red and white, that goes without saying perfectly with a steakhouse. Few pictures with meat cuts, beef, butchers, sober. lights are soft, and the music selection was right that night. I thought I was entering a cavern and wanted to steer to the fire where the meat was about to be served. 

We were surprised to see two menus, one main menu and the one I was looking for. The “main menu “ offers chicken, prawns, a butcher pie, sausages. Apart from the salads as a starter vegetarians can have some gnocchi. Anyway, we were pleased with what we saw on the first menu, and especially the second. There was not too much five or six starters, same for the main courses and a wide choices of beef. Which for me means, they must have spent some time to work those dishes and master them.

Red like the infamous wedding, quite good and surprisingly not overpriced the wine was good. She pored it and gave me the glass, I won’t lie, I like that from time to time being the male at the table. I know we are in a place still a bit patriarchal and she perhaps think that I should pay, taste, grunt and expose my muscular hairy chest blablabla…. As my fiancee mentioned it instantly, not to her though, we don’t want to be rude too soon, she could have asked which one of us will taste the wine. To be Honest it crossed my mind only after tasting.

We went for the Smoked goose Carpaccio and the Lamb liver pate for a start. The presentation was simple and effective. We just wanted to dive in. The pate covered with a quite big amount of fat was surprising, in a good way, light and rich the Lamb had a strong taste and was seasoned appropriately for my taste. Served with a very good bread and radish it was a great start. The Carpaccio looked very appetizing to, accompanied with salad, olives and bread, the smoky flavor was quite intense, together with the Olives they completed each other perfectly.

Will waiting for the main courses, we were watching other tables, trying to see how the meat looked like, how it was cooked. We were like kids waiting for candy. How would it taste, will it be cooked correctly, or will we have to send it back? Finally in front of me, little lights pop up in my eyes, a huge T-bone Steak! I touched it to see if it was rightly cooked ( because that’s how you do it according to tv shows)… I hesitated, but I looked at my fiancee and waited. She did the same with her Filet mignon, and cut a piece of it, a bit of sweat started to appear on my forehead, should I wait until she send it back?? NO. She smiled and happily said that it was cook like mine perfectly, what a relief, it never happened before! Both steaks looked delicious, the blood was running true the plate, knifes were cutting meat like butter, it was delightful, thought it could use more salt and pepper, rosemary, the green peppers sauce more pepper and less cream, It is the best Steak I had in Budapest.

I won’t wrote too much about the desserts because unfortunately because they were not playing in the same league. The chocolate mousse had more fruit jelly than chocolate and the carrot cake to compact, served with a strangely liquid wiped cream that was supposed to be mascarpone mousse was disappointing.

BAOTIFUL Wok this way…

 A new playa entered the competition on Budapest’s street food scene. Located at Szabadság Square, BAOTIFUL has succulent Bao treats, traditional steamed bread filled with all kinds of Asian delights.

Bao (a Chinese bun) is an extremely popular snacks in Taiwan and are said to be of Fuzhou origin and are known as Gua Bao' in Mandarin, literally 'sliced-wrappers'.

So this is Taiwan’s favorite street food: tender steamed bread stuffed with a long variety of fillings. In honor of this traditional “Taiwanese” treat, a new joint recently opened its doors by Szabadság Square, in the building that used to house the headquarters of MTV, Hungary’s national television organization. Along with the exotic cuisine, the special interior is another aspect of the Oriental spot. The decoration is Simple yet right on point, and remind me of the Bruce lee or Jean Claude Van Damme movies I was watching when I was a kid, you know those small joint where the hero usually relax, has a good time before smashing someone’s head.

Obviously the star item on the menu is Gua Bao: the delectable, compact buns is packed with delicious braised pork belly, soy sauce, cinnamon, crushed peanuts, and vegetables. The pork belly was wonderfully cooked, really tender and savory, it had this nice charred taste that I LOVE on meat (makes me dribble just to think about it). The soy sauce was not overwhelming something that is not easy to do.. I mean here in Hungary. Yes I am talking to you Spiler Shanghai. Anyway, the bun was hot and unctuous I only wish it was bigger because I actually finished it with 4 small bites (yes I said small!!).You can also order them with chicken or duck, or get the vegetarian with grilled tofu and a ragout made from three types of mushroom.

The Dim Sum, and the soups are a must too, and of course we tried them. The Duck and Beef Dim Sum was great, as for me the beef had more flavors,maybe it was the coriander. the duck was a bit more flat, something I did not expected since duck meat as a pretty strong taste. The Soups were delicious with a strong coriander aroma, unfortunately I did not taste the star anise. My only regret is the use of the soy sauce in those 2 dishes. Asian food has so many flavors, and flavors that for the majority you can now find in markets, so reducing it to soy sauce, lemongrass and coriander is way too simple, therefore I hope the recipes will evolve over the time to give a stronger and spicier taste. Let’s not forget their excellent Thai, Japanese and Chinese beers that are great for washing it all down.

Spiler Shanghai… Let’s take a wok in hell.

This will be short.

 I‘ve been 2 time at Spiler Shanghai. The first, it took them 30 minutes to bring us 2 beers, and we were the only 2 persons there. The second a Saturday afternoon we decided to try it again, and have some food. FOOLS.

I know it’s not a good restaurant, it’s a pub, but I’ve been to the original Spiler few times, it’s not the most exciting experience I had, but it’s good for that kind of place. I don’t know what I wanted from the Shanghai one, a Chinese turn on Hungarian specialties, or perhaps the same menu revisited with Chinese ingredients, which would be quite interesting. Instead of that, you have wings with barbecue sauce… Now I’m not a specialist, but barbecue sauce????????  Ribs with what again? The great merican barbecue sauce. ARE YOU F#%^% kidding?

Then came the sweet and sour pork belly burger, and fried rolls with so little feeling I thought it was a joke. But know that’s what they actually serve every day. Another thing, sweet and sour pork belly? Putting sweet sauce on pork (I’m not sure it was actual pork belly) and nothing else does not make a dish Asian. It’s just disgusting. The sour part was the bill, on that they did not lie.

Pándzsáb Tandori Indiai Étterem Poppadom Preach…

With all its exotic ingredients, unfamiliar dishes, and tongue-tingling flavors, Indian cuisine can be both exciting and intimidating. It’s such a complete world of taste, it uses the whole palette of flavors—spicy, sour, sweet, and hot and all at the same time—making it something that wants to jump off the plate.

That’s why I love Indian food, and why so many people around the world enjoy it. To find a good Indian place is not something easy, most of them are mediocre, lot are okay ones, and only few excellent. Pándzsáb Tandori in Budapest, near Jászai Mari tér is for me one of the few.

It’s a small place that actually doesn’t look so good at first glance, the decoration is not the forte of the owner obviously, but if you think about it, it’s an Indian restaurant, those people take every day horrible overcrowded trains and buses...so this place actually looks like the real deal for me. The other restaurants have this sort of oversophisticated look that actually make me feel uncomfortable, fake gold decoration, strange picture that I’m not sure even Indian’s knows about, it’s just too fancy for food that I will eat with my fingers.

Anyway, I’ve been to Pándzsáb Tandori 4 times I think, maybe 5, and every goddamn time was delicious, colorful plates, strong flavors, portions right on point, not too much, but enough to untie your belt. My favorite dish: the butter chicken, the favorite of many, and a classic Indian dish. One of the best dish on the menu, and in Budapest.  Usually I struggle to find the chicken in the pot, I end up with 3 or 4 pieces, or worst grind chicken…But in this case the flavors are spot on, the chicken tender, and the ration meat sauce is very good. I will add that I could die for the butter sauce. It goes the same way with the tandoori dishes, or vegetarian dishes like the palak paneer, my Fiancée’s favorite.  You have to give credit to the cooks, they know what they’re doing. Whatever you choose, really hot, or not too hot they are always right, they served us each time a symphony of flavors, and I might have once or twice an orgasm haha.

I don’t care if the place doesn’t look fancy, is too small…I go there for the quality, the flavors that those guys put on the plate.

Authentic French Meringue.

I started to make meringues when I was maybe 5 with my father. Once he died I’ve never try again, since last year. My girlfriend wanted to have some, and it’s quite difficult to find meringues in Budapest. And I have to say that completely forgot how simple it was. Now almost every 2 weeks I bake some.

 The recipe is taken from marmiton and adjusted.

 INGREDIENTS 4 egg whites 250/300 gr of sugar

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat the oven to 110 degrees C. Butter and flour a baking sheet.

2. In a bowl, whip egg whites until foamy using an electric mixer. Sprinkle in sugar a little at a time, while continuing to whip at medium speed. When the mixture becomes stiff and shiny, stop mixing, and transfer the mixture to a large pastry bag. Pipe the meringue out onto the prepared baking sheet using a large round tip or star tip. I advise you to make small bites, easier to eat, than just 5 or 6 huge meringue.

 3. You can add flavor. colors to the mix. Vanilla, cacao, lemon, coconut…I personally grill almonds and mash them. Before placing the meringue in the oven, sprinkle the almonds on the meringue, it won’t burn and add to the flavor and aesthetic. I also once tried when the meringue cool down to coat them with dark chocolate. It was delicious!!!!!!!

4. Place the meringues in the oven, bake for 1.30 hours, or until the meringues are dry, and can easily be removed from the pan. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

 My notes: * Instead of flour and butter on the baking sheet, I used unbleached parchment paper. * Never used brown sugar... it will melt and make caramel. (at least it did for me)