Budapest Takes the Cake
Alessandra Zecchini
Despite being rooted in the culture of Central Europe, Hungary has always seemed familiar to me, since it is so historically tied to the Italian north-east, and my roots. My mother cooks gulyás (goulash),for example – a recipe imported when the north of Italy was under Austro-Hungarian control. So I arrived in Budapest at the invitation of my good friends Bence and Judit, who live in the green hills of Buda (the city west of the Danube – the other side is Pest) feeling more like a visiting neighbour than a long-distance tourist.
For the occasion Judit had prepared several detailed maps marking the places I wanted to see. More maps contained precious inside information that no first-time visitor could hope to know, and these were updated every time I met another local. Everyone seemed to have their own views about what had to be seen and eaten.
I purposely avoided restaurants with gypsy violinists, yet invariably found myself in tourist areas, holding a menu written in three languages and often illustrated with photos. It seems the best places to eat in Budapest were created with tourists in mind. Locals willingly patronise these areas so, regardless of where you are, you always feel as though you’re in the best place.
 Like the charming Buda Castle district – a medieval village and World Heritage site that no longer has a castle, though the remains can be seen under the Royal Palace. Razed and restored many times over the centuries, most recently after World War II, the district is Hungary’s most significant historical centre – a quarter as popular with residents as it is with visitors.
Although Budapest is becoming more fashionable as a travel destination, the tourist presence is not as strong as it is in Paris or nearby Prague. What’s more, the city is so well planned that, were it not for the language, I would feel right at home. The pocket dictionary I was carrying proved almost useless, though. Generally after a few days in a new country I expect to grasp the language basics, but Hungarian is so different from anything I’ve heard before that I memorised only about six words, and with difficulty.
With the realisation that I was not going to learn a new language, I walked with my nose in the air trying at least to improve my appreciation of art nouveau, and I searched for cakes. The first stop was the celebrated Central Café (Centrál Kávéház), to meet the photographer, David. I checked out the cakes and knew exactly where to start: I would try the famous dobos torta, and my friend would have the eszterházy torta. That way I could try both cakes. According to my calculations, three pâtisserie visits per day should suffice to exhaust the long list of cakes I’d set myself to taste. I also ordered a coffee, as you do – I chose something called an árkádia from the coffee specialities menu.
 Mistake. The árkádia turned out to be an espresso with honey, cinnamon and whipped cream – basically a dessert in its own right. I looked at my delicious but half-eaten cake and felt sad – there was no way I could manage more than one of these multilayered calorie-rich slices per day. To add to my misery, the ever-enthusiastic David was adding more names to my dessert list, and the thought that I could not leave Hungary without eating the poppy-seed cake made me slightly nauseous.
Bence and Judit came to the rescue, knowing the best places to buy a tray full of choices to be shared, so I needed only to taste a little from each cake and without extra-sweet coffee. The “tray” was regularly filled with samples from different pâtisseries. This sight became particularly welcome in the morning after my half-asleep eyes and dormant stomach had been confronted by a long, light-green pepper on my white plate.
Like any self-respecting Italian, I had to decline pepper for breakfast, with the promise to try it and its even hotter, slightly darker green friend later in the day. Instead, I chose a piece of meggyes pite (sour cherry pie).
Paprika (Hungarian for pepper), the red powder you put into gulyás, comes in many varieties in Hungary and only a trained eye can detect the nuances of colour that distinguish a sweet paprika from a dangerously hot one.
I also learned that gulyás (which the Hungarians consume as a soup, not a stew like my mum’s) is made with two or even three different types of paprika – plenty of the sweet to give taste, and some hot to give extra bite. I bought every variety available. Experimentation would come later.
 Getting more familiar with the city’s easy layout, and helped by the very efficient bus and metro systems, I started to enjoy my status as a visitor, which means I spent a lot of time café-hopping in Pest. Until 1873, Buda and Pest were two separate cities, but once united they became the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire (after Vienna). In fact, until the Chain Bridge was completed in 1849, there wasn’t even a bridge across the River Danube to connect the two. Most of the cafés and best restaurants seem to have remained in Pest.
This can be a problem if you want to find a cheap snack. The fast food of choice in Hungary is langos, a soft and sticky bread dough which is deep-fried and then topped with sour cream and sometimes grated cheese and garlic oil. Everybody seems to love it, but it is a typical holiday and festival food, not something you find in the elegant streets of Pest. I had my opportunity to try langos at the Sziget Festival, a week-long music festival held on the island of Sziget in the middle of the Danube, within Budapest. It was delicious and greasy – a must-try if you ever visit an Hungarian village or the resorts around Lake Balaton.
Hungarians love eating and drinking, and their meal portions are generous. A typical menu offers starters, soups, main courses and desserts; I could not finish a main, let alone order anything else.
Traditional soups, on the other hand, are very good value and may leave space for dessert. I’d heard about some sweet and cold fruit soups eaten in summer, but I wasn’t convinced – this really goes against my eating habits!
 On Sunday we made for Szentendre, a charming village about 30 minutes by car from Budapest, and also easily reached by train or by boat on the Danube. Szentendre looked touristy – full of pretty shops selling traditional souvenirs (though at a better price than Budapest) – and I wondered about the food quality. But Bence and Judit knew of a restaurant recommended by friends as the only place in the village to have maintained both high standards and reasonable prices in the past 20 years.
As soon as we entered the Restaurant Aranysárkány I had a feeling we would have a great meal. The Aranysárkány’s kitchen was open but discreet, the staff attentive and unpretentious, and the menu (of course) in several languages, but authentic.
With a bit of courage, I plumped for the cold, sweet plum soup with rum and cinnamon. Each of us had ordered a different soup, which was poured into our plates from medieval-looking metal cups. Mine was topped with whipped cream (oh dear), but by now I was so curious I just went for it. Good, very good – almost unbelievably good.
I had tried many great Hungarian wines during my stay, plus the bitter but restorative national liqueur Unicum, and a couple of rather potent pálinkas (fruit distillates). On my last evening Bence opened yet another bottle from his well-stocked cellar. This last goodnight cup was a sweet Tokaji, and so lovely and mellow I think I had three glasses.
 The Great Hungarian Pâtisserie
From the faded glories of the Austro-Hungarian empire comes one of the most famous and elaborate pâtisserie traditions of Europe. It is impossible to list all of the cakes of Hungary; in fact I think it is even impossible to list all of the cakes I tried during my long eating week in Budapest!
Two of the best known are definitely the dobos torta, a rich chocolate cake with a crunchy caramel topping, and the eszterházy torta, a multilayered gâteau made with almonds and topped with icing. I also tried the walnut and hazelnut versions of eszterházy, which must be one of the sweetest cakes I have ever eaten.
Many cakes are made with cream or cottage cheese, including túrógombóc hagyományosan, an original concoction of cottage cheese dumplings in butter-roasted breadcrumbs with sour cream, or in a walnut coating with strawberry sauce. You get three dumplings in your serving at the Central Café, where it is the most popular dessert.
Originally from Vienna, and now omnipresent in Budapest pâtisseries, is the famous sacher torta – a chocolate cake filled with one layer of apricot jam, with another layer of the same jam under the chocolate icing. I found one version with (horrors) an extra layer of jam, and understood why sometimes we should stick to tradition (“too much of a good thing...”).
And now to my favourites. Simple and easy, using the national fruit, a slice of meggyes pite, or sour cherry pie, can be had with coffee as it is not too sweet. But I think a Kiwi would be tempted to pour cream or perhaps custard on it.
And then there is the máktorta, or poppy-seed cake, which is a bit rich but original and really worth trying.
FACT FILE
STAY
Four Seasons Hotel
H-1051 Budapest Roosevelt tér 5-6 Ph: +36-1-268 6000 www.fourseasons.com/budapest. In my opinion the best in Pest, set in the amazing art nouveau Gresham Palace and just in front of the Chain Bridge. Even if you don’t stay here, the staff will be pleased to give you a little tour, which is certainly worthwhile. Rooms start at €200.
Danubius Hotel Gellért
H-1111 Budapest Szent Gellért tér 1 Ph: +36-1-889 5500 www.danubiushotels.com/gellert. The advantage of this hotel is that it is attached to the famous Gellért thermal bath complex (a must-visit). Double rooms range from €130-€170, depending on the season.
Burg Hotel
H-1014 Budapest Szentháromság tér 7 Ph: +36-1-212 0269 www.burghotelbudapest.com. Set in Buda Castle, with a great night view of the illuminated Church of Our Lady in Trinity Square. Doubles start at € 89; children under 14 sharing a room with parents stay for free. The rates are cheaper when you book on the Internet.
EAT
Restaurant Aranysárkány
H-2000 Szentendre Alkotmány utca1/a Ph: +36-26-301 479 www.aranysarkany.hu. The best meal I had was at this restaurant in Szentendre, just out of Budapest. The menu includes all the traditional fare like chicken paprika, gulyás, and honeyed goose steak, plus some great creations such as trout fillets in Campari sauce. A must-try is the seasonal-fruit cold soup.
Gundel
H-1146 Budapest Állatkerti út 2 Ph: +36-1-468 4040 www.gundel.hu. The crčme de la crčme of Budapest come here for special occasions, and gentlemen must wear a jacket. The garden is always open for coffee (and T-shirts can be worn) and the warm baked cheesecake with berry ragoűt is simply delicious.
Centrál Kávéház és Étterem
(Central Café) H-1053 Budapest Károlyi Mihály utca 9 Ph: +36-1-266 2110 www.centralkavehaz.hu. Perfect for lunch in the city centre, and patronised by both tourists and locals (including
intellectuals and political types) as you can sit for hours over a coffee without being disturbed.
Gerbeaud
H-1051 Budapest Vörösmarty tér 7 Ph: +36-1-429 9000 www.gerbeaud.hu. Possibly the city’s most famous pâtisserie and one of the oldest and largest cafés in Europe. Pretty gift boxes of biscuits and chocolates for sale.
Rivalda Café & Restaurant
H-1014 Budapest Színház utca 5-9 Ph: +36-1-489 0236 www.rivalda.net. Possibly one of the best bets in the Buda Castle quarter, where prices tend to exceed quality. There are comfortable tables both inside and in the garden, and quite a few choices for vegetarians, which is rare in traditional Hungarian restaurants.
Szamos Marcipán Múzeum Cukrászda
2000 Szentendre Dumtsa Jenö utca 14 Ph: +36-26-310 545 Another great pâtisserie in Szentendre and the home of Hungary’s famous marzipan. Very good sacher torta and poppy-seed cake.
BUY
Herend Porcelain Manufactory
1051 Budapest Apponyi Márkabolt József Nádor tér 11 Ph: +36-1-317 2622 www.herend.com. Hungary’s most famous porcelain – very classic-looking, and the perfect prezzie for mum.
Késesház
H-2000 Szentendre Dumtsa Jenö utca 9 Ph: +36-26-302 571 szankovits@mailbox.hu Great knives for the kitchen as well as sport and pocket knives in all shapes and sizes, handmade for generations by the Szankovits family. The perfect prezzie for dad.
Magma
1052 Budapest Petöfi Sándor utca 11 Ph: +36-1-235 0277 magmalak@axelero.hu. Trendy ceramics and table settings from Hungary’s talented young designers.
Paprika
Buy your paprika powder from a supermarket; it is cheaper and probably fresher than those sold in pretty packages in tourist shops.
Photography by David Lukas
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