1/8
Alabárdos - bean stew
Hungary has always been great at vegetable stews, so it's no surprise that creative Hungarian chefs have reinterpreted this dish as well. The sous chef at Alabárdos, Dániel Kiss O’shea had prepared a novelty bean stew for the Czifray contest, and it turned out so well that it was added to the menu. 'I really love bean stew; I aimed at creating a light, mild and fresh starter that preserved the traditional flavours,' Dani explained. There are four kinds of cooked beans on the plate next to a sour cream bean stew foam, there is smoked veal tongue wrapped in mangalitsa bacon on top with blood pudding. Eating stew in a foam form with blood pudding seems pretty scary at first, but we'd recommend even the faint of heart to give it a try because it's really worth it. The blood pudding is made of French brioche and resembles the blood and rice sausage that it well-known in Hungary. The dish owes its light and fresh quality to fresh herbs, the tomato concessé, the celery green and the capers. The dish costs 3800 HUF.
2/8
Babel - Rigó Jancsi
You might recognise Babel Budapest's Rigó Jancsi slice from the Gourmet Festival, where we also grew quite fond of this re-imagined classic. Rigó Jancsi was a Gypsy violinist born in 1858, who - as the legend has it - asked for the hand of an already married Belgian princess with the slice named after him. The classic Rigó Jancsi consists of sponge cake and chocolate cream; chef György Lőrincz's creation is a more complex cake, worthy of the Hungarian cuisine of old. 'The manifold nature of chocolate, its diverse textures and depths were my inspirations,' the chef revealed. The chocolate appears in various textures, including an extra crunchy layer. The slice is served with salt ice cream, which accentuates the flavours nicely. The dish costs 2800 HUF. (It is currently off the menu, but you can taste it at the KIOSK confectionery next door.)
3/8
Gundel - Magnate Goulash
The world goulash denotes a rich soup, a one-course dish for most - and it is the dish that most visiting foreigners want to try. But would you believe that there is a goulash variation that is served on a dinner plate? Here's how: a fillet of beef with cooked-baked egg spätzle, and a thick stew sauce. The egg spätzle forms a disk that serves as a pedestal to the majestic, thick slices of meat. According to Gábor Merczi, the chef at Gundel, the Magnate Goulash delivers the same flavours as a classical goulash, it only looks different. You can find this dish on the degustation menu; it is a popular option with guests open to innovation.
4/8
Onyx - 21st century Somló sponge
You will find the classic Hungarian sweet, the Somló sponge cake (Somlói galuska), among the desserts of a Michelin-starred Hungarian restaurant, as the crown on the menu called Hungarian Evolution. The 21st century Somló spnge cake was inspired by another dessert by a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant in Milan. It was a layered tiramisu served in a wide glass, which Szabina Szulló and Tamás Széll chanced upon when they were attending a chocolate course of the Tain Hermitage-based Chocolats Valrhona. The key elements of the dessert (chocolate, rum, walnut, raisins, sponge cake and vanilla) are all present - only the textures are different. The reworked version is prepared using slightly different technology. The vanilla cream is salty-buttery, the milk chocolate is prepared with ganache Jivara chocolate, and there is salty-sweet-walnutty streusel atop the dessert. The serving is elegant; the taste of the classic Somló sponge cake in this new version is clearly noticeable. The dish costs 4500 HUF.
5/8
Salon - Venison with vegetables “Vadas” style
Most Hungarians have memories of Vadas (usually a cut of beef/venison in carrot sauce with dumplings) from home, a restaurant or the school cafeteria. But now, the Salon Restaurant serves a Vadas that will completely overshadow any previous experience and be a real treat for anyone who has never tried this classic Hungarian dish before. Here, Vadas is prepared with a saddle of venison, the sauce is a light vegetable purée, and all this is served with soft fried potato dumplings, eye candy fresh vegetables and sprouts, crème fraiche instead of sour cream and a bit of juniper jus (gravy). The presentation itself is simply exquisite. 'The flavours of the dish resemble that of the traditional Vadas with its classical, slightly sweet and sour tint, but it is characteristically lighter and more modern. We wanted to recreate this dish well, in harmony with our philosophy,' explained chef András Wolf. The dish costs 8500 HUF.
6/8
Tanti - Potato paprikash
The paprika potato stew is a dish preferred by many Hungarian mums and grandmas, since it's pretty simple and filling. The paprika potato stew by Tanti is perhaps the most strongly reinterpreted dish in this compilation. Nowadays, chef István Pesti prefers to use fish and seafood to refresh, alter and reinvent his masterfully served creations. His dishes are, so to speak, the meeting points of earth and water. This is how his potato paprikash got spiced up with baby calamari and calamari stuffed with duck sausage. The plate also holds confit potatoes, dried tomatoes, nduja (a hot Italian sausage) shallots, sour cream espuma and paprika potato stew jus. The serving looks, of course, marvellous. The dish costs 3750 HUF.
7/8
ZONA - Lecho
Though it is currently off-season, lecho is undeniably an evergreen Hungarian classic. One of Budapest's best restaurants, Zona, prepares this dish somewhat differently than we are accustomed to. Krisztián Huszár's lecho is vivid, fresh and slightly smoky in taste. It is prepared with kápia paprika, half-dried date tomatoes and tomato relish, Thai shallot confit in duck fat, capers, fresh spring onions, raspberry pálinka and smoked quail egg. 'I didn't want it to resemble classic lecho 100%, I wanted to create something new, elegant and fresh,' says the chef. The dish costs 3900 HUF (seasonal offer)
