People often ask me where you can eat authentic Hungarian food in this city. The very fact that this question is asked suggests that it is not an easy one to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHAT DO WE CONSIDER TO BE AUTHENTIC HUNGARIAN FOOD, AND WHICH DISHES FALL INTO THIS CATEGORY?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a trickier matter, but after a few follow-up questions, it always turns out that these are dishes which have featured on almost every family \u201emenu\u201d at some point \u2013 childhood memories of family meals, after-school clubs or school canteens. One thing is certain: these are shared experiences that have shaped several generations, because these dishes \u2013 even if they weren\u2019t prepared to a uniform standard, and were often thrown together in a slapdash manner \u2013 still had a common flavour that we might call the taste of a carefree childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we come across something similar in adult life, it may well be that our eyes well up with tears, perhaps without us even knowing why. Our memory of flavours overpowers even the gourmet within us; no matter how many new and different flavours we\u2019ve learnt to appreciate as adults, nothing can override our deeply ingrained sense of taste \u2013 we remain its captives forever. It\u2019s like homesickness: we can fool ourselves for a while, but then, as soon as we cross the border, we don\u2019t even need to kiss the ground \u2013 the very scent of home fills our nostrils and twists our hearts with a bittersweet longing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Returning to the question asked, in such situations \u2013 out of sheer exasperation and to buy some time \u2013 I ask them to list exactly which dishes they have in mind. The dishes most frequently mentioned are: chicken paprikash, cabbage with tomato sauce, homemade chicken soup, pal\u00f3c soup, goulash soup, R\u00e1k\u00f3czi cottage cheese cake, K\u00e1rp\u00e1ti fish cake, and other sweet treats such as Gundel pancakes and Soml\u00f3i sponge cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019d think nothing could be easier than this \u2013 after all, we\u2019re in Hungary; these are our dishes, we grew up eating them, so it goes without saying that restaurant owners should always have them on the menu. But when I actually have to name a specific place, it turns out that I wouldn\u2019t recommend it \u2013 either because, whilst they might serve paprika chicken, the quality is abysmal, or because none of the other dishes on the list are available at the chosen venue. It may well be that we need more than half a dozen restaurants to find the dishes on our wish list. I won\u2019t mention here those places which, as tourist-trap retro dishes, feature several items from the list whilst taking a rather casual approach to the original recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A widely held, yet seriously mistaken belief is rife throughout the country, namely that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HUNGARIAN DISHES ALMOST COME TOGETHER ON THEIR OWN; IT\u2019S JUST A MATTER OF HEART, and spirit; you simply need to throw the ingredients together as you please, and the dish is ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A serious misconception: the classics of Hungarian cuisine are prepared with the precision of French patisserie. We can therefore state unequivocally that this is a profession governed by strict rules. This is the Gundel legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a stroke of luck for us, because it finally seems I can give a straightforward answer to the question posed. A workshop, a place, a community has emerged which has finally taken the Gundel traditions seriously and, in that very building where they were born and came to fruition, has created a continuation of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For decades, the sons and daughters of our country, scattered far and wide, brought joy to Gundel with their visits: their first journey, wherever they came from, led them here; they came, craving the flavours of home. It was here that the first sigh of relief escaped from their hearts, tormented by homesickness. That lovely little paprika chicken and the R\u00e1k\u00f3czi cottage cheese dish \u2013 however hard they tried in distant lands, they could never replicate them in their own kitchens, because it requires something else, something that exists only at home, only here, in this region, however battered it may be, but it is home. It requires the Liget, the chugging of the trolleybuses, the rustling of the leafy park. The Hungarian language and the cosiness of Gundel. And last but not least, it requires expertise that is not ostentatious but self-evident; that, too, is essential. The time has come for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can the experiences gained from a long period away, the ability to adapt demonstrated in the host community, and the life-sustaining power of culinary experiences from one\u2019s youth be put to good use in the kitchen? Viktor Moldov\u00e1n spent fourteen years in Japan of his own volition as a cook, sous-chef and head chef, and possesses the qualities listed above: kitchen experience gained in a leadership role, adaptability, an openness to the world, a clear culinary vision regarding the traditional line of Hungarian cuisine, and sufficient humility in approaching the task, recognising that the aim is not boundless self-realisation, but rather the creation of a well-functioning community in the kitchen, where every moment serves the modern reconstruction of the Gundel culinary world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Andr\u00e1s Wolf is a great help in this task; he is, quite literally, the chef\u2019s chef, as he is the head chef at Eventrend, the company that runs the venture. Their meeting was fateful; although they followed different paths, they have both always been committed advocates and practitioners of traditional Hungarian cuisine, whether urban or rural in inspiration. And from now on, they are the custodians of the Gundel legacy, a role that carries great responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reopening of Gundel draws on the traditions of Pest\u2019s \u201egrand caf\u00e9s\u201d. This traditional format \u2013 like that of the New York Caf\u00e9 \u2013 is no coincidence, as it is run by the same operator and represents the most guest-friendly and universally accessible style. Open all day, with cosy d\u00e9cor and a classic caf\u00e9 menu complemented by the most popular and well-known dishes of Hungarian cuisine at any time of day. A way of life. Just as the whole of metropolitan coffee-house culture has, for over a century, attracted city-dwellers with the most vivid imaginations as a way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the caf\u00e9, every social class finds its place; it temporarily erases differences and brings together even those who would not normally mix. It reveals a cross-section of a city\u2019s society. From the urban slum-dweller to the Nobel laureate, everyone finds their place in the coffee house; Hungarian culture, which went on to conquer the world, would scarcely have existed without the coffee house. As a focal point of European urban culture, it attracted artists and thinkers. Some works would never have been created had it not been for the coffee house. Now, the Gundel, returning to its original function, is reviving this grand coffee-house tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for me, I got a taste of Gundel\u2019s cuisine. I asked if I could pop into the kitchen, as I wanted to familiarise myself with the dishes whilst they were being served. That way, I was also able to witness how the kitchen team copes with plating up dishes with so many ingredients, and just how well-coordinated the team is, so this time I was able to observe events from a slightly more insider\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The trout farmed in Tahit\u00f3tfalu is one of the finest of its kind available today. If I were in the mood for a light, gentle dish that can be enjoyed at any time of day \u2013 often referred to as a \u2018salad\u2019 \u2013 then I would most likely choose something like this. Here we have a slice of fish, carefully marinated (though not overpoweringly so), discreetly smoked, cut into thin strips and tossed in toasted sesame seeds. It\u2019s a sight to behold. Arranged lengthways alongside it \u2013 and it\u2019s no coincidence that they\u2019re positioned this way \u2013 are paper-thin apple slices, pickled gherkins, homemade mayonnaise that\u2019s tantalisingly tangy, bursting with acidity, horseradish, chervil, dill leaves and pickled mustard seeds \u2013 and make no mistake, it can only be cut in such a way that every bite contains all of the listed ingredients. Fresh. Every little detail blends into the final composition, yet each one stands out on its own, playing its part. The conductor is good, I must say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In \u00dajh\u00e1zi chicken soup, the proper cooking and freshness of the generously portioned vegetables are key factors in how enjoyable the soup is \u2013 I could put it in scientific terms, but the truth of this statement is indisputable. No matter how much the chef tells me not to look for Japanese influences in his dishes, I remain convinced that the engineering precision of the individual ingredients, their striking freshness, and the vibrant, equally refreshing role of the additional greens \u2013 as well as the use of microgreens \u2013 nevertheless remind me of the Asian dishes that feature an abundance of greens. The soup has been matured by the chicken meat, bones and fat cooked within it, and possesses all the depth one could wish for; it is just like a traditional chicken broth from the good old days, as Gundel himself would have approved. It is a particular delight that, just as was the custom in the good old days, the waiter pours the soup straight from a generously flared metal bowl onto a mound of heaped vegetables. The aroma that wafts up at that moment is already half the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pal\u00f3cleves is a shining star in the firmament of Hungarian cuisine; one of its fundamental challenges is that, beyond the subtle meaty flavour of the lamb-based soup, its most characteristic feature is its just-right acidity. Getting this right is a task requiring at least the skill of a piano tuner. Here, too, the freshness of the carefully selected vegetables is paired with the flavours concentrated in the long-simmered soup; alongside this, the silkiness of the dill and celery oil culminates in a unique harmony of sight and taste. The refreshing vegetable mix \u2013 which, I\u2019m convinced, is an essential ingredient in any soup \u2013 captures the moment when spring gives way to summer. Anyone who eats this will immediately start speaking with a Pal\u00f3c accent; that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dill is a common herb and flavouring in Gundel\u2019s dishes. The traditional \u2018K\u00e1rp\u00e1ti-style\u2019 sturgeon dish \u2013 which can essentially be prepared with any fine fish \u2013 is nowadays more commonly made with pike-perch fillet. Dill is a defining spice of Hungarian cuisine, at least as much as paprika, and in the finest kitchens it wins the contest hands down. Wherever dill makes an appearance, celery is never far behind. These two, one might say, evoke the flavours of traditional Hungarian cuisine. Paprika was introduced later and has added colour and flavour to Hungarian dishes. Dill\u2019s refreshing green vigour and aroma accompany dozens of Hungarian dishes. The firm flesh of the pike-perch fillet is dipped in a Mediterranean-inspired sauce made from a stock of prawn shells and fish stock, as are the lightly seared prawn tails. It is commonly believed that shimeji mushrooms are a Japanese speciality, and in this case it would seem to confirm the notion that the chef couldn\u2019t resist sneaking something characteristic of Japanese cuisine into the dish, but it\u2019s not quite that simple, because this delicate mushroom also grows on beech trees in the northern hemisphere and is native to our region too. And it\u2019s a perfect match for this dish. Our pike-perch, prepared K\u00e1rp\u00e1ti-style, is a well-balanced, creamy and mild dish. It\u2019s a real favourite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sauce in the paprika chicken is smooth. An intense paprika flavour comes through behind the sour cream, and the meaty and vegetable aromas of the chicken stock also come through. I\u2019m delighted to see that the chicken thighs and breasts haven\u2019t undergone any modernising alterations; they haven\u2019t been artificially shaped, but are served in their natural state \u2013 and, incidentally, this is free-range chicken. The nokedli are hand-torn, plucked from a chopping board and dropped into boiling water, freshly made. Once strained from the water, they\u2019re tossed in butter; they\u2019re almost frothy, with a thin, melt-in-the-mouth texture. These are genuine galuska at their very best, and this is worth emphasising because we tend, out of habit, to accept even hard, days-old galuska that have been revived from the dead. We must put a stop to this; let\u2019s take the flour-to-egg ratio of Gundel\u2019s dumplings as the benchmark. If we don\u2019t want to mess about with new-wave experimental chicken paprikash, then head to Gundel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without R\u00e1k\u00f3czi\u2019s quark cake, I\u2019d feel like something was missing. It looks just like a woman\u2019s powder compact. The essence of the cake is captured in its delicate presentation: quark and meringue, along with vanilla \u2013 which is well known for evoking irresistible sensations on the palate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there\u2019s something else here that I reckon has a bright future: the Gundel ring. Andr\u00e1s Wolf simply cannot deny his true nature, as he is, at heart, a confectioner and baker, as well as a chef. He has devised a sweet treat incorporated into a pastry which, in my view, could easily win over even those who might otherwise hesitate to pop into Gundel. It is made from dough leavened with one per cent yeast, which, after proving, is brushed with a mixture of butter, cardamom and cinnamon, then shaped into rings, fried until crisp and glazed with pistachio sugar syrup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything you need is here; the Gundel legend can begin anew \u2013 all the more so because, as usual, I got carried away tasting the food \u2013 but the Grand Caf\u00e9 experience offers much more than that: an all-day caf\u00e9 experience at reasonable prices, including, in addition to the dishes listed, breakfast, afternoon tea and pastries \u2013 just as you\u2019d expect from a big-city caf\u00e9 \u2013 along with live music and that time-honoured Gundel atmosphere. From now on, Gundel isn\u2019t just for snobs, it isn\u2019t just for the rich, it isn\u2019t just for foreigners \u2013 it\u2019s for everyone, for all of us, quite literally. You just have to go there \u2013 that\u2019s all.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n