Best Hungarian Meal @ Nansci Neni (Budapest Day 3)

This was it... My last night in Budapest and my final meal. Bolly's parents were saving their favorite restaurant Nansci Neni for my last meal.



The restaurant was completely packed when we arrived but it was still very quiet and warm. The interior was made from timber and was beautifully decorated with jars of pickled fruits and vegetables.




The menu was quite extensive with entrees ranging from fish, poultry, game, beef and many more. We ordered some appetizers and desserts to share but had our own main courses.

Fresh Goose Liver with Steamed Grapes

Zhao Phin and I shared this appetizer. Believe it or not, Laszlo told me that Hungary actually exports around 70% of Europe's market for goose liver (Foie Gras). This may explain the generous portion served here. The goose-liver was perfectly seared and went really well with the sweet steamed grape sauce which had a nice hint of sherry. The soft milk-loaf was an excellent sponge for the delicious sauce!


Boiled Beef in Hunter's Sauce

This was my dish. The beef was fork tender and the Hunter's Sauce went really well with the beef. It had a hint of sweetness but was also smoky and earthy which complemented the flavor of the beef. It tasted a little like barbecue sauce but Bearta told me it is actually made from carrots and a few other root vegetables. The Hungarian Dumplings had a similar texture to French Toast and was very good as well.


Duck and Goose Plate

This was Nora's main course. The plate consist of a crispy duck leg, a slice of duck liver and a spicy goose wing. It also came with steamed red cabbage and mash potatoes.


Ovenbaked Rosemary Parfumed Leg of Lamb

Bearta's main course. The lamb leg cutlets were served with oven-baked potatoes that were seasoned with garlic and roasemary sauce


Loin of Venison with Bilberries

Bolly's venison loin came with flambeed fruits, home made potato croquette and blueberry sauce.


Fresh Grilled Fillet of Pike-preach from Lake Balaton

This was the only seafood main course and was Laszlo's. The Pike-preach was served with green-pea puree and buttered carrots


Braised Duck Leg Confit

Phin's main course came in a nice mini iron pot. The duck legs were confit to a state where the meat was falling off the bone. It looked really delicious!


Floating Islands

The middle was basically a light souffle that was sitting on top of a vanilla custard. The dessert was really light and good!


Somloi Galuska

I cannot get enough of this dessert and we had it again. The somloi here was better than what we had at the Plintenburg. It wasn't drenched with bottled chocolate sauce and the dumplings were really soft and had a much nuttier flavor! It tasted similar to Nutella.

Aranygaluska

Aranygaluska are soft brioche squares rolled in walnut and vanilla sauce. The highlight was the sauce which had a very nice vanilla scent and was light but creamy.


Chocolate Mousse

I was too full to try this dessert haha so I can't really comment on it.


Overall this was probably the best meal I had in Europe this trip. Everything I had and tried was excellent in this restaurant and I definitely look forward to coming back to Budapest to eat again! Anyone coming to Budapest I highly recommend this place. The portions are generous and the food is really good!


Contact Information
Address: 1029 Budapest, II. ker. Ordogarok ut 80
Tel: +36-398-7127
Web: www.nancsineni.hu

Delicious Lunch @ Plintenburg Restaurant (Budapest Day 3)

After a breathtaking view of the Danube River from the mountains Bolly's dad Laszlo took us for lunch at Plintenburg Restaurant which was situated right by the Danube River Bank to sample their local river fish Pike-preach.



While waiting for our food I couldn't help notice this cute little jar called "Eros Pista" that was on every table. Laszlo told me it was spicy paprika and asked me to try it with the bread. My weak tongue was on fire after my first bite. I never thought spicy paprika would taste like sambal oelek! If I did I would not have spread such a big amount on my bread.



Anyways, after downing a couple of glasses of water our food finally arrived...

Halaszle Bogracsban, Matula Bacsi Modra (Uncle Matula's Fish Soup)

This was my dish and I absolutely love it. The paprika based soup had a nice smoky flavor that went well with the pike. The Pike in my soup had a texture and was high in fat just like Salmon.


Mandulas Foglas Vajban Sutve (Pike-preached with almond fried in butter)

This was Bolly's dish and he did not quite like it. I had a bite of it and thought the fish was perfectly cooked since it was moist in the inside and the almond crust wasn't burnt. However, I did agree with Bolly that the almond probably did not go well with the fish and that they should have made some sauce to go with it.


Foglas File tejszines-gombas rakmartassal (Pike-preach with creamy mushroom crayfish sauce)

This was Phin's dish. The crayfish actually looked more like shrimps to me. The sauce was very rich and creamy but was quite mild.


Visegradi Harcsapaprikas (Catfish in Paprika Sauce in Visegrad)

This was Laszlo's dish. The sauce was actually similar to the pork stew I had at Corvinus Pizzeria in Sopron. Surprisingly it went well with the fish despite it being so strong. The dish was also served with Hungarian flat noodles which Phin had at Corvinus.


In addition to our main courses we also ordered some Hungarian Desserts to try...

Gundel Palascinta (Gundel Pancakes)

A famous Hungarian Pancake. They were pretty good especially the filling which consisted of ground walnuts, raisins and cinnamon.


Plintenburg Palascinta (Plintenburg Pancakes)

This was the restaurant's own pancake. It tasted similar to Gundel Pancakes except that it was drowned in bottled chocolate sauce and whipped cream.


Somloi Galuska

This is a typical and very rich Hungarian Dessert. It consist of three dumplings that were flavored with Vanilla pastry cream, raisins, walnuts and garnished with whip cream and chocolate rum. The dessert is so rich and heavy but it was really really good!

Our lunch was really heavy but it was very satisfying. Plintenburg was yet another restaurant that we picked randomly and yet the food was excellent. Tonight however Laszlo promised us a dinner that serves up top notch Hungarian food! I can't wait...


Contact Information:
Address: Somewhere in Visegrad I think
Tel: N/A

Dinner @ Bolly's House (Budapest Day 2)

Tonight was special as Bolly’s mum Beata cooked us a simple but delicious meal. "The food is Hungarian but modified to make it my own" chuckles Beata as she whips up our dinner while we waited patiently in the living room.

Dinner was finally ready and Bolly came out from the kitchen with a large pot that smelled really good! “Ohh Goulash!” I exclaimed as he laid the pot down on the table. “Nope, it’s called Palóc” he replied immediately.



Palóc is actually a meat and vegetable soup. It has the same watery consistency as Chinese soup but definitely packed a lot of flavor from the vegetables, potatoes, meat and special blend of paprika powder. The meat is usually pork but Bolly's mum uses Turkey instead to keep it healthy. I definitely loved the earthy and hearty flavor of this soup.



Next came a bowl full of breaded balls that resembled Tong Yuen, a custard-like sauce and powdered sugar. Initially I thought this was our dessert but Bolly said this was our main course and the balls were called Túrógombóc.



The first version was traditional where the balls were just cottage cheese that is boiled and then rolled in breadcrumbs. The cheese was a little sour in flavor and had a creamier texture than Feta Cheese. Eating it with sour cream (the custard like sauce) and powdered sugar actually added more depth to the overall flavor of the balls.




Beata also made her own version by filling the balls with dark chocolate. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the chocolate and cottage cheese melded together. It was actually pretty darn good.



We ended our meal with some really sweet mini grapes that were taken from Bolly’s grandparent’s garden. The meal was so simple but I was very satisfied and full! Many thanks to Nora for cooking this meal!

Japanese @ Restaurant Kyoto (Budapest Day 2)

Yes... I know all the hype about eating Hungarian food from my previous post and the very next day we had Japanese for lunch. Believe me I wanted Hungarian cuisine but my stomach was hurting from all the food I had in the past week.



That leads us to Kyoto, an upscale Japanese Restaurant that is located near the Four Seasons Hotel. There was a lunch menu available and both Bolly and Phin ordered from it.

Bolly's set lunch included Sushi and a main of Chicken Katsudon. Bolly preferred the Chicken at Kyoto and felt it was definitely crispier and juicier than what we had last night at Figlmuller.




Phin on the other hand opted for Gyoza together with Chicken Teppanyaki. I had a piece of the gyoza and found it a little too soggy and oily. The chicken teppanyaki however was actually pretty good. The chicken was tender and had a nice little crisp on the outside.




Opting to go light I chose the New Style Sashimi and an order of Cha Siu Ramen. The Sashimi was quite fresh but were cut very thinly. As for the Ramen... let's just say it probably came out from a packet.




In addition to the food we had we also ordered a Black Dragon Roll which was very good. The sweet teriyaki sauce that was basted on the unagi certainly gave the roll a nice flavor.



Overall, Kyoto was quite a good Japanese Restaurant. It may not be as good as Shisan in Frankfurt but the quality was good enough to satisfy us for lunch.


Contact Information:
Address: H-1051 Budapest, Roosevelt Ter 7-8
Tel: +361-801-9862
Web: www.kyotoetterem.hu