Hungarian Goulash

Hungary has many delicacies: lángos, the fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese; Kùrtöskalács, the sweet bread that is baked rotisserie-style over charcoal; Dobostorta, a chocolate layered sponge cake topped with crystallized caramel. The list goes on, and you should try them all. But one thing you may already be familiar with is Gulyás: the famous Hungarian Goulash.

Goulash is a Hungarian original. It’s a hot stew with chunks of beef, potatoes and vegetables, and they don’t hold back on the paprika. It was originally made by cattle herdsman, who used to dry the cooked meat under the sun and pack in into bags produced from sheep’s stomachs. Then they just added water to make it into a meal: a Middles Ages pot-noodle, more or less.

The result was pure comfort food: hearty and hot. Everyone has their own recipe, omitting this or adding that, so don’t limit yourself to one sample. Try the Hunyadi Restaurant, a lesser known eatery which focuses on local meals and wines, or head to the elegant and spacious ÉS Bistro in the Kempinski hotel, where you can also enjoy Latin themed events on Friday and Saturday nights in the summer.