If you are curious about Hungarian food then join me, as I share a food, wine and cultural walking tour in Budapest. I always love doing Spaswinefood things out-of-season; so last November when the tourists had disappeared from Budapest, I did just that. I took a tour of the Central Market Hall and the surrounding neighborhood with Tasting Table Budapest. WARNING: Do not eat before this tour.
The day of the tour I arrived early to explore the Central Market on my own. In this case I decided to go to the second floor to view what was happening below.
Even on an early November morning shoppers were already making purchases.
One stand selling Tokaji immediately caught my attention.
Even in November the fruit and vegetable displays looked amazing.
Now for a closer look at those fruits and vegetable stands.
Soon it was time to meet up with our guide and start the tour. The Great Market Hall or Central Market Hall (Nagyvásárcsarnok), with around 200 stands, is not only a place where tourist can sample foods, or buy culinary souvenirs but also some of the locals shop here.
The Market
After I meeting our guide the tour began. Our first Central Market stop was the Panoráma Bár.
Here we were introduced to Unicum, one of Hungary's national drinks. Unicum is most commonly drank as a digestif or aperitif. Let's take a look at the history of this drink. The Zwack family, the producers, escaped during the communist period taking with them the secret recipe. Later when the family returned to Hungary they assumed production of this 80 proof (40% aclcohol) liquer. This drink is made from 40 herbs and spices, and aged in oak barrels. As an introduction to this iconic liquer I was offered a choice of traditional or bitter flavors.
Do not remember what flavor I selected but I believe it was bitter. Probably it did not make a difference for me, because it tasted somewhat medicinal. I am sure that it is an acquired taste, one which I need to develop in this case. Further along I spotted an Unicum display.
Yes, sitting right next to the Unicum was Tokaji. Tokaji is a Hungarian wine that I had already fell in love with, most likely because of its aromatic sweetness.
Amongst the display bottles I spotted an Unicum Reserve. Obviously, given its proximity to Tokaji all I could think about was Tokaji.
We continued onto our next stop, passing shoppers along the way.
Next stop was at a Lángos stand.
Here we sampled lángos, a fried bread. We selected the cheese and sour creme option.
Even at the Lángos Stand, I also spotted another Tokaji display. Yes, indeed Tokaji is a popular Hungarian wine.
As we walked through the market various foods, and spices were discussed. Paprika was one of those. Paprika, the fourth most consumed spice in the world, is widely used in Hungarian cuisine. Yes, paprika comes in bags, tins, and tubes, and also in different flavors and grades of hotness (sweet, mild to hot).
There are sweet and hot favors of paprika.
Yes, besides paprika powders there are creams.
Later, after passing a pepper display it prompted a discussion of Paprika. Paprika is made by grinding air dried Capsicum Peppers ( bell peppers or sweet peppers, to more pungent chilli peppers or cayenne peppers). While Capsicum Pepper is native to South America Hungary one of the main centers in Europe for growing these peppers is Hungary.
It is not surprising to find a Paprika Vendor at the Central Market.
Of course the display of dry peppers and garlic is always captivating.
There are other spices to buy, like Hungarian Saffron. The use of saffron in Hungarian cuisine dates back to the Middle Ages. My understanding of that Hungarian Saffron being is sold in the Central Market however is safflower. Given that saffron is one of the most expensive foods in the world the price tag at the market suggests it is safflower.
For those so inclined foie gras (goose liver) and caviar are available to purchase. I did spotted a goose liver display right below some wines.
We continued onto a strudel stand.
From the expansive offerings we selected a fruit strudel to sample.
The fruit strudel I sampled was most delicious. It was definitely a good choice.
There are many butcher shops through the market. Our final stop was at a deli.
At this stand our guide carefully selected deli samples to try.
Deli meat lovers will love this stop.
Besides food sampling in the Central Market Hall there is so much to discover with a knowledgeable guide. Our early morning visit to the largest and oldest indoor market in Budapest was indeed a success.
The Neighborhood
After exploring the market we went out on the street to continue our foodie explorations.
Off we went to explore the neighborhood. During the walk we discussed some of the cultural history of Budapest.
First stop on our walk was to check out some artisan chocolates.
Later, we walked by some university buildings.
Yes, it was lunch time and we headed to Belvárosi Disznótoro, a popular local butcher shop.
Lunch began with some simple breads and drinks.
Then the soups arrived.
Later our lunch orders arrived.
I did manage to select some vegetarian foods for lunch.
As we left Belvárosi Disznótoros there was still a lineup for lunch.
After lunch we walked to our second last stop, a historic Budapest cafe. Yes, it was time for afternoon coffee/tea. The good news there was some walking to do before. We passed beautiful buildings enroute.
We crossed traffic.
We also passed buildings with the most interesting details along the way. If I recall correctly, our guide shared with us some details on a historic flooding in Budapest.
We were about to discover some of Budapest's coffee house history. 1910-1930's coffee house culture thrived in Budapest. During this time period there were over 500 cafes that were frequented by writers, poets and artists. Many of these cafes were destroyed during the world wars. The number of cafes further declined during the communist regime. We were most fortunate to visit Auguszt, one of those historic cafes. Auguszt was founded in 1870.
When we arrived at the Auguszt cafe there were more tasty decisions to be made. While we waited for our order I just had to look around.
We ordered teas, coffee and shared two desserts.
Those tempting pastries were called Eszterházy and Dobos.
Budapest has an amazing coffee house history. In fact exploring Budapest coffee houses would be an exciting adventure, just on its own.
By this time we left Auguzst Cukrászda that day I was definitely getting a sense of the rich history of Hungarian food.
Tasting Table Budapest
After leaving it was a nice walk to the final stop at the Tasting Table. Here we were introduced to wines from three Hungarian wine regions. The wines were paired with local artisan cheeses.
This was my second wine tasting at the Tasting Table. The wines included two Furmint wines, a dry and a sweet, and a red wine. Earlier at the Tasting Table I did a wine tasting of five different Hungarian wines. That tasting included three different styles of wines made with the Furmint grape variety (a sparkling wine (Kreinbacher Winery, Brut Classic Sparkling NV), dry white (Szászi Winery, Keknyelu 2016) and Tokaji Aszú (Royal Tokaji Winery, 5 Puttonyos Aszú 2009).
While in Budapest I stayed nearby at Casati Budapest Hotel, which is about a 15 minute walk from the Tasting Table. The Tasting Table Budapest is the perfect place to begin an Hungarian wine and food affair. I was so delighted to have began my #budapesttobucharest Spaswinefood adventure here. I invite you to join me in my travels in Hungary and elsewhere at Spaswinefood.
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| Budapest Central Market Hall © Spaswinefood |
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| Shoppers, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Early Morning, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Shoppers, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Tokaji and More, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Fruit and Vegetable Displays, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Display of Fruit and Vegetables, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
The Market
After I meeting our guide the tour began. Our first Central Market stop was the Panoráma Bár.
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| Panoráma Bár, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Unicum, Panoráma Bár © Spaswinefood |
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| Glass of Unicum, Panoráma Bár © Spaswinefood |
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| Unicum Display, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Unicum & Tokaji, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
We continued onto our next stop, passing shoppers along the way.
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| Unicum, Tokaji and more, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Lángos, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Langos Time, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Cheese Lángos, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Lángos Stand Menu, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
As we walked through the market various foods, and spices were discussed. Paprika was one of those. Paprika, the fourth most consumed spice in the world, is widely used in Hungarian cuisine. Yes, paprika comes in bags, tins, and tubes, and also in different flavors and grades of hotness (sweet, mild to hot).
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| Paprika, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Paprika Cans, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Paprika Cream, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Peppers, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Chilli Peppers, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Paprika Vendor, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Peppers and Garlic, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Hungarian Saffron, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Goose Liver, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Caviar, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Strudel Shop, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Strudels, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Fruit Strudel, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Deli, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Deli Display, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Deli Samples, Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
The Neighborhood
After exploring the market we went out on the street to continue our foodie explorations.
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| Leaving Budapest Central Market © Spaswinefood |
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| Exploring Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Exploring Budapest Side Streets © Spaswinefood |
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| Artisan Chocolate, Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| A Budapest Morning Walk © Spaswinefood |
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| Discovering Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Belvárosi Disznótoros, Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Tasty Snacks, Belvárosi Disznótoros © Spaswinefood |
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| Soups, Belvárosi Disznótoros © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch, Belvárosi Disznótoros © Spaswinefood |
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| Vegetarian Lunch, Belvárosi Disznótoros © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch Time, Belvárosi Disznótoros © Spaswinefood |
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| Lunch Time, Belvárosi Disznótoros, Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| A November Walk, Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Budapest on Foot #1 © Spaswinefood |
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| Budapest on Foot #2 © Spaswinefood |
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| Budapest on Foot #3 © Spaswinefood |
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| Budapest on Foot #4 © Spaswinefood |
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| Plaque Commemorating Budapest Flood © Spaswinefood |
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| Ordering Pastries, Auguzst Cukrászda © Spaswinefood |
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| Auguzst Cukrászda © Spaswinefood |
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| Afternoon Tea, Auguzst Cukrászda © Spaswinefood |
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| Eszterházy(top) and Dobos(bottom) © Spaswinefood |
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| Auguzst Cukrászda © Spaswinefood |
Tasting Table Budapest
After leaving it was a nice walk to the final stop at the Tasting Table. Here we were introduced to wines from three Hungarian wine regions. The wines were paired with local artisan cheeses.
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| Return to the Tasting Table Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Tasting Table Budapest © Spaswinefood |
Sharon
Budapest, Hungary
November 2017
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| Tasting Table Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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| Menu Services, Tasting Table Budapest © Spaswinefood |
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