Hungarian Rhapsody

When it comes to Central European food, perhaps the most iconic is probably Austrian and German cuisine. Sausage, pretzels, roast knuckles, and sauerkraut come to mind - not to mention the ubiquitous potato which appears in so many variants. Not so much of these can be had in Manila, more so that the restaurant Schwarzwalder (Black Forest) which for the last 20 or so years have appeased hungry locals with their cozy German food closed down. 

A rather new and quaint restaurant with great potential that serves Central European cuisine is Magyar (which means Hungary in the Hungarian tongue). Hungarian food is the main focus of the menu, but some pasta and pizza are also offered. The restaurant is located in Paseo de Magallanes, which can be quickly accessed through SLEX. 

 

 

In addition to a regular menu, the fennel bulbs were presented with an adorable scrapbook detailing the various dishes as well as insights regarding Hungarian cuisine, culture, and history.  

For starters, Langos (Php110 for an order comprised of two pieces) was ordered. Langos is deep-fried dough and eaten in Hungary as a snack and it is topped with cream and cheese. The texture is similar to that of a doughnut. 

Next is the beet salad (Php140). Mixed greens, beets, vinaigrette, cheese, nuts, and oranges are tossed together. This is delicious, and the combination of the sweetness of the beets and the sourness of the vinaigrette go very well together. One must be wary of the beets as it can stain clothes. 

 

Next is Lamb Paprika (Php325) which is lamb stewed in paprika and wine, amongst other flavorful ingredients. The taste does not differ much from the Filipino caldereta. It is served with spaetzle, which are soft egg noodles commonly used to accompany dishes in South German, Tirolean, Austrian, and Hungarian cuisine. Also, it is light, and one would need another serving of it to become full. 

 

The evening's piece de resistance however is the pork chop Debrecen-style (Php285). A generous portion of pork chop which seems to have been firstly fried and then baked to utter perfection is served over salad greens. Lightly pink meat is revealed once one slices through it and the taste is just to be savored. The taste of apples comes to mind. The Debrecener sausage (named after Hungary's second largest city of Debrecen, this sausage is heavily spiced with paprika, marjoram, and garlic) at the center is just heavenly. This must be the best pork chop dish in town!

 

And what a more fitting way to eat all the lovely Hungarian dishes than with a bottle of Czech-inspired beer (Php75). Note that this is locally brewed. 

 

For dessert, apple strudel (Php185) is a delight to be had. The thin layers of pastry have just the right texture and the filling, consisting of apples and raisins and spiced with cinnamon is just delicious. More so with a scoop of vanilla ice cream daintily garnished with a thin chip of dried apple.