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#MyHometownGuide – My 5 Favourite Places to Eat And Drink in Budapest

March 14, 2014 by Zizi

 hometown guide

 Thanks to Fiji Water for sponsoring this partner post about my 5 favourite places in Budapest, Hungary. All the opinions written in this post are my own. Click on the image above to enter the competition and win!

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1. Szimpla Ruin Pub & Farmers Market (Szimpla Kert és Szimpla Vasárnapi Háztáji Piac)

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The beginning of the 21st century was an exciting turning point in the nightlife of Budapest: in the central area of the city new places were opened one after another in tenement houses and factory buildings doomed to destruction. These were equipped with rejected furniture (every corner there is a surprise like an old bathtub functioning as a sofa) of old community centres, cinemas, and grandmothers’ flats, bringing a retro feeling into these places. They were soon called ruin pubs and became popular very fast among the youth of Budapest and tourists.

Szimpla Kert is one the oldest pubs and in 2012 it became the world’s third best bar according to Lonely Planet public vote. The place has a unique charm that you won’t see anywhere else in the world. It also became a social venue especially when the farmers market opened its doors and it became quickly a local favourite. It’s a great place to meet Hungarian farmers and artisan food (cheese, sausages, breads, pastries, spreads, etc.) makers. There is always live music, children programmes and charity lunch (for meat eaters and vegetarians too) organized by the pub, the farmers and a non-profit organization so noone goes home hungry. The market is held every Sunday from 9am until 2pm.

Szimpla Kert és Szimpla Vasárnapi Háztáji Piac
1075 Budapest (7th district)
Kazinczy utca 7.
Phone: +36 20 5404891
Website
Ruin Pub Facebook
Farmers Market Facebook

2. Organic Farmers Market (Biopiac)

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My favourite farmer couple: Matthew and his wife, Maria

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Organic products are becoming more and more popular in Hungary. The organic market in Budapest is held every Saturday between 6.30am and 1.00pm in the park at the MOM Cultural Community Center, where farmers, agriculturists and vendors of pre-packed foods sell their produce in kiosks made of wood and thatch. It is said that this is the biggest organic farmers market in Central-Eastern Europe. There is a cafe inside the community center that has a huge terrace – overlooking the market – where you can sit down and eat/drink what you bought at the market. It’s a children friendly place with playground and baby changing room.

The community is very strong, farmers are very friendly and you can easily ask advice from them on how to prepare a special vegetable that is new to you. On average 40-50 vendors are present offering a remarkably wide range of products (that can’t be found anywhere else in Hungary) including, fruits and vegetables, dairies, breads, pastries, honey, smoked meat, sausages, bacon, eggs, jams, juices, cereal germs and imported organic products. Within the organic market only products of strictly controlled ecologic farm provenance can be bought. The authenticity of these organic products is controlled and granted by Biokontroll Hungária Nonprofit Ltd.

The smells, the colors are wonderful and the market’s energy is very filling, so visiting the organic market is highly recommended. It’s my favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning.

Organic Farmers Market (Biopiac)
1124 Budapest (12th district)
Csörsz utca 18.
Post about the market

3. Gozsdu Courtyard (Gozsdu udvar)

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Image courtesy of Gozsdu Courtyard

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Image courtesy of Gozsdu Courtyard

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Image courtesy of Gozsdu Courtyard

Gozsdu Courtyard is a walkway that runs between Király utca and Dob utca.  There are seven buildings with one courtyard spanning a block. You can tell that in the last century it was a beautiful arcade inhabited by wealthy flat owners who had balconies overlooking the walkway below. A few years ago it was restored and today it is a new fresh location of Budapest, a lively, social meeting point where many restaurants (with traditional Hungarian cuisine, Italian, Thai, etc.), trendy cafes, pubs, bars and nightclubs serve the guests.

From April until the end of October a design fair is held where artisans, makers come to sell their jewelry, paintings, crafts and food (honey, chocolate, cakes, spices, etc.).

Gozsdu Courtyard (Gozsdu udvar)
1075 Budapest (7th district)
Between Király utca 13. and Dob utca 16.
Website
Facebook

4. Ruszwurm Confectionery (Ruszwurm Cukrászda)

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The Ruszwurm confectioner’s is a magic from the past in the present in the Castle district in Budapest. It was founded by Ferenc Schwabl in 1827. The place named after one of the owners and managers, Vilmos Ruszwurm. Since 1990 the shop has been run by one of the most famous Hungarian confectioner family, Szamos. Nowadays the confectioner’s is one of the most popular sight of Budapest, the house and the interior (the counter made of cherry wood with mahogany inlay) are protected monuments.

The cream cake (krémes in Hungarian) is my favourite one here. It is made from real vanilla custard (mixed with whipped cream… Oh My, it’s a die for cake!) and sandwiched between very thin layers of flaky pastry and then dusted off with a layer of confectionary sugar. Cream cake is a pure naughty delight on all fronts. 🙂 Don’t miss it!

Ruszwurm Confectionery (Ruszwurm Cukrászda)
1014 Budapest (1st district)
Szentháromság utca 7.
Phone: +36 1 3755284
Website

5. Napfényes Vegan Restaurant (Napfényes Étterem)

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Goulash soup / Stuffed pickled cabbage and filled pancake a’la Hortobágy style

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Fake curd dumplings with soy yoghurt (balls of millet covered in sweet breadcrumbs served with soy yoghurt and powder sugar)

Being a vegetarian I wanted to show you one of the best vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Budapest that serves Hungarian traditonal food (and international dishes as well) vegan style. The restaurant is situated in a basement but in a beautiful atmosphere and with a pretty vaulted brick ceiling. After you enter the place you pass by the kitchen, smelling the wonderful aroma coming out of it.

They have daily menu (even on weekends) and also a’la carte. The self-serve salad bar always has a selection of fresh, mixed and spicy salads. Apart from their home-made desserts, they also offer a selection of vegan pastries and raw cakes. All of their dishes are made with purified water. Portions are pretty big so go there hungry. The service is excellent, waiters/waitresses are friendly and they speak English. It’s not located in the center but close to it so it’s worth the walk.

Napfényes Vegan Restaurant (Napfényes Étterem)
1077 Budapest (7th district) Rózsa utca 39.
Phone: +36 1 3135555
Website
Facebook

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Show us your favorite spots to eat, stay and play in your hometown and win a getaway to any of the US cities featured in Earth’s Finest City Guide! To participate, just upload an image of your favorite spot in your hometown to Twitter or Instagram with hashtag #myhometownguide and tell us where you live and what makes the image special and you will be entered to win automatically.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized, vegan Tagged With: Budapest, Hungary, market, traditional Hungarian

Superfood Breakfast: Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge

February 11, 2013 by Zizi

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Sunday was all about snow. The whole city was white and pretty so we decided to walk around in the City Park and take winter photos.

City Park (Városliget) is a public park in Budapest, close to the city centre. It is located in the 14th district of Budapest. Its main entrance is Heroes’ Square (Hősök tere), one of Hungary’s World Heritage sites. The first trees and planified walkways were established in 1751 and after the public park was created in the first decades of the 19th century the present-day name, Városliget was accepted and it became the first public park in the world.

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City Park was the main venue of the 1896 millennium celebrations of Hungary, by which time Andrássy Avenue, Millennium Underground and the Grand Boulevard were built. City Park has the largest artificial ice surface in Europe; and it is also the home of the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Gundel Restaurant, the zoo and grand circus and the famous Széchenyi Thermal Bath.

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The park was calm and quiet. We could only hear the snow crackling under our feet. I don’t know why but I love this sound.

Our mission was (in addition to take photos) to visit the city park lake and feed the ducks. The lake has warm thermal water so during winter it is the home for these cute birds. I knew that feeding the ducks with bread, chips, crackers or popcorn can lead to excessive weight and malnutrition for the birds as well as many other problems. To avoid this you can buy proper duck food from a machine next to the lake.

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It was so much fun to feed the birds who were brave enough to come out of the lake and get closer to me.

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Back to the superfood breakfast… This is a ‘must try’ porridge. I have to tell you… you can’t live without trying to make and eat it. It’s so healthy, nutritious, delicious and a good source of antioxidants. And something else… it is not only sugar-free and vegan, it’s gluten free and paleo too.

Don’t miss it! I promise, you will love me for this recipe! 🙂

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Vegan Sugar-Free Almond Cashew Walnut Coconut Porridge
(Recipe inspiration: Against All Grain)

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1/3 cup walnut
– 1/3 cup almond
– 1/3 cup cashew
– 1 ripe banana, peeled, cut into slices
– 1 cup coconut milk (or any other non-dairy milk)
– 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon salt + pinch of salt

Method

Place the nuts in a bowl, add 1 teaspoon salt. Fill the bowl with water until the nuts are completely covered and soak overnight on the kitchen counter.

The next morning drain the nuts and rinse them a couple of times until the water is clear.

Place the drained nuts into a food processor, add sliced banana, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Blend all together until it is smooth (about 8-10 minutes). If you find it very thick, you can dilute with a bit more coconut milk. You can serve as it is or put the porridge in a pot and heat over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped almond, cashew and coconut chips.

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Filed Under: vegan Tagged With: almond, banana, breakfast, Budapest, coconut flakes, conscious eating, guide, sugar free, superfood breakfast, travel, traveling, walnut

Weekend Crumbs

May 3, 2012 by Zizi

Best waffel in Budapest (chocolate pudding) at Jégbüfé… When in Budapest, don’t miss it!

There were lots of crumbs this past weekend. I think the pictures will speak instead of me… Summer is here, I love it!

Vegetable ramen and…

…vegetarian steam buns at Momotaro Ramen. Best ramen place in Budapest!

The weather was sunny and warm all weekend…

Vegan raspberry yoghurt with oatmeal (recipe coming soon)…

Still life at the organic market on Saturday moring…

Bagatellini, a new bakery that was launched in February…

Snack in the park…

Sunday breakfast: vegan hazelnut vanilla pancake with rhubarb compote… scrumptious!

Cafe Gerbeaud, the famous patisserie and cafe in Budapest…

Chocolate manufactury at Szamos Gourmet House…

This is a life-size marzipan girl, who is the replica of a woman figure in a well-known picture titled “The girl with chocolate” painted by a Dutch painter from the 18th century. The sculpture of the girl with chocolate was made from 70 kg marzipan, during approximately 800 working hours, and she watches Arthur’s activity from a glass cabinet.

Cooling cider in the hot weather…

Friends from Canada… my goddaughter and her little brother 🙂

Gardening at the community garden…

Enjoy!

Reflection, Nespresso and George… 🙂

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Budapest, community garden, guide, Hungary, Instagram, market, organic, pancake, photos, rhubarb, weekend crumbs

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