Kis Parázs Presszó

 In Budapest, Hungary, we had been told from friends of ours that this was the place to go for Thai food. Heeding their advice, we tried it out. Shrimp Pad Thai for me, please. So so so so good. The sauce was so flavorful, and the perfect consistency. An extremely filling meal, but we had been walking around the city constantly, we were both famished, and inhaled our food. On a whim, we ordered a dessert- fried bananas. How very wild of us, I know! Honestly, I didn’t like them. They were just fried batter and banana, with honey on the side. I’m not really sure what I expected haha.

Kis Parázs was so good that we went twice. And the shrimp pad thai was so good ( & I was too exhausted to deliberate over the dozens of other tantalizing dishes) that I also order the same thing again 🙂

shrimp pad thai

fried bananas with honey

photo of their menu

Kiadó Kocsma

Who – My travel buddie, a friendly Aussie we met at our hostel, and myself!
What – Kiadó Kocsma- a traditional Hungarian restaurant/pub
Where – Budapest, Hungary right here
When – At the end of May 2013
Why – We were ravenous after much walking and exploring. And because it was phenomenal the first time had eaten here. Also, it was close to our hostel 🙂

Where to begin. Kiado Kocsma was really, really wonderful. An interesting interior with a lot of character. Somewhat dim atmosphere, rich warm colors and wooden paneling. An upstairs balcony area that you can sit at. A impressive bar area right as you walk in. Very small tables, considering the heaping portions they serve you. We came to this restaurant twice because it was so good. The first, I ordered a beer of which I don’t recall the name. But it was Hungarian and delicious. And for dinner, I had a massive dish of gnocchi- I usually don’t like gnocchi (I’m not even sure what prompted me to order it). But it was heavenly. I think it had sundered tomatoes, which I never say no to, parmesan, and other deliciousness. I had a ton of leftovers, which I took back to our hostel fridge and ate the next day (None of the drunken fools ate them to my ultimate shock!). The guys ordered goulash, which they said was great- but not as good as the goulash in Prague. On our second visit here, I was not very hungary (we had a lot of snacks throughout the day from the wonderful SPAR Szupermarket – including my biggest weakness, chocolate milk), so I only got a piece of carmel apple cake. Oh. Sweet. Baby. Jesus.  It was perfect. Moist, soft, cakeyness, none of that artificial processed nonsense that I am used to getting from restaurants in the U.S. This was amazing. Dare I say, better than my mums apple cake (it was). Kiado Kocsma, I highly recommend.

 

Exploring Budapest

My beloved chocolate milk! 

The cake. ❤

 

ZÖLD TEKNŐS BARLANGJA – NATIVE TEAHÁZ

This teahouse in Budapest was incredible. It is like Alice in Wonderland in there -the further you go inside, the further down the rabbit hole you go. You completely forget about what is outside the walls when you are inside here. It was fabulous.

Their menu offers hundreds of teas to choose from, as well as a hookah menu which coincidentally isn’t my cup of tea (see what I did there). We tried two different teas, and at the time I wasn’t a big fan of tea-strictly coffee for me (although I have recently become obsessed with tea for unknown reasons), but the tea was a great pick me up. We stopped by this teahouse mid-afternoon, after having been at the Terror Museum for a very long time (which I also recommend). It was the perfect way to relax in a very tranquil, native themed environment shrouded in warm tones, bringing us away from the depressing vibe we had just acquired from the museum, as we sipped our tea and chatted. It was a completely unique experience, taking you into an entirely different atmosphere than the streets of Budapest. It reminded me of the Rainforest Cafe, except not touristy, and much more calm, quiet, and private.

If you are a tea lover, I highly recommend Zold Teknos Barlangja. It is such a fascinating little (actually it’s quite big/cavernous) place, and I’m venturing out on a limb saying this, but I think if you have kids, they would love the atmosphere. However, if the idea that they have hookah areas throws you, then maybe not.

Buddha Bar

The photos I have from Buddha Bar suck, so I’m only including two.

The restaurant had very dark red lighting, as you can see via my selfie. So not exactly conducive to food photography. But regardless, this was the best sushi I had while in Europe over the summer. We ordered a variety of rolls and they were all great. Spicy tuna. Salmon. Eel. Etcetera. All perfect.

Buddha Bar is not only a restaurant, but also a hotel. And about 200 times nicer than the wretched hostel we stayed at in Budapest. Oy vey.  Probably 200 times the price as well. Located right near the river, the Danube if I’m correct, Buddha Bar was one of the fancier restaurants we ate at. I loved the atmosphere inside. Like I said, very dim & warm. Interesting little nooks and sectioned dining areas gave the inside some character. Fancy water pitchers. Wine out of wine glasses. You know, all the things college students aren’t accustomed to.