Some posts on this site contain affiliate links, meaning if you book or buy something through one of these links, I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you!). You can read my full disclosure policy here.
This past weekend, I was helping out at a local food event called The Feast Vancouver which brings together people for a dinner to talk about food, sustainability, community and business among other things. The event is part of a bigger global movement with similar feast dinners happening across the world.
One of the questions we were asked to talk about was our favourite food memory. My mind raced through all the great memories I had traveling and eating well. Maybe it was my first time dining at a Michelin star restaurant? Perhaps it was growing up cooking with my grandma, eating some of the best Chinese food around? No, it was something that I haven’t shared yet here.
So many good meals! So hard to pick a favourite.
I firmly believe that one of the best ways to understand a culture is through understanding its food. While I was living in Budapest, I met a couple of really awesome Hungarians, one of which who was determined to share with us her culture. She was always taking me on traditional Hungarian adventures, giving me different foods and drinks to try. Anyone looking to live abroad needs to make a friend like her. The ultimate experience was when she invited me and a couple of friends to visit her parents one weekend at their summer home.
There, life slowed down and I was able to thoroughly enjoy the company of my friends with delicious homemade food and drinks. Her father showed us his fish traps which were used to catch the fish that was going to be in the fish soup we were eating. Her mother showed us how to make lángos, a favourite Hungarian snack despite how heart attack inducing it may be. I napped in the sun and frolicked in the garden.
The lunch that her mother served us was amazing. Dish after dish came out of her kitchen, each more fantastic than the previous. Everything looked familiar, and yet had it’s own Hungarian twist to it. First up: fish soup.
Fish soup, or halászlé, is a speciality of Hungary and can be typically found on the Hungarian Christmas table. Everyone makes their soup slightly differently and is a source of pride for families. It is made from river fish and gets its distinct red colour from the copious amounts of paprika that is in the soup. It is traditionally cooked over an open flame in a metal pot, which of course they had.
Next up were pancakes stuffed with meat (Hortobágyi palacsinta), some kind of pork knuckle wrapped in a dough-like bread, a variety of salads and all served with a side of pickled vegetables. The more time you spend in Hungary, the more you realize their love for pickled vegetables. They’re always on the table.
That pork knuckle bread combo was amazing. I was dreaming about it for months after this meal. It was so tender and melted in your mouth.
Mmmm meat!
All that was followed by a massive plate of desserts. Some were familiar like apple pie, but others were new to me like zserbó (a layered cake made with walnut and apricot) and somlói galuska (similar to a trifle). One thing really great about Hungarian desserts is that they’re not overly sweet, but offer enough to end a meal on a sweet note.
Which one would you like to try?
A couple hours of being lazy and we were ready to eat again. No joke, I think all I did was sit on their porch swing rocking gently back and forth talking with my friends about everything under the sun. For dinner: lángos. We watched her mother stretch and pull out the lángos dough, shaping it into a rough circle before deep frying it.
The leaning tower of lángos
The dough is topped off with sour cream and cheese. Sounds disgusting, but it’s so so good.
I loved everything about the day. The quietness, the company, and the great food. It really was an escape from the city. The heat didn’t even bother me as much (and I hated how hot Budapest got during the summers). It was like I was going home for the weekend without actually having to travel around the world.
See? I wasn’t kidding about the frolicking.
It was so awesome that my friend invited me back the following summer, but this time I actually got my hands dirty. With her mother, I learned how to roll szilvás gombóc (plum dumplings) and made lángos again.
Squares of dough are wrapped around plums and rolled into balls.
They’re fried and then finished with cinnamon sugar.
She spoke no English and I spoke only a little bit of Hungarian, but enough to know basic ingredients like eggs, flour, milk and the like. My friend helped to translate if needed, but we managed to communicate okay without much help. The language of food was enough.
Those two days of learning how to cook, eating amazing homemade food, and enjoying great company are easily one of my favourite memories of living abroad and of food in general.
What is your favourite food memory?
P.S. 13 Best Meals of 2013 & A Drinking Guide to Hungary
If you’re new to Pack Me To, welcome! Stay on top of my adventures on Facebook and follow me on Twitter & Instagram.
I can completely understand why this was such a great food memory for you. The food looks delicious but I’m sure the company and process of cooking it was just as memorable. I’m not familiar with Hungarian food s this was an interesting read. I’m salivating over that zserbó. I’m having a hard time remembering all my food memories right now and nothing quite stands out just yet.
Definitely! It was the company and the act of cooking together that made this one stand out. It was a really cool experience.
Well that does look like an amazing travel food memory. Get me to Hungary now! I’ve tried langos before in Germany – as they are often sold at Christmas Markets, and they are a lovely warming snack. Great blog 🙂
Claire xx
Thanks Claire! I’ve had langos in other places too so they’re definitely not unique to Hungary. I love them regardless. So good!
Lángos actually originates from Hungary. Might have spread to other countries as well. The word’s means “flamy”, “láng” meaning “flame”, so “lángos” is something like “with flame” or “flamy”.
Yes! All the nearby countries all lay a claim to langos and while they’re similar, there is only one in my heart. The Hungarian version!
Good food + good company= perfect combo. Now you got me thinking, I don’t know what my favorite food memory is! A group meal at a hostel in Guatemala tops my list right now. I will have to think more!
Definitely! Sometimes the company is what makes all the difference.
Your post reminded me about the great food I enjoyed in Budapest. The lángos and the gombóc szilva (plum dumplings) are two of my favorites. I don’t think I would have the patience to learn how to cook these great dishes, but I surely enjoyed them all.
Langos is very simple to make, but the plum dumplings are pretty difficult. I don’t think I’ll be attempting them anytime soon. I’ve done langos on my own though and they turned out okay.
I often find that the best food memories aren’t even how delicious the food is or how expensive the meal… but rather who I shared it with and the stories that came out of it. (Though I can also say that some of my most memorable food stories are because of how disgusting the food was, LOL! Like the time my uncle in China made me turtle at his home…). It’s always so special when someone invites you to their home and makes a home cooked meal! The plum dumplings are so good!
Definitely! It’s so much more who you’re with than what you’re eating. Though, bad food is bad food and can definitely make any food experience memorable for all the wrong reasons!
Yummi it looks delicious! The greatest memories are made over food…
I’m always amazed at how well the food reflects the culture that produced it – Yorkshire meals are typically hearty, simple dishes; Greek dishes are deliciously understated and laid back; my one meal in Denmark was a traditional dish served with their favourite pickled vegetables and red currents.
My favourite food memory is in Sweden, when I went to Visby in August. I stayed in the holiday house of one of my World of Warcraft friends with her two daughters and to others. Breakfast each morning was a lazy, laid back affair with malted bread with plum jam, various cheeses and cooked meats, and pots of gorgeous tea with a hint of citrus. We spent ages chatting and munching away on the veranda while the temperatures shot up to 26 degrees!
Yum! Sounds like a delicious breakfast. Normally I don’t really like bread and jam for breakfast, but for some reason when I’m traveling through Europe, every place had great bread and the best jams.
I love that you were able to communicate without much of a common language – those are some of the best experiences while abroad. And this food!! Pork bread? What? I want all of these dishes, please. (Should not have read this while hungry)
Definitely. I love being able to connect with people over food. So amazing that we can all speak the same language that way. That pork bread was too delicious for words.
I would kill for langós. You are so lucky you learned to make it, I want to make it!
It’s actually ridiculously easy to make. The toughest part is deep frying and that’s only because I hate deep frying stuff. Here’s the recipe I used: http://exchange.adelinawong.ca/2013/01/lngos-hungarian-street-food/
Yeah I hate deep frying stuff too…. but… Lángos!