The first thing that people recall about Hungarian cuisine is goulash, which is, contrary to popular belief, not a stew but an artistically prepared thick soup. Sour creamis often used to soften flavour. You must try fish soup, chicken paprika, good home-made pörkölt (stew) and the excellent fresh-water fishes: grilled pike-perch, trout with almond. Also compulsory is goose liver. Whether fried or grilled, cold or hot, it is simply unforgettable

 Fisherman’s soup (halaszle) is a rich mixture of several kinds of poached fish, tomatoes, green peppers and paprika. It’s a meal in itself. Lake Balaton pike-perch (fogas) is generally served breaded and fried or grilled.

 Paprika and garlic is to be found everywhere. In the autumn, a fascinating view is the strings of red paprika (unground red pepper) hung on the white walls of the houses in the neighbourhood of Kalocsa, a town along the Danube.

 Goulash is primarily a soup, also existing as stew, originally from Hungary, usually made of beef, onions, vegetables, spices and ground paprika powder

 Chicken breast simmered with onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, soy sauce, and spices to be served with a rich, pepper steak style gravy. If you like the taste of pepper steak but really don't enjoy red meat, try it with chicken

 Sponge cake is a cake based on flour (usually wheat flour), sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder, that derives its structure from an egg foam into which the other ingredients are folded

 Palinka (Hungarian, Pálinka; Romanian, P ă linc ă ) is a traditional Hungarian and Transylvanian fruit brandy. It is most often made from various kinds of fruit; the most common varieties are made from plums, pears, or apricots. It may also be made from apples, cherries, mulberries, or quince.

 There are 17 famous Hungarian wine regions which offer the drinks. These are Tokaj, Plains (Alföld), Tapolca, Badacsony, Csopak, Balatonfüred, Balatonboglár, Bársonyos- Császári, Eger, Mátralja, Mecsek, Mór, Sopron, Szekszárd, Villány-Sikló, Nyírség The best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokay (Tokaji) and Bull's Blood (Egri Bikavér), a full-bodied red wine.