2. 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

3.  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.

4.  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.

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

6.  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

7.  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

8.  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.

9.  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.