Fish :D

Hey guys,

Huh, been an uncommonly long time since I posted pictures of food on here!  Clearly this must be remedied

So, the other night my mother and I visited the restaurant that Tamas's dad says has "the best fish soup in Hungary".  This obviously had to be investigated

(oh and yes, Hungary is landlocked, so this was all freshwater fish.  Carp, catfish, and trout, respectively.  Occasionally freshwater fish have a kind of muddy taste . . . I assure you, add enough paprika and this is not a problem at all)

First up was "fish cracklings" . . . you know.  Small nuggets of fried fish.  I don't really see how you can possibly go wrong here

Oh, here's a zoomed-in shot of the chili paste in the background.  It's actually very, very similar to the Chinese-style chili paste you'll get in like a Dim Sum restaurant.  A little sweeter, and usually with a slight smoky flavor.  Pairs fantastically with . . . well, everything, really

 Next we split a big cauldron of the fish soup.  Yes, it comes in a cauldron.  This is awesome

(oh, and in the background, you can see where my "taking pictures of food" genes come from) 

The soup was, as advertised, delicious.  Since eating here I've looked up recipes for Hungarian-style fish soup.  The list of ingredients is, pretty much the following:  Fish, water, paprika, and of course a generous portion of lard.  Good times.  Combine those properly and you get some magic 

Last course we had was smoked trout with horseradish.  A simple dish, but man . . . perfectly executed.  The trout was smoked just enough to lose the fishiness without counteracting the natural sweetness of the fish, the horseradish was clearly homemade and delicious, and if you combine it with bread, butter, and a glass of white (oh yes, the wine was the missing piece to complete the puzzle) . . . fantastic

Anyways, yeah.  Best fish I've ever eaten in a landlocked country ;)

Noah out