Baked Macaroni with sweet walnut cream sauce
MEGGYLEVES, Dobos Torte, Malna Piskotatekercs are just some of the Hungarian delights that Marco Polo Plaza Cebu Executive Chef Juanito Abangan prepared for the Hungarian Embassy Reception.
The Honorary Consulate of Hungary in Cebu opened its doors last May 16, providing a live local connection between Hungary and the Visayas region of the Philippines. It has been 21 years since the closing of the Hungarian Embassy in Manila back in 1995, which reopened in 2017.
H.E. Ambassador Dr. Jozsef Bencze marked the opening with the appointment of the new Honorary Consul, Enrilen Joy Benedicto-Tan, at an elegant reception at the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.
Honorary Consul Enrilen Joy Benedicto-Tan is a young businesswoman who belongs to the distinguished Benedicto family engaged in highly successful businesses in real estate, construction, hotels, furniture and agricultural firms with a family tradition of diplomatic and consular service.
Her parents are Consul ad honorem of Belgium, Enrique L. Benedicto and wife Helena.
Two brothers, Grand and Enrison are Honorary Consuls of Romania and Belgium, respectively.
A graduate of De La Salle University in Accountancy, she is a Certified Public Accountant and Real Estate Broker.
Enrilen Joy is married to Dr. Charles Neil Tan and has a son, Zane Harvard.
Honorary Consul of Hungary Enrilen Joy Benedicto-Tan and H.E. Hungarian Ambassador Dr. Jozsef Bencze
Wine flowed as guests curiously checked out the Hungarian buffet.
Typical Hungarian food is heavy on dairy, cheese and meats usually pork, chicken and beef.
Paprika or dried sweet bell pepper, a quintessential spice, is often associated with Hungary. It is famous for high quality and relatively inexpensive salami and sausages.
We opened our palates with Pickled Herring, Korozott (Hungarian cottage cheese spread also called liptauer), Charcuterie Board with their famous salamis, Potato Bar (potatoes cooked and served in a variety of ways), Hungarian Meatloaf and Beef Brisket slow cooked for eight hours.
For the Main courses, there was Hungarian Beef Goulash, flavored with paprika, which was tasty. Goulash means stew.
The Fried Hungarian Sausage with sauerkraut was all toof amiliar.
There was also Chicken Paprikash served with homemade spåetzle (tiny dumplings), Hungarian Macaroni with smoked ham and sweet walnut cream and Magyaros Spenotfozelek or Cream of spinach with bacon.
Beef Hungarian Goulash
The classic Hungarian dessert, Dobosh Torte or Dobos, is a Hungarian innovation by Jozsef Dobos in 1885.
He devised a cake that would last longer than other pastries in an age were cooling techniques were limited.
Dobos is a sponge cake layered with chocolate butter cream; sides are coated with hazelnuts, chestnuts or almonds and topped with caramel to help prevent drying out.
It was scrumptious.
I also enjoyed Meggyleves (chilled cherry soup with cream) and Malna Pisotatekercs or Raspberry Cream Roulette.
