Hungary tide

Food TastyAmbience CosyService EfficientCost InexpensiveVerdict 15ONE of the last places we flew to just before the pandemic clipped our travelhappy wings was to the Hungarian capital of Budapest And while this beautiful central European city may be better known for its grand architecture and for the serpentine Danube that bisects it into the Buda and Pest sides there is something to be said about the cityrsquos food as wellChicken goulash rice bowlRedolent with copious amounts of the de facto national spice of smoky paprika the goulashes that we indulged in were just as memorable as the spitroasted kurtoshes and deepfried langos that make for perfect snacks to munch on a chilly winterrsquos day So imagine our delight when we chanced upon Kurtosshhh a tiny and dare we say numerologicallyinclined eatery in Juhu that claims to serve Hungarian street food albeit with a twistWith barely enough room for a couple of people to sit at its wooden tables and chairs with a cosy mezzanine level housing a single table we realised that dining in at Kurtosshhh in these times may not be such a great idea So we opted for the takeaway option the dishes came packed in regular aluminium foil containers and paper boxesCinnamon sugar trdelnikThe eponymous kurtosh that is the eateryrsquos flagbearing dish is a conical spit cake thatrsquos also known multifariously as a chimney cake a baumstriezel in Germany and a trdelnik in the Czech Republic Generally served in its sweet avatar all dusted with sugar and cinnamon at Kurtosshhh you can also try a number of savoury iterations mdash ranging from grilled vegetables to cottage cheesefilled ones Our eightinch tall chipotle chicken kurtosh R189 was composed of a buttery blistered dough that we were told was made with a mixture of 18 secret flours It held forth creamy wellseasoned succulent bits of chicken with diced onions and peppersServed in individual rings and piping hot the sweet cinnamon trdelnik R189 was decadently moreish all doused in chocolate and caramel sauce We also tried the openfaced grilled cottage cheese kartoos kurtosh R229 that was quite different in taste and texture from its conical cousin And while it may seem similar to a flatbread the deep fried langos topped with molten cheese and olives dusted with smoky paprika R199 took us straight back to Budapestrsquos Central Food Market Hall where we had tried langos for the first timeOlive and cheese langosWe decided to wash all this down with the thick and creamy safrany kulfi shake R169 served in the nowubiquitous mini milk bottle As a parting shot we decided to succumb to a clicheacute and called for the chicken goulash rice bowl R249 which though quite tasty and satisfying fell a tad short in the authenticity department missing that allimportant paprika hit Wersquoll have to wait for our global travels to resume to relish the real deal Until then wersquore happy to savour this little slice of Hungary in amchi MumbaiAt Kurtosshhh Shop 12 Juhu Ruturaj CHS Juhu Tara Road Santacruz WestTime 11 am to 11 pmCall 9321055321Log on to Swiggy or Zomato to order15 Exceptional 35 Excellent 25 very Good 15 Good 055 Average Kurtosshhh didnrsquot know we had ordered The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals