Typical Hungarian lunches

Naturally, when the phrase 'Hungarian food' comes up, the dish that follows, without fail, is goulash. Which, in fact, is pörkölt (stew), because goulash or gulyás (pronounced gu-yash) is actually soup.

So when I got a little restaurant's weekly lunch menu popped into my mailbox, I thought I'd share for anyone who's curious about what typical Hungarian lunches look like.

(Side note: Hungarian has loads of different names for eateries. Étterem is a proper restaurant, and then there is ételbár, étkezde, vendéglő, kifőzde, which are variations on cheap eateries often only open during the day and catering to the lunch crowd. The menu I got is from a place in the latter category.)

Most places have a lunch special with 2 or more courses. This place has 2, the cost being 750-850 forints. Pretty cheap in Budapest. To give you some perspective, a McDonald's meal is 1,290 forints. A pint of local beer is an average of 450 forints.

So, there's the hearty soup and dessert combination:
Korhelyleves - brothy soup with sausage and smoked ham
Császármorzsa - bits of baked dough sprinkled with jam and icing sugar

Babgulyás - bean soup with a beef broth base (I think)
Farsangi fank - a doughnut filled with jam

Lencseleves kolbásszal - lentil soup with sausage
Máglyarakás - a bread pudding-like layered dessert

Since it's summer, there's cold soup (theoretically lighter) then served with something stodgy:
Hideg kaporleves - cold dill soup (it's a sort of diluted creamy soup)
Szárnyas Brassói - meat and potatoes in a big, greasy jumble (yum)

Hideg sárgabarack krémleves - cold cream of apricot soup (Hungarians adore their dessert-like fruit soups as starters)
Rakottkrumpli - potatoes, boiled egg and sausage baked in layers and served with sour cream (a huge favourite that is often sold out)

Other notable dishes you've probably never had:
Spenót főzelék - spinach....baby food, for want of a better description (basically it's gloopy thick soup)
Sólet főtt tojással - stewed beans (like cassoulet) served with a boiled egg (I think this dish has Jewish origins?)

Dishes that seem to show up absolutely everywhere:
Bolognai spagetti
Francia hagymaleves - French onion soup

When I first got here, these options were dismaying and rather soul-destroying for someone whose cheap eating equivalent in Malaysia was the very polar opposite of stodge: an extravagant array of dishes in myriad flavours with lots of fresh greens.

Now, though, I like my Hungarian stodge. I love rakottkrumpli and Brassói. I love the heavy, sodden desserts. I love the brothy soups (if not the gristle). I even love főzelék.

What I cannot bring myself to love: the aforementioned fruit soups, and the mother of ultimate yuckiness - mákos tészta, or PASTA served with ICING SUGAR and POPPY SEED. No, you did not misread that.