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Cyrano Étterem, Budapest, Hungary

Cyrano Étterem, Budapest, Hungary

Address: Budapest, Kristóf tér 7, 1052 Hungary
Opening Hours: Daily 8:00am – 12:00am
Official Website: cyrano.hu
Cyrano Etterem menu

After trying out Cyrano Etterem in Budapest, Hungary, I felt cheated by overpriced Singapore restaurants. The prices at most of Singapore’s mid-range restaurants are a giant scam. I’m pretty certain more than half of those prices go to the skyrocketing rents that restaurants and cafes have to shell out to survive. I still don’t understand how Singapore can command prices at parity with cultural hubs like New York or London or Paris. Singaporean culture is not even a global cultural phenomenon at all. Only a few films have been shot here, unlike New York. The tiny island is even more expensive than countries like Liechtenstein. I’ve always said Singapore is expensive for no reason at all. (And if you eat in hawkers, the food is so unhealthy with overused oil that you can accumulate a lot of health debt later in life.)

But I’m not here to soil this beautiful restaurant serving Hungarian cuisine at unbelievable prices.

Our tour guide recommended Cyrano to us, and I find it to be one of the best recommendation I’ve gotten in all of my trips. But perhaps, it’s because of Budapest’s cheaper prices that make it so attractive. Where else can you get fine dining restaurant service at a fraction of Europe’s price?

Beef Goulash at 9.5 euros. SGD 13.50. I find it so heartwarming and rich in flavor with a portion size good for 2 people.

Fettucine Alfredo. 10.40 euros. SGD 14.78. (Cheaper than Pasta Bar in Singapore.) Pasta so al dente without the annoying resistance of raw pasta and topped with the freshest shavings of parmesan.

Grilled Duck Fillet. 17.90 euros. SGD 25.43. This is cheaper than Singapore’s mid-range restaurants nowadays. The duck’s skin is so crispy, I almost cried.

Paprika chicken. 13.1 euros. SGD 18.61. With a quality of chicken that’s juicy, moist and fall off the bone, great to wipe the sour cream off the plate. Loved the homemade nokedli, almost like a gnocchi consistency.

River Perch Fillet at 13 euros. SGD 18.47. The fillet is cooked in port, giving it a sweetness that swirls with the scallion lentils ragu.

Finally, the Hungarian Beef Sirloin, for a jaw dropping 12.60 euros. SGD 17.90. You can’t even get a decent steak in Singapore restaurants at SGD 20 without chipping off your teeth. This Argentine sirloin is so melt in your mouth. The polenta and spicy cucumber salad on the side creates this explosion of flavors that I can only get with Hungarian cuisine. The meat is as fresh as Austrian beef (and I know it’s wrong to compare the two), but when in Hungary, the steak is unparalleled.

Tell me, how can I go back to overpriced restaurants in Singapore?