Promoting cuisine from ‘the heart of Europe’

VANESSA Qua. Photo by Amadís Ma. Guerrero, Contributor

Mention Hungary and the cultured will probably drop the name of composer Franz Liszt. The history buff will most likely cite the Austria-Hungary Empire of olden days. And the plain foodie will almost automatically say “Hungarian sausage.”

So, you go for Hungarian cuisine as in sausages and filling goulash soup (a meal in itself)? Then the place to make a beeline for is Magyar Hungarian Restaurant (tel. 8531397) at Paseo de Magallanes, Makati City.

It is a cozy restaurant with a decidedly Central European ambience, with framed reproductions of scenes from the continent, the Hungarian national flag, the waitresses in national costume, and diners conversing quietly. Discussing a business deal, perhaps. Boisterous conversation and loud laughter are unheard of here.

The family-run resto is managed by siblings Vanessa Qua and Allen Qua. The latter, who is in charge of the kitchen, studied cooking at the Center for Culinary Arts and later went to New York for further studies in his chosen field. Vanessa, on the other hand, took up hospitality management at Glion, an international school in Montreaux, Switzerland.

A few years ago the two returned from their respective studies abroad, and they discussed what business they could go into.

“It so happened that we had a Hungarian friend who stayed in Manila for over a year,” recalls Vanessa. “And so he taught Allen all about Hungarian cooking, and authenticated it.”

And that was how the business started in 2010. “It’s unique,” says Vanessa. “I don’t think there’s a Hungarian restaurant in Manila.”

A typical lunch menu at Magyar will consist of soup for the day, a choice of schnitzel with roasted peanuts and sauerkraut, peppered takany (beef strips), or meatballs in paprika (pepper) meat sauce, plus cream puff for dessert. There’s also stuffed chicken, chicken paprika, beef, pork, and many other dishes and variations.

DELICIOUS menu, European style. Photo by Amadís Ma. Guerrero, Contributor

The bestsellers are the goulash soups (beef, lamb, pork & sauerkraut and seafood & mushroom) and of course the sausages: bratwurst with cheese, chipolata (fresh sausage made from ground pork), kielbasa (pork with salt, pepper & garlic), schublig and the all-time favorite among Pinoys, Hungarian sausage.

“Customers like the Night Owl Soup,” notes Vanessa. “In Hungary they say it’s the perfect hangover soup.” This consists of sauerkraut, Debrecen sausage, bacon, pork mixed with sour cream and paprika.

The Quas have promoted the restaurant among international food festivals and cocktails in Metro Manila and in Brent International School in Biñan City, Laguna (the high school alma mater of Vanessa), word of mouth, and online marketing. Deliveries are made within a 4-km area.

The clientele is small and select. “It’s a good mix,” says the entrepreneur. “Half are Filipinos and half are expats, executives, businessmen. A lot of families come in and they would watch TV while dining. And then there are the young and their dates.”

So how’s business?

“We’re getting along,” observes Vanessa. “More and more people from Makati are coming in and saying they want to try our dishes.”

Have they broken even?

“We are still working on that,” she concludes with guarded optimism. “We are moving towards that.”