Being a „spoilt journalist”, as I keep saying, I have a privileged life. I am invited to great wine events, and during these events I get the best treats: nice hotels, luxury dinners, great wines and amazing stories. Most hotels are easily forgotten, to „make through the threshold”, the hotel should be exceptional in some way. I must tell, Andrássy did it.

Helping the starving

First of all, I as wrote above, we arrived after midnight, the restaurant was closed (it was a Thursday), but we were very hungry. We also wanted to stay outside, to relax after the hard work of event organizing, but obviously the terrace service was closed as well. However, the receptionist and her colleagues heard our whining, and they brought food for us, it was a few mixed plates of what they have found, but it was life-saving. And also, we had the impression of „visiting grandma out of the blue and she does magic, food is on the table”.

Getting back to childhood

As I wrote, I had loved the spa in my earlier visit to Andrássy Kúria & Spa. Back then my two children were with me, we could stop running from the miraculous cave spa to the „experience showers” and back. Now my kids were not with my, we went to the spa with my sister, two middle aged women, and suddenly we turned into kids, enjoying the cave spa and then laughing like a kid under those showers with effects of rain forest and then effects of a night in the mountains. Unmissable, indeed.

The best breakfast scene ever

Most hotel breakfast venues are completely identical. Large, spacious, light room with some photos of modern art paintings, brownish and greenish colours. Well, Andrássy breakfast venue is totally different! Actually, it is in the cellar – the breakfast is served in the restaurant of the hotel called Bobajka –, and there is no natural light there, at least not much. The building was renewed to resemble as much as possible the original mansion (there are written evidences of the building from as early as 1670), therefore the windows are tiny.  Did I miss sunshine? Not at all, what is more, I enjoyed the smooth transition from night to day with the dim lit hall of the breakfast. You can be sleepy, you can enjoy your breakfast without „putting your face on”, you can relax and hide away if you feel like. The food selection was excellent with many cleverly adapted local meals, like “lecsó (ratatouille) from Borsod county”, mangalica products and artisan jams made by local producers. And  you can enjoy a glass of bubbly, the charming Giorgio!

Giorgio – the charming breakfast partner

Giorgio is an easy drinking sparkling wine made with the usual high standards of Patricius. The estate is famous for its single vineyard dry Furmint wines and the noble, multi award winner Tokaji Aszú wines, yet the estate wants to entertain winelovers with something ultimately refreshing and easy to understand. Giorgio 2023 is a semy dry aerated sparkling wine (with 6.4 g/l residual sugar) and is made of Furmint and Yellow Muscat, fermented and matured in stainless steel tank. “The intense fruity aromas of Muscat Blanc and nice acidity from Furmint are the basis of this refreshing, softly sparkling frizzante. It contains light and elegant residual sugars that are followed by long-finished citrus flavours. It will freshen you up anytime and anywhere, when consumed well chilled.”

More about Giorgio and other Patricius wines

See the Advent special offers of Andrássy Kúria & Spa here

Among others, it includes a Patricius Furmint welcome drink!

Advent weekends at the Andrássy Kúria & Spa

Ingredients for the dough
1000 g flour
50 g fresh yeast
150 g sugar
2 eggs
0.5 l milk
2 table spoon vanilla sugar
lemon zest (from half a lemon)
1 pinch of salt
1 egg yolk (to spread it on top)
100 g melted butter

Ingredients for serving
1 l milk
250 g ground poppyseed
150 castor sugar
1 tablespoon honey or apricot jam

How to prepare
– Sprinkle the yeast into half a litre of lukewarm milk and let it rise.
– Mix the yeasty milk and the other ingredients in a large bowl (except for the butter) and knead it thoroughly.
– Let it rise for an hour, then divide it into 8 parts and roll them into 250 mm long rods.
– Place them in a baking tray and let them rest for 20 more minutes, spread the top with egg yolk.
– Bake them at 180 Celsius for about 25 minutes (only 4 rods at a time to leave some space between them).
– Let the baked rods rest for one-two days, then cut them into round slices.

To serve
– Fry the round slices in a frying pan with a little butter.
– Heat milk, soak the baked slices into the milk.
– When the milk is absorbed, sprinkle the baked slices with the ground poppyseed mixed with castor sugar.
– Season it with honey or apricot jam.
– Place it in a preheated oven for 5-10 minutes to caramelize the honey and the poppyseed.
Recipe from NoSalty.hu

At Bobajka bobajka is served with sour cherry and custard.