Lake Balaton's Indonesian Island - Spoon Lodge, Balatonakarattya

Who said that there were no special restaurants around Lake Balaton? Who said that you should travel as far as Pest or at least to Füred in order to have a Far Eastern meal? Gourmets have kept count of Spoon Lodge in Balatonakarattya as one of the superior restaurants around the Lake. Now, we also visited to taste their Asian dishes, some of which are blended with Hungarian flavours.

At first blink, the Indonesian-style garden with its carved elephants, bamboos and tinkling fountain, just off main road 71 is rather an odd sight. The image of the garden and the restaurant, however, turned out so authentic that we truly felt as if we were actually in an Indonesian garden within a matter of 5 minutes. The former thatched csárda building was transformed into two separate huts, and the garden now also has a grill area and a kids' corner. Similarly to the Budapest joint, the Balaton-based Spoon Lodge is also an intimate restaurant, an ideal spot for romantic dinners.

Our guide from the Thai rice noodle salad to the Macha tea chocolate cake was none other than chef Károly Pintér. He was coaxed over from Kistücsök, the cult restaurant in Balatonszemes that needs no introduction. The move teleported Károly to a completely new dimension: having left a specifically Hungarian kitchen, he now has to experiment with Indonesian flavours. The restaurant is open from May to September, and the menu renews seasonally: the favourites this summer have been the lamb and the grilled fish fillet coated in banana leaf.

In addition to the mouth-watering and eye-pleasing Asian specialities, the menu also lists Hungarian dishes with a twist that comes from oriental spices, such as the saddle of dear, with Chinese water chestnut berries, potato doughnut, and mulberry espumais.

The first course that arrived to our table was the mint flavoured green pea veloutée with a pinch of purple basil and fennel salad, and small bits of curry chicken..As odd the as their combination seemed at first, the flavours did get along very well in the soup bowl.

The main course we tasted was the duck breasts and liver, with a spin of 'letcho' salsa and purple potatoes.

Then the desserts took it all. Our unquestionable favourite was the Macha tea chocolate cake covered in tonka bean flavoured white chocolate parfait with an after eight macaron on the side. 
Perhaps it was the well-struck combination of sweet and bitter flavours, but the heavenly taste of this chocolate cake never left our mouth for the next half-day.

In addition to the traditional restaurant services, Spoon Lodge also offers a kids' cooking course every Sunday morning. At the each class (recommended from the age of 6) the children cook a 3-course menu together with the instructors.

Spoon Lodge (closed)
Address: 8172, Balatonakarattya, 44 Rákóczi út Road