I'm normally all for anything that includes chocolate, strawberries and pistachios. But I usually expect to find it on the dessert menu, rather than between the steaks and the pastas. As I studied the menu at Malomtó ("Mill Lake") in Budapest's District II across from the Lukács fürdő, for some reason I kept returning to a dish that sounded so unlikely I figured it must work. If not, why would the chef risk putting it out there? I consulted my waiter, and he convinced me that, yes, the duck breast with chili chocolate sauce served with strawberry pistachio risotto was an excellent choice. "It's one of our most popular dishes," he said.

For sure, one of the things Budapest chefs do best is duck, even though it usually ends up a touch well-done for my taste. But the risk posed by this particular duck dish was far greater than just under-doneness; if done wrong it would be a gooey, sickly-sweet mess, though, at Ft 2,800 (€10.25) not a particularly expensive one. After an appetizer and a few glasses of wine, it arrived. So far, so good. It looked beautiful: thick slices of kacsamell poised atop a bed of risotto surrounded by drizzles of dark chocolate sauce topped with a handful of crispy fried arugula. (The restaurant's online menu still lists the dish as coming with papardelle and vegetables.)

The risotto was not a mess of pink treacle as feared, and the whole pistachios and sparse bits of strawberries made for a nice texture. The duck was great, though - as usual! - could have been a bit pinker. And the sauce? It actually worked. My only gripe would be that the chef seemed to have gone light on the heat (the chili) and not light enough on the sweet. But I ate every last bit of it and would even order it again. While Malomtó's dining room is sleek and minimalist, the big terrace overlooking a swampy-looking puddle (the so-called "lake" that the place is named for) is perfect for spending one of these last warm nights of the year. Hopefully the chef won't attempt to further improve the dish with a dollop of butterscotch sauce and some chocolate sprinkles, as diners would then be tempted to opt out of the restaurant's generally excellent desserts.