While Budapest doesn't really have a distinct Chinatown with a great selection of fresh Asian ingredients, a bit of poking about reveals the secret places where Chinese "home style" and prepared food is available. First on our list is the no-name Chinese büfé across from the middle gate at the Four Tigers Market, about 100 meters towards Orczy tér, and a bit to the side of the "Shanghai Bar and Casino" across the street from the outdoor market, with a non-descript blue sign.

Unlike 99% of everything called kínai büfé in Budapest, this anonymous little joint serves the real deal... Chinese cookies and moon cakes. Steamed meat buns "bao." These are smaller than the red-roasted pork char shiu bao one finds in Cantonese neighborhoods, filled instead with a bit of meat and cabbage, but at Ft 40 a shot, it is easy to pop back a half a dozen...

Steamed breads and sweet steamed pastries filled with red bean paste are fine antidote to deep-seated Asian cooking nostalgia. You want steamed buns to go with a take out, such as a whole roasted duck...?

The proprietors of numerous Chinese restaurants in Budapest come to this tiny hole in the wall to stock up on Chinese banquet items like soy sauce boiled goose feet, soy sauce blanched crunchy tripe, and sliced pig's ears. Sure, soy boiled crunchy goose feet sounds outlandish, but believe us, they wouldn't be selling them if they didn't taste really, really good.

This place also does some fantastic noodle soups. Ask for kinái tészta leves (Chinese noodle soup, if it's not obvious) and hope for the best. As in many Chinese places, the best thing to do is point at neighboring tables and say "I want what he's eating" and stick to your guns when the waiter replies "You no like that!" Honestly... we really do like that.