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Sunday, 4th November, 2012 - Lunch at the Phoenix Restaurant - Hotel Phoenicia, Floriana.The Hotel PhoeniciaMain hall area. We had last reviewed this Sunday buffet lunch in the 2009/2010 season, and thought that it was about time that we paid another visit. The main hall of the Hotel Phoenicia seems to have upgraded since then, and the refurbishment, the centrally placed bar, and the black and white marble flooring and white painted, arched woodwork, gave a fantastic feeling of well being and high living in a time tested, traditional and aristocratic setting.The Sunday buffet lunch season in the major hotels start about the first week of October, each year, different establishments try to come out with different presentations; live food stations - pasta, seafood etc; different cuisine, an introduction of one or two ethnic gastronomy offerings, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Sushi and Shasimi station with other tit-bits from Japan; et...
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Lunch at the Michelin Star - Marenna Restaurant, at Sorbo Serpico, Avellino, Italy on the 21st of September, 2012.Marenna.The Marenna Restaurant in Sorbo Serpico, Avellino, is part of the Feudi di San Gregorio Winery. It has been awarded a Michelin Star, and is working endlessly to obtain their second star, but this of course is the sole jurisdiction of the Michelin inspectors to decide if and when. Our group consisted of twenty-four persons, and we were booked at this venue weeks before. Needless to say we were all looking forward to this dining experience, and the planned menu that was presented to us contained the Chef's recommendations including a variety of wines that were each paired with the dish and course that was served at any one time.The kitchen, glass enclosedbut can be viewed from therestaurant.The Kitchen: Here you can see that the kitchen is nice and large. Being the kitchen of a huge winery, I t...
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New Summer wines from Meridiana. Meridiana Wine Estate of Ta' Qali, Malta, have always been in the forefront since their inception in the 1990's in the production of quality wines of totally local origin. Grapes for most of their wines are cultivated and grown under strict viticulture acumen over a 19 hectare estate, to produce high quality fruit for the production of wine. Both viticulture knowledge as well as oenology expertise to produce the wine is provided by ANTINORI who own part of this boutique winemaking company. New releases for this year evolve around the 2011 vintage wines and consist of two of their best white wines and a new rose'.The White Wines:The 2011 Vintage wines.ASTARTE 2011 DOK-S : this established wine is produced from a blend of Vermentino grapes and other Mediterranean varietals, harvested from limestone rich, loamy soil from the Northern part of Malta. This Vermentino oriented wines is a gre...
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I have recently read a feature in a food magazine that is distributed free with one of the Sunday newspapers titled "Michelin Man in Malta". This was quite an interesting feature in which all and sundry were informed that Sig Fausto Arrighi, Director of Guida Michelin Italia was invited by a prominent Italian restauratuer operating in Malta, viz: Sig Pinuccio La Rosa owner of the signature Ristorante Don Serafino 1953 in St. Julians, for a familiarisation visit which might hopefully sow the initial seeds which might one day blossom into Malta's inclusion into the Michelin world. The feature ended with this paragraph: quote " Indeed the visit by Sig Arrighi could be an exciting first step towards providing the opportunity for local chefs and restaurants to take the formidable Michelin challenge. The road would not be an easy one and discipline and the highest of quality standards in food, ambience and service, would be of paramo...
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The WRMC Silver Spoons Prestige Awards.The Siver Spoon Replica. WINES AND RESTAURANTS OF MALTA.COM - WRMC - has been inspired by the Michelin Stars, to award its own annual awards to the top restaurants in Malta and Gozo, commencing from this year 2012. We have also carried out research into procedures adopted by other exclusive, and highly respected rating agencies such as the United Kingdom’ Automobile Association’s AA Rosette awards, as well as the Australian Good Food Guide Chef Hats awards on which criteria our awards shall be based. The system and procedures that we are adopting works like this:1. Selected restaurants are first reviewed and rated by a team of four inspectors, which team shall include myself as the Director of this project. The team will initially rate the restaurant through an adjudicating criteria comprising: Ambience; Atmosphere and decor of the venue and top notch cleanliness; Quality...
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18th May, 2012.Some three or four weeks ago, I was introduced to a somewhat new venture in winemaking in Malta. VitiMalta.Vitimalta is the largest grape producer organisation in the Maltese Islands, representing over 300 viticultural farmers in Malta and Gozo, and is now responsible for the production of 90% of all Maltese and Gozitan grapes used in local wine production.VitiMalta Wines.The viticultural farmers associated with VitiMalta therefore are the major suppliers of grapes to the wine industry in Malta, who under contract to the winemakers, grow, cultivate and harvest their grapes in accordance with, the requirements of the wine quality that would be planned to be produced from certain vineyards and locations. Most adhere rigorously to the requirements as stipulated by the wine regulations of Malta, and grow good quality grape varietals to conform with DOK and IGT requirements.VitiMalta produce four of their own wines, which s...
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29th March, 2012.New, white wine releases from the 2011 vintage, have now started to be released by winemakers in Malta and I am bringing to your attention some of the best wines that I have tasted to date. Our Wine Tasting MascotFreddie.Some of these wines have been fine enough to make me deeply regret that I had to spit out the samples that I was tasting, but when one is tasting a number of wines together this has to be done even if it is for mere survival. Mind you, I do reserve some bottles of wines that I approve of (not the opened ones of course) for future consumption, because although most Maltese whites are produced to be drunk young, I do prefer to give them some time to settle down before pairing them with some fine food.2010 was a good year for grape harvests in Malta, with excellent grape yields, and some fine wines were produced from that vintage. Some of the better Maltese 2010 wine...
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26th March, 2012.The Westin Dragonara Resort.Review date:Sunday, 25th March, 2012.THE TERRACE RESTAURANT AT THE WESTIN DRAGONARA RESORT, ST. JULIANS.The reception area at theWestin Dragonara Resort.Over the years that I have been reviewing restaurants, including those on three luxury cruise liners, as well as a large number of hotel restaurants specializing in exclusive Sunday buffet lunches during the yearly season between October of one year to mid-June of the next, I have become consciously as well as subconsciously observant of many things that occur around me in these venues. All the hotel restaurants of note, although most have a standard style of buffet with antipasti, soups, pasta, main course and carvery, and desserts stations, all go the extra mile to produce something unique to them whether it's an ethnic theme station with food from a different country and region every week, different main courses, exotic desserts, etc. O...
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11th March, 2012.The Radisson Blu ResortSt. Julians.We have been reviewing the KON TIKI RESTAURANT at the RADISSON BLU RESORT in St. Julians every season for the last three years, and every year the Chefs at this venue have succeeded to be very consistent in producing one of the best Sunday buffet lunches in Malta. Not overtly large, but of very good quality to satisfy the more discerning diners, and more than ample, with nine food stations to dine from, to satiate those with a hugest of appetites.The buffet menu at the KON TIKI is also varied every week with three, weekly rotating menus each offering a different ethnic table such as the:1. Italian Food Stall - specializing in Italian cuisine;2. Spanish Tapas Station and Live cooking Station;and the3. Middle Eastern Meze' and Lebanese Table;Each of these three different stations will be found in alternate weeks so that frequent patrons will be spoilt fo...
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The Michelin Guide: StarsMichelin Red Guide ofGreat Britain and Ireland.MICHELIN RedGuides are restaurant and hotel guides, and are often referred to as just the Red Guides due to their distinctive red covers. A team of full-time professional restaurant and hotel inspectors anonymously evaluate establishments according to a rigorous set of criteria. Only the best restaurants and hotels are included in the guide, where every establishment is a trusted Michelin recommendation. These guides outline Michelin’s selections for dining and accommodations, and do not contain site and attraction information found in the other guides known as the Green Guides.Bon Appetit.The MICHELIN Guidewas first published in 1900, to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring France, in an era when the automobile, as cars were known in those days, were coming in vogue. From a small, 400-page red guide distr...
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