ROUND-UP OF RESTAURANTS VISITED IN JULY, 2015.

Dinner at Gate of India - Indian Restaurant - St. Paul’s Bay.

Friday, 24th July, 2015.

Gate of India by Ghosh - Indian Restaurant, opened its doors to the general public in September of 2014, and has since established itself as one of the best Indian restaurants in Malta, serving selections of authentic cuisine mainly oriented from North India, but also with some East India influence, cooked and prepared traditionally by Indian Chefs and hands-on Indian manager and host who introduced himself as Ghosh, and who has been in the industry in Malta since 1995.

North Indian States include: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, so food presentations might depend on the Chef’s original domicile, and might vary from restaurant to restaurant. The style of food consist of curries that usually have thick, moderately spicy and creamy gravies. The use of dried fruits and nuts is fairly common. Dairy products like milk, cream, cottage cheese, ghee (clarified butter) and yoghurt play an important role in the cooking of both savoury and sweet dishes. Vegetarian dishes also play an important role in North Indian cuisine.

Important spices and ingredients that are commonly used in North Indian cuisine are: Coriander, Cumin, Dry red chillies, turmeric, Chilli powder, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves, Garam Masala, Aniseed/Fennel, etc. and these were quite recognizable in the food that we ordered.

Our food order:

Once seated at our reserved table, menus and wine list were presented and the host also explained selections of their specialities. We settled for starter and menu selections, which were quite abundant and very well cooked and presented.

An amuse bouche of Popadoms with selections of mint sauces, onions and chutney.
Starters:
Onion Bhaji served whole to each diner, with fresh salad;
and a platter to share of a very good selection of Shahi Sheekh Kebab - minced lamb flavoured with spices and herbs and barbecued on charcoal; and Chicken Tikka - marinated wilt mild spices .

Main courses to share:

Chicken Chat - diced chicken, cooked with green peppers, garlic, ginger, onions, served in a French creamy sauce;
Lamb Bhuna - spicy East Indian style curry cooked in a thick sauce and green peppers;
Prawn curry - shrimps cooked traditional curry sauce;
Beef curry - cooked in traditional Indian mild curry.
Pilau rice;
Special fried rice;
Naan bread.

Dessert:

Gulab Jamun - this is one of India’s most popular desserts. It consists of dumplings traditionally made of thickened or reduced milk, soaked in rose flavoured sugar syrup.

Kulfi - traditional Indian, milk and mild cardamom flavoured ice-cream .

Lemon sorbets.

Four bottles of water (still and sparkling); one bottle of Vognier white wine; espressos, complemented the dinner.

Value: The bill between four persons came up to EUR104 (EUR26pp), for the food, water and espressos. The wine cost was EUR16 for the bottle.

Very good Indian food, good service; Very good value.

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Dinner at La Nostra Padrona Restaurant - Marsaxlokk
Friday, 31st July, 2015.

A pleasant dinner was enjoyed at one of our favourite restaurants in Marsaxlokk. Naturally whenever we go to this fishing village, lunches or dinners must be fish and seafood oriented , otherwise why go to Marsaxlokk at all, when fish, seafood and fishing is the lifestyle and lifeline of this village, with its spill over industries one of which is the all important restaurant industry.

Settled at our table, menu scanned which has been revamped with several new additions, but food orders were made from the specials and the fresh fish display.

Water was served, the wine was brought over, and an amuse bouche of freshly made bruschetta and home-made bigilla and small water biscuits was served.

Starters:

A very good serving of fresh scallops, pan seared and finished in sea urchin roe and sauce, and a serving of the scallops and prawn stuffed ravioli. The ravioli base sections were induced with squid ink, and the plate was garnished with prawns and a very rich bisque/creamy sauce. Both presentations were outstanding.

Main courses:

One 800gm pagella, which had just been delivered by the local fishermen a short while before, the fish’s eyes were sparkling black as if the thing was still alive. The pagella was requested to be cooked acqua pazza. When served, whole, on the bone as ordered, this fish was silky smooth with a creamy texture, and tastes and flavours which were sublime.
The second main course ordered by my wife was the involtini of fresh spigola fillets with king prawns. Another very good serving.

Dessert: No room really for heavy dessert, and a lemon sorbet to freshen the taste was ordered with espressos.

One bottle of a good, local white wine was ordered, and one bottle of water.

Value: For the food, water and espressos EUR81 (EUR40.5 pp)., Wine cost for the bottle EUR22. Very good value for the food quality and presentations served. No wonder the establishment was full of patrons on both the inside as well as at the al fresco section.

Very good food; very good service; very good value

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Dinner at Nan Yuan Cantonese Restaurant - Valletta Waterfront.

Saturday, 18th July, 2015.

Yet another Cantonese dinner, cooked in the newly introduced poached or steamed method for the health conscious. Yes, Nan Yuan have introduced some very good dishes in their new menu, that are free from any saturated fat; excessive oil, etc, in the cooking method, (as these selections are either steamed or poached). We have tried these dishes twice before, but seem to get a craving for a return visit from time to time.

This restaurant has been reviewed and reported upon in a separate full-on review on this website on the 18th of July, 2015.

Very good food; good service; very good value for Cantonese fine dining.

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Dinner at Pintonino at the Valletta Waterfront.

Wednesday, 8th July, 2015.

WOW!! The theme for this month seem to be:

Seasonal, Local and Fresh,
and what can describe this theme more, than a sumptuous and opulent crudo platter of the finest, freshest and local seafood, as well as a locally caught fresh fish prepared by a fish and seafood master. This we enjoyed and savoured during a dinner at Pintonino Restaurant at the Valletta Waterfront last Wednesday.

The review for this restaurant for this visit has been published separately on this website on the 8th of July, 2015

Excellent food; Very good service. Gourmet at its best.

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Dinner at Pepe Nero Valletta Waterfront.

Thursday, 16th July, 2015.

Over the last two or three years, The Valletta Waterfront has established itself, through the hard work of all stakeholders, into a top class dining hub for families, groups, couples, business lunches and dinners, special events, etc..

Excellently run, managed and kept; family oriented; exclusively reserved for pedestrians, no traffic no pollution; good parking facilities; very good restaurants of various genres and concepts to suit most tastes and pockets the Valletta Waterfront has established itself as a dining hub par excellence.

Back to the main topic:

We enjoyed a nice dinner at Pepe Nero, yesterday. We were told that the menu has been upgraded with some new dishes whilst still retaining the concept of a top steakhouse offering beef steaks from various sources, Uruguay, USA, Australia, Ireland; offering the normal fillets, rib-eyes and T-Bone and other specialities such as hanger steak tagliata, flat iron steak, and the huge tomahawk bone-in rib-eye. Pasta dishes, the very nice in-house made Angus burger, the newly launched Duck Breast burger; a huge and revamped Pizza menu; and much more. The dream of Claude and Ottavio is to organize from time to time special Wagyu beef dinners for discerning clients, but this would depend on sourcing the best Wagyu at a reasonable price, to make these events attractive. We wish them the best of luck.

Food ordered:

Starters to share were a mix of ciabata; parma ham and Parmegiano Regiano cheese pizza; dips; trio of sausage; and neonati with associated sauces. These were served in portions to share over a glass or two of wine at a leisurely pace to enjoy the evening at the al fresco section.

Main courses:

I wanted to try the newly introduced, in-house made, duck breast burger , which turned out to be a double burger serving with pecorino cheese in the middle. This is a huge change from the beef burgers that everyone is used to, but it was very good. This was served with tomato sauce and chips on the side.

The newly introduced Hangers Steak Tagliata, which is a reasonably sized portion of medium rare, sliced beef; Also reported to be very good.
The slow cooked pork cheeks, cooked in fresh, seasonal vegetables;
and for the less adventurous but nonetheless highly critical member of the group an Argentinian Angus 250gm fillet steak, cooked perfectly medium.
Vegetables, roast potatoes, salads and chips were served on the side

Dessert: A portion of the in-house made version of the cassatella Siciliana. A portion of sorbet, and two chocolate and biscuit blancmange in glass.

Wine list is improved with very good selections. we enjoyed a good local Marnisi. Two bottles of water; espressos and complementary liqueurs.

Value: The food bill including the coffees and the water, but excluding the wine came up to EUR148.5 (EUR37pp); Quite reasonable for the food quality and portions served.

Service: very good and attentive even though the place was very busy.

Good food; good service; good value.

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Casual dinner at Munchies Grill, Mellieha Bay.

Friday, 10th July, 2015.

Spent a couple of days at Mellieha Bay, sea, sun and a bit of leisure.

Tried to dine out in the bay area to avoid the hassle of having to drive to the village to dine at one of the better restaurants there. Tried to avoid the tourist traps as much as possible, but did not really succeed on the first day (Thursday).
Friday decided to walk across the bay to see what was being offered on the Mellieha Bay Hotel side. Happened to see Munchies Grill which had just opened a splendid restaurant above the lido, a couple of months ago. Saw that it was being run by an ex-Hilton restaurant manager as the restaurant manager, and decided that it must be good. In fact it was.

Were seated without hassle at a good table in the air-conditioned inside section, as the terrace was fully booked. Inside, the restaurant was also full, with tables being turned (filled) continuously in accordance with demand. It’s better to book a table before if one decides to go. Pleasant set-up and very comfortable chairs.

On being seated, menus were presented promptly, both the standard menu with pasta, pizza, salads, grills etc, as well as the specials menu. Orders were given for the water which was brought over in a minute. An amuse bouche of in-house prepared chutney with water beans and fresh bread rolls was served.

Decided to order from the specials menu, a serving of the scallops and prawn ravioli as a starter, this was served with a very good cream and herb sauce and with chunky small prawns, and as main courses we went for the oven baked, filleted sea bass which was served on a bed of caponata. Potato wedges were served on the side.

No room for dessert and we opted for two espresso lungo which were really lungo as I like it, not just a sip on the bottom of a miniscule cup.

Half a bottle of Soave, one bottle of water complemented the dinner.

Value: The bill price for two persons all inclusive of the wine,water, espressos, and food came up to EUR67.55 (EUR33.75 pp).

Munchies Grill is already a big success after only a couple of months in operation, that shows what good, trained and efficient staff can do.

Good food, good service good value

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Dinner at Tal-Petut Restaurant, Vittoriosa (Birgu).

Saturday, 4th July, 2015.

From time to time we come across a restaurant which has a concept different from any other and an owner with peculiar and individual ideas on food bordering on the idiosyncratic. Such a restaurant is Tal-Petut which is located in one of the older and picturesque streets of Birgu (known also as Vittoriosa).

The owner informed us that they only use ingredients that are found on the local market, seasonal, fresh and local, and that they do not use flour, cream or eggs in any of their dishes not even as binders; They do not use fryers or microwaves as everything is cooked as healthy as possible.

Tal-Petut also make their own sundried tomatoes; syrups and dressings.

The restaurant operates four menus, all serving the array of antipasti to start with but with varying main courses depending on seasonal produce and variety available.

The menus available could be:
The Daily Seasonal Menu;
The Petut Classic Menu;
The Rabbit Menu;
The Pork Classic Menu;
and the Beef Classic menu.
A look at the website and a check of the menus is advised, and when booking one should ask to see which one is going to be available and/or to order the one that one wants, otherwise it would be what is available on the day.

On the day that we went, the owner was suggesting the Petut Classic Menu to clients, and if one wanted to increase the items, some more choices such as pork cheeks., etc. were available. This was not necessary in our case as the array of food placed on the table from this menu was more than enough.

Description of the food served on our table - sharing menu for four persons:The Antipasti:

Arjoli - fresh crushed garlic with green parsley blended with fried, local bread and olive oil;
Cured green olives rolled in honey with cumin, lemon rind, fennel seed,, lemon juice and blended with olive oil and garlic;
Petut bigilla with peperonchino paste, parsley, garlic, flavoured wit sea salt and local herbs.

Zalzet - local hung sausage with coriander, serve with seasonal fresh figs cooked in red wine, chili paste;

free range local tuna cured in salt and wood boxes, rinsed and marinated in olive oil, served with home- made marmalade and local lemons;

Local fresh soft cheeselet, tomatoes and capers, with fresh pesto, olive oil and Petut sun dried tomato puree;

Insalata grilja - selection of seasonal vegetable with home-produced dressing and local cheese;

Cold, home-made ravioli stuffed with soft cheeselets, tossed in a tapinade of local olives, capers and pesto, dressed with fresh tomato puree and sundried tomatoes.

A home-made Petut fresh lemonade or apple pear , included in the menu, which was supposed to be served to refresh the taste buds prior to serving the main courses was NOT served.

And of course fresh, local bread.

Main Courses:

Local boneless pork collar, cooked twice wrapped in fresh rosemary, bay, fennel seeds. seasoned with sea salt and slow cooked for three hours. Drizzled with tangerine syrup.

Cockerel drum sticks, baked in a white wine with bay leafs parsley and local herbs;

Pulpettini - hand rolled lean mince meat pork/beef, slow cooked in a moderate oven, drizzled with rosemary, buzbiez and flavoured sauce.

Dessert - whatever is available on the day - home made dark chocolate tart and baked apple in wine was our lot.

Wine: No wine list, the owner recommends one white and one red wine, which alas are not local. Ours was a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, which came in at EUR 18 for the bottle, which frankly speaking I did not like much. I would have preferred a local white.

Dining at Il-Petut is an adventure, and one has to be ready for what comes, for example you might be seated in the outside room on a table for two or four, or you might be seated in the inner room, on a communal table which is shared with other diners. We were seated on this table with two other separate groups consisting of two another couples and three ladies . Nice people, but the arrangement might cause a bit of a do, if someone that you do not like is seated thereon with you.

The communal table can seat a group of 18 persons, and is more suitable for such groups. But nevertheless we did enjoy the dinner, as the food was good, prices reasonable and for the sheer fun of it.

Value: the Petut menus come as a set price and ours cost us just EUR29 per person for the food, including freshly brewed Maltese style (tal-kitla) coffee.

Wine and water extra at Eur10.5 for three bottles of water and EUR18 for the wine.

Reasonably good food, good service by the owner hands-on, good value, good fun.

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