Food on Malta

Malta's cuisine is a delightful medley of tastes acquired from its long history of being occupied by different world powers in the Mediterranean.

At one shop, I had a slice of prinjolata, a yummy cake made with dried fruits and a touch of alcohol. The cherry on top sold it for me. It was quite tasty but after I tried J's almond esse, I knew that he had ordered the best item by far. His pastry had a flakey crust around a smooth and flavorful almond paste interior. Too bad it wasn't in any shape to be photographed after I made my discovery!

Prinjolata and tea

On Gozo, we had lunch at Oleander's, a restaurant on the main plaza of Xaghra. I had the beef olives (known locally as bragioli), which is a delightful ground beef dish stuffed with all sorts of wonderful ingredients.

Beef-licious

The restaurant also had the most awesome liquor display ever. I fear it might be custom-made, but I still want one!

Custom beverage cart

Malta does produces some wines, though the store I went to divided them into reds and whites, so perhaps not a huge variety.

A tasty red wine and the local bottled water

In Mdina we ate at Fontanella on the fortified walls. The views were spectacular. I had a local sandwich called ftira which combined tuna, olives, and beans in a crusty bun. The star by far was the pastizzi, a baked crispy pastry with a ricotta cheese filling. This little side item was our favorite food item in Malta.

Ftira and crisps

L's banana juice and my pastizzi

So good, it deserves a second picture!

On our last day, we went to another fine restaurant (this time in Birgu) where we had ftira again, and I had this awesome cup of tea.

Cup of tea comes with cookies and a jug of milk!

The waiter told us that the chef might have a special treat for the kids if they ate all their food (they had chicken nuggets, not ftira). L was anticipating a fantastic desert but got more than she bargained for. J was a little disappointed, mostly because his treat popped as we were walking back to the car.

L must have rubbed it on her head

Foreshadowing of doom!

The food on Malta is a great blend of ingredients and styles.