Malta – Page 2 – Ivan Brincat

Tmun in Mgarr harbour, Gozo

Visiting a fishing port has a certain allure to it. Gozo’s fishing port of Mgarr is a small but picturesque harbour which is busy particularly in the summer months with the constant shuttling of visitors from the island of Malta for the period in mid-August around the feast of Santa Maria.

Mgarr harbour with its small passenger terminal is no longer just a fisherman’s harbour particularly since tourism on the island is an essential part of the island’s economy.

Nevertheless over the past years, it has become the venue of a number of interesting restaurants and bars just alongside the fishing boats many of which were out at sea.

One of the best restaurants on the island can be found here. It-Tmun rose to popularity in Xlendi, a sea-side resort on the other side of the island before it moved to Mgarr a few years ago. Tmun in Mgarr has gone from strength to strength.

Now this is a family which is renowned in the Maltese restaurant schene. Leli, the owner of the restaurant has been in this business since his return from Canada more than 20 years ago. His wife still does the early morning shopping and preparations in the kitchen while his son Paul works the magic in the kitchen making fantastic combinations, particularly with seafood though I have been told his 24 hour slow cooked pork belly is something rather special.

His other son, Patrick runs what used to be called It-Tmun Victoria but which has now changed name to Patrick’s. That is also another place worth visiting (in the Gozo capital of Victoria) though more formal with a particular attention given to the wine list which is one of the best in Malta and Gozo.

Nevertheless, I have missed going to Tmun in Mgarr for too many times on my visits to Malta and Gozo and it seemed as if this would again be the case particularly given the first night we tried to book, it was fully-booked from the morning.

But the second time we tried, we struck it lucky. And what a great evening that turned out to be.

We ordered a Hugel Riesling 2008 to start with and the kitchen first sent out a slow cooked cuttle-fish served on a small spoon. This was followed by another amuse-buche, a fresh tomato sauce which was full of intense flavour, given its the season when tomatoes are at their best.

This was followed by a mixed platter of fish which included raw carpaccio of tuna topped with white peaches, raw prawns, deep fried white bait, arancini of fish, octopus, a fresh fish soup known in Maltese as aljotta as well as a fish patty (pulpetta). All of these were divine.

For main courses, I opted for a rare tuna steak served on a pea puree while my friends chose a dott abjad (large local monkfish) served with a beurre blanc and mussels on a bed of cabbage. The tuna was cooked to perfection and worked incredibly well with the sweet pea puree that was served at the bottom.

The fish in the beurre blanc sauce, although not necessarily a Maltese way of preparing it was also exceptional with the right amount of acidity coming from the white wine added to the sauce.

The accompanying vegetables were simply prepared but cooked to perfection.

The main courses were accompanied by a Chateau Grand Mayne 2006.

The choice of dessert all looked splendid though by this time we had ate more than we could muster. However, we were tempted by Leli to try the ice-creams, all prepared in house. All flavours looked interesting. I opted for the white chocolate and salted carmel and the zabajone with Marsala. But were perfect.

Malta and Gozo have many good restaurants although it is also dotted with many tourist traps which are to be avoided like the summer midday sun. But what you should be looking for is consistency and the love for good ingredients which make all the difference particularly when simplicity and freshness are required. In this case, It-Tmun ticks all the boxes.

Verdict: Unmissable whether you are visiting Gozo just to eat at this place or staying for a few days on the island. The crossing to Gozo is 20 minutes by ferry so you can even go there just for lunch or dinner without needing a car (you just walk five minutes from the ferry terminal). The fish platter seems to have become his speciality as a starter but there were other many interesting options to choose from both for starters, main course and dessert which is always a great sign. Apologies for the quality of the photos of the food but that is one of the pleasures of dining al fresco. Unfortunately lighting was not good.

Tmun in Mgarr can be found at Martinu Garces Street in Mgarr. Gozo. It is open every day for lunch and dinner except on Tuesday’s.

Fit for a Masterchef challenge

Tuna tartare prepared for a previous dinner. Lighting conditions were impossible for photos of yesterday’s dinner.

The guests are about to arrive in 40 minutes, you are around 30 minutes into your food preparations but given the choice of menu you have to cook everything at the last minute. Your kitchen equipment all runs on electricity. And suddenly there is a power-cut and you don’t know when it will be restored again.

This would be a challenge fit for an episode of Masterchef or the French version Top Chef where the chefs are given countless challenges to try and cook their way out of a tricky situation.

Yesterday evening Malta suffered a nationwide power cut and the challenge to continue with my plans was probably fit for a future episode of Top Chef.

The cause of the power-cut was a fault in a generating unit in the power station followed by an explosion at a distribution centre resulted in the whole of the island being without electricity for several hours.

The temperature is still high, above 30C, and the small gas lamp is emitting heat making the conditions in the kitchen pretty tough. But amid these adverse conditions there is hope. The first part of the meal does not require any cooking. The choice is now either to fire up the gas barbecue or else a gas hob which is picking up dust in the garage and has not been used for many years.

Given a pasta dish is involved we opt for using the gas hob and not the barbecue to continue. But the oven remains in the garage and we need to quickly create a make shift kitchen. Out comes an old table which will serve as the main base from were to cook once it becomes necessary.

A gas cylinder is now connected to the gas hob and oven but the focaccia we have prepared to serve with the fish starters cannot be placed in this oven because it is too small. We decide to bake it after the dinner instead.

In the meantime, the wine bottles are open and we start with raw fresh prawns and a tuna tartare. This is the prelude to a roller coaster ride of an evening. From now onwards it is running to and fro from the garden just outside the kitchen to the garage on a lower floor. I forget countless ingredients or pots and pans and have to run back to the kitchen every so often.

The grilled calamari and the clams cooked in garlic and wine will cook pretty much at the same time. Once everything is sorted out, the cooking starts and within minutes we are enjoying the second part of the starter.

The water is now boiling ready for me to throw in the linguine. Luckily the main course is not complicated by any stretch of imagination. Still, it required a few runs back to the kitchen to get one thing or another. First I forgot the pan I was going to cook the sauce in, then I needed a solution to drain the pasta while making sure it remained al dente.

The main course would require just 10 minutes to prepare. While the pasta cooked, I prepared the sauce for the linguine with bottarga di muggine (mullet roe). First I fried the garlic in extra virgin olive oil, drizzled some white wine and added cherry tomatoes. As soon as the pasta was cooked (more al dente then usual), I ran to the kitchen with the large pot to drain the water and then back to the makeshift garage kitchen where after adding the bottarga to the sauce, we added in the pasta, stirred a bit before finishing off with some rocket and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Power cuts and water cuts are a very sore point in Malta and subject to great political controversies and discussions both because of their recurrence since the 1980s despite millions in investments to sort out the problem. Since I no longer live here, it seems like it happens less often though in the news it was reported that the last nationwide power cut occurred in January.

When it happens, however, it allows for countless discussions and arguments but also points of reflection worth pondering about.

There are the lessons one takes:

Be prepared.
In whatever situation you find yourself in, you need to always have a plan B. Its not about being paranoid but about ensuring resilience.
Turn adversity into positivity.
Enjoy the moment.

In Valletta head to Cafe Cordina for the perfect coffee

It is a cliche that has been written about many times but one which has stood the test of time. Valletta is a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen. It is Malta’s capital city with a population of just under 7,000.

Known in Malta as il-Belt (the City in English), it is essentially a Baroque city build in the 16th century built just after the Great Siege of Malta when the country was under the rule of the Order of St John. I will give you an insiders guide to Valletta in the coming days.

But in the meantime, I will share one cafe which you should not miss when you are in Malta. Practically, every visit by locals to Valletta has to include a stop in one of the many cafes which can be found in this architecturally stunning city.

There is however one cafe, which stands above the rest because of its stunning location, tradition and quality and because it has the only coffee counter on the island. This is Cafe Cordina. A walk down Valletta’s main street, Republic Street leads you to this popular cafe which serves probably the best coffee on the island. After you pass the Law Courts, walk another 100 metres. To your right you will see the National Library and in front of you is the President’s Palace and St George’s square.

Walking into Republic Street you will find Cafe Cordina just before you reach the palace. It is to your left opposite another landmark, the national library. If you are heading to Valletta early in the morning to avoid the crowds, then you can just order an espresso or a cappuccino and stand by the coffee counter (just like in the main cafes in Italy) and watch as the city slowly wakes up and locals enter for a quick coffee before they head to work.

Coffees are being prepared constantly and there is a lot of hustle and bustle but this is all part of the fun of the experience. The barista will probably make you the best coffee south of Italy.

The cafe has been open on its site since 1944 and since then has grown to comprise tea rooms, a pasticceria, a coffee bar and an ice-cream parlour.

If you have skipped breakfast, or you have decided to stop here after some sight-seeing you can do like the locals and order ‘pastizzi’. These are pastries stuffed with either ricotta or peas. The ones at Cordina are not the same as the ones you find in the many shops selling pastizzi around the island. Nevertheless, they are excellent.

People watching at Cafe Cordina is also part of what is on offer. The Cafe has a beautiful terrace in the square in front of the national library. If you stay at the back, you have a view of the National Library. At the front end, you will have a view of the Casino Maltese in front of you (built by the Knights of St John) as the Treasury and on your right the President’s palace also built by the Knights.

Malta's Presidential Palace — The Presidential Palace in Valletta. Next door to Cafe Cordina.

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