Day: September 2, 2009

Food experiment Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments So our Honeymoon was set for Malta. Why Malta, you may ask? Well, we wanted something different, with nice weather and historic things to visit.  Located in the middle of the Meditaranean Sea, Malta seemed perfect. And it was relatively easy to get to, Ottawa-Frankfurt-Malta and hop! Food in Malta is not renowned as gourmet cuisine, but it is reasonably priced and there are plenty of locations to choose from. Foreign influences still play a major role in the local cuisine. The islands’ proximity to Sicily leads inevitably to many pasta dishes and pizzerias; the Brits also left their mark – fish and chips, obviously.  The Mediterranean stamp is there, with olive oil being omnipresent, and fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and green peppers, are commonly used. Fresh fish is easily found and proudly offered.  Abundant, it comes poached, steamed, braised or…

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General Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle No Comments One of the great things about our trip to Malta was our apartment.  Located in Valletta on Old Theatre Lane, it had a great view of the Marsamxett harbour and a well equipped kitchen.  So we were able to save money while having romantic dinners, relaxing and enjoying the views that were offered to us. Mel loves pasta, and I was happy to oblige. Here, I made Spaghetti with a very simple tomato-basil sauce. On the side, bread with a cheddar gratin. To accompany our meal, we had a bottle of Corvo Vendemmia 2006, a very nice wine from Sicily, smooth and light in tanin. In the background, Manoel Island and its Fort, which was built in the XVIII century and was a strong defensive position all the way to World War II, when anti-aircraft guns were deployed in and around the…

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Food experiment Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle No Comments Alcohol consumption in Malta is low compared to the rest of Europe. In fact, this study from the World Advertising Research Centre shows that alcohol consumption per capita is only one third of that of Luxemburg, the Czech Republic and Hungary.  Only the Swedes seem to drink less than the Maltese. The Malta government’s own figures show that 36 % of the adult population drinks alcohol at least once a week. This goes up to 60.2 per cent for people aged between 18 to 24. Beer accounts for around half of the total alcohol consumption, whilst wine accounts for a third. The beer market is controlled mostly by Simonds Farsons Cisk, which was founded in 1928.  Cisk is the flagship brand, with two spin-offs, the Cisk Export and the Cisk Excel.  Farsons also offers the Blue Label, the Hopleaf, the Lacto, and the Strong Ale.  They also have…

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