mmm-yoso!!!

Malta: The Best Tuna Sandwich, Tarxien Temples, Hal Saflieni Hypogeum, and Who is Joe Frendo?

We arrived back in Valletta nice and early. I had quite a bit planned for our last full day.

Unfortunately, the apartment we really enjoyed staying in wasn't available for this night, so we were staying in the Osborne Hotel which was on the opposite side of the peninsula.

We dropped our bags off and started on our way.

The first item was to get some espresso for the Missus and something for me to eat.

We saw this little shop along the way.

The little place was full...of locals......having coffee, reading the paper, talking about...well, I dunno. We entered and they quickly made some room for us.

While the Missus was having Her espresso; with a Diet Kinnie chaser, I saw something. Along the counter, there seemed to be makings for sandwiches. A couple of guys came in to pick up sandwiches while we were having our drinks. I couldn't help it. I just had to find out what this big seller was.....tuna sandwiches. I was raised on tuna sandwiches, but truly believe there's only one brand of canned tuna that shall pass these lips. Us old timers from Hawaii have some major brand loyalty. I had my doubts, I really wasn't thrilled with the version I had earlier in Valletta. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. And this was a major win.

It didn't look very inspiring. But man, this was good. The bread....what's with the bread in Malta (I'd learn soon)? It was crusty, but not too hard, nor chewy. The tuna wasn't the greatest, but it was the sum of the parts which made this fantastic. In perfect proportion; ripe, tasty,tomatoes rubbed on the bread, briny olives, I tasted mint (!), which tasted so good, boiled eggs, lots of black pepper, red onion for that touch of pungent flavor.

I wish I knew the name of this place. We returned for some espresso on the way out of Malta...but duh, I forgot to get the name of the place!

We caught the bus, and with some cryptic instructions got off in Paola. We walked to Tarxien, it was hard to know where Paola ended and Tarxien began....it seems that the borders of these small villages just blend into one another.

We arrived at our destination. There was a graveyard and church next door.

For some reason, the Missus was taken with the tranquil environment and decided just to lie down on one of the benches and listen to music.

I walked on over to the Tarxien Temples next door.

Discovered by some farmers plowing a field a field in 1914. This complex of temples, dating back to 3150 B.C. this site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

The excavations have indicated that the site was used extensively for rituals.

It was a fascinating visit. The island of Malta has long been inhabited, some estimate all the way back to 5200 BC.

Leaving the site, I got the Missus who was just having a great old time listening to music, staring at the tree and the statue of the Virgin Mary.

It was time to head back to Paolo and our destination.

But first, we got distracted by this little shop on a side street that was doing some nice business. Cars kept stopping, folks running out; sometimes holding up traffic, to go in and grab...well, who knows what.

This is the spinach-olive, with a touch of ricotta version.

Frankly, I preferred what I had before to this. Though it was quite hearty and stuffed.

And so, we searched for our destination. Which we found with this discreet sign.

When I knew we were going to Malta; one of the first things I did was make reservation for Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. Discovered by workers digging for a cistern in 1902, the story of its revelation is quite amazing. Due to the damage done by carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors, only 60 visitors are allowed a day (it's actually closed right now while a new environmental management system is put in place).

Of course, photos aren't allowed; but you can see some here. Let me just say, at least for us, it was an amazing experience.

Making it back to Valletta, the Missus wanted Her Quinoa Salad from Piadina Caffe. So we headed over. This time I had the prosciutto with provolone, which was light and refreshing.

And I got a chance to read the local paper.

After a light snack it was finally time when we could check in. Along the way to the hotel we saw this doorway.

Which is how we ended up in the lair of Joe Frendo.

Who is Joe Frendo? I'm still not sure. I looked down those stairs and saw some bottled water, which is just what we needed and wanted at that moment.

We had somehow ended up in the shop of a Maltese bread maker. Huge wood burning oven going.....I was told; "go take a look....the best bread in Malta is here."

I looked at the bread which looked familiar. So I asked, and my question was answered with, "yes, Il-Horza, that is our bread."

And so we thought, "why not order a pizza?"

Having ordered our dinner, we got back to the hotel; checked in, and freshened up.

Walking past the Grandmaster's Palace, we noticed a demonstration happening. It was for women's rights. We saw a gentleman walk out to talk to folks. I asked who this was and was told, "well....it's the Prime Minister of course." The Prime Minister!

It was soon time to pick up dinner, so we retuned to Joe Frendo's Bakery. Walking down the stars we saw Joe's family having dinner at a table in an adjacent area and Joe at work on our pizza.

We loved this place. So the Missus asked Joe Frendo as simple question; "when did you start making bread" which turned into an 45 minute monologue of Joe Frendo's life....punctuated with many a "mey-lah". Which I still don't understand. It was an amazingly funny slice of life. Along with the pizza, we decided to get a bottle of wine, but requested that they open the bottle. At which time Joe walked over to a table, pulled out the corkscrew which was being used to level the table out and opened our bottle. Only in Malta!

We got the "Maltese Pizza"("mey-lah")and Joe Frendo gave us a couple of really good rolls.

The pizza...the crust was quite nice....had artichoke hearts, olives, and a nice tangy tomato sauce.

Which is what we had....watching the roof tops of Valletta.As dusk approached I took this photo.

And waking right before the sun rose, I took another.

Like most places, Malta had been much more than what we had expected...... 

Malta: Marsaxlokk Market Day

The main reason we decided on an over-night detour in Marsaxlokk was to check out the Sunday Market, known simply as the Marsaxlokk Market. The market was originally a Sunday fish market, but as tourists have found it over the years, it has expanded quite a bit.

We actually hit the place up when it first opened so there weren't as many tourists.

There's literally everything under the sun for sale here.

And there were quite a few folks hitting the place early to stock up on stuff.

Beyond all of this, the place is still a fish market at heart.

When the crowds started arriving, we decided to check out the side streets.

I've already posted on lunch, so I'll skip on over to the Missus getting some dessert.

And kind of just hung out watching the crowds like this little guy......

After which the time arrived for our afternoon nap.

After awakening, we decided to check some of the other side streets and found a little mini-mart. This is where I found Fizzee....I enjoyed this sugar free, almond drink, which was indeed quite "fizzy". It was quite refreshing. The Missus? Well, She still preferred Her Diet Kinnie.

I also came across some lovely looking Pastizzi. Even though I wasn't exactly thrilled the last time I had one. This was pretty good.

The pastry was flaky and rather light and the filling....the traditional mushy peas were actually nicely seasoned.

It turned out to be a pretty nice snack. Second time a charm I guess.

By this time, the market was closing down and Marsaxlokk was turning back into that idyllic fishing village.

It was time to find a bench and relax......

We found that Kinnie bottles are great for a game of fetch.

It was such a pretty afternoon.

And the lovely colors just heightened the experience. And those eyes......

We decided on something small for dinner. We knew it was time to head back to Valletta.

The next morning, we woke early and had a light breakfast. We found the bus stop back to Valletta was basically a half block away.

We had a busy day planned, so it was time to get a move on.

Thanks for reading!

Malta: Marsaxlokk Harbor, Dinner and Lunch at T'anna Mari Under Their Previous Ownership

There was something very "chill" about Marsaxlokk. The little fishing village made Valletta seem like a bustling city. The top sight in this fishing village is without a doubt the bay which is a natural harbor. Three quarters of Malta's fishing fleet is located in this harbor, which was also where the Turkish fleet was station during the great siege of 1565.

In spite of the rather unsightly power plant located across the harbor, it is still quite stunning.

After taking a nice stroll, we took a short nap. When we awoke, in late afternoon, all of the day-trippers were gone, and it was like we had the place to ourselves.

A nice light breeze blowing, the clouds rolling in, we seemed light-years away from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

Looking closely, you might notice something quite interesting about the brightly colored "Luzzi", the traditional Maltese Fishing Boats.

It's in the eyes......

These boats in design and color is said to date back to the Phoenicians and the "eyes of Osiris" are painted on them to watch over and protect the fishermen while at sea.

One thing you quickly notice about Marsaxlokk are the lack of resorts, hotels, and that sort of thing crowding up the boardwalk. Rather, there are many traditional buildings, which add character to the locale.

Looking for a place to eat, we came upon this rather colorful place. Half restaurant, half gift t shop, named T'anna Mari. The menu was fascinating so we stopped by to eat....twice!

We loved the menu, which featured traditional Maltese dishes; stuff I'd never heard of, ingredients that we love. It was a great change of pace from the multitude of seafood places on the waterfront.

Unfortunately, time passes quickly, and changes come just as fast. T'anna Mari is under new ownership and is now a Sicilian Restaurant.

So I'll do the rest mostly in photos with a few names of dishes and such.

This was called L-Platt Malti and featured a collection of traditional Maltese appetizers.

Bigilla - the traditional mashed beans.

Ful - Broadbeans with Garlic.

Tonn Immellah - Brined Tuna.

Zalzett Malti (Maltese Garlic Sausage) and Ġbejna (Goat Cheeses)

Il Fortizza - Stewed Horse.

Qarabaghli mimli - Stuffed Marrows, that would be stuffed squash.

Dessert.

We loved the meal and went back for lunch the next day. Unfortunately, it was like eating at a totally different restaurant. The food was over salted, fishy, dry......

Fenek Moqli - Rabbit in garlic and wine

Aljotta - Fish Soup

Qarnit bit-tewm - Octopus in garlic and herbs.

When getting ready to write this; I discovered that the place had been sold. That's too bad......the menu was interesting and it seemed like they were really trying to make a go of it. We did appreciate how the menu broadened our horizons with regards to Maltese food. I hope the nice husband and wife team that ran this place are doing well.  

Malta: Marsaxlokk and lunch at Ir-Rizzu Restaurant

While planning our time in Malta, I thought a side trip to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk. The village of 3500 is well known for their Sunday Market, so I thought instead of heading here for a day excursion, why not spend two nights in a sleepy fishing village? It seemed like a nice way to break up our stay on the island. So we took our time; had a morning espresso and spent most of the morning walking around Valletta.

At about 10 we caught our bus right outside the gates of Valletta. 40 minutes later we were getting off our bus in Marsaxlokk. It was overcast and rainy on this morning and walking along the waterfront, we had no idea where our hotel was......

So we stopped at one of the cafes and asked. As is the norm with places like this; the folks were really nice and the gentleman actually walked us to the hotel, which was tucked away on a side street near the end of the harbor close to the transition to an industrial area.

Our room was ready and waiting for us so we got an early check in, freshened up, then headed off to lunch. It was drizzling off and on, so I decided on just going to one of the most well known seafood restaurants in the village; Ir Rizzu.

As it was noon, the place had just opened.

The dining area is quite large....the service fine, mostly young kids, so it was kind of well, like a place where young kids are serving you......kind of uneven, though they did try.

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Things started off with a gratis appetizer. I recognized the "bigilla", basically mashed beans....doesn't it look like something you'd get at a Mexican Restaurant? I did like the "ful-bit-tewm", the white beans with garlic.

There's something about the bread on Malta that I really like. This wasn't as yeasty, nor did it have the wonderful texture of what we had the night before at Il Horza, but we still enjoyed it.

We also went with a bottle of a local white from Pjazza Regina winery. A combination of three grapes, it was nice, light, refreshing, and went relatively well with the seafood. 

As is the norm for us; we went with a meal of appetizers; starting with the classic Maltese Fish Soup; Aljotta.

This was like a very fishy bouillabaisse and not my favorite thing in the world. Salty and not enough acid to take the edge off for me.

The Octopus was a workman-like effort.

A bit tougher than I prefer, but the flavors were nice....great salt-herbs.

The mussels were quite large, though still moist. They hadn't cooked it to death.

Simple was probably the prudent thing to do with this. Not bad.

The best item were the "Mediterranean King Prawns". Again, nice and simple, cooked to perfection.

Wonderful flavor, nice and sweet, the Missus loved those heads!

Overall, this was a decent meal. Nothing fancy by any means, but simple, and a nice way to start our stay in Marsaxlokk.

Ir-Rizzu Restaurant
Marsaxlokk, Malta

It was time to start exploring......

 

Malta: The Palace Armoury, Diet Kinnie, a Concert at St John's Co-Cathedral, and Dinner at Il Horza (Valletta)

After a light lunch at Piadina Caffe, the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around and do some window shopping. I decided to walk over to the Grandmaster's Palace and check out the The Palace Armoury. As I noted in my earlier post, I had a mild fascination with the Knights of Malta, which started when we visited Rhodes.

Of course, what red-blooded male doesn't want to check out a collection of armor, swords, cannons, and other weapons? It brings out the little boy in me.

What makes this even more interesting is that the entire collection is housed in their original buildings.

Even though the size of the collection is a small fraction of the size it once was....due in part to pilferage by Napoleonic forces during the French Occupation of Malta, it is still quite impressive.

And of course, one could not visit the Armoury without reading about the "Great Siege". In 1565, the Ottomans laid siege to the island. If you recall, back in 1522, the Knights had been defeated and left the Island of Rhodes.

This time though, things would be different. Outnumbered an estimated 8 to 1, the Knights and the people of Malta hung on. Eventually, with morale low within the ranks of the Ottomans, a relief force of Spanish landed, handing the Ottomans a defeat.

It was a great moment in the history of Malta. The Grand Master, Jean de Valette, was Malta's key influential figure during the Great Siege. Indeed, the city of Valletta was built and named in his honor.

We headed back to our dwelling, making a stop at the corner store for some water, diet coke, and something the Missus came to really enjoy; a soft drink produced in Malta called Diet Kinnie. She told me it reminded Her a bit of the beloved Laoshan Cola.

We got back to the apartment and took a short nap.

Awaking refreshed, we showered, headed to the dining "nook" peering out the window to Upper Barrakka Gardens.

We had a bunch of plans for the evening, we decided to leave a bit early and head back to Upper Barrakka Gardens....which was quite busy.

Folks watching the Cruise Ships leave the Grand Harbor.

There goes a huge ship of folks who (hopefully) spent well in Malta.

Remember the rehearsal we saw in St John's Co-Cathedral? Well, we dressed as nicely as we were able and went to the free concert.

It was a really special moment for us....the interior of the cathedral a gleaming golden jewel. The concert was one that had only been performed once before, ages ago, written by a composer from Malta.

The owner of our apartment told us his favorite restaurant is Il Horza....so we dropped by the evening before and made reservations for dinner. It would be one of our favorite meals of this trip. 

The location and interior is quite unassuming....the menu is quite interesting as you'll see from the dishes we ordered.

But first there was this bread.....

Yes. This bread. Possibly some of the best I've ever had. Yeasty, crusty, not too dense, just plain wonderful. As with many things in Malta, we'd have another encounter with this bread again.

Our least favorite dish of the night was the Fish Stew with Black Rice and Shellfish.

We could never get into the really fishy flavor they like here in Malta. I mean, I like consommé de 7 mares and all that, but this was too much for us.

The Hay Smoked Barbary Duck Breast with Asian Pork Springroll and Greens was an interesting mash-up of familiar flavors and textures.

The duck was tender and delicious, the springroll crisp, the flavors balanced. Nothing was overplayed and this was a nice fusion of flavors.

The Stuffed Quail with Truffle Mousse Wrapped with Pancetta was delicious as was the very porky, Pork Tongue Croquette. For some reason, we didn't enjoy the shaved fresh summer black truffles, but of course the Missus loved the quail egg.

The Crispy Local Pork Belly was lovely. Crisp initially, then melting away......

The house made smoked pork sausage was also lovely, very tasty, straight up flavors. Quite nice.

The Missus loved the "dessert"; unpastuerized local cheese, milky, yet refreshing.

The service was good, the ambiance very nice and romantic....a very good meal.

Il-Horza
6, St. Christopher Street
Valletta, Malta

We took a walk back to the apartment. As I mentioned before, the streets of Valletta are usually pretty quiet at night....not on this night as there was a concert happening outside a nearby restaurant.

It was kind of neat....anyone could come by and hang out on the steps....maybe buy a glass of wine at the restaurant and chill.......

Malta was full of surprises......

Thanks for reading!

Malta: A Trip to Mdina and Lunch at Piadina Caffe

We awoke bright and early after a wonderful first day in Valletta. Now of course, after our morning walk, the question arose.....we're here, now what? I had made a few plans, but nothing for this day. So we decided to go ahead and catch the bus to Mdina, called "the Slient City" a walled city with a history going back to 4000 B.C. and first fortified by the Phoenicians as far back as 700 - 1000 B.C.. That's Malta, they talk about things based on centuries.

The bus bays are located right outside the City Gate of Valletta. The city of Floriana basically starts right where Valletta ends.

Finding your bus is easy. Go ahead and get tickets at the booth, ask the very nice lady for the bus going to Valletta, and walk to the bay, in this case #9, where the buses to Rabat go.

While waiting you can take in the Triton Fountain and the various statues like "Christ the King" (to the right) which was designed Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino.

Since only residents, emergency, and government vehicles are allowed within the wall of Mdina, you'll get off a short walk away, in the city of Rabat, which is right outside the walls of Mdina.

We saw quite a few tour buses out side the city walls. So, on this day, the "Silent City" wasn't so silent.

Because of the location, high on a hill, Mdina had a strategic significance. When under the rule of the Roman Empire, Mdina was where the Governor built his palace. The Normans conquered Malta in 1091 and further fortified the city with a large moat and thicker walls.

One of the main reasons we visited Mdina was to see St Paul's Cathedral. We were told that it was the equal of  St John's Co-Cathedral and also had some historic significance. Supposedly, the Cathedral is built on the spot where Governor (now Saint) Publius met the Apostle Paul who was shipwrecked on Malta. The original cathedral was of Norman design and was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693. The current structure was designed by Lorenzo Gafa and finished in 1702.

Like St John's Co-Cathedral, one of the more interesting features were the tombs laid in the floor. Most of these were of various clergymen.

The Missus noticed something interesting about the tombstones; the Galero and Tassels. We both had no idea what it represented.

We queried one of the very friendly attendants on the significance of the hat and tassels. We were told these represented clergy; the tassels represented their rank and accomplishments within the church. A single tassel would be a priest, two tassels represented a rector, six tassels on each side is a bishop. interesting, huh?

When did find quiet backstreets, less than 300 people live within the walls of Mdina, the place did take on a mysterious air.

Most street were busy, though not extremely so. Another one of our favorite places was the Carmelite Church and Priory. The monks of this priory follow a strict rule of separation from the external world. In other words, it's a cloistered order. We were told that the monks still live in the buildings and above the priory. It's an interesting view into a different world and definitely worth your time if you're in Mdina. During the French occupation, all the silver was removed from the church. In September of 1798, the French returned to finish off the job. The story goes that a young boy climbed to the top of the belfry to sound the alarm and Maltese Rebels locked the doors of the church, starting the Maltese Revolt.

By now, more tourists had arrived. So we did a quick walk and took some photos of Malta from the city ramparts.

I believe we found the only cloud over Malta on this day!

It was getting hot and crowded, so we decided to depart. But not without first taking a short walk around Rabat. We found the streets interesting....everyday life happens here. We had a cup of coffee at one of the shops and when we saw what looked like the trimmings of a recent festival...we followed.

And ended up at St Paul's Church and Grotto.

The church is built on the site where St Paul stayed and preached when shipwrecked on Malta.

From here we walked back to the bus stop and headed back to Valletta. It was pretty warm and we wanted something light to eat. On one of the sloping side streets I located one of the places I had read about named Piadina Caffe. A Piadina is an Italian flatbread. Considering Matla's location relative to Italy, I thought this would be a nice little stop.

This tiny shop specialized in Piadinas (of course), foccacia's, salads, and coffee.

It would turn out to be a favorite of the Missus who just really wanted a salad as an alternative to all the rather heavy food we'd been eating on this trip.

She got a quinoa salad....strange I thought, but well priced. She loved it....I guess She had been missing salad.

I had the Prosciutto, mozzarella, and rocket (gotta love the British influence) piadina (4 Euros), which was surprisingly good.

I love the ratio of ingredients on this one...the salty and savory prosciutto, milky mozzarella, the peppery bite of the arugula. The flatbread had been pressed and was crisp. This was just what I wanted and needed...something not too heavy, but satisfying.

The Missus enjoyed this so much.....we ended up returning later on our trip.

Piadina Caffe
24 Triq Santa Lucija
Valletta, Malta

Bolstered by caffeine......we were ready to do a bit more exploring.

Thanks for reading!

 

Valletta, Malta: The Siege Bell Memorial, Upper Barrakka Gardens, and Dinner at Ambrosia

After lunch and touring St John's Co-Cathedral, the Missus headed off.....well, I'm not sure where. Like I mentioned before, Valletta is a pretty compact city. Making things even easier, though there are hills, the streets are set-up in a grid pattern. Go in one direction long enough and you'll find the city walls, or end up at a harbor or the Mediterranean. It's a nice place to get lost, because you'll never really be lost if you have a map. Also, everyone we ran into spoke English, probably a product of the British occupation. So "YY" if you're reading this, maybe?

One thing we noticed walking around Malta were the statues that adorn many of the street corners.

Most are of various Saints.

Eventually we came upon a small park, with a small tower. This is the Siege Bell Memorial to honor the almost 7000 people who died in the World War II siege of Malta. It seems that Malta's location is a very important strategic one, thus the island has been subjected to many attacks, battles, and sieges.

The bell overlooks the Grand Harbor and is rung everyday at noon.

In need of a break and some refreshing, we headed to the apartment.

And though the façade made the building look like it was form another century and the entrance hallway looked dark. Once up the stairway and opening the door, you were in a pretty good sized apartment. We'd have appreciated a washer, but the bed was comfortable, and there was a rather humble kitchen.

Looking thru the little breakfast nook's window and you could have a bit of a view of the Grand Harbor. Thru the other window; well, you could see part of the Upper Barrakka Gardens.

After freshening up, we walked a few meters to Upper Barrakka Gardens, the highest point in Valletta. Once the private domain of the Langue of Italy, it was opened to the public as a gift.

It is a wonderful relaxing oasis........

The view of the Grand Harbor is superb. Right across the harbor you view Vittoriosa and Senglea, two of what is called the "Three Cities". And yes, there is Lower Barrakka Gardens which will be in a future post. Oh, and those cannons....well, they are real. Each day at noon (there's a lot of noise going on at noon in Valletta) and at 4pm, the 8 cannons of the Saluting Battery are fired.

We walked along the now sparsely populated street of Valletta as dusk approached.

Walking past St John's Co-Cathedral, we heard music, and voices, and saw folks walking in. So we just followed the small group. There was a rehearsal in progress.

We felt quite honored to be able to view this. One of the staff told the Missus and I that there was going to be a "special free performance tomorrow night, so if you are here, you should come. It is a special performance that had only been done once before, many years ago." It's amazing, you never know what you'll come across when travelling.

We stepped out; the owner of the apartment had been kind enough to make reservations for us at a restaurant called Ambrosia, "it's not my favorite, but very good....my favorite is booked, so you'll have to drop by tomorrow and make reservations!"

Man, in spite of the rather deserted looking streets, this place was packed! Still, the place felt quite cozy. The chalkboard had some interesting dishes and it looked like the focus was on products produced in Malta. Being an island, Malta imports a good amount of its food. There seemed to be a nice variety of dishes, many of which featured local ingredients.

We ordered a bottle of Astarte Vermentino; an easy to drink, light, somewhat delicate white.

We started with the Caramelized Rabbit Liver and Melon Salad. To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sold on ordering this. I'm not the biggest fan of liver dishes other than a good pate.

I gotta say, this was quite good. The rabbit liver was nicely seared and had an interesting, slight sweetness to it. The metallic, iodine flavor was muted, and I thought the melon was a good foil for the liver, balancing out the dish.

The Grilled Gozo Asparagus - Pecorino salad was fine, if nothing especially memorable.

The asparagus, local, from the Island of Gozo was tender, but nothing really stood out.

The weakest dish of the evening was the Mushroom Rissotto, which, while executed well, was really lacking in mushroom flavor.

The Missus has gotten used to what I make.

Rabbit is not indigenous to Malta, but has been around so long (thought to have been introduced by the Phoenicians or Romans), that it is considered a core ingredient of Maltese cuisine. Therefore, there was no doubt that we'd be having the Rabbit Stewed in Red Wine with Dates.

This was a nice dish, the sweet just enough to balance out the flavor of the rabbit, though I would have probably been ok with something less "tame". Still, the execution of the dish was nice...it was hearty, the rabbit moist, there were no complaints from me.

Service was professional, no complaints on the timing of the dishes.

What we've had of Maltese food so far was fascinating. An interesting combination of dishes from around the globe and most of it seemed to work quite well.

Ambrosia
137 Archbishop St
Valletta, Island of Malta

We all travel for different reasons. The Missus loves the sights, history, and stories....me, well, so much of it is about the food. I learn so much by what is served, how it is served, what is eaten, and the flavors. Malta was proving to be quite interesting........much like my home, Hawaii, there was an interesting...and I almost hate to use the term; fusion of flavors and dishes.

Malta was proving to be an interesting place.........

The Missus and I discussed our day, the food, and how surprised we were at the cuisine as we walked the now almost deserted looking streets of Valletta.

Malta was proving to be much more than what I expected, in a good way!

Thanks for reading!
 

Valletta, Malta: Caffe Cordina and St John's Co-Cathedral

Our next stop after Rome was Malta. When planning the trip, knowing the Missus always loves an island visit, I first thought of Cyprus. But finally decided on Malta. The Missus's response? "Why Malta?" You might be asking the same question. In fact, if you're like about 80% of the people I quizzed, you don't really know where Malta is. So, just in case you're wondering

As to the "why?" We had visited the Island of Rhodes on an earlier trip. I remember walking up the Street of the Knights to the Palace of the Grand Masters and being quite fascinated with the Knights Hospitaller. Originally founded to care for the sick or injured. This group eventually morphed into a highly regarded military force and eventually settled first in Cyprus, then Rhodes. After several attempts, Suleiman the Magnificent brought 400 ships and a huge military force and after a 6 month siege, Rhodes was lost. The Knights left Rhodes. In 1530, Charles I gave the island of Malta to the knights. I think this was a strategic move to protect Sicily and Naples from the Ottomans. And so you have it......The Knights of Malta.

To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect when landing on this tiny island nation. The apartment we were staying at had arranged for a car to pick us up at the airport. As we drove to the capital city; Valletta, I was struck at the sun baked and seemingly wind swept look of the place. We were staying within the walls of the city, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

I was told that, in spite of intense bombing during World War II, many of the buildings in the city date as far back as the 16th century. Our apartment owner was a very funny guy. When we asked him about places to eat and said we loved food, he told us, "I will give you the best recommendations....you see, I am a single man, I eat out at good places every night, so I know all the good ones!" While patting his belly...

After settling in, we went out to explore.

Our walk brought us to Caffé Cordina, supposedly the oldest café in Valletta, established in 1837.

Even though we were visiting in the spring, it was still pretty darn hot outside. So we decided to sit inside, where it looked like more of the locals sat.

Valletta was quite interesting. Crowded streets during the day from the cruise ships and fairly quiet during the nights with a few exceptions.

When doing research on the food of Malta, it became quite clear that the cuisine is a melting pot of all who arrived on her shores, Sicily, British (Malta was part of the British Empire from 1814 until 1964), French, Northern African, etc.

I thought Caffe Cordina would be a nice intro into some of the food in Malta, starting with the ever popular stuffed pastry called Pastizz.

Pastizz (plural = Pastizzi) is a stuffed pastry filled with either a ricotta mixture, or like this one, a very British looking mushy pea mixture. Think French pastry, Italian-ish Name, British filling......

This was ok, nothing to write home about as the pastry was on the downside of flaky and the peas were quite bland.

The item we enjoyed the most was an appetizer named Hobz biz-zejt. Tell me if this looks familiar or what?

Does look bruschetta-ish, huh? This was quite good. The tomatoes were ripe and had that wonderful sweet and tangy "flavor of the sun". I loved the addition of olives and capers to this as it added a nice briney-savory flavor to the very nice bread.

I actually knew of two people who married Maltese. One of them told me to try the Maltese version of the tuna sandwich.

Loved the bread, it was just fantastic, yeasty, with a crunchy crust. Also liked the addition of cucumbers, tomato spread, and olives, a wonderful combination. The only thing I didn't care for was the tuna, which was very fishy. I would try this again later at a little no name coffee shop and boy, would it be good!

In spite of being popular with tourists, this was a decent way to get acclimated to Malta. A quick note, if you ever go to Caffe Cordina, check out the ceiling, it's quite impressive.

Caffe Cordina
244 Triq ir-Repubblika
Valletta, Island of Malta

Speaking of impressive......

Less than a block away from Caffe Cordina is my favorite place on this visit; St. John's Co-Cathedral. The humble exterior transitioned to a beautiful interior.

Built between 1573 and 1578, this beautiful Baroque Cathedral kept us busy for over an hour. We would end up returning for various reasons twice more.

The Order of the Knight of Malta has 8 "Langues" (literally "tongues"), divisions by which the order was organized. Each Langue ((Auvergne, France, Provence, Aragon, Castillian, Germany, Italy, and England - England was abolished because of the Reformation of King Henry VII) has it's own chapel in the Cathedral. Each dedicated to a Saint. The chapels are ornately decorated and quite a sight to see. All that gold just dazzles the eyes....

You'll find the tombs and the crypts of the Grand Master who are buried within the walls of the Cathedral.

Another interesting thing about the Cathedral are the almost 400 tombstones of the Knights buried in the floor of the Cathedral. To quote this wonderful webpage: (The tombstones) "are richly inlaid with the coat-of-arms of the respective knights, each buried in his particular grave, with inscriptions extolling his virtues and traits of character, with spoils of victories, skeletons and skulls symbolizing death and eternity, lions and stars to demonstrate valor, and other common artifacts to express the profane history of the Order of St John."

The Missus, who was doing the audio tour came over to me and told me that; "there are Knights of Malta buried in the floor here". To which I replied, "I know, your standing on one of them!" In one shining moment, the Misuss had achieved a 36 inch vertical leap.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a must visit if you're ever in Valletta. Take an hour, or two, and enjoy the place. As you can tell, it was very quiet on this afternoon. A bit of culture, history, and escape from the heat.

This was a wonderful visit, but it was time to move on. Valletta is a rather small city, about 655 yards by 1095 yards....and it seemed like the Missus wanted to see it all in one afternoon!

As for the St John's Co-Cathedral, we didn't know it then, but we'd be back.

Thanks for reading!