Villa Madama, Attard, Malta

2010

As much as I loved my hotel, the fab Corinthia Palace, I drew the line at their lunch prices. 8 euro for a sandwich? I wasn't born yesterday! Last time I looked, cheese and bread was no way worth 8 euro. Always the culinary adventurer, I decided to go on a trek of the surrounding area. Thankfully, I didn't need to trek too far. Directly opposite the hotel was the opulent Villa Madama.

A mix of palatial, lounge bar and gardens, Villa Madama provided the perfect location for a perfect Mediterranean lunch break. Upon entering the restaurant, you are enveloped in an ornate entrance hall, the chandelier catching your eye. I thought I was in a stately home at first. Then you pass through the lounge bar; ultra-modern with flatscreen TVs and white couches. However, as I wanted to make the most of the Mediterranean heat, I headed for the beautifully landscaped gardens, where I sat in the shade of lemon and lime trees. Perfect.

The menu was a delight for veggies and carnivores alike. I opted for the veggie take on the Traditional Maltese Ftira, the difference being tuna was substituted for roast veg. This sandwich was a feast of taste and texture- fat juicy capers, crisp grated carrot, salty Gozo cheese, warm aubergine on fresh salad...mmmmmm heaven.

Here's an undignified close up of me stuffing myself with Ftira!

The dessert selection was overwhelming- rich cakes, traditional Maltese ricotta specialities and sumptuous pastries stood there temptingly in the display case. After much deliberation, I settled for good old strawberry ice cream to cool me down in the blistering heat.

If you happen to be staying at my hotel, please give the pool bar a miss and pop by at Villa Madama. To sum it up-it's half the price; double the atmosphere and triple the taste.

2012

After the glowing review I gave Villa Madama 2 years ago, I was excited to return. However, it was a case of never returning to a good place twice as the second time around is always disappointing. Two years is a long time in the restaurant world, especially in a place that relies heavily on tourism and going through a recession. It doesn't give restaurant owners the right to cheat their customers though...

Villa Madama was closed and cobwebby when I arrived back in Malta but on day 5 of my holiday, it mysteriously opened. Looking forward to having a potent coffee and fabulous Ftira, I bounded in like an excited puppy. It was like the Marie Celeste. Cobwebs and a layer of dust, accompanied by a smell not dissimilar to a second hand bookshop greeted me. As I made my way to the cafe, not a soul was in there, strange as it was lunch rush hour time. The white couches were now grey and covered in dust and it was starting to get in my throat- never mind the sandwich, it was a side order of antihistamines I needed! As I was a bit dubious about the food, I chose an Americano which thankfully was as potent as ever. For some strange reason, the prices of the drinks weren't displayed but the norm in Malta for an Americano is €1-1.50. When I asked to pay, the owner charged €2. This may sound normal to my Dubai friends, but for Malta this is a complete ripoff. Villa Madama is not even in a tourist area, so that doesn't explain the high price. Little did the owner know that I was the person whom he thanked, just 2 years ago, for writing a kind review about his place.

BookBites, Gzira/Sliema, Malta

In 2010, I discovered this small but interesting cafe in a newsagents on Sliema's notoriously pricey waterfront. Sick of wading through the murky waters of rip-off merchants charging £7 for a sandwich, and at the same time not wanting to go for the default option of the ubiquitous Subway, I decided to try BookBites, the Maltese take on an in-store cafe.

If you like a potent Americano and a naughty slice of Cassata (this raisin and marzipan Sicilian dessert is everywhere in Malta), this is the perfect place to pore over your newspaper while still soaking up the ambience of a seaside holiday. Removed from the tourist traps, BookBites has a largely Maltese clientele and the prices are pretty reasonable too- coffees are approx 1.50€ and sandwiches and wraps 3.50€. As an alternative to wraps and sliced bread, try a little local flavour and opt for a Maltese Ftira- this traditional flatbread goes brilliantly with cold cuts of meat and salty cheese. My favourite filling was and still is Gozo cheese and sun dried tomato. Gozo cheese is peppery and goes well with the salty tomatoes, making a beautiful melt in the mouth combination when the bread is warmed. Bet Subway's customers are regretting missing out on this local delicacy!

Here is the beautiful Cassata:

On a negative note though, the toilet is atrocious in here. Without going into detail (this is a food blog after all), it was as bad as that on an intercity train in the UK. Apart from this niggle, the cafe seems clean and the food fresh- just use the loos in the neighbouring hotel lobby!

Veduta, Rabat, Malta

A restaurant has to be something special for me to visit it 3 times in 1 week. It needs to offer fantastic service, a varied menu, affordable prices and as the estate agents say, location, location, location. Veduta fitted all these requisites.

The location of this restaurant was a deciding factor as to why I ate here a whopping 3 times in 2010 and made a return visit 2 years later. Nestled high up in the hills of Malta, this restaurant is situated in the village of Rabat (not to be confused with the capital of Morocco),a stones throw from the ancient walled city of Mdina (not to be confused with the similarly-named Tunisian town!) This area was formerly an Arabic settlement, so sit back and absorb the history while eating here.
TIP: do what I done on my first lunch visit- make a day of it. Take a day trip to the Silent City of Mdina, go for a stroll down the ancient passages and after all that walking, chill out at Veduta for lunch! Ignore the tourist-priced cafes in Mdina itself.
It is better to visit the restaurant twice as you will have two very different experiences of a day and a night. you see, the main attraction of this restaurant is its panoramic view over Malta itself. On a clear day, you can see the coast, mountains, and surrounding villages. If you're like me and a bit of a plane geek, it has an advantageous view of the airport! However, of an evening when the sun sets, the restaurant takes on a very romantic, intimate atmosphere. The sky turns a turquoise blue, the stars (and planes!) twinkle, and if you're lucky, the fireworks from a local festival will light up the sky.

The service was professional and always with a smile, willing to help and not as intrusive as some of these annoying restaurants. (You know what I mean, 'are you okay guys' every five minutes. Yes, chains, I mean you!) The food prices were higher than average- Pizzas and pastas around the 8 € mark, but desserts and drinks were the going rate for Malta. (coffees around 1.50€). The menu was a delight for vegetarians- rustic pizzas with succulent aubergines, pastas ranging from the creamy to the fiery, salads consisting of a cornucopia of capers, cheese and crunchy peppers. I had a mixed vegetable pizza, a spinach and gorgonzola farfalle and always the vindaloo queen, I chose a 'spaghetti esplosiva' (above) as my Last Supper in 2010. It did what it said on the tin, this pasta was explosive. Imagine crossing Arrabiata with Vindaloo with a dash of Szechuan sauce- well, this is what this pasta was. It should come with a warning, only suitable for hardcore Vindaloo Kings and Queens. Needless to say, I had the Esplosiva again on my 2012 return.

For the carnivores, check out this beefburger- great mix of naughty and nice:

This is the perfect restaurant for encapsulating the holiday mood and taking some memorable holiday snaps. The meals may not be pushing the imagination or be the cheapest on the island, but good service and fabulous panoramic views more than make up for it.

Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Experience, Dubai

What happened when I met up with a bunch of like-minded, passionate food bloggers in Dubai and we got invited to sample the culinary delights of Paris's most opulent department store?

I have recently been invited to join a lovely group with the fabulous title of Fooderati Arabia, a collective of fellow food bloggers in the region. Until now, I have not been able to attend any of their events due to reasons I won't bore you with, but this week I finally met up with the group at the Dubai Mall branch of Galeries Lafayette, the beautiful French department store, where we were invited to a gourmet food tasting! In my previous life as penniless student, I whiled away many an hour in their Berlin food hall, longingly admiring the produce on offer, clutching my coffee for dear life, making a single cup last hours. As you can imagine, I was ecstatic to visit their Dubai branch and see how well they had replicated continental Europe in the desert.

The food hall is reminiscent of Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh and Selfridges in Manchester, effectively combining supermarket, coffee shop, deli and restaurant. Whether you want to nip in for a coffee and a girlie gossip, discuss business over tapas or spend some quality time over a quality meal, Lafayette Gourmet has all bases covered. They even offer outside catering which we also got to sample.

Us bloggers were greeted with fabulous mocktails before we got down to dissecting the menu- my personal favourite was the Mojito but the Tropical Fruit long mocktail was a close second:

Perfect cooler for a muggy Dubai heatwave:

The Amuse Bouche were brought out which consisted of buffalo mozzarella with cherry tomato and goats cheese moneybags with honey for the veggies, whilst the omnivores devoured Foie Gras bonbons and smoked salmon. The mozzarella had a fleshy, velvety texture that melted in your mouth. The moneybags were delicious,but I believe they should have been garnished with cranberry sauce for them to be experienced at their best. In the below pic, you can see the mozzarella and next to it is a chicken and lemongrass appetiser devoured by my fellow bloggers:

After digesting the appetisers, an internationally eclectic range of hot dishes were brought out. Moroccan Lamb Tagine was popular but with me being veggie, I opted for the plain couscous- its soft, silky texture heightened by pine nuts and cinnamon:

Street food was even represented with both Thai and Yakisoba noodles, served in authentic noodle boxes with chopsticks- the Thai noodles consisted of chicken and tofu, the Yakisoba noodles with sesame sauce, peppers, beansprouts and duck for the meateaters. The noodles were satisfactory but lacked the X-factor- less oil and more chillies or a flavoured sauce wouldn't go amiss.

Sekander, Allerton Rd, Liverpool

My relationship with Sekander has been a tempestuous one. From its humble beginnings in the late nineties as just a takeaway, the food was exceptional. Succulent samosas, fiery vindaloos and halal kebabs for the carnivores, Sekander filled a gap in the South Liverpool Indian restaurant market when it expanded and became a restaurant as well as a takeaway. The decor is refreshingly modern- not a sticky Axminster carpet in sight but thankfully doesn't have that impersonal Ikea-sponsored winebar feel either. Its BYOB policy won many a customer's heart and for the teetotals amongst us, its potent coffee was freshly brewed and not out of a jar labelled Maxwell House like some of its Indian neighbours. The mango lassi bursts with flavour too, the perfect antidote to a gut wrenching vindaloo.

Sekander is open daily, but on Sunday they offer a buffet for a tenner, which quite frankly is atrocious. Starters aside, the main courses consist of all the dishes that they find hard to flog like Chicken Korma and fish curry. Every single dish tastes inexplicably like a mixture of raw chicken and the stench of fish. Prepare for some ensuing Imodium moments...

The main menu is a riot of colour, just like the funky restaurant itself, however the quality of the curries is inconsistent. Sekander seems to go through a cycle of peaks and troughs but if you go right this minute, it is experiencing a peak; the perfect opportunity for some pics for the blog! Sometimes, the curries consist of a watery gravy and no substance, the starters being the real star of the show. Starters are generously proportioned but can sometimes spoil the appetite rather than whet it- not that I'm complaining. They will kindly give you a doggy bag should your stomach not be up for the challenge. Mainstays like Samosas and Bhajis are present and correct but are homemade unlike some curry houses, and thought is given to their presentation rather than adorning it with a few limp lettuce leaves. My favourite starter is the Vegetable Dosa, a dish set to trend in the UK in 2012.

My Dubai curry fiends are well-versed on Dosas as they're a really popular dish in this neck of the woods, but do my British chums know what one is? It's a pancake, South Indian in origin and is served with curry. In Dubai, dal is a popular accompaniment but as we can see on this pic, Sekander have stuffed their dosa with a zingy okra, aubergine and potato mix in a piquant sauce- delicious!

Veggie main course perfection can be achieved by the Vindaloo (top pic) or with the Vegetable Dhansak. Dhansaks are my alternative when I have had too much of a spice kick. A 'pimped' version of Dal you could describe it as. Dhansak is more popular in the UK than Dal dishes and in Sekander, they throw in some ginger, lashings of lemon juice and top it off with a pineapple ring to give it that sweet and sour taste. I find Dal quite a boring dish but love lentils, so this is the perfect alternative as Sekander throws in a few okra and potatoes to give it a bit of variation.

A visit to Sekander isn't complete without checking out its dessert menu. They have standard Indian desserts like Matka Kulfi, Pistachio Kulfi and that ubiquitous hollowed-out orange skin with the ice cream inside. Perfect for cooling down after a night on the spice!

Nawab, Jumeira Plaza, Dubai

I love Jumeirah 1, but often find eating out a bit 'samey'. There are some great independent malls there which do not have the sweaty hustle and bustle of the big players of the Dubai mall scene, but are sadly lacking in imaginative food options. After being stung at their many overpriced British and American coffee chains, I normally default to 2nd December St for bargain Lebanese grub if I plan to spend the day being a Jumeirah mall rat. Sure, the Mercato mall has one of the prettiest food courts in Dubai but severely lacking in mouthwatering veggie options, and the French-themed Cafe Gerard near Magrudy's has possibly the best coffee in the city but extremely bland herbivorous dishes. Casting my mind back to when I first arrived in Dubai, I remembered spotting a cosy-looking Indian in the Jumeira Plaza mall, the location of China Times. Welcome to Nawab, Jumeirah's underestimated hotspot for Vindaloo Kings and Queens.

Nawab is a happy medium between the more rustic Indian eateries that populate Dubai and the ridiculously pricey 'high end' curry houses. It is reminiscent of 1980s UK curry houses with carpeted floor, kitsch artwork and fixtures and fittings from a bygone era. Its USP for me though were the booths. Booths for extra privacy are my favourite feature that a lot of UK curry houses are now ripping out in favour of a generic wine-bar style refurb. Regular readers will know the Holy Grail of curry houses for me is Liverpool's UnI, unique in the fact that it has retained its 1970s essence including aforementioned booths. Nawab is similar in style, offering a mixture of tables in the main body of the restaurant and booths along the back window, perfect for having a private conversation over a business lunch. Eschewing starters for complimentary popadoms, these were served with this fresh pickle that (above), not dissimilar to UK style pickles. Mint, mango chutney and an extra spicy chilli and lime pickle were the perfect start to the meal. For main courses, I ordered a Bindi (okra) Bhaji with plain naan and pilau, and Carnivorous Colleague ordered that old British staple, Chicken Tikka Masala (below):

As you can see, my Okra and Potato dish was bursting with flavour- if only computer screens were lickable like Willy Wonka's famous wallpaper!

Heightened with chillies and cumin, the okra/bindi were bursting open, releasing their juicy insides onto the potatoes, mingling with the spices, a unique blend of flavours which created a real party in the mouth. The Naan was perfect for scooping up the mixture, allowing me to do it properly and shun my cutlery. Naans in Dubai are much easier to eat and to use as an eating utensil than in the UK. Back home, they are pillowy, stodgy and leave your fingers with a film of grease that lingers for hours. Nawab's Naan was a perfect consistency and had a lovely fresh-from-tandoor aroma to it! The pilau was in the same style as I mentioned in my previous review for Curry Box- colourful grains interspersed in white rice. Quelling the flames of the curry, the Mango Lassi was the perfect antidote. If you find hot curries hard to swallow, always put out the flames with a yogurt based drink- water is a false friend as it just reacts with the spices, causing heartburn. Lassi neutralises it- try it next time!

For those of you who find Jumeirah a bit of a trek to get to, Nawab also have an outlet in the food court of Mirdif City Centre, but for a more authentic ambience, the Jumeirah branch is definitely worth the taxi fare.

Curry Box, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai

Sometimes it gets tiring, this eating out lark. Yes, visiting restaurants is my main hobby and I love discovering a new one, soaking up its atmosphere as well as enjoying the food. It's not always convenient to eat out in congested Dubai,a car-oriented city where you can't always take a leisurely stroll to your local eaterie for fear of being mowed down by a Jumeirah Jane multitasking a Pajero with Nokia Snake. Either that, or you get blown away by a sandstorm or melted like a snowman in the heat- thank goodness for the many takeaway outlets that deliver to your doorstep! UK star Kelly Brook recently praised Dubai for the fact that 'even Mc Donald's deliver to your hotel room here' so decided to try it for myself. No, not Maccy D's, but a highly recommended hidden gem, the Curry Box.

Curry Box is a funky Indian/Pakistani takeaway, more Manchester than Bur Dubai as it features some of Blighty's much loved curry house classics like Chicken Tikka Masala, Vindaloo and Peshwari Naan. Unlike Dubai, British curry houses often blur the line between Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisine and generically name it either 'Indian' or 'Tandoori'. Some curries have been adapted for the British market, like my namesake Vindaloo being a potent dish rather than the traditional hot and sour pork dish. Biryanis in the UK tend to be served with an omelette on top. Anyway, back to Curry Box. Our meal arrived slightly earlier than scheduled (good as my tummy was rumbling) in the neatest presentation box I have ever seen a takeaway in:

Although there were a multitude of starters on offer like Bhajis and Vegetable Patties, I didn't want to be greedy so went for Vegetable Achaari, Pilaf Rice and Peshwari naan. Carnivorous colleague predictably went for Chicken Tikka Masala with a Sweet Lassi to wash it all down with. Chutney and onion salad were thrown in complimentary. As you can see from the pic below, the Achaari was packed to the brim with healthy greens, not a frozen vegetable in sight:

The portions of both curry and rice were enough to feed two, so it was a good idea not to go for starters. The Achaari was bursting with flavour, non-greasy unlike some of the ones back home, padded out nicely with green beans and peas with a hint of aubergine. Piquant yet sour at the same time, the pickle base harmonised well with the aubergine and spices. The rice had a unique blend of aniseed and coriander and appealed to my traditionalist tastebuds as it had coloured rice grains in; I remember a time when every curry house in England used to do this rice but nowadays it seems to be disappearing in favour of the yellow pilau.

I was happy to see Peshwari naan after such a long time, it seems to be a rarity in Dubai, but it was well worth the wait. An equal balance of raisins, coconut and bread, this Pesh was not too big, not too small, but just right. I hate it when some Peshwaris have minimal filling, you may as well have ordered a plain naan. This was the right thickness to mop up the remains of my Achaari. The plain but sweet lassi was a break from my Mango Lassi rut, a flavour I have never contemplated trying before, but hit the spot as the perfect tonic to digest the Achaari.

with such a large menu to work your way through, a copy of the Curry Box menu needs to be in every discerning curry enthusiast's kitchen drawer. Curry perfection.

Liverpool's Lost Restaurants

I recently wrote an article for Liverpool lifestyle website Sevenstreets about one of my passions- restaurant nostalgia! As you all know, I'm not a fan of chains, anything that calls its meals 'tapas' and isn't Spanish and anything that's known as a WAG location. My trip down Memory Lane certainly polarised the readers but at least it got people talking and more importantly, their tastebuds watering. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I love reading your comments so in case you missed it, here's the article.

Seven Lost Liverpool Restaurants

And a picture of El Macho's finest Nachos!

Al-Safadi, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai

Vindaloo HQ has been busy again, a whirlwind of excitement as I've been househunting! I need a permanent place to call my home as I intend on staying here for the long haul, so have been exploring the city in search of my perfect pad. I must say, nothing has matched up to my lovely home back in Manchester and my eyes have been blinded by the awful avocado bathroom suites in properties that estate agents have the audacity to call des res! Housing disasters aside, this quest for the perfect home may not have been that fruitful, but along the way, it's helped reveal a whole host of eateries in parts of the city I'd never ventured in before! I had always dismissed the SZR as a tourist trap full of the usual chain suspects- the sight of N*ndo's and St*rbucks deterring me from exploring further. Never judge a book by its cover though, as in actual fact, tourists are outnumbered by businessmen and suchlike in the area, meaning the faceless international chains are also outnumbered by independent eateries and local chains. A wealth of cute coffee shops and authentic eateries were waiting to be uncovered by Vindaloo Queen.

Al Safadi is nestled between the Dusit Thani hotel and the Financial Centre Metro station and offers the usual Lebanese dishes that one becomes accustomed to in Dubai. It is a small local chain that has retained a sense of individuality that chains like Zaatar W Zeit has sacrificed for a more Nando-istic approach. With cosy seating both inside and out, the outside seating being centred around a water feature, customers can while away the hours over a shisha, grab a quick shawarma or make the day of it with a monster meze. Unlike most Lebanese eateries in the city, Al-Safadi serves a double whammy of bread, giving both the pre-packaged pittas and oven baked ones.

The meal began in the usual Dubai-Lebanese way with a pickle tray and unprepared salad, the freshest I have experienced as yet. I could actually eat the olives without wincing at their bitterness, the pickled radish sweeter and crunchier than usual. I was overjoyed to see a pristine clean salad as standards seem to be slipping recently, even at some of my fave eateries on Al Dhiyafa Rd. If the standard of food keeps up for the rest of the lunch, I think we'll have a new Lebanese restaurant king on our hands to topple the undisputed champion Sidra...

In order to make a fair comparison, I ordered my usual spicy potatoes and instead of a falafel shawarma, I was in the mood for halloumi so went for a halloumi sandwich. The sandwich was served on a 'sub' type bread instead of the usual pitta but nonetheless was tasty, the fluffy bread complementing the rubbery halloumi garnished with rocket and spinach. Time to try the potatoes, they did have some pretty big shoes to fill if they can compete with Sidra... Amazing. These potatoes have what it takes to topple Sidra from its throne of the spiciest potato provider in Dubai. Spicy yet not overpowering with just the right amount of coriander, cut into perfect bite-size chunks and not mere chippings like those of Beirut, sautéed but not soaked in fat, these spuds were perfection on a plate. My carnivorous researcher gave his Shish Taouk full marks too, giving it extra points for presentation as it was served with exactly half tabouleh, half chips and not 99% chips and a couple of salad leaves. Definitely the top location for a Lebanese feast in the city centre.

China Sea, Al Maktoum St, Deira, Dubai

Back home in England, there's nothing I like more than going for a weekly Chinese. Whether it's the subterranean rabbit warrens of Edinburgh's Lee-On, Liverpool's 1940s style Shanghai kitchen Ma-Bo or Manchester's modern yet authentic Fu's, a good Chinese has to have 4 magical qualities for me: authenticity, unpretentiousness, Chinese diners and the ability to whip up a soup that I'll still be talking about a week later. After traipsing the streets of Dubai, dazzled by glitzy signage and minimalistic decor, I found China Sea on my doorstep.

At the entrance, I was greeted by a multitude of live fish and shellfish in tanks, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaits them, while a chef in the window proudly cooks and prepares their friends into a masterpiece. Also on display is a selection of Sea Cucumbers, considered a delicacy but as a veggie, I was rather intimidated by their off-putting colour and shape. Was China Sea going to be a herbivore's idea of hell?

The dining area is split with a small partition, offering the diner the option of a street view or kitchen view. The kitchen is certainly a hive of activity, the chefs' concentration in whipping up masterpieces apparent, providing a great focal point. Trolleys laden with dim sums and other delicacies are pushed around, the delectable smell wafting around, whetting my appetite even more. I needn't have worried about the veggie options as there were more than enough, and dishes can be modified to remove the meat. There are 2 menu types, the dim sum one which seemed to be popular, featuring appetisers as little as 2 dirham, and the normal menu which had the usual British staples like Chicken and Sweetcorn soup along with more traditional Cantonese dishes.

To start, I opted for the spicy cabbage and vermicelli soup. A vegetarian delight that captures even the carnivore's tastebuds:

Now, often when cabbage soup is mentioned, people usually think of some horrific diet dish. Indeed, this was a healthy starter, but not in a boring way! The cabbage is piquant, leaving a wonderful aftertaste and the soup is given more substance with the addition of vermicelli a.k.a Glass Noodles. For the main event, I decided to go for one of my old favourites, Ma-Po tofu with a massive portion of Egg Fried Rice.
Brit readers, please pay attention here. Traditional Chinese restaurants like this one aren't like the anglicised ones in the way the meal follows a strict order of starter then main with everyone in your party being served at the same time, but come whenever each dish is ready. Naturally, we got our soups first, followed by my tofu 10 minutes later, then another 15 min later, my colleague's sweet and sour chicken came and strange for us Brits, the rice came last. All part of the authentic Chinese experience, along with the brusque but unintentionally-rude staff. The staff appear to be a little ignorant, but when speaking to them, it seems to just be due to the language/cultural barrier.

The Ma-Po tofu that arrived was huge as you can see in the pic! Bursting with spice and peppers, this silky tofu dish was enough to feed 3 so regretfully I left a fair bit; good to know for next time though. The EFR was completely different to British style, and that's in a good way. Fluffy rice, not swimming in grease like back home, with distinct pieces of egg in, not unidentifiable mush. Carrots and peas mixed in the rice livened proceedings up, giving it some bite. Finally, I have found my Dubai outpost to Manchester's Chinatown.