For the uninitiated, this is very simply the rather unlikely combination of mussels and chips, which somehow made it to the most reverent position of national dish in Belgium. But admittedly it is not at all as repulsive as it first might sound and believe it or not it can, at times, even be quite enjoyable.

As a quick and obvious comparison I would refer to the English fish and chips which is very similar in many ways and may equally be considered as off-putting if you were not at all familiar to it. Yet occasionally many find this dish weirdly yummy, depending on the mood and the circumstances you might find yourself in.

Although I have had better moules frites than this in the past, I have also had much worse. So all In all this was a very acceptable specimen and perfectly edible, even bordering on the enjoyable. Perhaps the best thing about having a moules frites for someone who lives in Malta while transiting through Belgium, is that in all probability you haven’t had this dish in ages and more importantly that you probably won’t have it again for a long time to come…

But provided that the mussels are perfectly fresh and perfectly cooked – which in Belgium they usually are, and as long as the frites are perfectly sized and shaped, which somehow they always seem to be – then mussels and chips can be a lovely meal when in Belgium.

This is one of those weird and wonderful dishes which can be both intriguing and delicious when consumed in their country of origin. So in spite of any of my previous negative connotations, I do strongly recommend that you try it at least once, next time you are in Belgium, just in case you haven’t had it before. However ‘don’t try this at home’, the chances are that it simply won’t taste the same and will be entirely out of context.

It’s one of those things you need to have strictly on site otherwise the charm just isn’t there and the fun factor is so obviously missing.