We have been treating ourselves to one Mediterranean meal after the other, over and over again. So just for a welcomed change, we decided on an Indian meal instead. And coming to think of it, we hadn’t had Indian simply in ages.

We were meeting our friends and luncheoning companions Jeremy and Michael and as they live deep in the South we tactfully chose an in between location being Sliema. For the uninitiated the Fortina Hotel offers an array of restaurants all open to non residents and although we had already been to Sa Re Ga Ma, this was many years ago.

The setting is both pleasant and also very original for Malta, as it is set, along with the other eateries there, within a very large central courtyard which is lusciously adorned by many trees and plants, giving it virtually a jungle feel. There is also a large pool right in the middle, which provides those like me who can only look but never touch with so much eye candy that desert becomes totally superfluous.

To start with the service this time, here too we were looked after admirably well. And much to my heart’s delight this was kept up perfectly until the very end and nowhere throughout did it ebb or fade, as it sometimes does. And it was all courtesy of Amit, who was not only talented in his approach and attention, but also perfectly knowledgeable on all dishes, their preparation and ingredients. Amit, who was a very cordial and friendly fellow, originating from Northern India, explained that he is also a chef and alternates between the kitchen and the floor, hence his intricate knowledge of the menu. It made an enormous difference listening to his many insights about their cuisine and a far cry from many restaurants where you are dealing purely with an uninformed order taker.

I hate it when you genuinely need some explanations about a menu and the server is very obviously making much of it up. Or when for every small basic question it involves a 5 minute walk and wait for the server between our table and the kitchen. And having been in the business myself, I know that no amount of briefing will even come close to having someone taking food orders who truly has a sound knowledge of cuisine. However in today’s fast paced business environment this is becoming harder and harder to find. Traditionally the person taking the orders would be a veritable culinary encyclopedia, while often today some have the knowledge akin to an amoeba…

So as we were obviously in very good hands, we asked Amit to suggest some nice starters to share. He suggested that we go for two dishes of their special sizzler mixed starters consisting of chicken, lamb, prawns, samosas and onions. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of tasty components which offered ample variety.

We then each had a separate main course consisting of a pork vindaloo, a chicken vindaloo a chicken korma and a prawn alleppey, accompanied with rice and garlic naan bread. All were very good and wonderfully prepared in typical magically complex Indian spicy style. I had mine very hot and believe me it was, which is the way I mostly enjoy. The prawn alleppey was a striking combination of contrasting flavours of sweet and fruity and spicy and hot.

Cold lager probably goes best with hot Indian food, however we are somehow so used to having wine with our meals that we somehow always end up on the good old vino. So we had a lovely bone dry Muscadet, which is a wine I love and which I think is always so underrated.

After a couple of boring so called Indian ice creams, which we had more to refresh our palette, we ended our meal with coffees and liqueurs. We thanked Amit thoroughly as he was a key factor in the overall enjoyment of our meal. If you’re in the mood for Indian, then Sa Re Ga Ma is an overall pretty good choice.

Our lunch was all the more enjoyable, thanks to the splendid company of Jeremy & Michael, whose company we never cease to enjoy.