Most of our time in Germany was spent in Trier and Heidelberg, both stylish, historical and touristic centres in the South Western regions of Germany. We enjoyed our time there and as always placed the anticipated dining aspect of our trip as one of the top highlights of our travels.

We thoroughly enjoy the culture, history, architecture, scenery and site-seeing in general, but this most definitely needs to be complemented on a daily basis by a light – or not so light, tasty lunch, and above all by a lovely, full and generous dinner to end each interesting day. We eat well when at home, so it wouldn’t cross our minds to lower or curb our eating habits in any way while abroad.

While in Germany rather than obtaining recommendations from our hotels, we decided to go down the Tripadvisor road and simply tried restaurants which were given the very best reviews and which therefore enjoyed the highest ratings. Without making it sound like a bit of an obsession, when we travel we always like to try the typical, local fare, representative of the region’s specialities. If we wanted to eat exactly the same food as we eat at home, then we would do best in staying there. When in Rome do as the Romans do and all that… Also this is one good way of discovering new delicacies and extending your culinary knowledge in general.

However in spite of all our perfectly good intentions and more so of strictly sticking to the most highly recommended establishments which were meant to be the very best in town, we were subjected to one bad meal after another, much to our dismay and rising frustration.

We had various nondescript boiled meats, fatty pork products, tasteless sausages, mashed potatoes swimming in bland lukewarm gravy, boiled turkey steaks covered by a less than delicious tomato sauce (yes boiled turkey steaks with tomato sauce – this is not a typing error!) and loads and loads of sauerkraut. The very best dish we managed to have is the renowned (Austrian) veal schnitzel, which admittedly can often be pleasant, but how many schnitzels can you eat? Meals ranged from bland and uninteresting at best, to inedible hospital food at worst.

We also tried a couple of desserts, however none of them were anything to write homepage about. And if you might be thinking of apple strudel und kompanie, that is mainly centred around Vienna, which is admittedly Germanic, but not all Germanic is Vienna.

Without any doubt, our best meals were our breakfasts which all featured a nice fresh selection of cheeses, hams, fruits, yogurts, cereals and pastries, providing a tiny beacon of hope in an otherwise vast gastronomic desert. And what probably kept us from leaping out of our 5th floor hotel window were the copious amounts of excellent beer and equally delectable riesling sekt – the lovely local sparkling wine. But even these need at times to be accompanied by a decent bite to eat.

Now some of you may be thinking that this is Germany and that is exactly what one should expect, while others may be saying that it serves us right for eating German food in the first place. But it really beats me how people can go out for a meal to a restaurant and enjoy being fed what a truly untalented and unimaginative parent might whip up at home in a few minutes to shut up their young hungry children. Well the most likely answer to this question is that they don’t!

It seems that even most locals would much rather go for a pizza, a burger, or go ethnic for a Turkish, a Thai or a Chinese. Traditional German fare has long been out, especially with the younger generations. This is not dissimilar to say the English, who save a few old favorite dishes at a pub meal, would rather go for an Indian or oriental restaurant, rather than going out to an English restaurant. And I suppose that we in Malta are exactly the same. With the exception of a rabbit meal how often do we go to eat at a Maltese restaurant? For clarity’s sake I am not comparing German cuisine to Maltese cuisine and neither to English cuisine for that matter. I am only comparing dining habits in these countries.

So I suppose in many ways we were playing the dumb tourists who insisted on doing exactly what dumb tourists do and also insisted on riding it out till the bitter end, rather than cleverly changing tack somewhere along the line and slipping into a tasty Turkish instead.

Without wishing to offend anyone who might somehow hold German cuisine to heart, my advice would be a resounding ‘don’t even bother trying’. Go ethnic or try to find a good Italian or French restaurant when you’re there. You are lucky that we did all the experimenting for you and resiliently stuck to the seemingly near-impossible task of having a great German meal. For German cuisine is what it is – you either dislike it or you hate it.

So on our last day in Germany we leapt out of bed at the crack of dawn, jumped into our hired car and sped straight to the French border without any further delay, diversion or distraction.

This was my first time in Luxembourg and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Nestled precariously from a gastronomic point of view between France and Germany, this relatively tiny country has very distinct influences from both its comparatively giant neighbours, leaving me wondering on which side of the gastronomic fence it really lies.

We had a great time and a truly lovely lunch yesterday at Rogantino’s.

This is such a unique venue with tons of charm and authenticity. The drive alone into what is probably Malta’s finest remaining countryside is enough to relax and unwind you. And for those who, like me, consider the ambiance and surroundings of a dining establishment to be a vital factor in the overall enjoyment of such an outing, then this is definitely the place for you.

Set in a perfectly bucolic country setting and literally surrounding by fields, valleys and hills, Rogantino’s enjoys an unrivaled location in Malta.

Complimenting the actual location is the building itself, which although slightly jaded on the exterior, boasts unending character inside. It was in fact a hunting lodge built by the Knights of St John which is today the chef patron’s – Tony Grech’s casa bottega.

The house’s style of cuisine is firmly and consistently centred on wholesome, uncomplicated, delicious home style dishes, whenever possible utilising fresh produce from the surrounding farms and fields.

I had a mouthwatering lasagne with spinach which was really divine. It had all the flavours and textures of a perfectly home cooked lasagne and one of the best I have had in many years. This was followed by one of Tony’s signature dishes – suckling pig. What a treat! If you fancy an excellent suckling pig then look no further… I just cannot think of a better place to have this. It was very moist and succulent, which sometimes tends to be a problem with suckling pig elsewhere – truly cooked to perfection. And also served with a massive mouthwatering piece of crackling.

As the style is firmly based on Maltese & Mediterranean traditional cooking, the suckling pig was simply and delicately served in its own jus, however Isabel Tapp fancied an accompanying apple sauce. This is not quite their usual style and one must keep in mind that this is anything but your run-of-the-mill commercial establishment and is Tony’s home and traditional kitchen who has his own style and rightly sticks to it.

However although apple sauce was not on the menu per se, it was immediately prepared ad hoc to our demand without as much as a sigh or a groan. An exemplary demonstration of genuinely caring service perfectly orchestrated by Tony’s most gracious daughter Christina, who heads the service with unending charm and effortless skill, proving to be yet another great notch in the impressive Rogantino belt.

Although I was initially more than happy having the suckling pig au naturel, Isabel’s apple sauce looked (and tasted) too delicious not to share it with her.

Maria Bonello Permina had a delicious grilled brie salad as a starter followed by a lamb shank in honey sauce. Both dishes were absolutely lovely. Our very close friend and spiritual brother Ted had lasagne, followed by what he claimed to be, and most definitely looked like, the most delectable and perfectly cooked pork rack. While Isabel’s better half George also started with a lasagne, followed by a lovely tasting ribeye steak, proving the diversity of both the menu as well as Tony’s ample skills.

All this hearty and generous food was perfectly complimented by several bottles of smooth and luscious Chateauneuf-du-Pape Domaine Barville (Brotte) 2011, which amply exhibited its distinctive full, complex, yet balanced flavours. I have always been very partial to Chateauneuf and find that it marries perfectly to this type of home cuisine.

We had various interesting and perfectly adequate desserts including a mixed red berry sorbet, cassata siciliana and chocolate semi freddo, admittedly not quite fait maison, yet still very much home made and very obviously better than industrial fare, originating in a private kitchen in Rabat.

This epic meal was glamourously and rather decadently followed by coffees, Averna’s, calvados and old Hine cognac XO’s !!!

But to top all of this up, as if it still weren’t enough, after lunch we moved into the quaint bar area where Tony displays just a small fraction of his incredible collection of old wines, sherries, ports and spirits for an exclusive guided tour and tastings. It is evident that Tony has outstanding and intricate knowledge of beverages and the history of their production and what is even more marvelous is that he takes great pride and manifests so much pleasure and passion in showing you around and sharing his insights while pouring you a bit of this and the other. What an absolute delight!

Wow, there is possibly no better end to a superb lunch than a lovely degustation of rare old fortified wines and spirits tactfully conducted by the house’s patron.

A big thank you to you Tony and Christina for looking after us so well and for treating us to such a perfect Sunday.

The very beginning of our journey took us through the southernmost part of Belgium where we only had time for one quick lunch. So we decided on that most typical of Belgian dishes – moules frites.

Tarragon Restaurant in St Pauls Bay is about as good as it gets in Malta.

Unfortunately for our weight, liver and pocket, this is the place we love to frequent over and over again and as often as possible. It is really very hard to have anything but a fantastic meal and overall experience in this virtually unique establishment.

We have always found this venue very special. The decor, service, food and overall feel reminds of London, Paris, New York and this isn’t an exaggeration, except anything similar in these cities would probably cost at least twice the price.

– Some random culinary thoughts for the hungry traveller

Background

It is with pleasure that I bring to you some random thoughts and somewhat garbled accounts and interpretations of our dining adventures during our recent trip abroad.

This restaurant is in Paceville, St. Julians and therefore in the middle of it all if you’re in that part of town. In spite of popular belief there is many an aspiring restaurant in Paceville and this is certainly one of them.

This was our first time at Chapter One and having heard quite a lot about it, I must admit that we had fairly high expectations. I always find that this puts an establishment in quite a tough spot as one’s anticipation will automatically be much higher and pretty hard to satisfy, when compared to a blind choice when no particular expectation is expected to be met.

When I booked over the phone my reservation was handled with an extremely well mannered and professional response, which was again a telltale sign of a top eatery. Upon arrival we were immediately ushered
in and shown to our table. As we were subjected to very loud music, something I must admit I really cannot tolerate in spite of it being so common in many local restaurants, this was very quickly lowered without any hesitation, much to our relief.

Throughout the evening the service was totally efficient, extremely attentive and very keen – even enthusiastic, with loads of info being dealt out to us in reply to any of our questions. The restaurant itself is rather bare and austere and the tables on the smallish side, but we settled in to have a good meal and had many a banter with the knowledgeable and dedicated young maitre d’.

So we decided on a carpaccio of wild fish with marinated red prawns and fennel and a carpaccio of steamed beetroot with grilled goat cheese, walnut, mustard and honey. Both were very well presented and turned out
to be as pleasing to the eye as they were to the palate. The beetroot carpaccio particularly was a delicious combination of many both subtle and bold flavours which all married perfectly in this original dish.

For mains we had steamed Angus beef cheeks in its own jus and scallops in beetroot gelée. The scallops was one of the daily specials on offer as a starter, which they graciously agreed to transform into a larger main
sized portion for us, once again indicating their perfectly accommodating nature. We find that more and more restaurants refuse to do this and we are often told that they only serve starter portions with the only other option
being to order two!

The scallops were refreshing and delicate with an interesting mix of flavours. The beef cheeks were cooked to perfection and very easily eaten with fork alone and no knife necessary. I personally would have enjoyed a
slightly tastier sauce with this dish and found the one served slightly bland. The beef was served with roast potatoes which were unremarkable but adequate.

I had a home made chocolate brownie for desert which was exceedingly decadent and divine and yet another powerful kick to my increasing diabetes smile emoticon

With our coffees we asked for calvados and were served with a simply exquisite Daron X.O. Without making an issue out of it, I feel however that the maitre d’ should have pointed this out to us when we ordered. We were charged € 16 for the calvados and although I believe that this was amply justified by its quality, we did not request, neither were we informed that a premium brand would be served. We were also graciously offered seconds on the house, which also alleviated further this omission, which I confidently feel was purely a genuine oversight on his side. In general however, I think that whenever requesting any form of generic wine or spirit, premium brands should not be automatically served and charged for without previous discussion with the customer.

The total price including a Cote du Rhone Boussargues priced at € 16.50, amounted to € 123.00. I would tend to say that this was perhaps slightly on the high side, but then again the calvados made a significant contribution towards this.

To sum it all up I would say don’t go there for the stunning scenery or ambiance, but if you are in town and fancy a delicately prepared dish, original and creative fare, complimented by extremely attentive service, then this would be a good choice to make.

This unassuming Bulgarian restaurant in Bugibba has quite unexpectedly become one of our favourite venues for an informal yet yummie meal.

Situated very close to the Empire Cinema, it has a warm, wooden, wintery feel with pleasing decor reminiscent of a mix between a mountain chalet and a stylish rural retreat, along with open fire.

Yesterday we had a great meal at Sciacca Grill in South Street Valletta. If you are a meat lover than this is the place to go.

You can first get a full description and a viewing at the display of all the different meats they have – this is both attractive and useful. This includes Kobe beef such as wagyu, all types of ribeyes, sausages, etc. very impressive. So you can actually see and choose your meat.

The wine list was ok although nothing special. Service was professional and good. And of course if you like whisky this is not only a lovely and trendy meat restaurant but also an incomparable whisky bar with a few hundreds of Scotch whiskies on offer – wow…

Five of us met up in Valletta at 15:00 and were in search of a late lunch. But in spite of the capital being bustling and many establishments being open, it proved very hard to find one which would accommodate us at that time. Kitchens were all closing and we had much difficulty finding a place with continuous service, much as this sounds unlikely. Even some of those which actually remained open, informed us that their kitchen closes until later on in the evening.

I had recently remarked how practical it was to see that more and more establishments were remaining open throughout the afternoon, including proper restaurants, around Malta, so I was under the false impression that Valletta would be full of such venues.

So although we were initially after something rather smart, we settled for a much more casual eatery, just next to St John’s Cathedral.

The staff were bubbly and friendly and nice, definitely not reserved in any way. Service was at times a bit sketchy, but still very much on the acceptable side. Of course one has to make some concessions based upon the type of venue, and should expect a very casual style of service in this type of place.

Also as may be expected in this type of establishment, the menu was quite vast, but at least their wine list too was rather varied and even a bit beyond expectation. We went for Australian all round this time, and had Jacob’s Creek Semillon Chardonnay white and Jacob’s Creek Shiraz Cabernet red. I was very familiar with both and nobody was disappointed, as both make very pleasant and easy drinking.

We had a variety of dishes including a more than acceptable duck breast salad and various pasta dishes, including wild mushroom ravioli and asparagus fagottini, which were both lovely. Their penne al salmone was also very pleasing. Also a spinach and tuna pie which was fine.

So all in all, we very satisfied with the quality of the food, keeping in mind that this is a very casual diner. However I must admit that some of the dishes, and certainly the pastas, could have matched even what is served in good restaurants.

Naturally the location is just excellent, being situated right in the heart of Valletta, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of our stylish capital. The place was virtually exclusively frequented by tourists, but that is to be expected in such circumstances and has its own advantages, which can be very pleasing to the eye and also easy on the ear. I have absolutely nothing against young, skimpily dressed foreigners who keep their mouth shut while eating.

Unfortunately I really seem to have misplaced the bill. However I very much recall that the total amount came to only to a fraction of what we would have paid in a smart restaurant. So that too is an important element one has to keep in mind, when substituting a finer diner with a very informal one.

So although this casual diner might not become a destination restaurant in its own right for us, it would certainly be one we would gladly return to for a light meal.

The end of our lunch marked the beginning of a long evening and night of drinking and delicious debauchery, until the early hours in the morning and in no less than 5 different bars and clubs. Valletta has become without a doubt the best location for a fun pub crawl and truly has something for everyone. If moreover, like us, you are able to enjoy everything and anything, and to soak in the diversity of an eclectic evening out, then Valletta will excel.

Now where did I put those morning after pills tongue emoticon