Argentinian evening at Grill 3301

A week that ends with an excellent meal is always a good one. So an invitation from Andrew Galea, the Marketing Manager of the Corinthia Hotel St George’s Bay sounded most promising.  And I was certainly not disappointed. I have only ever been to a 50th birthday party at their Grill 3301. This time round I was invited with a handful of others and it was the first time I was going to have a sit down meal there.  I was full of anticipation and put my eternal diet on the back burner. My dieting and eating are done in a zig-zag fashion, with eating overtaking dieting by a massive margin. I said to myself: ‘You’re only well-past middleage once in your life. Why not make the best of it?’ I am not one to suffer from anxiety about health, wrinkles and crow’s feet, what I have failed to achieve, the time I have wasted and anxiety about how little time there is left. I don’t suffer from status anxiety, like so many do, either. And thank goodness, in a few years by which time the catastrophe of old age would have struck, there will be even less point in bothering.
And no, I don’t want my youth back again thank you.

But let me stop rambling on and tell you a little about this enjoyable meal. I like this sort of evening because the menu is set and the choice has been made for you. There is no point in eyeing everyone else’s food which invariably seems to be a better choice, as you are all eating the same dishes. Also, there is no time wasted plotting a route through the menu which, if you are hungary, can seem like a chore. At the Grill 3301 it was a four course affair in collaboration with Cassar Camilleri.
It is quite a long walk, by my standards at least,  to the rather oddly named Grill 3301. I believe a massive effort ought to be made and the name changed into something less aggressive, more in keeping with the excellent food which is served there and the ambience created. Somehow, with a name like that one expects a saloon type of eaterie and cowboys to walk in demanding beer and perhaps even shooting their way to the bar. Far from it. The tables were elegantly napped and at a decent distance from each other. The ambience was languid and everyone, mostly visitors staying at the hotel, were properly dressed for an evening meal.

We started off with some delicious canapés and went on to Cevice of Argentinian Prawns, Sweet Potato Parfait & Chili Oil.  This was followed by Lamb Shoulder and Black Pudding Tortelona with Thyme & Garlic Velouté. Food to be admired, as if it were a baby, I said to myself;  food prepared with a light hand and certain elegance. I admired it for a few minutes and went on to enjoy every morsel. 
The main course was a slow roasted Argentinian Black Angus Beef Fillet, Chimichurripaste and Fennel jus. It really was very tasty. And I am not saying this so that I am kept on their guest list.
We finished the meal with a Passion Fruit Mousse, Fig Ice-cream and Dolce Vita wine jelly. I must say even I am rather tired of dense chocolate desserts and I happen to like passion fruit very much. Surely, there were a few trees of it in the Garden of Eden? This meal left me feeling pampered rather than stuffed. It was a balanced meal. I admire anyone who is brave enough and prepared to break new culinary ground. Who isn’t tired of the endless menus of Pizza and Pasta which seem to have taken over the island? What a change this was. In a different league altogether. I cannot recall one single lapse of taste on this menu. The kitchen team prepared it with love and pride.

Not so the cook at one of the cafés at the Ferries. A couple of weeks ago my eldest suggested we take a good look at the shops while the children were at school. So we set off early but decided to have a cappuccino and a toasted sandwich since we had skipped breakfast.  The Bulgarian/Romanian/Gypsy or whatever waiter slapped down the indifferent cappuccinos on our table and then returned with bread which has been lightly toasted; the butter was almost invisible and a cold slab of something which looked awful and tasted even worse. It was supposed to pass for ham. As to the cheese it was of an orange hue and curling at the edges… and stone cold too. Should we have simply left which would have created a scene? Complained to an uncomprehending waiter? Why are we fleeced in this way? We decided to drink our very mediocre coffee, pay and do some retail therapy to console ourselves. What do tourists think of this awful stuff which passes for food?  Are there no inspectors making sure some kind of standards are kept? I had a similar experience in Mosta, in a café in the shadow of that enormous, ugly cupola. It was worse there as the cups had lipstick on them.

But to go back to Grill 3301 which will bring culinary sunshine to your life. A similar evening baptized as the 10-mile Dinner will be prepared for guests on Friday 1st November. If you enjoy your food and don’t think that eating pastizzi on a dirty table in Gzira while inhaling diesel fumes is enjoyable than give this a try. I love pastizzi of course and eat far too many of them but ambience when eating is so important. The Grill 3301 (please, please change that name) has it all.

Sunday lunch at Le Méridien

Sunday buffet lunches, so loved by the Maltese are back. I was invited to one by my foodie friend Lea Hogg whose Saturday recipes in our newspaper have become popular and who has a very readable and colourful blog. This time it was Sunday lunch at the Scirocco restaurant at Le Méridien. Whether you are vegetarian, gluten intolerant or on a sugar free diet Le Méridien is catering for you.
I decided to try the gluten free hors d’oeuvres. The variety is impressive and I enjoyed the selection very much. The cooking stations provided pasta and an excellent selection of meats. I particularly enjoyed the leg of lamb with roast potatoes.
The display of desserts is huge. I tried the chocolate cake on the table for diabetics, although I am not one yet. And I can never pass by a mqaret seller or a plate of mqaret without helping myself to two or three, four or five.  I found this meal to be excellent value for money especially when you consider that children up to 12 years old eat for free and that parking too is free. If you decide to take the family, skip breakfast.

Verdi  and Wagner Opera Gala, Grand Master’s Suite, Hilton Malta

There has been plenty of music too, during the last weeks. I enjoyed the Verdi and Wagner Opera Gala at Hilton Malta organized by Malta Arts Events very much even if the Grand Master’s Suite is perhaps too vast, especially if one is used to the relative intimacy of the Manoel Theatre.
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Maestro Damiano Binetti together with the New Choral Singers were the backbone of this concert. The programme consisted of popular arias and overtures with which we are familiar and therefore no effort was needed to listen to them. The overtures from La Forza del Destino and Lohengrin; Va pensiero, the chorus of the Hebrew slaves  from Nabucco which has never lost its charm and its many fans;  La Donna e Mobile from Rigoletto; Il Balen del Suo Sorriso from Il Trovatore.
I simply love Verdi, his looks and all. What a genius!
His Rigoletto was a huge success. First performed at Venice’s La Fenice Opera House in the March of 1851, it is said that the Duke of Mantua’s famous aria La donna é mobile was being sung in the streets the next day.  It is being sung to this day, even by those with a croaky voice like mine, in the bath.
 There were many more arias and choruses sung and the concert ended with all the singers, champagne glass in hand, singing enthusiastically the Brindisi from La Traviata. This opera premiered in 1853 and it was a disastrous first night. In a letter to a friend Verdi wrote: ‘La Traviata last night a failure. My fault or the singers? Time will tell!’ Indeed it did!
I will not name each and every singer and what they sang. You can find it all on the Malta Arts Events website. But for me, the revelation of the evening was the soprano Claudia Tabone. She has a strong voice and oozes confidence. If she works hard and has some good luck thrown in she will do very well.

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