As the train of events clatter on and my diet is left by the wayside, like the beaten up traveller finally rescued by the Good Samaritan,  I saw myself to the Rickshaw restaurant at the Corinthia Attard the other evening. This is a far eastern restaurant with delectable dishes from Thailand, Japan, Singapore, China and beyond. But who isn't aquainted with the Rickshaw?

Plenty of thought has gone into creating a genteel ambience in one of the Corinthia's most popular restaurants. And as I had happily discovered on previous visits, there is no jukebox spilling out the melodies of Cantonese or Thai pop - this I had encountered on more than one occasion, abroad.

The bar upstairs whispers understated sophistication. After cocktails in the patio, just outside the bar, and an oriental selection of canapés we made our way downstairs to graduate to the feast.

  The perfectly executed appetisers included heart of palm the blandness of which - for yes, heart of palm may be considered a delicacy but is bland on its own  - was made delicious with lime, ginger and lemongrass. Good for vegetarians too.

The Vietnamese spring rolls were further enhanced with a lobster, mango and coriander sauce. I did my best not to appear greedy and squabble over the last spring roll. I know there were other eyes on it. So instead, selflessly, I went for the tempeh and kale spring rolls, sublimely married to a peanut and sriracha sauce, a dish also suitable for vegetarians. Tempeh is a soy product and the sriracha sauce is made with chillies, I learnt from my friend Google, later that evening.

I loved the lime and lemongrass chicken wings and the delicious crab concoction, too. Imagine missing out on these just because you decide to go vegetarian. When it comes to main dishes I enjoyed the scallop clay pot with chilli, lemongrass, wood ear mushrooms and asparagus;  and, indeed the beef ribs, slowly cooked for 72 hours, rich in texture and taste. Do these ribs go on cooking during the night with chef Stefan Hogan or one of his team sitting at the kitchen table with their iphone for company, making certain they don't burn? Don't know and didn't ask as I was too busy savouring them.

Crispy duck with pancakes is a firm favourite but in this new menu it was substituted with Pork Hock braised in five spices, a well known Chinese condiment, served with a yellow bean sauce and steamed bao buns which were moist and savoury - a culinary triumph, one of several that evening.

Throughout  dishes were made to create a sublime balance of quintessential oriental flavourings, rich in texture and taste, a satisfying collage of salty, sweet, sour and very hot or not so hot flavours.

As always service was not wanting. It has been led by the smiling Memely Mansay for several years. In some restaurants you have to squeeze out the occasional smile from the staff but certainly not here.

Executive Chef Stefan Hogan, who supervises every grain of rice on such occasions, making sure guests are happy, pointed out that the new menu focuses on contemporary dishes and inventive concepts and includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. He worked on its development with the rest of the Rickshaw team over the course of a few months. No, it doesn't just happen overnight. There is so much work going on behind the scenes.

Time for pudding.  I had perhaps overeaten and by then I could only have a spoonful of the array of beautifully presented desserts: baked avocado cheesecake, pandan leaf chiffon cake with white chocolate  and mango and a chocolate and coconut terrine. I did however finish the palette-cleansing mango sorbet which was cooling after all those spices and which saw me to the finishing line.

I must say a word about the wine served which is produced by Marc Cassar next to whom I was sitting and who had an interesting tale to tell.

Marc lived and worked for many years in France and Switzerland and has been back in with his family making wine.

While suffering from a debilitating medical condition which the doctors described as depression, some 18 years ago, he was given advice to walk by the sea to mitigate the effects of his trauma. Shortly after realising the numerous benefits of these walks Mark decided to buy fields by the sea. By what seemed like a miracle he stopped all medication. This was the beginning of his journey and passion in making premium quality natural vegan and gluten free wines.  No synthetic chemicals are used in his vineyards at Marcasar and no herbicides/pesticides. A wide variety of indigenous medical plants and shrubs complement the terroir.

Marc says that in wine culture location is the key ingredient and his vineyards are the highest in Malta, 235 metres above sea level, two kilometres distant from Lapsi and the sea.

He gave us other details. Since temperature plays a key role not only in storing wine but also during fermentation, he uses the Qvevri wine-making method, the primary benefit of which is that the wine varies only a few degrees in winter and summer.

The Qvevri method makes use of terracotta conical vases produced in Eastern Georgia and this is where Marc's qvevri come from.

On my table there were at least four wine connoisseurs and they praised both the Chardonnay and the Merlot. I loved both wines too, which brought to mind Keats' 'a beaker full of the warm south.'

I am no wine connoisseur but I know what I don't enjoy. This was lovely, healthy wine. I tried, without succeeding, not to glug glug down too much of it but sitting next to Marc it wasn't easy. He kept on refilling our glasses.

It was back to my diet after this feast but only for a few hours, until my brother sent me some delicious cocktail-sized cannoli which he had filled himself. He bought the shells but the filling was delicious, full of bits of chocolate and not too sweet. He refused to give me the recipe saying it's a state secret.

And then on Thursday it was lunch with Mary, Helen and Maria... then back to dieting at around 4pm. Deep breath. Dare I mention without being mocked by my two daughters... Yes, I did not                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        postpone my diet to Monday,  but started it again after lunch on Thursday so a bleak weekend lay ahead with nothing sweet in the larder and as few carbs as possible. The spirit is willing but the flesh... that's another problem. I will have to lose some weight or I shall have to take extra safety pins to keep my skirt in place next time I am invited out.

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