The edible thistle, the globe artichoke, in season aplenty in Malta right now

I have just seen Jamie Oliver’s TED talk video. Love or hate his style, Jamie is just about the only celeb voice consistently banging on about the junk that’s in a lot of kids’ diets these days, whether they’re eating at home, school or on the street. His crusade to get us to feed our kids healthily has now extended to America. His TED talk showed a clip of what looks like five-year olds in class unable to name correctly, or recognise at all, basic fruit and veg like potatoes and tomatoes (let alone an artichoke). Scary stuff. They looked as if they’d never seen a raw ingredient.

A few weeks ago, my son started receiving a portion of fruit or vegetables in a small plastic container, once a week, at school break. The initiative is part sponsored by the European Union. Malta has high child obesity rates ranking pretty much alongside the US rates. The veg in schools initiative is therefore laudable, but has its problems. I saw one of the offerings as he brought it home, part eaten. It was watery lettuce, cucumber and a bland, anaemic tomato. Kids can like salad, but usually it has to appeal to them. This was rabbit food at its worst and I could barely eat it.

The art of veggie shopping in Malta
Having Jamie’s TED talk and my family’s health at the forefront of my mind, I ended up scrutinising more carefully than usual my shopping basket of goods in the supermarket today. I don’t mean I paused over the low-fat, but high-sugar yoghurt (health-con) products, but I made a point of taking a long hard look at the labeling of the fruit and veg. A recipe on my menu plan for the weekend required ’snow peas’ – not in season right now, if ever, in Malta. There were some on display though, cellophane wrapped, and stating that they were from Guatemala.

Far too many food miles to contemplate that purchase. Similarly, though I love pineapple and mango, I gave them a miss too and opted for what’s local, in season, plentiful and therefore cheap. At present, that means strawberries! I usually reckon on strawberry season in March, but with growing under plastic and our exceptionally mild winter, they are in the shops now – and they are huge, sweet and just five, reasonably sized ones can provide a child’s Vitamin C quota for the day (according to nutritionist Natalie Savona. See below).

Pick ‘n’ Mix, Squash ‘n’ Squeeze those veggies
In Malta, a good deal of our fruit and veg comes loose, definitely on the veggie carts, and even in supermarkets. That’s a good start to cooking from scratch with raw ingredients. The loose goods are generally local if they are common fruit and veg – or from Sicily.

You can of course get most things, like those snow peas, from anywhere in the world, but why bother? Only around three per cent of Malta’s population is in agriculture, but they work hard and eke out a fairly good spread of raw ingredients. Broccoli, spinach and artichokes are some tempting veg that is in season at the moment. I know that the impoverished soil here might mean that some farmers spray a lot of chemicals around, but who knows what is on most of the imported fruit and veg, unless is says ‘organic’, which itself has been in dispute as the manna from heaven. Wash, scrub and peel things, I say, when in doubt.

Like most canny shoppers in continental Europe, the Maltese housewife (and I use that term because many women do describe themselves here as that) touches and squeezes the produce and digs deep the in plastic tray to find the best of the tomatoes or whatever. There’s a lot of pecking and picking over goods, and the barging aside of other shoppers (as I witness on my local veggie cart days). The economical shoppers go out of their way to ask for any veg that’s almost past its best. I often see people buy a load of wilting this or that to pop in a ‘brodo’ or stew. These are people who use every last sad veg from the bottom of the fridge, and why not? In these times, we have a thing or two to learn from them.

Maltese-descent Celeb Nutritionists
As an afterword, it’s worth noting that the Islands have two Maltese-descent UK celebrity nutrionists to their name. Natalie Savona, an academic and practitioner who has written for and broadcasted extensively in national UK media; and Dr John Briffa who had a long-running column in the UK Observer and has an active blog.

Now, I’m off to work out how to dissect those massive globe artichokes I bought on whim, and see if I can learn what to do with them! They were going like hot cakes on the veg cart yesterday. Damn, I should have called upon the collective wisdom of my fellow ‘housewife’ shoppers to ask their advice…

Related Posts
Cost of Living: Food shopping in Malta
How to shop at the village veggie store
Pumpkin: not just for Halloween
Strawberry Fair

Photo: James

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Not child's artwork, but messy, gooey, gorgeous prinjolata carnival cake

This is a cake designed to appeal to kids, or the kid in us adults. While Christmas cakes are ice-rink smooth perfection, the prinjolata, which starts appearing in cafés and confectioners in late January and therefore well before carnival, is a mound of mess. Splattered with melted chocolate, pine nuts and glacé cherries glowing neon artificial green and red, the prinjolata is like a kids’ art session crossed with a Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake.

Its name comes from prinjol, pine nut, which is similar to the Italian word, pinoli. But pine nuts seem to be just a bit of decoration. The cake itself, which can be a counter-top mountain (as in the St James’ Cavalier café), is made of cream, sponge, citrus peel and biscuits. It has a substantial calorie count with its condensed milk and a bit of a boozy bite to it with its Vermouth content.

My son drools when he sees it. I have to say my stomach turns at its grotesque carnival appearance. But I do admit that it is the epitomé of pre-Lent excess and puts the Protestant Shrove Tuesday pancake in the shade. The prinjolata certainly does use up any fattening ingredients that might be in the store cupboard.

If you feel like giving it a go at home, this seems a good recipe source for it. Decorating it could make for a fun mid-term activity with the kids. If you fancy tasting it, cafés sell it by the slice, and some places have smaller, almost individual-sized plated domes of it for sale. You’ll need a sweet tooth to enjoy it; seeing it is the greater pleasure I think.

Photo: Peter Grima [Know Malta]

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Let the conversation flow (along with a little wine). Food, Wine, Art lectures at Palazzo Falson.

Note: We’ve been informed that these lectures won’t be taking place as Prof. Variana is unable to come over to Malta for now. We’ll keep you posted when they’re rescheduled.

Not all culture comes at a price as February’s series of free lectures at Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum in Mdina proves. What’s more, these particular talks have an added bonus – they come complete with free tastings of wine, Renaissance cookbook-inspired foods and extra virgin locally pressed olive oils.

What an enlightened trio of cultural pursuits. The lectures are a winning formula for getting us to appreciate an historic venue and learn something new, and also an ingenious way of the museum marrying its collection with some complementary, lively events.

The Food, Wine & Art lecture programme
Palazzo Falson has invited a visiting art historian, Prof. John Varriano, to give two, two-hour lectures on food, wine & art, each one covering two distinct themes. The sessions (including tastings) are completely free of charge, but booking is essential to secure a place (and we advise you book fast as seats are limited). To book, tel: +356 2145 4512 or +356 2145 1021, or email: info@palazzofalson.com.

Friday 12th February (1400-1600hrs):
1. “Wine and Health, Wine and Death” first discusses the presumed therapeutic benefits of wine as brought down to us through the ages, and goes on to examine its changing metaphorical associations with memento mori, or images of death, in ancient and Early Modern times.

Wine Tasting & sampling of food inspired by Renaissance cookbooks (researched and prepared by Matty Cremona). Sponsored by Marsovin and Wardija Extra Virgin.

2. “Erotic Appetites” focuses on paintings of food that embody two genres of Renaissance allusion, the first exploiting the sexually suggestive shapes of certain fruits and vegetables, and the second linking the eating habits of the different social classes to stereotypical notions of sexuality and procreative success.

Saturday 20th February (1030-1230hrs):
1. “Eggs, Butter, Lard, and Oil” traces the evolution of the binders used in Renaissance art and cuisine, noting the importance of oil in particular for the signature characteristics of both cultural expressions.

Oil Tasting & sampling of food inspired by Renaissance cookbooks (researched and prepared by Matty Cremona). Sponsored by Wardija Extra Virgin and Marsovin.

2. “Edible Art” introduces the art of trionfi da tavola, edible table decorations that routinely embellished Renaissance and Baroque banquets.

Prof. John Varriano taught Art History at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts from 1970, until his retirement in June, 2009. He is a specialist in the art of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods in Italy, and the author of five books and more than four dozen articles. His latest interests combine the history of art with the history of gastronomy.

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Bread ovens, BBQ area, rock-cut tombs? No, Roman beehives in Malta

Almost every guide book on the Malta makes reference to the Islands’ name as deriving from the Greek word for honey – meli – or land of honey, melitos, or even their later Roman name ‘Melita’, also meaning honey. It’s just as likely the name came from the Phoenician Semitic verb form malata, meaning ‘one takes refuge.’ All these etmyological threads are possible, but the idea of the Maltese Islands as isles of honey is a connection that we love. Certainly, guide book prose always says Malta is honey coloured, from its warm, yellow limestone and sun. The Maltese word for honey by the way is Ghasel.

But it took an early January walk in fantastically warm weather, high up on the ridge near St Agatha’s Tower (Red Fort) beyond Mellieha, to drive home the millennia-old link between Malta and honey. The garrigue landscape up there is covered in wild thyme; the hardy weathered variety that survives downpours, gales and drought. These bushes rarely get trodden under foot so grow into bushy mounds. Rub them and savour a heady scent that is to die for, and many a lamb has.

Roman Beehives
Now, bees loves thyme when it flowers deep purple-blue in early summer (end May to early July). So it stands to reason that where there’s an abundance of thyme, beekeepers follow. I’d heard about some Roman beehives near Mellieha, but wasn’t at all sure where they were or what on earth they’d look like. They turned out to be a stone’s throw from the road that runs the length of the ridge, but they are easy to miss.

Thanks to a helpful walking guide of the area I’d picked up for €2.50 from Din l-Art Helwa (Malta’s National Trust) which runs the tower, I did an hour-long, circular route passing by the beehives. They lie nestled in a sheltered spot at the mouth of a cave just below the ridge top. If you didn’t know they were an early form of hive, you’d mistake them for bread ovens or perhaps a dovecote of some sort. Sadly, it did look like some people had used the spot as a kind of BBQ area. But in essence, this cave apiary is how it would have looked in Roman times, when Malta’s golden nectar was highly prized. It’s likely that clay pipes with one end closed, but for some small holes, were placed in the alcoves. The door cut in the side allows access to the back of the hollows for comb collecting. Clay pipes hives were in use until relatively recent times in Malta.

Malta’s honey zones
Mellieha is renown even today as a main honey producing zone, and early in the walk, you pass around 40 modern hives. Other zones include most of Gozo, the isle of Comino, and Fawwara, just below Dingli Cliffs in the West. Today, there are only around five, full-time beekeepers on the Islands who manage an income from this ancient livelihood.

Beekeeping here today
But, things are changing, and several, like Nicholas Zammit in Fawwara, are very enterprising, bottling around 500 kilo a year, in nice packaging, and with new lines, such as honey and pistacchios. Honey hand creams and beeswax products like ornamental candles are now regular sidelines too. Nicholas travels widely to beekeeping industry seminars and fairs, in the UK and Italy, for information on how to broaden his scope here. He dreams of an eco-tourism centre near his small-holding to introduce people to Malta’s heritage in honey, as well as a small museum with ancient tools and details of those Roman hives.

Honey types
There are around 20 kinds of honey in Malta attributed to various plants and trees including clover, eucalyptus, orange blossom, carob and thyme of course. If you buy fresh extracted honey and direct from a beekeeper, you’ll know which flowers dominate its taste. Spring is for clover and wayside flower honey; end May to early July is thyme season; and early autumn is for carob honey with its dark colour and distinct aroma.

Where to buy
Some places for starters:
Airport deli shops (but try to buy direct from keepers)
Jubilee Foods
Nicholas Zammit, Fawwara, tel: 21 465750 / 9946 7712
Any local grocer, but it might not be the best
Road side stalls – watch out for honey for sale signs!

Useful Links
For a short background on beekeeping in Malta and those clay pipes, see beesfordevelopment.org

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On the tree, then into the marmalade pot! Oranges in Buskett Gardens.

There was always another New Year’s ritual in my household as a child growing up in the UK. No sooner had the Christmas decorations come down on 6th January, than a different feast for the senses would fill the house – the smell of oranges cooking; Seville bitter oranges only being available for a couple of weeks on the local market. It fell to my father to do the marmalade making, which would take him every evening for around a week. An ancient Spong’s slicer was screwed onto the kitchen table and wound away finely slicing pound (not kilo) upon pound of rind.

Little did I know as a child that in later life I’d not only be making marmalade but actually picking the oranges for it! That sure beats food miles. And once you’ve tasted fresh marmalade from tree to pot in a couple of hours, you’ll never want to eat factory-made again.

Today in Malta, the bitter orange isn’t a hot seller. The public-private partnership nursery, Wied Incita, near Attard only sells the sweeter varieties. These, incidentally, are simply the best for juicing, in terms of price – €3 per 4 kilo – taste and volume, that I’ve come across anywhere. If you want to make marmalade, try to find a neighbour with a bitter orange tree or pick for free from some of the village boulevard trees rather than see the fruit go to waste. The bitter variety has a much thicker and heavily dimpled skin.

But until the 14th century or so, the bitter orange was the only sort cultivated in Malta. Orange growing probably arrived here with the Arabs, who also brought their ingenious irrigation system of farming to the Islands. The Maltese word for orange, Laring, derives from the Arabic Persian na¯rang. Portuguese traders brought sweet oranges from India in the 14th century and the Portuguese Knights of the Order or St John no doubt introduced them to Malta.

The humble bitter orange has a rich history then, and a rightful place in Malta, however few and far between its trees are these days. But it does have a special place in the hearts of the islanders, and not just among a few (mostly British expat) mamalade makers I know. Because the bitter orange is the staple ingredient of Kinnie, a much loved and famed soft drink that is sold everywhere the Maltese live in numbers – Australia included!

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Clubs, pubs or posh nosh: there's a mix of options for New Year's in Malta

Around ten years ago, I used to know well in advance where I was going to party the night away on New Year’s Eve in Malta. The venue was always some ‘official’ place – club, hotel, old palazzo that’s used the rest of the year for weddings – and so on. The ticket, always relatively extortionate, would have been bought a month or more before – well, I didn’t want to miss the much vaunted event!

Now, New Year’s Eve is much more likely to find me at some private house party that only needs dressing up for and taking a bottle to. It will be crowded, heaving, hot and a feast of friends I do know rather than an evening of rubbing shoulders with people I don’t. I have no doubt that add another decade or so and I’ll be doing what I was astonished my parents could do – and that is ‘having a quiet evening in toasting New Year with a small nip of something!’.

I haven’t quite worked out if New Year’s Eve arrangements are age determined, but it’s certainly a case of each to his own taste. And there’s plenty of choice around in Malta this year to cater for everyone – from those with young kids (take them with you in buggy to Valletta Waterfront for instance), adolescents (who might just make it to a mini-bus for the 4am run home after celebrating in their regular Paceville bar) to the 20- to 30-somethings who follow their top DJ to a ticketed venue, and the 40-something pluses who indulge with mega-course, sit-down meals in palazzo splendour.

What to do where
We’ve done a round-up in our What’s On section of some of the main NYE events this year. Choose from hotels to clubs and from dinners to dance. There’s only one thing I find with each passing New Year’s Eve – I am less decided about what to do till the last minute. With a bit of luck, if more people are like me, there’ll still be tickets for most events!

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Flying in for Christmas? A Neopolitan crib, just one of the delights to discover here.

Before moving to live in Malta, I used to holiday here regularly over Christmas. I wasn’t really involved in family festive meals, so I was left pretty much to my own devices; somewhat an outsider to the local Xmas holidays.

That does have its pros of course – firstly, the seafronts are almost deserted during the peak lunchtime hours on Christmas day. So you can enjoy a walk with great views and dollops of sea air while others feast. Your health will be all the better for it, having broken the rule of gluttony on the 25th.

But you may ask:”Isn’t Christmas day in Malta just a bit miserable when the islanders are all inside feasting with friends?” Here’s some reassurance that there is life still for people here as tourists on Christmas holiday.

Are things closed?
Christmas Day, 25th, is the only official public holiday day, along with New Year’s Day. The 26th, called Boxing Day in the UK, is not a public holiday in Malta.

A lot of cafes in major towns, resorts and the cities – Sliema, St Julian’s, Valletta, Mdina, Bugibba, Qawra and Gozo resorts – Marsalforn, Xlendi and so on – will be open. Of course, you’d need to book ahead at restaurants, many of which will be open, if you were intending to eat out on Christmas day. But you won’t be far from a light snack, hot chocolate (it can be cold on those seafront walks) and cappuccino. Hotel cafes will be open should you not find a quainter, trendier or more traditional one open on the high streets or promenades.

Shops will be closed (apart from the enterprising traders who predict that someone will be missing a Christmas present). So some stationers may be open, but it’s the only day in the year newspapers don’t print. Cafes doubling as confectioners or bakeries will be busy as guests buy delicacies to take to their Christmas day hosts. International chains of fast food restaurants will also be open.

What’s the weather like at Christmas?
Obviously it’s a lot warmer than in Northern Europe. December daytime temperatures can be a pleasant 16-22 or more if you’re in a sheltered sunny spot. Nights are chill, and wind can swirl around. It can be damp as it’s a maritime climate, but the real cold starts in January-February. Come with layers, and be prepared for stormy periods. See our hints here.

What can I do?
If you’re wandering the streets, you can find plenty to amuse yourself looking at the various household Christmas decorations! From the traditional door wreaths to an entire plastic Santa village (as one house I saw last week near Gnejna Bay had on display!). The Christmas lights from dusk in Republic Street, Valletta, are magical. Crib viewing is a main Maltese occupation, so join the throngs. You’ll see cribs – Presepji – in all styles from the kitsch and mechnically-operated to the lovingly crafted and historic. Window shutters open to offer a peep of householders’ crib displays, while other residents turn their whole garage into a crib for public viewing. There are several major crib displays – Auberge d’Italie, Valletta; and a masterpiece of Neopolitan origin at the Carmelite Priory, Mdina; as well as an entire, life-size remake of Bethlehem at Ghajnsielem, Gozo. A word you’ll need to know is’ Pasturi’, which means ‘crib figurines’. There’s a real art and craft to making them (well) that’s carried on in Malta today.

What else is going on over the Christmas holiday period in Malta?
See our article listing events like circus, Christmas villages and pantomimes. Also see: carol concerts.

Christmas Shopping hours
Valletta has late-night shopping until 9.00pm on each Saturday in the run-up to Christmas. Sliema shops stay open late too. Bay Street complex in St Julian’s is open until 10pm. Expect to join thick crowds ambling down Valletta’s main drag, Republic Street. It’s a ritual – shopping, supping a coffee, munching a cake, and enjoying the lights. Linger when the shops close and have a relaxed supper at one of the city’s many restaurants in historic piazzas and buildings. Wine bars tempt too!

What’s Happy Christmas in Maltese?
‘Merry Christmas’ in Maltese is ‘Il-Milied it-Tajjeb!’

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day masses
The cathedrals, as well as all parish churches, have their midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The usual parish midnight mass includes the tradition, dating back to 1883, of an altar boy (or girl these days) preaching the sermon, in Maltese, which is on this occasion called ‘Il-Priedka Tat-Tifel’. It will take the child a good few weeks to learn it all by heart! Another traditional sight worth catching, again in many parishes on Christmas Day morning, is the Procession of Baby Jesus. Children from the locality dress up as biblical figures, accompanied by a band.

What is a Maltese Christmas Day lunch?
Today, the same as the traditional British one – turkey with trimmings, Christmas pudding, mince pies or some Sicilian-style desserts from a fine confectioner. The Maltese love the Italian Christmas cake, Panettone, which is dry sponge with either a little candied peel and dried fruit, or chocolate filled. Hotels will offer the traditional lunch, usually as a buffet.

Does public transport run over Christmas?
Buses run every day as usual in the Christmas period. There will be a reduced – or Sunday – service on most routes, and there won’t be many buses over the peak lunchtime hours on the 25th, as drivers need their lunch! Gozo Channel Ferry operates on Christmas Day, with a slightly reduced service.

Are museums open?
Yes, with business as usual apart from on Christmas Day itself. For state museum and sites’ opening hours, see Heritage Malta.

Photo: Peter Grima

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A Marinara Moment: Gozo's food at its best

One of the best things about eating out in Gozo is the service. Generally it’s friendly (if they know you, it’s first name basis pretty quickly), most times it’s quick and it certainly isn’t ITS’ (Malta’s Institute of Tourism Studies ‘cum chef school’) cookie-cutter. In fact, it’s often enough quirky, which adds to the enjoyment, unless you’re some up-tight nuevo-yuppy who thinks he’s worthy of silver service and has this need to send back the first couple of bottles because they’re, you know, not quite the thing.

Hey, fool, if it’s got alcohol in it and it ain’t corked, you don’t get to send it back: next time, choose something you like.

So, where to go when you’re up North and peckish? Time for a coffee or lunch: where do I point the wheels?

You want somewhere smart? OK, if you must, you must, though this is Gozo after all, so chill an’all that, so there’s Tmun, Victoria and Ta’ Frenc for smart dining, right up there amongst the best. Me? I tend towards the more casual end of the spectrum, so close to home, there’s Oleander in Xaghra Square – a leisurely Sunday lunch on one of the outside tables; if the weather’s friendly, it’s as close to bliss as you can get legally.

Don’t jump down my throat, but you can also have fun in Marsalforn, the Bugibba-in-the-North disadvantages notwithstanding. Il-Pulena, in the Menqa, serves up seriously good pizza and other basic stuff, and as far as I’m concerned, a weekday lunch in early spring is the best reason for playing hooky from the real world.

Just back along the harbour-front, towards what must be the least busy Police Station in the country (in winter, anyway) is the Calypso Hotel, where you get a good coffee and can relax a morning while the missus is off getting her hair done or whatever it is people do on a Saturday morning. Alternatively, there’s it-Tokk, in Rabat, with something like six coffee shops intemingling, amongst them the original Jubilee, and the Central, where the Marocchino is luxurious.

After your siesta, which is de rigeur, you’ll need a coffee to clear the cobwebs and, a bit later (you don’t want anyone thinking you’re too fond of a drop) a g&t or something on those lines, to set you up for the evening. Here’s where somewhere like Xlendi comes into the picture – if you can bag a table at the edge, where the beach wall serves as an excellent foot-rest, you’re chilling with the best of them. When you get hungry, walk (yes, walk) to La Terrazza, where “location, location, location” isn’t used to detract from the obligation to provide excellent pizza (you’ve noticed I like pizza?)

It’s the dinner hour, so off you go: Tatita’s in San Lawrenz or Tmun, down the other end of the island in Mgarr (yes, there are two Tmuns) will hit the spot, as will Wileg in Qala or Maji in Rabat.

So there you go, a few places to satisfy the inner man – they’re not the only ones available in Gozo, by a long shot and I’ve probably left a few out.

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Say cheese! Goats waiting for milking at Mgarr gbejniet (cheese) dairy.

Malta’s aspiring artists and photographers are getting good at sniffing out new venues in which to exhibit their work. There aren’t that many galleries around hosting contemporary artists (St James Cavalier, the Museum of Fine Arts, and No. 68 do a lot to help, and there are few other private ones around…). Many up and coming artists are turning to the more pioneering of Malta’s cafes to seek exhibition venues. Cafes in return use their walls to support the arts, give themselves a more art-house feel and make their environments all the more welcoming for their patrons.

Exhibition Venue
A new cafe on the block – New Zealand-style cafe ‘Mint’, in Sliema – is aligning itself quickly with deserving creatives. This weekend sees its walls hosting a small, but eclectic collection of photography by Anne Muscat-Scerri and Amanda Holmes.

About the Exhibition
Anne and Amanda usually concentrate on family and child photography, so this display marks a departure for them – in fact there’s not a person in sight. “The last time we put our photos on show, we were newcomers to the scene. So it made sense for us to exhibit pictures of children – the subject matter we feel most comfortable with,” says Amanda. Both women are mothers to families of three young girls and mostly find themselves pointing the lens at their offspring. “This time though we realised it would be a good challenge to display completely different subjects that enable us to explore different styles from the whimsical to semi-abstract.

“Photography is a great medium for capturing the beauty and capriciousness of everyday life. For this collection, our aim was to reflect our immediate surroundings in a surprising way, questioning our view of the supposedly mundane. All the pictures have been taken in Malta, some of very typical subjects, yet the photos are anything but typically Maltese,” explains Amanda.

So at Mint you’ll find for example a boat picture, that’s not the typical image of a brightly-painted luzzu, but that captures a detail of a hull with muted colours and many repairs, testifying to the harsh conditions boats and their crews encounter. The two photographers wanted to show pictures of objects and scenes that people would chance upon in their daily life, but they’ve taken the shots in a way that could surprise and perhaps make us re-evaluate our environment.

Cafe opening times
Exhibition runs from 5 Dec – early February 2010.
Mint: 30/39 Luzio Junction/Stella Maris Street. Open Tues-Sat 09.30-19.00; Sun 10.30-19.00.
www.mintmalta.com
For more info, contact: Amanda or Anne and see also: cloudberryimages.com.

Photo: Anne Muscat Scerri.

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They've grown a little larger, but kiosks still serve the same purpose - refreshment!

Ask long-time Malta residents about kiosks and the chances are they will reminisce about their childhood and fondly remember hot summer evenings doing the routine ‘passeggiata’ (a stroll taking in the cool air of evening) on the Sliema front. In the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, a pit stop at a kiosk would have been a highlight for kids, as, with luck, they’d manage to persuade parents to buy them an orzata or an ice cream. Old photos of Sliema and Balutta seafronts show kiosks in their glory days.

The kiosk became a hot topic a few months ago when the famed ‘Magic Kiosk’ magically disappeared almost overnight! The Magic Kiosk began life in the seventies in modest size, but grew to fill nearly all St Anne Square, Sliema. But since it had only temporary rights of residence – which expired in 2008 – it was demolished by the authorities and the square returned to landscaped glory, with seating and a fountain, as a much-needed lung in this busy urban area.

True old-style kiosks (not the Magic Kiosk, which was a 70s’ restaurant) are somewhat fewer and farther between. You’ll still find some open for business – Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta; the square in Balutta; and this one above (which is larger than the truly old-style ones) outside Lower Barrakka Gardens, also Valletta. Until a couple of years ago, a tiny round one was still open, nestling under the arches at the back of Republic Square, Valletta. Now its shutters are tightly down, but it used to have queues of kids waiting for orzata on a hot summer’s day.

In Valletta, you’ll see another on Republic Street with the junction of St John’s Street – it sells flowers, but is well preserved and fine example of what the Maltese kiosk in its heyday would have been.

Instead of the quaint kiosk, the temporary motor van with flip-up serving hatch has mushroomed (and not just at festas) serving fried food as well as obligatory ices, beers, sweets, cakes and coffees. The Sliema-Gzira seafront and the Qawra-Bugibba coast has a lot of these motorvan hawkers around. They do serve a purpose, and are as convenient as their convenience food suggests.

But patronise the older kiosks, and you are likely to find yourself in a picturesque spot, enjoying a moment off from the street’s bustle. Also, if you know of some gems of old-style kiosks, please comment so we can build a list of them all – before they vanish.

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