Year: 2009

General Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle No Comments One of the great things about our trip to Malta was our apartment.  Located in Valletta on Old Theatre Lane, it had a great view of the Marsamxett harbour and a well equipped kitchen.  So we were able to save money while having romantic dinners, relaxing and enjoying the views that were offered to us. Mel loves pasta, and I was happy to oblige. Here, I made Spaghetti with a very simple tomato-basil sauce. On the side, bread with a cheddar gratin. To accompany our meal, we had a bottle of Corvo Vendemmia 2006, a very nice wine from Sicily, smooth and light in tanin. In the background, Manoel Island and its Fort, which was built in the XVIII century and was a strong defensive position all the way to World War II, when anti-aircraft guns were deployed in and around the…

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Food experiment Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle No Comments Alcohol consumption in Malta is low compared to the rest of Europe. In fact, this study from the World Advertising Research Centre shows that alcohol consumption per capita is only one third of that of Luxemburg, the Czech Republic and Hungary.  Only the Swedes seem to drink less than the Maltese. The Malta government’s own figures show that 36 % of the adult population drinks alcohol at least once a week. This goes up to 60.2 per cent for people aged between 18 to 24. Beer accounts for around half of the total alcohol consumption, whilst wine accounts for a third. The beer market is controlled mostly by Simonds Farsons Cisk, which was founded in 1928.  Cisk is the flagship brand, with two spin-offs, the Cisk Export and the Cisk Excel.  Farsons also offers the Blue Label, the Hopleaf, the Lacto, and the Strong Ale.  They also have…

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Food experiment Sep 1, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment Malta being very close to Sicily, we had to take the opporunity to visit the Italian island.  It was easy enough to do, since Virtu Ferries Ltd. is offering a regular route from Valletta to Pozzallo or Catania.  We decided to take a package which included transport from Pozzallo to Taormina to Mount Etna before coming back to Pozzallo for our return to Valletta, for a little over 100€. The Maria Dolores departed from Valletta around 7 am. It takes about 90 minutes to sail on the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Sicily. The sea was calm, the Catamaran was fast. Impressive. Not so impressive was the movie they played en route… Our first stop was in Pozzallo, a major port in Sicily with magnificient beaches.  As it was still early, the whole group went for breakfast at La Perla, a Pasticceria on Via…

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General Sep 1, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment Apparently, The Waffle went over the top during his honeymoon and had too much red meat. The Waffle disagrees, as you can judge for yourself in The Malta Food Experiment. Nevertheless, to save his marriage, The Waffle is going off red meat for the entire month of September. He may not make it, so The Waffle would like to thank all his readers for their continued support. . Share:

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Restaurant Aug 14, 2009 The Waffle 5 Comments Pizza corner is an institution in Halifax.  Located at the intersection of Blowers and Grafton Streets, it got its name because there are inexpensive pizza places on three of the four corners, the fourth one being occupied by the Presbytarian Church of Saint David. You go there for the pizza, mostly late at night after enjoying many frosty beverages.  It is also a great spot to try out a donair, if your stomach is solid and you are going home alone. Wikitravel claims that the area can descend into anarchy when the bars let out, and the restaurants often lock their bathrooms, even to customers!!  But it wasn’t the case this Thursday Night, when Rick and I went there after “French Kiss” the party organised by the Quebec section of the NDP the night before the Convention kick-off. When you get to Pizza Corner,…

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