Hello July!!! How is it the second half of 2021 🤔? Don’t get me wrong the heat is still ON but I beg you someone explain to me why time suddenly feels like the year is on a sprint ha! How are we people? We venturing outside a bit more, enjoying summer as best we can? Good stuff. Rona is still in these streets and she is pulling up with her crew so do be safe out there okay?
Exactly 32 days ago, we had a food experience at 59 Republic and tried their specials menu. It was fantastic! The food, our host, Chef Maria, the vibe, everything was spot on! So when Chef Maria invited us back to have a taster menu experience, t’was a no brainer! Of course we were up for it and I was counting down the days ha ha!
The day finally arrived and it began with happy hour cocktails (which by the way is taken literally in Malta. you get both your drinks at once 🤨?)
at the square whilst we waited for restaurant to start it’s evening service. The sun was shining, blue sky, just gorge!
I do love when you go back to a restaurant and the staff welcome you like an old friend you know? Like genuinely happy to see you and what not. This was the welcome we received, smiles from the host with the most Jose Maria (bless him). Once settled at our table, Chef Martha comes through, all smiles and asks in a round about way if we were ready for this taster experience? And we were like YES! Little did we know, we were in for a TREAT! When I tell you she showed UP and showed OUT?!
We started with a glass of bubbly as one does ha! Our meal (we had no clue how many courses we were having at this point) began with gillardeau oyster with lemon pearls and tabasco caviar and I was like…yep! And we are OFF!!!!
The Prawn burrata with truffle came served in what I can only describe as a ‘tea tray’? and the prawn? F R E S H!!!
like you could still taste the sea on your palate and the burrata was just a creamy delight! The third starter was the famous Scottish scallops and believe you me, the taste was still phenomenal! Other small bites were the mini ham and cheese bonbon, essentially, smoked gammon and cheese bonbons tossed in bacon crumbs as well as wild mushroom aranicini with an aged cheddar centre!
Saffron infused Lobster risotto came next. I immediately thought ‘ohh curry’ because the dish was a burst of colour. The risotto was creamy enhanced with prosecco and topped with a butter poached lobster tail, fresh and succulent.
As Neal said ‘good Lobster is really good’. There you have it, tis a win! By this point we asked for break but not before the Prawn tacos
made an appearance! We were 7, S E V E N dishes into this free style tasting menu people! I have to say one of the most interesting things on all our food adventures is the palate cleanser. We have had some really eye catching, tasting palate cleansers – Lemon sorbets with liquid nitrogen, plum sorbet & Ruinart rose champagne😮! These guys dont play when it comes to their palate cleansers and neither does Chef Maria. I was not ready for her palate cleanser people, I just wasn’t!
This woman don brought us a foam sorbet in a glass! I thought it was a tall glass of some kind of daquiri like? We also assumed we were coming to the end of the meal, (I mean we already had 7 courses right?) Nope! We was just getting started ha! Chef Maria was on IT, with a beef tartare and pâté with brioche and bread sticks. The pâté? Phewwww!!! the fig sauce? This course was sweet, bitter, savoury.. all in one, like dayuuuum! Mini Foie gras burgers were up next (I reckon she made this because we loved it soo much first time round ha)
Mushroom pasta with truffle and parmesan was served next. It was cooked perfectly – mushrooms still had a crunch and minty taste. The Lamb shank with mashed potato? DELISH!!! Even though Neal is not too keen on Lamb, this one he loved!
We had to ask for another break because we were stuffed and Chef was just going to keep the dishes coming! We were definitely sure this was the last of the dishes and pudding would be next right? We were wrong, again! The piece de resistance was saved for last – beef wellington with foie gras! We have never had beef wellington, much less one with foie gras! It was a fillet of beef coated in mushroom duxelles wrapped in parma ham and puff pastry, baked to perfection and served with foie gras! Now, whilst I declined to have mine (it was doggie packed for me instead because your girl just could not add any more morsel of food), I have it on good authority that it was brilliant! and a particular someone was extremely chuffed! 😋😀
Pudding was mango cheese cake. Right ratio of cheese to biscuit base, soft, fluffy, not overly cheesy with a sweet and savoury taste. The short bread crumbles gave It texture and crunch, my goodness it was scrumptious!
Even though we had sampled some of the dishes previously, the dishes still tasted fantastic! Chef Maria? She outchea serving up dishes!!! She was like ‘you are going to get this food I am serving in this here tasting menu and you are going to love it’ and boi! She DID THAT! What an an experience !!! Brava!
This definitely makes our favourite list!
Cheers
Ndidi
I don’t know how you eat so many dishes, I would of have stopped at the third dishes, to much food. Where do you put it all.
My hair? lol… trussst me… Chef Maria is a feeder and her food is well worth it!