WATCH: US travel vloggers take a foodie tour of Malta, listing all the amazing local foods to try!
Kristen & Siya, an American travel blogging couple, flew to Malta for four days earlier this year, taking their followers on a food and beverage journey of our island. And while we all know how tasty our local food is, we're sure any traveller who visits our islands will concur!
The couple (and their adorable baby) stayed at the gorgeous Grand Hotel Excelsior on the outskirts of Valletta and toured various locations around the island, including the capital Valletta, the stunning Dingli Cliffs and the ancient city of Mdina. But the highlight of their blog was definitely the food (duh!). Here's what featured:
1. Caffé Cordina
Siya described the gorgeous Valletta café as “a gem in the city” and that “the coffee here is supposed to be amazing” – and it is!
2. Kannol ta' l-irkotta
“I thought it was only Sicilian or Italian, but apparently it’s Maltese as well,” says Kristen. Hunny, it’s every bit Maltese as pastizzi (or at least that's our story, and we're sticking to it!)
3. Pastizzi
“That borderline brought tears to my eyes” she says as she teases the next food item – pastizzi. “If you’re in Malta you have to try it AT LEAST five times!” She tastes what we call pastizz tax-xemgha (the round pastizzi) as opposed to the diamond-shaped ones, which are delish nonetheless! “The combination is perfection!” she says as she takes another bite into the crunchy pastry filled with creamy cheese.
4. Pastini
“Ohh, it smells so good! It smells like a handful of fresh almonds. I could probably eat like a hundred of these!” says Siya, as he takes a bite into an almond pastry sweet treat.
5. Chocolate District
They also visited little chocolate shop Chocolate District, and were met with quite the surprise. “I thought I was getting hot chocolate. It’s literally a cup of melted delicious chocolate! You’ve got to come here!”
6. Maltese coffee
They tasted Maltese coffee at Café Teatro under the Pjazza Teatru Rjal. “Typically, you can get it with booze, I think that is the way to drink it, but it’s 11am so we decided to pass on the booze today,” jokes Kristen.
7. A heck of a lot of traditional food
Later, the pair visited artisan bakery Nenu to try as much traditional food as possible: Cisk, Widow’s soup (soppa tal-armla) and Maltese sausage stew were just the start. “If I was living in Malta as a kid, this would be my go-to meal,” says Siya as he takes another spoonful. They also tried our flat ftira and fried rabbit marinated in gravy. #Yum
8. Point de Vue
Siya rated Point de Vue’s pizza as “one of the best pizzas I’ve ever tasted. Possibly top 5.” He goes on to say that “Everything just tastes local – that’s what happens when you’re on an island.”
Want to see what else the couple got up to on their visit to the islands?
Watch the full vlog here: