A treat for the eyes

Ed eats

Ta’ Xbiex Waterpolo Club,
Ta’ Xbiex Seafront,
Ta’ Xbiex
Tel: 2733 0144

Food: 4/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 10/10
Value: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

Last week’s column, wherein I mentioned tests for food intolerance, sparked quite a flurry of reactions. There was one particular reaction, however, that I believe should be addressed.

My pasta was all but tasteless and the gamberi had been defrosted in my honour

When I referred to those who had been ‘tested’ for food intolerance I was very firmly and specifically referring to those who had submitted themselves, quite voluntarily, to an immunological test. This is unrelated to those who require specific dietary changes as a result of intolerance or allergy to a substance that causes ill health when consumed.

If you happen to require a specific diet to help address diabetes or coeliac disease for instance, then you quite naturally do not fall within the category of having been tested for food intolerance with the primary intention of losing weight.

Thankfully, one of the reactions was from a respected specialist on the matter and he will be addressing the subject from a professional standpoint quite soon.

Meanwhile, I have been keeping myself busy and eating away when the job permits it. I have also been begging Doug to fit a column in whenever he has a moment.

Life has a funny way of chucking everything at us at the same time. When this interferes with eating, writing, or both, it is time to step back and carefully consider realigning priorities.

In Doug’s case, he can’t exactly re-align his love for his offspring but perhaps he can put his other love aside. After all, watching 22 men run around a pitch hell-bent on scoring a goal can’t quite compare with a slice of foie gras on brioche, accompanied by caramelised fig. Those of you with a sense of humour will understand that I jest. The rest of you are football fans.

Onwards we progress now, to food and views and other news. A dear friend called last week and asked why I’d vanished. I pointed out that I could see myself in the mirror and, while the laws of optics remain sacred, this can mean only one thing – too much time has passed since we last met. Lunch was in order. With a view.

How about the Ta’ Xbiex Waterpolo club, she asked. To which I agreed. We’d meet there at 12.30 p.m. on a particular day and have lunch, enjoy the view, and talk about our solutions to all of the planet’s ills.

We’d also talk about books (both of us), food (both, again), shoes (her), geeky stuff (me) and so on until our conversation soundslike a game of lucky dip inside a dictionary.

Parking outside the Ta’ Xbiex Waterpolo Club is thankfully very easy. This is a huge point in favour of any lunch venue since time for lunch is normally quite restricted for those of us who actually work for a living.

The inside space is really lovely, with glass panels all around and tables set in a very pleasant and understated way. The afternoon was quite perfect, nice and sunny and with a breeze to keep the temperature reasonable so not one of the tables were occupied.

The dozen or so people who were there for lunch had opted for a table outside on the terrace, where more tables enjoyed the shade of umbrellas and an astounding view.

Sitting at table, one can see most of Manoel Island, Marsamxett creek and almost all of the Valletta peninsula. Seated here one could very easily be inside one of those photos that the MTA use, quite rightly, to promote Malta.

The menus were a bit of a surprise. They seem to have been designed to be thoroughly uninspiring and would have been quite at home at any other inexpensive restaurant anywhere else on the island.

Pizza, pasta, salads and the regular grills offer little imagination and, with a location so sumptuous, my expectations had been raised a bit beyond this.

A look at the prices explains this. Every item has been very attractively priced so it is perfectly possible to have a meal at this most wonderful of locations and spend an entirely reasonable amount of money. I suddenly forgave what I had described as uninspiring and respected it for being unpretentious and affordable.

Here we were, wishing we could stay there all afternoon and enjoy the view, with most items on the menu priced below €10. I was not really sold on the main courses, even though they were really well priced. I was in the mood for pasta and the linguine con gamberi sounded just perfect.

Not for the health conscious though, it seemed. A grilled chicken breast salad, with chips, was all that would be allowed with summer looming, I discovered.

Service, while functional and polite, was not as quick as I expected for the restaurant that was, so far, nowhere close to bursting.

Our table was soon graced with a small bowl of broad bean and garlic dip and enough galletti to go round. The flavour brought with it a flash craving for ħobż biż-żejt. So close to the sea on a lazy, nearly-summer, afternoon, the beans and garlic combined forces to retrieve the memory of fresh bread with oil and tomatoes, seasoned by the cool salt of the sea breeze.

The thought distracted me, throwing a further spanner into the internal works that allow coherent communication.

I wistfully lapped at my non-alcoholic beverage, knowing that the place and the afternoon deserved a cool, white wine to cool things down and, eventually, lead to a siesta. The soporific effect of wine would wreck my afternoon at work though, so I kicked this thought to the back of my head where it sat with ħobż biż-żejt to compare notes.

Food was served presently and my portion looked generous and reasonably well presented. The chicken portion looked quite underwhelming but this didn’t seem to cause any concern so I never mentioned it. The portion of chips was large, looked great, and tasted decent.

The grilled chicken tasted, as far as I could gather, of chicken. It wasn’t special but then not since Cesare Cardini’s job in the States has the chicken salad been improved upon.

My pasta was all but tasteless and the gamberi, had been defrosted in my honour, tasted of recently-thawed polystyrene. Needless to say, I ate through half of it to help stave the hunger.

The bill also took a while coming and by the time it did we were both running late so we paid a total of €30 and dashed out. On the way out I noticed a menu board that stated that fresh fish was available.

I’d heard that this place has a way with fish but had missed the board and the person taking our orders hadn’t mentioned anything so we ended up missing the opportunity altogether.

As I drove back to the office I wondered whether I’d be back there. While the place looks good and commands stunning views, I would think twice before inviting anyone to lunch, at least not without mentioning my thoughts about the food.

I am pretty sure that some tweaks in the kitchen can bring it all up to the standard set by their own location, décor and fantastic value. With that in place, this treat to the eyes can quickly become a serious contender on the summer dining circuit.

You can send e-mails about this column to ed.eatson@gmail.com or follow @edeats on Twitter. Or both.