NONI Tasting Experience

Patrons visit Noni for the experience. For the experience of tasting, emotion and cosmic alignment. A visit to Noni for me is special. You shouldn’t have favourites, and I don’t. But I am also human. These tasting notes, this critique; much like anything I will ever write on bajtra, is to elevate. Everyone is always striving for something, be it more of the same or better; the art of manifestation is within us all and for this industry, I manifest so much good. 

I speak about manifestation, because my journey with Noni started before my journey with Chef Jonathan Brincat; before he was just the hands to the dishes I placed at my altar to manifest my current, actual, real-life profession. Knowing Noni; the man; is understanding Noni; the restaurant. I am humbled to know both (and sometimes still a little start struck, not gonna lie). Needless to say I had very high expectations before this visit. 

“I’m really interested in the Soft Pairing,” I said. But first champagne. Starting with Nicolas Feuillatte, I watched the long, straight bubbles puff at the top—and as I took my first sip of the velvety champagne, the tnaqqir (snacks) arrived. 

A crisp corn taco topped with parsley root and fermented tomato for a sweet, earthy start; followed by a doughnut filled with taramasalata and cod roe for an umami-forward continuation. Next, a wee nutty tartlet with diced prawn marinated in something gentle and soft, like rosewater perhaps and finished with treated plums, also finely diced, made my heart skip a beat. The olive was there, she danced on my tongue. A buildup of luscious oils from the cocoa butter and the blended caponata; bursting in your mouth with a sweet finish. 

We continued with a soft pairing of the most delicious orange pop you can imagine. The tangy sparkles of bitter from the fermented peel and sweet finish from the fruit in this carbonated citrus drink was paired with the pumpkin course of the meal, complimented with local, wild caught amberjack. 

Thin petals of cascading cured amberjack and pickled pumpkin cosied up on a cushion of smooth pumpkin custard; a kombu dashi circling the dish. To the side, amberjack belly with a seaweed zabaione and bottarga; intended to be lapped up with the accompanying brioche. With this dish we are reminded how important intentional eating is; it’s a pumpkin dish, not an amberjack dish. But it’s also an amberjack dish. Oh Noni. 

The dashi had a light subtle umami flavour that you would expect from a ramen master, the amberjack was tender and lightly seasoned before diners are forced to play with their food and unravel the pretty picture. It feels sinful to me not to enjoy caviar as an entire bump, but incorporate this caviar into the dish—allow that salinity to bounce off the sweet, smokey and earthiness. 

Next, Jerusalem artichoke. High up on my list of favourite flavours in the universe. This time interpreted as a bottoni pasta filled with creamed choke that pops in your mouth and sits on your teeth like a film of deliciousness. I’ve said it many times before, pasta, especially stuffed pasta, is either edible or not, the thickness of the dough, the texture of the filling—not to mention the sauce. But let’s mention the sauce(s) here… 

A consommé at the bottom of the Jerusalem artichoke is clarified and then finished with fresh winter truffles for an incredibly rich broth that softly heats the raw chestnut mushrooms at the base of the dish; giving a clean, vibrant earthiness further brought out with the addition of raspberry vinegar and pickled Jerusalem artichoke discs. To finish a local Delectat Fratell transformed into the lightest cheese sauce with rich goat’s milk aroma. Although light and delicate, this dish can stand the body of the Pinot Noir-style kombucha made with plum and tonka bean for a sweet and soft finish that acts as a palate cleanser between courses. 

From delicate and intentional we move to boldly Maltese; seen through the lens of a coordinator of culinary crescendo. The kawlata. 

Traditionally, not anything I would gravitate towards, and not a dish I can accurately taste from memory. I’m not even quite sure if I’ve ever had kawlata. But maybe… everyone has had some form of kawlata. It’s basically a vegetable soup with pork shanks. Well, you could have fooled me Noni. 

This kawlata is presented with veal sweetbreads, tender, juicy and succulent, glazed in some sweet goodness and topped with a dehydrated version of the vegetables that adorn this dish like colourful gem stones. Ta’ Gużman’s seasonal vegetables are known for their superior flavour and quality, with sweet notes running though his terroir for a true experience of organic Maltese agriculture. The white bean velouté drapes the dish for a texturally phenomenal—and wildly different—interpretation of a Maltese classic.

The following course took us to a smokey meatiness of comforting texture. The fish was perfectly cooked, the skin crisped on embers for drama and earthiness accompanied by a green purée of kohlrabi and a mad julienne of calamari, the texture of which I have never experienced. Like spaghetti in a bowl, I’ll lap it all up; slap that wildly green sauce on it. Let’s go! 🦑

What on Earth was going on here? I couldn’t quite understand it, but I couldn't stop eating it. Most importantly, the dish was balanced, with sweet and earthy notes complimenting a fish dish. 

For the first time on bajtra the thorns are coming out in the tax-xewk moment of this tax-xewk experience. So… let’s break this down. How does my favourite dish of the night get the only critique of the piece? It’s because Noni always makes things complex, because he is complex and that’s why this becomes complex to explain in general. 

This next dish is the pork dish, Chef’s favourite protein, and he really does understand every aspect of the animal; making a sustainable dish featuring at least 6 interpretations of utilisation. This is a heavy dish. It’s hearty, it’s rich, it’s intense and it’s the last savoury course. 

Let’s start off with the main plate which is picture perfect. From the glass-like skin on the loin to the 3 distinctly delicious layers of the belly to the umami-butter-finished-jus and onion elements to help cut the richness. 10/10. But I was defeated by both sides. 

The truth is there’s one thing Bourdain, Brincat and I do not see eye-to-eye on. Mortadella. I think this could have been a thinner sandwich. And while the pulled pork shoulder was delicious, personally, it was too heavy to be appreciated in the final course. This is such a tough dilemma, was I too full to appreciate it, or could it have been presented lighter? Who knows? That pork loin stands so magnificently it's really hard to top it. Also, the golden beetroot amazake finished with that zap of nutmeg. Class. Who even needs alcohol? This is an in-house creation, get on board folks, the Soft Pairing Train is the way to go. 

We transitioned to sweet with a layover in hybrid-central where black olives and bitter almonds had a little affair with a lemon. The texture and the play between sweet and savoury here was further amplified with the blueberry mule, finished with a little lemon and lime and ginger beer for a refreshing palate cleaner before the next stop: South African chocolate. 

There were some texturally captivating facets to this dessert, the mousse: nutty, light and airy, the compote: refreshing, the wafer: wafery, the nuts in the biscuity part: always make a dessert better, the miso and salted caramel ice-cream: need I say more... and the crisp that crowned the top: reminiscent of those Bahlsen ABC biscuits I was once addicted to. 

A few petit fours of bitter, saltiness, tanginess and a little zing led us out the door, till next time Noni. We are humbled.