NONI Tasting Experience

You would think that after all these years, a visit to any high quality restaurant would have become easier by now. Easier to take notes on, easier to develop the story after and even easier to anticipate. 

Wrong.

I still get butterflies. I still get a bit nervous. I still hope that I can do the delicious food justice. Basically, I still care; maybe a little bit too much; but that’s what I’m here for to share this love and admiration for local Chefs and their art in the most honest way I possibly can. 

When it comes to NONI, you should all know how I feel about the restaurant, the concept, the man. NONI was my first glimpse of local gastronomical art; something I thought was utterly beautiful and I’ve been an avid follower for 9 years. This September visit was nothing different; I was anxious, I was excited and I was eager to do my job well. 

A couple of steps guided by Front of House extraordinaire; Ritienne Brincat; will walk you past her brother's kitchen. It’s brightly lit, it’s immaculate, and it’s full of energy. A quick wave, nod or salute to any of the kitchen brigade who catch your eye and your journey through a reinterpreted Malta will emerge. And we all know that some reinterpretation of these islands would do a world of good. I guess we’ll start with Maltese gastronomy. 

Friendly faces and new smiles hit the Front of House – a team of elegance, pure simplicity and a focus on getting things right. We started off with a pour of Nicolas Feuillatte, an elite champagne to which Chef Jonathan Brincat is Ambassador for in Malta. This champagne always surprises me; it’s just so bready and bursting with toasty flavour, if I were financially unhinged I might have to develop a drinking problem. Victoria, the sommelier, would not have a super busy night with us, I opted for a juice pairing once again; while Nina went for two glasses. Got to say; that after tasting her wines, I was a little mad at myself for not allowing Victoria to take me on a journey through her palate; I know for a fact that she’s fabulous. 

• 

• 

We started off with the Tnaqqir where a Gozo asparagus taco; abrupt and meaningful, sparked the palate with a crispy base and exciting topping — even though I didn’t know this could happen, this taco was better than NONI’s December taco; but the December taco was perfect. Ma nifhimx. 

Next, a Comté-and-pumpkin-filled doughnut with the softest texture, a smokey and creamy filling and the lusciousness of the lardo which Chef chose to leave a little unmelted; making you really focus on the anatomy of the cured meat. We intentionally skipped a step and jumped to the fish barquette with sea grapes and absolute smokeiness, this was delicate, light and not overly fish-forward. 

We ended on the classic NONI olive; his mother’s kapunata recipe puréed and spherified, covered in a chocolate coating for the most delicious pop of flavour. This is more than just food for me. It’s my first experience of modern gastronomy and the extent to which we can play with it. 

We move on to the amuse bouche; a mother f***ingly delicious morsel of food. Imma tajba man. 

Corn mousse, light fresh corn, shaved Italian truffles, a few pretty flowers. It was hot and cold, it was corny and earthy, the truffles weren’t just added for nejk, they were added for flavour and depth. My toes curled, I smacked the table and I thought that every spoonful was luxurious to say the absolute least.

And also I LOVE CORN.

Paired with the Nicolas Feuillatte, kif suppost. 

After the bread course featuring a nutty loaf, a salty butter and a floral olive oil; we moved on to a dish that I think is any sushi master’s envy. The tuna. 

Maltese tuna is acclaimed for its butteriness, its tenderness and its salinity. She’s a big fish so she needs to be respected and at NONI they treat her like a goddess. I bet Sansuna ate tuna fresh from our waters before Malta began to exist; she’d have relished in Chef Brincat’s version. 

A light Asian note on the tuna loin tartare that sat at the bottom of the dish and a ham-like-smokiness on the carpaccio; paired with a vibrant horseradish jelly and pickled celery for a spot of texture. It’s quite hard to pin-point what exactly is going on here because your brain is just telling you to enjoy it, savour it and appreciate it leaving almost no room for understanding; replacing it with a willing acceptance. Small rosettes of crispiness gave me a Mr Riley’s French Fries nod (but not, but yes… but wow). Buzz. The entire dish sat in a light gazpacho; the perfect compliment to such a robust crudo. 

• 

• 

• 

Accompanying this was a play on tuna mayo, tuna mayo on crack as I noted during the tasting. No mayo here but crème fraîche dotted with lemon oil and chive oil like little orbs of happiness. Below the surface was the tuna; this time belly; and manipulated to the texture of a canned tuna we are all familiar with; but as you can imagine, with heaps of additional texture, flavour, salinity and deepness. Perfect. 

The pairings here were two; a carbonated citrus in-house juice and as selected by Victoria, a Domaine Chauveau Les Croqloups Pouilly Fume that we might break our ‘local-only’ agenda for. This star wine and bitter juice both paired so well with the tuna. Both delivered on acidity that cuts through the fattiness of the tuna and the richness of the dish. We were in heaven. 

The next soft pairing featured a peach and lavender-forward kombucha which led us through to the prawn farfalle - a stupidly delicious pasta course. Imma delicious. The farfalle themselves, hand formed, a slight bite in the centre fold, the rest of the bow shape floppy and lapping up all the sauce(s). The first sauce was a prawn butter, plated elegantly amidst the frolic of peas that add sweetness, earthiness and a light freshness - but let’s go back to the prawn butter. 

• 

• 

Like a deer in headlights, my brain was in overload, I could not compute, fireworks went off and I didn’t know how I was going to take some of this home; because living without it would be too painful. Simple as it comes, granted but elevated to a flavour-level that sparks all the tastebuds in one spoonful; prawn + butter. Xi trid iktar?

The second sauce was fennel focused and added a very delicate tone to the dish, amalgamating with the prawn butter and creating a swirl of light pink pairing floral fennel notes with umami prawn heads… all of which veiled three lightly-lime-marinated prawns, slightly heated by the fennel sauce poured tableside. 

I’m a red prawn purist. You don’t mess with rossi in my opinion. You often leave them raw; as Chef did here… BUT… the slight heat from the sauce brought out so much prawniness. A prawniness that is unlike a raw serving or a traditionally cooked prawn; this is a kind of try it for yourself experience; it’s unfair to reduce this dish to a paragraph or four. 

Another kombucha, this time pear and chamomile added a nice sweetness to the following dish; a supplement to the menu and an ode to Maltese culture; as expected with NONI. The Torta tal-Kaċċatur. 

Not gonna lie, it’s strange in concept but by golly does it execute in flavour. A pithiver of mortadella and mazzit wrapped in spinach and paired with pickled chard and an in-house HP sauce. Let’s dissect that. 

Firstly, the pastry: perfection. Fullstop. Buttery, crisp, flaky, light, balanced on salt. 

The layers of cured pork meat mortadella, pink and pretty, played against the rich black notes of the Maltese mazzit; a blood pudding traditionally made with raisins, white onion and chocolate; that when paired with the home-made brown sauce will now elevate my breakfast game forever. 

HP or brown sauce is so not Maltese; but it kind of is since we have so much British influence in Malta, these ‘fun’ sauces of our childhood spark something nostalgic in us that it just makes sense. The chard, very lightly pickled, cuts through the fat of this dish and gives the plate an accent that it didn’t know it needed. Fabulous. 

Next up is what I think is the Summer Kawlata at NONI.

Paired with a beautiful Greek wine with an amazing story that I think deserves some air time. Phylloxera is a louse that attacks rootstock. In the 19th century, a microscopic aphid-like insect devastated the majority of European vines (including the great French vineyards of Europe); the solution was to use North American rootstocks (the base) and graft European vines (Vitis vinifera) onto the Phylloxera-safe rootstocks. 

These little bugs thrive in clay soils. Greece’s volcanic soil (aspa) lacks clay; therefore lacks phylloxera, avoiding the whole epidemic for certain rootstocks. So what we’re saying is that during our tasting experience at NONI, Victoria introduced us to a European wine that is so purely European; and get this… it’s called Atlantis. Can this get more magical?

Yes, because it paired so wonderfully with the wreck fish, clam and Ta’ Gużman marrow dish. 

The dish is presented like the iconic Kawlata, protein at the centre, veggies around the circumference and this time clams; halved for a whole new textural identity. 

The wreck fish itself was beautifully rolled in zucchini flowers; a farci of fish crowning the turgid flesh. The portion rested on its side; a cross section of pure kitchen patience and attention to detail. The flesh of the fish was delicate and light, the mousse carrying a slight pink fish flavour accent and the zucchini flowers adding aesthetic and a touch of sweetness and earthiness. 

Dotted with sea herbs that add so much vibrant character and a clear broth of clam, fish and saffron for a saline, sweet, and overall balanced mouthfeel. Ideal for the tormentous temperatures of Malta in summer when a heavy plate is nothing more than daunting. 

• 

• 

The juice pairing here was so complimentary; a highly pronounced fennel kombucha with light ginger tones. Followed by yet another juice of hibiscus, cherry and timut pepper for a citrusy and fragrant aftertaste; this soft pairing worked with the final savoury course of the night; the fabulous Anjou pigeon. 

A sole pigeon breast served as the perfect portion; perfectly trimmed and glazed skin-side with a local date stickiness, accompanied by a sesame purée and date purée, a gorgeous baba ghanoush (that I was lucky to have two of, due to Nina’s trepidation with aubergine) and a salt, sweet, citrusy and herby pigeon jus that added to the gaminess of the dish while cutting the fattiness. F**k this was good. A highlight in this all rounded tax-xewk experience; no need to pinpoint a tax-xewk moment at NONI, the magic starts and ends with the front door; because this Chef Patron thought of everything. 

As your palate digests the savoury section of this meal, your mind starts to build up the anticipation for the sweet portion of the experience. A pre-dessert of mandarin meringue and chamomile-infused honey; serving as a clever palate cleanser and transition for the palate and mind. 

Citrus has always been a staple in Malta, peaking in the time of the Knights of St John and carrying a legacy as a supreme European ingredient.

The mandarin is carefully preserved in peak season and treasured through this tactile dessert that more than anything brings a jovial energy to the end of the meal. 

• 

• 

Last, and by absolutely no means least. The Baklava. 

Holy moly. Let’s just go straight to the addictive moment here; the pecan biscuit at the centre; chewy, crunchy, sticky, sweet, salty - kollox. It sits between a pecan cake, which is soft and airy, a gel for texture and of course added flavour that is all layered between some sort of shortbread thins dusted with fig leaf.

Around the inner circumference of the baklava, fig leaf cream. 

Why is fig leaf so good? How is it better than the fruit? Not that the glorious fig compote wasn’t absolutely delicious; but somehow fig leaf is steadily becoming my new obsession. And here we even got a side dish of fig sorbet, very sweet and very clean figs and that coveted fig oil to finish. Magics. 

Petit fours took us down the stairs away from our summer NONI experience; I sipped my blueberry mule and cried a little because I knew it was over.

But as Chef Jonathan Brincat always says; “there’s still time to try NONI again.”

And we will.

Wholeheartedly, with the biggest placard shouting WE LOVE YOU. 

A true tax-xewk experience.

Grazzi dejjem. Big respect.