Tmun Tasting Experience

The whole experience of visiting Tmun is exciting. From the journey up to the final goodbye from the humble Chef Paul Buttigieg, Tmun is wholesome with a whole bunch of character; just like the island of Gozo herself. 

Our journey at Tmun starts with a visit to the kitchen, where the full Gozitan crew prep for the day ahead; the aromas of Chef Paul’s kitchen always lean towards the Asian persuasion as seen through the sauces and overall energy of his dishes. The menu itself… well that was next to be discovered. 

We started with a clean, dry and light 2024 Luciano Ercolino Falanghina Irpinia, selected by Chef to ease us into the meal before the snacks rolled in gracefully. We watched a fisherman paint his luzzu with pride and admiration, as the bustling Mgarr Harbour welcomed ferry after ferry during the lunch time rush. Our first taste of the day was a tartlet of in-house smoked grouper roe transformed into the creamiest taramasalata; its smokey roe, fresh lime zest and crunch from the casing amalgamating as one harmonious bite. The taste lingered and grew subtly, further enhanced with the Falanghina and its citrus-forward notes. 

Next up was a thick garlic bread crostini presenting a light and creamy stracciatella, and topped with a salt-bomb filet of Cantabrian anchovy that competes with the stracciatella on creaminess. The following dish was a new insert on the menu, first to be tried by bajtra; the tempura monkfish taco. 

An in-house nero di sepia-tinted masa harina taco made its way to our table; I love tacos. This one came with a tempura monkfish cheek that was absolutely perfect in texture, internally and externally and seasoned just right with enough salt to play with the acidity of this dish. A lemon gel and some pickled vegetables, diced on top with some guacamole and micro coriander for freshness. We spoke about spice Chef, it could take it… there’s so many accents; the balance of spice could work here. Happy to try it again any time pal! Delicious. 

Now perhaps a duo of tax-xewk moments, one following the other; first… the ceviche. 

(I rewrote this sentence 3 times) How do I begin to describe this? Maybe with a story. 

There once was a blue marlin whose destiny was to be transformed texturally. Its turgid flesh, swimming in a Thai-inspired leche de tigre sea of glistening greens and aromas of galangal, ginger, green chilli and lime. But as the marlin swam, it made friends with chili, corn and the world’s greatest pickled onion ring. Together they lived a very happy life of texture, accents and balance until Juel came along for a soiree of green mango and grapefruit and turned the ceviche on its head. In the most exciting way possible. 

This was the most intriguing fish item on the menu at Tmun during the visit; packed with freshness and vibrant notes that ‘in theory’ would make more sense in summer; but genuinely works as a late autumn feature in Gozo. The sun was still shining quite proudly after all. 

Another tax-xewk moment was the following dish of Jerusalem artichoke textures. Textures. Textures? Textures! Phenomenal in… you guessed it… textures; this dish celebrated the seasonality of sun chokes on our islands; sweet, ionic, mineral and earthy; I cannot get enough of them and when transformed into the dish we were presented with; a complete home run! 

At the base, a salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke cooked till tender and finished with floral notes of thyme. This version had bite and texture that compared blissfully with the rich Jerusalem artichoke espuma that melted in your mouth like a cloud of creamy air; creating a gentle pillow for the crisped up versions of this tuber that sat atop the foam. The crisps mostly highlighted the nuttiness in the dish that was again noted and enforced with the Piemonte hazelnuts, roasted and plated beside last season’s pickled Gozo asparagus, for acidity and sweetness, and the pièce de résistance: a baked egg yolk that was so eggy and luscious you’ll never want to eat eggs any other way. 

If I had to choose one tax-xewk moment I’d go with this vegetarian dish. Vegetable dishes are always the most impactful, in my opinion. They bring out the full creativity of a Chef and celebrate simple produce elevated with fine flavours. Grazzi, this one made me so happy. 

Next a classic Sancerre paved the way for a rich, meaty and robust dish packed with attitude. We should definitely feel a little guilty for eating such a magnificent creature, but it also happens to be magnificently delicious, so jury’s out on that one! Octopus. 

I think you either love it or you hate it, it’s intense and can be a bit too much for some, both in flavour and texture. The texture on this octopus dish was meaty and tender, cooked confit in olive oil at 77℃ for 7 hours to ensure such a result. The BBQ glaze on the octopus dove right into Chef Paul’s repertoire with all those Asian sparks of intensity. Balanced out with the most generous portion of hollandaise you have ever seen. Light and acidic with its sherry vinegar accent, the sauce was intended to be lapped up and cut through the direct character of the octopus. 

The next dish; the beef agnolotti hosted a personal love-hate relationship. In the sense that one part of the dish I loved and the other not so much. Let’s start with the negative; pulled beef, well pulled meat in general; I don’t get it. Is it just me, or does that breaking down of fibres translate into a ‘meatier’ flavour? Well, scientifically, yes, it makes sense that after the breakdown of collagen and fat you’re left with intense fleshy flavour; that is often supplemented with another douse of flavour in the form of umami-salty richness. Not my cuppa tea, but heck, we find it on so many menus, in so many cuisine styles; this might just be a personal problem. 

Let’s move on to the positive, the actual agnolotti that encased the pulled beef. Perfectly thin pasta, beautiful pockets, cooked just right and swimming in the most interesting mushroom broth I have ever tried. Thick and viscous, and lapped onto your spoon for a rich yet light mouthfeel that lingers with a smooth, umami finish. The accompanying pine nuts, 38 month-aged Parmigiano shavings, raw button mushrooms and pickled shimeji mushrooms all worked beautifully in the dish. 

Next was another Chef Paul classic. Asian calamari boasted the deep flavours of garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy, honey and perhaps… XO sauce Chef? Texturally on point, this rich, salty and sweet dish presented balance and intention where excitement can still feature with a simple Mediterranean calamari dish, that is often seen either deep-fried or stuffed. This was such a welcome experience. 

The final savoury portion of this meal ties us right back to the start of the meal. Remember that grouper roe in the taramasalata? It was taken from the very grouper, a Ċawlun in fact, that graced this next dish so elegantly. I love a 360° moment. 

Chef Paul gave us a brief lesson on grouper, highlighting that the Ċawlun is his favourite of the species, for its taste and texture that he compared to cod. Fresh cod of course, we only refer to premium fish with a Chef like him. This dish, in my opinion, is Chef Paul at his finest; where Asia meets France allowing flavour and technique to create something quite magical. 

A portion of grouper sat atop a miso beurre blanc for acidity. Topping this dish was not caviar or anything too fancy, Chef Paul lets the ingredients speak for themselves; with a weird kombu ribbon adding texture and fun to the dish along with the 100% accurate chilli crunch that sparkled on the delicately blowtorched flesh. This was fabulous. And we were absolutely ready to move on to dessert. 

A Calabria Three Bridges Botrytis Semillon sweetened our palates, the botrytis adding a touch more sweetness, the pineapple and dried mango notes complimenting the following gluten-free and vegan dessert so accurately. A coconut pannacotta set with pea starch and topped with a light rice flour tuile, served as a base for the passion fruit and mango gel that peaked so prettily, creating little crevices for the crunchy passion fruit bits and the even crunchier coconut bites. 

We were so full, but somehow this plate disappeared in just over a minute. 

And just like that, a Tmun experience takes you all around Asia, with Nikkei influence creeping in, French technique; the backbone of every dish and of course the sheer creativity and wackiness that I see in Chef Paul. He’s always composed and clear in his delivery, don’t get me wrong, but deep down I can tell that this guy was a mad scientist in a past life, now giving all this longing for creation to the art of cooking. And he does it so well, and so humbly.

Big love Chef.