Interesting ... softer food make you heavier

In a study published in 2003, a team led by Kyoko Oka at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, investigated the effect of food texture on weight gain. They fed one group of rats their usual hard food pellets, while a second group received a softer version. Both pellets had exactly the same calorie content and flavour. The only difference was that softer ones were easier to chew. After 22 weeks, the rats on the soft food diet were obese and had more abdominal fat. "Food texture might be as important a factor for preventing obesity as taste or food nutrients," Oka and his colleagues concluded.

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A similar study in people had comparable results. Kentaro Murakami and Satoshi Sasaki, both at the University of Tokyo in Japan, surveyed 450 female students about their eating habits and then classified the food they ate according to how difficult it was to chew. They found that women who ate the hardest foods had significantly slimmer waistlines than those who ate the softest foods.

Source: New Scientist

Let's go Indian!

Indian food is an occasional must. Both Baanisuu and I adore it, the spices, the thickness, the bread, the rice. It's a Sunday morning and just thinking of it wets my appetite.

Anyway, so yesterday (Saturday) we decided to indulge ourselves in our favourite cuisine. I came up with the brilliant idea to go to a new place called Ganeesha at Xemxija. I got to know of the place the day before during some work related travelling. I saw a sign by the road of this new place and thought we could try it out.

Anyway, so after around 40 minutes to reach Xemxija, we started following these signs but got to a dead end. We drove around every street of Xemxija without success. That's strange. We ended up asking a local who pointed us to the corner we just drove around but remarked...'if it's open!'.

So we drove back around this corner and finally found it. But it was closed! We were going to try a new Indian restaurant that was not yet open! We should be invited to the opening night for our dedication.

Anyway, so we ended up applying Plan B, i.e. dining at the Star of India (also at Xemxija). We can safely say that this is our favourite Indian place. It is actually the first Indian restaurant we ate at, four years ago, to celebrate Baanisuu's birthday. And as with most first timers, it remains special.

Our second visit (we rarely revisit restaurants, if though they may be favourites) was no exception. As starters, we had vegetable pakoras and onion bhaji. For the main course, our choices fell on Pulao rice, garlic Nan bread, Chicken Chettinad and Jeera Ghost. Yes, the Jeera Ghost. I learned the hard way that Ghost means lamb in Indian. I made a complete fool of myself by telling the waiter "...and I would like to order Lamb Ghost." It is like saying: "I would like to order fish huta (fish in Maltese) or meat carne (meat in Italian)".

Apart from that, the food was excellent, the setting quiet, uncrowded and with a beautiful view of St. Paul's Bay. It is highly recommended and also well priced. The meal cost us Eur19 (Lm8) each, including a bottle of sparkling water.

Ticking away...10 days to go

This is the season to be jolly fa la la la la la la la

I might add, this is the season to be stuffed, stuffed with all the food that I am going to eat. My Xmas party bash started last night with a meal with my MIRM mates. The meal was at Peppino's in Paceville. Food was good. Afterwards we had a couple of beers in the bars.

Today was my last day at work for the year. We finished early, at around 2pm and went off for lunch at Vino Veritas. Had a pizza with some wine. Tonight, I have a five course meal, courtesy of Alleance Francais. My god!

Tomorrow for lunch I am meeting my former geography mates. Then in the evening, I have a meal with Baanisuu's Uni mates.

Sunday and Monday are dedicated to our mates. We shall be hanging out together at the usual place. That means lots of food, lots of drink and lots of laughter.

Come Xmas day, another big meal. I can better define it a marathon meal. I am not exaggerating if I say that such meals at my aunt's may last up to almost six hours!

Then Boxing Day is another meal, the official meal with the 'marmalja'.

Jesus....that's so much of food.

Cookin' at home

One of the pleasures in life without doubt is food. Normally my mum is the cook but every now and then, I get the chance to do something myself. Well, actually, it is 'we get a chance' because my cooking experiences always includes Baanisuu. This is one of the other things that both of us enjoy doing together. Here below is our last creation: a chicken-veg pie. The idea came from a Weight Watchers recipe but we amended and gave it our personal touch as you can see in the image below. Did we enjoy it? Yes we did!

A night to remember..

Simple recipe for a romantic night with your loved one:

Think about the atmosphere you want to create: romantic? secluded? relaxed?

Think about her favourite food: local? Indian? Chinese? French?

Think about the other features you need for the night: candles? wine? cushions?


I decided to go for a romantic night at a secluded, relaxed and naturally pleasing location, eating Chinese food accompanied by a good bottle of red wine, together with candles and dim light.

The occasion? Baanisuu's 19th birthday

The location? Ghajn Tuffieħa Bay

The food? Take-away from a Chinese restaurant in Bugibba, consisting of a mixed starter (dumplings, wontons, spring rolls, chicken satay), main course (sweet and sour pork , beef curry), rice and noodles, and fried ice cream for dessert.

Drink? Marsovin Special Reserve

Utensils? Plates, forks and knives, a corkscrew, candles, gas lamp, food warmer (by candles), insulators to keep the food warm and lots of love.

Friendliness of staff (me): 5/5

Service (me): 5/5
Food selection: 5/5
Food: 5/5
Ambient: 5/5

Overall: 5/5
Conclusion: Highly Recommended

Culinary pleasures: What a night out at Bouzouki!

A great night out was experienced yesterday evening, in the company of Baanisuu. My date took me to dinner, in an unknown location to me. The venue? Bouzouki! A fine Greek restaurant with excellent food, atmosphere, setting and view of St. Julian's Bay.

We ate loads, having a starter of grilled feta cheese and mixed dips, a main course of chicken with spices and meatballs (not quite balls, more looked like sauseges) and some desert consisting of honey, walnuts, cinnamon and pastry.

Judgement: Plain and simply - EXCELLENT.

Added to the food we had a local red wine which was the a perfect accompaniment.

Another feature that I really enjoyed was the relaxed atmosphere where one is given ample time to digest the starter, talk, listen to what other tables nearby are talking about, and make room for the next course. The friendly staff is an added bonus to the whole experience.

Plus, this morning the restaurant was advertised on a local radio station, fuelling my appetite again.

I recommend it to anybody looking for good food and a great experience.

I am giving a 4/5 on food selection since only one desert was mentioned, and another heading indicating to ask for other specialities. I think providing just one desert option merits a loss of full marks in this category.

Friendliness of staff: 5/5

Service: 5/5
Food selection: 4/5
Food: 5/5
Ambient: 5/5

Overall: 5/5
Conclusion: Highly Recommended

Culinary pleasures: A review of 'Fayrouz' and 'Mare Nostrum'

This past week, I had two occasions to eat out at different restaurants, and I have some comments to make:

Tue 2nd May : It was the birthday of Baaniisu, my bearer of victory and better half. I decided to eat out at a different cuisine, and Lebaneese was chosen ('Fayrouz' in Sliema). After managing to find the place, we entered into what seemed more of a typical family restaurant, but anyway, I do not know how a Lebanese typical restaurant should look like. However, Arabic-type music could be heard. The matron was really nice. At first I talked to her in English, but then realised she was local. I hate doing that. Maltese is my mother tongue and I try to speak it everywhere, even to Anglo-Maltese speaking fellow citizens.

There was a wide food selection, though no fish was at hand, maybe because it was a Tuesday. As a starter we took a mezee, a selection of dips and starters, similar to the greek meze. It was actually quite filling. As a main course, I opted for chicken while Baaniisu went for minced meat something. The food was good, simple but mouth-watering. The owner, a Lebanese I suppose, was the cook and a fancy cook too, dressed in trousers and a neat shirt. Every now and then he came out of the kitchen to talk to people and make sure all was ok. Unfortunately, we did not have enough room for a typical Lebanese restaurant, next time we will know better.

Friendliness of staff: 4/5

Service: 3/5
Food selection: 3/5
Food: 4/5
Ambient: 2/5

Overall: 3/5
Conclusion: Recommended

Sat 6th May: No excuse for this meal, except that it was a Saturday. Usually we do not go to restaurants serving normal foot, but this was an exception. My and Baaniisu went to 'Mare Nostrum' in Ta' Xbiex, more known as the 'Black Pearl'. We really went there for its setting, since the restaurant lies on the deck of the 'Black Pearl'. The ship is not floating in the sea but situated on land. Upon entering we were greeted by a foreigner and place a table (no booking done). We were on the side of the side, however on the wrong one, since for the view of Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta we had to be located on the other side.

As soon as we set, a waiter came asking if we wanted an aperatif, while handing us the menu, and another put the breadbasket and some black olives on the table . Another waiter came immediately afterwards telling us what were the specialities of the day, including the types of fish available etc. After a brief consultation of the menu (there was not much to decide from), we decided to go for chicken and beef. We also ordered a bottle of wine. After a few moments, the food arrived. We were quite surprised at how fast it came, too fast in fact. In fact, food came before drink. I had to recall the waiter to remind him of the bottle of wine, and still this did not come immediately. I found us stupid sitting there having all the food and side dishes but nothing to drink. After some time, the wine came. Food was good, though my chicken seemed a little dry. As we finished, a waiter came to take the plates away, and he was not alone; another came clearing up the table taking all the cutlery etc. Then after some time, while still drinking our wine, another came asking for coffee and sweets.

Hmmm as you would have probably noticed, this restaurant more seemed like a fast food by simply observing the behaviour of the staff (Note: the restaurant was 1/2 to 3/4 full). The setting was great, with candlelit tables, but I felt rushed around. Life is already too hectic, running from one commitment to another; being served in a frenetic way is not much appreciated. Obviously, I prefer being asked immediately then being left to wait endlessly on a table without any menu or food, but there has to be balance.

Friendliness of staff: 3/5

Service: 2/5
Food selection: 2/5
Food: 3/5
Ambient: 5/5

Overall: 3/5
Conclusion: Recommended, but beware of the frantic waiters