Earlier this month, I invited four beautiful ladies to join me for a social evening – dinner, drinks and a little dancing at Middle East Muse – a very welcoming, vibrant restaurant and bar in the heart of St Julians. I love being social as you know but this time of year is always a sweet excuse to organise outings with friends in celebration of friendship, respect and the love we share. We also have that little excuse to dress up and have a few laughs and a few intimate conversations which, let’s face it, in our busy lives, we hardly get time to do.
Photos: Carlo Jourdan Dress: London F Café Earrings: ZsaZsa
Here we were! Everyone arrived looking excited and glamorous. The guests this evening were Michelle Dimech, Virag Andersson, Catherine and Fallon Grech Blackman. All uniquely beautiful ladies inside and out, all talented in their own ways either running their own businesses or just living their own happy lives. A few things we all have in common is that we love fashion, we all enjoy dining out and we all believe in female empowerment, meaning that we all encourage women to do what makes them happy. Empowering women to contribute fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities.
I wore a pretty silver and black dress from London F Café which is fantastic for cocktails and parties this time of year.
From left to right I present you my guests Fallon Greck Blackman, Virag Andersson, Catherine Borg Grech, Michelle Dimech at MiddleEast Muse Restaurant Malta
Middle East Muse is actually one of the places I frequent quite regularly with my husband Marco because it has that perfect balance between chill and buzzing. The décor with the comfortable cushions and the low tables on the outside area is so lovely for a chilled evening when you can order drinks and a few nibbles on the side and have a private or romantic conversation without being disturbed. Inside you will find quite a large restaurant which serves Moroccan and Arabic food. During this ladies night, I planned for us to try both pre-dinner cocktails and drinks followed by dinner. One of the fun highlights in the beginning of our date together was a childish competition – who puffed the best shisha puffs!
The minute we sat down on the outer terrace, we immediately felt very welcome and comfortable with the music in the background. Fallon kicked off the evening by doing some belly dancing of her own while we filmed her for Instagram stories. The restaurant manager Piero brought us the cocktail and the shisha menu and we all ordered something different but we shared a watermelon and mint shisha just for fun. As you can see in the photos we were having a fun competition at who makes the largest puff. I’m not sure who won – who do you think won?
Shisha is a glass-bottomed water pipe in which fruit-flavoured tobacco is covered with foil and roasted with charcoal. The tobacco smoke passes through a water chamber and is inhaled deeply and slowly; the fruit-flavoured tobacco tastes smooth and smells sweet, enthusiasts say, making it an enjoyable and unrushed experience.
OUR DINING EXPERIENCE
Moroccan cuisine is typically a mix of Arabic, Andalusian, and Mediterranean cuisines with a slight European influence. The quality of food we tasted at this place is excellent. We had a set menu organised by the manager Piero who is one heck of a great host I can assure you.
We started off with a vegetable soup called the “harrira”, tasty, make with fresh vegetables and slow cooked with some herbs and spices giving it a very pleasant taste. All the ladies loved it. We were off at a great start.
We then had an interesting selection of appetisers including fried haloumi, briouat laham and briouat dajjaj which were absolutely delicious. What I loved about these appetizers apart from the taste, was that they were not too oily and soggy but they had a great crunch to them. Needless to say that in between our discussions about men, shoes, bags, kids and all that jazz, we totally devoured all the items!
To continue the successful ladies night out, we were presented with a “tagine barqouq”, cooked and served like it is done in traditional Moroccan households, in the pottery with all its juices from the slow cooking. We also tried the vegetarian couscous to compliment the tagine.
Our Verdict as a Group
All in all, this place is one great destination to go to, both as couples and also as groups. It is an ideal place to hold birthday parties or even Hen Nights if planned with the management who is fantastic to work with. We all had a great time because the environment allows it. In the heart of St Julians, close to all other bars, it is not noisy and it is not attracting the extremely young crowd. It is spacious and buzzing with great energy, sofas and cushions outside for the chill seekers, and tables inside for the diners. The food is really delicious and the shisha served here is among the best you will find on the island. So, I would give it a go some time if you are in Malta and fancy trying out a trendy place.
Middle East Muse, St Rita Steps, Paceville Contact Tel 2158 1582
Voted 5/5
Hope you enjoyed our feature today. Thanks for your continued follow and recommendations. If you know a new restaurant that needs promoting, do pass them the link to my blog. I will be happy to review it for them. Love and light to all
Xxx
Photos by Carlo Jourdan
Grazielle
I was wearing:
Dress; London F Café, Bay Street
Earrings: ZsaZa Jewellery, Valletta
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