The most popular restaurant serving traditional Maltese food seems to be the Malet Restaurant.

For European dishes, the Venus Restaurant and the New Bucccaneers Restaurant are recommended. If you are dining on a budget, the Capuvino is a good choice. New Madras or Anusuya is the place to dine when you are after Indian cuisine. For Italian food, go to Little Italy and or else La Stalla.

Mr. Pickwicks English Bar and Restaurant serves an excellent English breakfast/brunch. Fat Harrys also serves English food. For typically British fish and chips and seafood, Seashell Fish and Chip Shop is the place to go. Mediterranean dishes are served at Bugies. Little Wok, as its name suggests, is a Chinese Restaurant found in Bugibba as is The Forbidden City.

Pasta, baguettes and platters are served at the Oblico Restaurant and the Steak House is the place to go if you love meat dishes. Granny’s and Mirabelle Restaurant are places to go to for good food and value. For families with children and large groups, Villa Mare is recommended.

Whether you are dining al fresco in summer or else indoors, Bugibba is always a popular choice where the food is good and the prices are reasonable. Being close to the sea gives Bugibba the advantage of many restaurants having a seaview. Bugibba is also a popular choice for tourists from different countries when visiting the Island of Malta. There are many hotels which also have their own restaurants to cater for the ever growing population of foreigners who come to visit Malta especially in the hot summer months.

Even though the government hospital is free for locals, private hospitals are not. Taking out a private Health Insurance is convenient because it means that:

• you do not have to pay for private service;
• you do not have to wait for a long time for operations and specialists’ appointments;
• you get paid for nightly stays at the government hospital if you decide to stay there.

When you take out a Travel Health Insurance you are covered for the time that you are on holiday. According to the premium that you pay is what you will get back. For example if you pay a high premium you are entitled to thousands of euro if in need of hospital care or doctors’ appointments whereas, if you pay a low premium you will probably get the bare basics.

It is always good to cover oneself health wise when going on holiday. Since Malta is now part of the EU one can automatically get health insurance for free for EU countries only when they apply for the European Health Insurance Card. This applies to Maltese citizens when travelling abroad and vice-versa when foreigners who are in possession of the European Health Insurance Card come to Malta. With this card, foreigners are treated as locals. Any local treatment that we would get for free, anybody from the EU in possession of this card would get automatically. Unfortunately, this does not apply to people who are not in the EU and they will have to take out a separate Health Insurance.

At the age of 13 he started playing with Football Basketball Nursery, however he’s incentives to start playing basketball began way before.

Both Dirk’s father, Felix Schembri, and older brother Steve Schembri were great influences and put the ball in his hands. At time progressed both his physical structure and skill-set grew and by the age of 15 was playing with both Loyola in the under 16 and 19 league, as well as the under 19 national team. At the age of 16 he started playing in the 1st division, and by the age of 18 was selected to participate with the senior Maltese national team were he competed in such competitions as the FIBA promotional cups and Small Nations games, even playing against best NBA players such as Pat Burke and Thabo Sefolosha.

Through he’s 1st division career he spend 1 year with Siggiewi Basketball and 6 years with Luxol Basketball club, where he was part of the team who broke the record by winning 9 of the 10 cups in a 2 year period, in the same time winning the Most Valuable Player of the Year of award.

Back in 2007 Dirk was part of 3 top Maltese players selected to be sponsored by Gatarode too. Dirk Schembri is also a webmaster working for Uniblue. Samples of his work can be found at www.dirkschembri.com.

No.10 in the Maltese Music Charts is “Tonight” by Seether. Seether is a South African rocker band and they have been around for 12 years.

“Tonight” appears on Holding Onto Strings Better Left To Fray. The single is the follow up to “Country Song”.

At No.9 we find RHCP with “Look Around”. “Look Around” is from Red Hot Chili Pepper‘s album I’m With You. I’m With You is their tenth studio album.

Nicki Minaj with “Starships” is at No.8 “Starships” is the official lead single from her potentially career-shaping second album.

No.7 on the charts is Far East Movement featuring Justin Bieber with “Live My Life”. The Far East Movement party boys hop aboard a bus and take to the streets of Amsterdam in this video.

At No.6 we find Gotye Featuring Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used To Know”. This is from Gotye’s new album Making Mirrors.

David Guetta featuring Chris Brown with “I Can Only Imagine” is at No.5. Guetta needs no introduction as a French house music producer and DJ.

Rihana featuring Jay-Z with “Talk That Talk” is at No.4. The album with the same title, is Rihana’s sixth studio album.

No.3 in the charts is Katy Perry with “Part of Me”. Much like her pop-star peers, Katy Perry cites Madonna as a big influence.

Chris Brown featuring Rihana is at No.2 with “Turn Up The Music” from his fifth album Fortune. This is a high energy song which draws from the genres of electronic dance, house and dance-pop.

Malta’s top choice is currently Madonna feat LMAO with “Gimme All Your Lovin’”. To date Madonna, has 13 No.1 hit singles.

Duty Free means that no excise duty is payable to the Government (HM Revenue & Customs) on the items purchased. Items classed as Duty Free must be exported outside of the EU (European Union) and therefore are only sold to passengers flying to non-EU countries.

This Duty Free status applies to all cigarettes, tobacco and selected spirits. Shopping at Tax Free Prices is available at the Malta International Airport Departure Lounge after security. The Tax Free Price is calculated by deducting VAT (which is 20%) from the selling price. Items sold at Tax Free Prices include: fragrances, skincare, cosmetics, sunglasses, watches, jewellery and handbags.

On your way out of Malta, Duty Free allowances for each adult are:

• 200 cigarettes or the equivalent in cigars or tobacco;
• 1 bottle of spirits;
• 1 bottle of wine;
• a reasonable amount of perfumes or aftershaves.

In the duty-free section, you can also find a variety of souvenirs, sportswear, and CDs and other music related items. Leaving the escalator on the first floor and entering the first floor area, one has plenty of opportunity of browsing the Duty Free Shops at the Malta International Airport Departure Lounge. Items for sale in these shops include many popular brand names and exclusive goods.

These shops are a must for last minute shoppers and people who are looking for that elusive item for that friend or relative. They will definitely come across something for their friends and loved ones here. Shopaholics, too, can have a field day by spoiling themselves and buying something personal such as perfume, a scarf, watch etc. Although much of Duty Free Shopping has mellowed due to the fact that it does not exist between EU countries, there is still a thrill when making a purchase from one of these exclusive establishments.

Bank customers can take out a Home Loan for up to 90% of the purchase price and/or completion costs.

The banks offer their clients competitive interest rates and the loan is paid back to the bank monthly in affordable amounts according to one’s gross income. The bank also offers flexible loan repayment terms of up to 40 years as long as the loan is repaid by the time the client reaches 65 years of age.

In turn, even the best bank asks that the property itself is offered as security and a life assurance policy for the full value of the loan is required. An insurance policy to cover the replacement value of the property is also required.

Some banks offer first time buyers advantageous interest rates, presently at 1% over the bank’s base rate, for loans of up to €120,000 and 1.1% for loans between €120,000 and €150,000. They also waive any processing fees and charge 50% of the bank’s legal fees. Clients of Home Loans can also take out an additional loan to purchase furniture and appliances.

You can actually see how much the bank is prepared to lend you for a Home Loan by going into a bank’s website and using their affordability home loan calculator. After you have decided to borrow a certain amount to purchase your next property, the bank usually takes around 48 hours to take a decision of whether to lend you the money or not. Buying a property is definitely easier when you take out a Home Loan.

Perhaps the largest if not the best English language school on the island is the EC Group which is also hugely well established in several countries abroad.

The group is headquartered in St Julian’s and has by far the largest number of foreign students who attend its classes regularly. EC has a number of good teachers and has an excellent reputation especially with regards to its courses which constantly deliver a high rate of success.

Another excellent English language school is Inlingua which is headquartered in Sliema. This large school has been established afor a number of years and brings a pristine reputation to the market. They have attracted thousands of students to Malta over the years and this means that they have grown exponentially with a market close to over 20,000 students a year. Inlingua are also an international franchise with strong ties in the European market and their classes are also extremely popular in this respect.

The third large international English language school franchise is EF who are headquartered in Paceville and who cater chiefly for the younger student cohort. EF have been very successful in the extra curricular activity area were students who take their classes can be guaranteed an excellent time out in this respect. Teacher standards and course work may perhaps be slightly less of a high standard than that offered by the other two schools mentioned above.

English language teaching is a fine art which requires concentration and appropriately prepared lesson plans which certainly have to be up to scratch to succeed. The schools mentioned above have consistently striven to achieve the best quality for their students and have taught tens of thousands of individuals in this regard. There are other smaller schools such as Bells Language school and NSTS which offer similar services but it would be safe to say that EC, Inlingua and EF are the schools that one should look out for when surveying the English language school market in Malta.

In May 1966 the final of the first knockout competition was played at the Polytechnic (now the Junior College) out-door court, Msida and won by Mundlos TC.

February 1967 saw the start of the first National Basket ball League played in the indoor hall of the Msida Primary School with ten teams participating. Mundlos, coached by Tony Micallef Borg, became the first League Champions.

Basketball in Malta has come a long way since then. With the introduction of Basketball for women and the first National Ladies League in February of 1973, basketball has become one of the most popular sports in Malta.

Athleta is the favourite team to win the Men’s Maltese Basketball League of 2012. However, in February of 2012, one of the prominent teams, Depiro, managed to beat Athleta . This gave the leaders, Athleta, their first loss of the season. The Men’s Maltese Basketball League is in its ninth round and the league leaders are Athleta as they won their seventh match this season. The tenth round will see Depiro against Loyola, Bupa against Floriana and Siggiewi against Athleta.

With regards to the women’s teams, here Depiro tops the list in the First Division Women’s Basketball League although Hibs Melita overcame Depiro in the BOV Knockout. Hibs Melita also won the Louis Borg Cup title in January 2012.

Apart from being a league game, basketball is also a fun game. The weather in Malta is ideal for this type of sport as it can be played both indoors and outdoors. It is a good way to socialize while at the same time keeping fit. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world and has become so in Malta too.

Add all that to the incredible number of magazines and other periodicals received through the letterbox each day and you have a veritable mass of publications which really need to be sifted through properly to be appreciated.

Here are a few of our recommendations.

Sunday Circle

Probably the most popular magazine around, the Sunday Circle comes free with The Times every first Sunday of the month. It is usually packed with interesting and informative articles mostly in the form of interviews. There is also an extensive section on local gossip with celebrities as well as a plethora of special offers on several products. The main attraction of the Circle however is its reputation for advertisers which has consistently been on the rise for over 15 years and its pulling power is definitely something which cannot be discounted in any way.

M Magazine and Pink

M is an in house publication brought out by The Times and Allied publications. Along with its partner, Pink which caters for the female sex, M deals with mostly male related issues but focuses intrinsically on interviews with selected members of the business community and other interested parties. M is stylish in its writing and also includes a number of highly intriguing editorials which are all very readable and to the point. Pink offers more or less the same fare but obviously catered towards the female sex with some very interesting articles and highly informative pieces relating to the life of an upcoming female socialite.

Pjazza Magazine

This magazine has been steadily growing in stature ever since it was first published a few years back. It comes out with The Malta independent on Sunday and includes a variety of articles, interviews and commentary on several hot topics. The editor attempts to inject a certain joie de vivre into proceedings and more often than not the magazine is an entertaining read due to its variety.

Other interesting magazines which can be close to the top of the pile are Treasures of Malta issued by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti and which deals with culture as well as Taste and Flair, both glossy publications which deal with food and interior design respectively.

Here are a few restaurants which really make the grade, at least in our opinion.

The Carriage

Sumptuously situated on the fifth floor of Valletta Buildings in South Street, this quality restaurant has long been known for the excellent quality of food which it dispenses.

Add that to the stunning location and to the excellent silver service and you have a cocktail which truly demonstrates that eating out can really be that special occasion. The Carriage is also renowned for its considerable menu but its specialty is fresh fish which is a definite must have for all who savour an appetite for the marine.

La Mère Restaurant

A fascinating journey through Indian, Arabian, Mediterranean and Maltese Authentic Homemade Cuisines. La Mère wears its heart on the menu and ‘Love Your Food’ is the given command before your step through the door. There is a mesmerising variety of dishes to choose from. Also, a rarity in Malta, you can also bring your own bottle of wine at a small charge of €4.50.

Open daily from noon till 3pm & 7pm till 10:30pm (closed Monday lunch & Sunday dinner)
174, Merchant Street, Valletta | Tel: 21223256 / 99494721 | info@lamere.com.mt

Giannini

Another classy restaurant located at the end of South Street facing Manoel Island, Giannini is a favourite for those who like to have class married with style. The windswept location is also extremely romantic and the silver service on offer shows that one can truly have the best quality in Malta. The restaurant’s menu is also highly commendable and very desirable in every sense with a wide variety of meats and fish which are served quite delectably.

Rubino

Located in the heart of Old bakery Street, this fine restaurant has been on the top table for a number of years now. It has recently changed ownership but is still consistently one of the best restaurants on the island. Prices may be high and rather on the extravagant side but the quality of the food is absolutely something else. Homemade food is one of Rubino‘s specialties and the choice of ingredients and the way the food is presented is truly eclectic to say the least. This one is certainly a restaurant to visit.

So there you have three of the best restaurants in Valletta which are certainly worth a visit. Others which spring to mind are the Blue Room at the bottom of Republic Street if you want some good quality Chinese Food as well as Café Premier if you are looking for something light. The Manoel Theatre Restaurant is also a good bet if you want to tuck into a nice dinner after an event there.