Taste Beyond Tastebuds
Following Taste, Finding More
AYU Travellers Kitchen | Gzira, Malta
Five days in Malta last December were hijacked by a sidelining bout with food poisoning. For a self-professed, taste-led traveler who obsesses over every restaurant reservation and impromptu pop-in, this was every shade of disappointing not to mention disruptive and debilitating.
But my last night in Malta for the sake of my soul, my mind, body and gut rallied to finish on a high note. We were going to have dinner at a place there that had caught my attention long before I ever landed on the island – AYU.
Aptly named, the Traveler’s Kitchen, AYU was started by three brothers who set out to translate their love for travel and food into a joy-filled culinary experience. I felt an instant kinship with their vision which sounded a whole lot like something I wholeheartedly believed in – ingesting taste beyond our tastebuds.
The design and vibe at AYU were as kinetic as the menu itself. I knew the moment I walked in this was going to be a meal to remember and not just because I was well past ravenous.
Which brings me to the most tedious part about life as a self-led, solo traveler. It isn’t getting lonely. It is narrowing down an inspiring menu where almost everything teases and intrigues me.
I did my best.
I started with the Kibbeh, lamb-stuffed bulgur balls and then the Korean chicken bao buns. For my main course I held back just enough room to finish every bite of their Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry. AYU had my tastebuds dancing in delight. Every bite burst with mouthwatering, new but familiar combinations of spice, texture and sweetness.
If keeping places and memories alive through food was the impetus and brothers’ calling to start AYU, then they are most delectably fulfilling their purpose. And arguably, they are doing something far greater.
By creatively bringing the incredible flavors of the world together in menu and on plate, they are showcasing one of travel’s greatest gifts – the joy of borderless connectivity that can always be sampled one bite at a time.
