Six iconic Maltese foods and where to find them
Language is all well and good, but what really gets people excited is when discussion turns to food. This transcends cultural and social lines and gets people really, really interested in the culture of the place and how people eat in a particular place has been shaped by their history.
Malta is no exception. Our food is influenced by the wider Mediterranean (from Sicily to North Africa) as well as British food.
Here are a few of the staples you’ll encounter at a Maltese restaurant. These tend to be quite familial and informal.
Pastizzi
During your stay in Malta these are probably one of the first things you’ll encounter, often sold at pastizzeriji. This is Malta’s ancient junk food, flaky pastries filled with peas or ricotta. In some places anchovy or chicken pastizzi are also sold. They’re immensely cheap at never more than a euro each… and incredibly calorific! You’ve been warned. 
Fenek (rabbit)
The national dish. Malta being an archipelago of three islands - Malta proper, Gozo and Comino - and being surrounded by the Mediterranean sea, you’d think our national dish would be some kind of fish. Well, it isn’t. It’s rabbit… and it’s more often than not served stewed or fried. The stew is tomato-based, to which onion and garlic are added. Then, depending on the family, some kind of variation on potatoes, peas and carrots are added. Any Maltese restaurant will have this. The town of Mġarr is renowned for its rabbit restaurants (as well as its strawberries).
Hobż biż-Żejt
For a Maltese person nothing spells out summer more than sitting on the beach munching on ħobż biż-żejt. It simply means ‘bread with oil’ and is often served in crunchy ‘ftira’ bread with kunserva (tomato puree) and olive oil, a choice of tuna or anchovies, olives, broad beans, onions and giardiniera (pickled vegetables). You can buy these from a lot of places around the island, most snack bars will have it.
Timpana
As you can tell most Maltese food revolves around filling, hearty, carb-laden foods. This is no exception. A dish of baked macaroni in a ragu sauce baked in puff pastry. Head to the gym after this. Available at nearly all pastizzeriji.
Ġbejniet
Ġbejniet are small goat’s milk cheeselets. They usually come in three varieties: fresh, dry or dried and peppered. You can buy these, particularly the dried versions, from most supermarkets or convenience stores. The villages of Rabat in Malta and Għajnsielem in Gozo are particularly celebrated for their ġbejniet, but you can’t go wrong with any ġbejna made in Gozo.
Imqaret
It is only fitting we close this list with a dessert. Imqaret can be found in many places. These deep fried sweets are essentially diamond-shaped pastries made out of date paste stuffed in pastry. They are often served with ice-cream. Again, some gym time is well recommended after consuming a few!
Imqaret tal-Belt (at Valletta bus terminus or in the nearby village of Ħamrun) are particularly well respected. 