Fresh imqaret date fritters at the Dates Kiosk in Valletta, Malta. Breakfast, dessert or afternoon snack: you decide which one!
This morning after breakfast we decided to visit Valletta, Malta’s capital city.
And that is the perfect opportunity for us to go check out the Dates Kiosk. We were quite looking forward to the busy city atmosphere because Marsaskala (where our rental apartment is located) is pretty sleepy around this time of the year.
So off we went and hopped on bus #91, direction Valletta. About an hour and (witnessing) 2 car accidents later we arrived at the island’s biggest bus terminal in front of the main gate of Valletta.
Valletta
Spread along the pavements as you approach the gate are quite a few food stalls that need special attention. Watch out, there is some serious tourist food stuff on sale: biscotti, apple pies, nougat bars, fake honey rings…
All wrapped in cute plastic bags and very cheap.
They look appealing but honestly, skip that soggy trash.
Pastizzi
You should be looking for pastizzi or warm diamond-shaped filo pastry pockets filled with ricotta (tal-irkotta) or mushy peas and mint (tal-piżelli). These are very popular and are sold almost everywhere on the island.
And they are so delicious!
The Maltese people like their crunchy pastizzi for breakfast, as a snack or as quick bite for lunch. You pay a dazzling 30 eurocents a piece…
If you see them, go for it!
Imqaret
Like I said: fresh pastizzi are very easy to find but I wanted to talk about another Maltese specialty I haven’t seen often around here: imqaret (also spelled ‘mqaret’) or date fritters, also known as date diamonds.
You can eat these the whole year round.
They are very popular especially around Christmas. And where is one of the best places to eat this sweet treat?
Right near the Valletta bus terminal square, and it’s called the Dates Kiosk!
Dates Kiosk
Bakers here in Malta sell the freshly fried pastries piping hot in a paper bag which also makes them a very popular take away breakfast or afternoon snack. The price you pay at the Dates Kiosk for them: 30 eurocents a piece.
Some restaurants around the island even serve imqaret for dessert, usually accompanied by a scoop of ice cream.
And believe me, that is an awesome combination!
Closing Time
One thing to remember when you are planning to visit the Dates Kiosk: it closes around 1pm on Saturday just like most of the other food stalls at this bus square (and many other shops in Malta).
Make sure to go to the Dates Kiosk when you arrive in the morning instead of picking some up when you leave Valletta in the afternoon on your way home.
Another useful remark perhaps.
I mentioned earlier on that some food stalls sell wrapped cookies such as date fritter replicas. Don’t get me wrong: these are OK but far from the freshly fried fritters you buy there.
In fact, I got one of these date ‘cookie’ slices on my flight to Malta!
Home Baking
Here is a little background recipe information for the foodie home bakers amongst you, just in case you want to try it at home..
The pastry consists of flour, butter (sometimes replaced by margarine or olive oil) and sugar. The date filling is a sticky mixture of pitted dates, sugar and tangerine zest or juice. You basically prepare the dough, roll it out, cut it up into rectangles, spread it with the date filling, seal into pockets and fry them in hot oil.
For more Maltese sweet treats: check out this post!
Bring the Kiosk back!